Blatant linkage

These are too damn cute:

http://dressedupdots.blogspot.com/

I've never thought of using dominoes as pendants - this chick is creative! Plus, shiny/sparkly things are always good in my book. Honestly, I think I was a raccoon in a previous life.

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P.S. I promise that my version of "regular" blogging will resume after March 16. Fellowship applications are eating my free time/sleeping hours until then. *sigh* Added to the massive clusterfuck that is currently my life, this means I'm barely functional. Trust me, no one wants to read the ranty confusion that would emerge if I tried to write a witty post.

I should be working in the lab, BUT

Am I the only one who didn't know about NPR's Song of the Day? My life has new meaning.

My favorite thus far:

On Our Way Home, by the Silent Years. Made me cry, but in such a good way.

There's even a daily e-newsletter with song updates. This is better than LOLcats. *sighs happily*

That which doesn't kill you

...leaves deep and permanent scars.

So very much is going on in my life right now that I don't feel I have the right to blog about - since, after all, it's not just about my life. So I'll just say that Wednesday was the third worst day of my life, right after the days of the funerals of my grandmothers. When I woke up on Thursday morning, my entire goal for the day was for it to NOT be as bad as Wednesday. (I had an amazing steak for dinner; thus, Thursday was saved.)

I am popping my happy pills like so much candy, and am surrounded by loving, caring family and friends. Still, the difference between this and my previous episodes of depression is that this situation is external, obvious and must be dealt with. Painfully, slowly, but dealt with nonetheless.

I'm sorry for being so damn vague. Hopefully in a few months I can clarify and explain.

For a few moments the other day, I had a clear, sparkling moment of clarity. I felt as though I'd landed somewhere after a spiraling, stomach-dropping, sickeningly long fall. Not somewhere soft, more like a small, uncomfortable ledge on the side of a cliff. There's a long drop waiting for me, but for a moment there, I was safe. The memory of being in that moment, and the hope for more such times of inner honesty, is all that is keeping me going for the moment.

It is what it is, I suppose.

Thanksgiving cheer

Ah, the holidays...a time of guilt, depression, and general malaise.

What's that, you say? Not everyone has holiday memories with those overtones? ...right, I'll shut up now and instead share something that made me laugh so hard, I peed a little:

Tuesday

Hello, I'm at work, trying VERY hard not to listen to this woman a few desks away (she's describing what sounds very much like a UTI ... *plugs ears* la la la.)

A good friend of mine (actually, my officemate) passed her Master's thesis defense this morning, so we are about to go have champagne in the afternoon. Wild and crazy grad students! Whee! (Actually, this is the official celebration, sanctioned by our advisor. Tonight = beer, and the REAL celebration.)

And in other news, my first official counseling session EVER is in an hour. Here's hoping I don't cry. Too much. Gah.

So damn worth it

Time I left the house - 5:30AM.

Total hours spent waiting in line - 3.

Number of polling places visited - 3.

Pieces of ID required - 3, NOT the usual 2.

Trips home to fetch a bill addressed to me - 1.

Miles I walked this morning - 2.5.

Friends who picked up their phones when I called to bitch - 3.

Friends who hung up after briefly sympathizing, but OMG it's early why are you calling - 2.

Number of (full) buses that passed me before one stopped - 2.

Classes to which I was late - 1.

Number of senators named McCain representing my state - 1.

Chance that my state's electoral votes will be for Obama - UN-frigging-LIKELY.

BUT ...I did it.

No, the color turquoise didn't throw up on me. Why do you ask?

So, I just saw my "archives" and realized that:

(1) I tend to post about once a month (ONLY? Seriously, I suck.) and

(2) this is my 50th post.

So, happy golden something-or-other to Woolly Mammoths. And while I've already missed the boat for NaBloPoMo, I am going to use the month of November to post more often, dammit.

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So, Halloween. It was two days ago, but I think I've only just recovered.

I had to proctor an exam that morning, so wearing a costume to work didn't seem like a great idea. Instead, I wore a tiny pair of red, clip-on horns. Lots of double-takes (including a great one by my advisor, who laughed his butt off) and rather amusing responses, such as, "...but I thought you were going to wear a costume?" and "Ah, letting them breathe for a day, yes?"

After a pretty fun day of classes and teaching (my students were a little worried about how hard the test would be after seeing these...) I ran home to eat a huge dinner (the last time I went to a party, various friends ended up taking care of me for the evening, and I still don't remember about three hours... thus, I was under strict orders to consume protein and carbs before going out for the holiday.) I spent two hours doing my hair (and turning it a shade of "highlighter pink"), attempting to apply make-up (a lack of practice meant that my eyes ended up looking...interesting) and convincing myself that I could pull off a skirt that short. Really, it was less of a skirt and more of a "ski-." I added copious amounts of black rubber bracelets, combat boots, glitter, a pair of wings (!), and the result was:

A very irate pixie. Whose favorite color should at this point be obvious.