If you Blogstalkers have been wondering where I've been for the past week or so...I've been hit by midterms this week. And for some reason, all but one have been this week. (WHY do the science and math departments do this? Are they trying to kill us?) I have an organic chem midterm tomorrow at 11:15...and I can't sleep because I'm a teensy bit freaked out about it. But I did get my lab report done (due tomorrow)!
I'm done with most things tomorrow after the lab, so I have some time to update/take pictures/catch up on blogstalker business. And then...fall break! (More time! I'm going home, but I'm probably going to do homework.)
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Saturday, October 6, 2007
These boots were made for walking...
This last week's Blogstalker theme was "How I get from here to there" or something very similar. I think this picture basically does the trick:
Believe it or not, that did not take too much effort on my part to compile. (And my feet aren't usually that unhappy with everything. I had just gotten back from class when I took that picture.) Being a college student with no car (and on a relatively small campus), I provide most of my own transport--I walk nearly everywhere. Class, activities, grocery store. Yes, there's theoretically a shuttle system...except that by the time it gets there, you could have been in class five minutes ago. It's a 10-15 (depending on how lucky I get with the traffic lights, of course) walk to most of my classes from my dorm. Unfortunately, my dorm is at the top of a hill, which is accessible by the a set of stairs. Whoever built these stairs was a freaking idiot. The treads are all different so that it's hard to get a rhythm going, and it takes me two steps to clear most of them. They're not terrible to walk up or down...until you try it with a backpack full of books or a computer and an organic chemistry textbook.
For anything further afield than class, activities and the grocery store (about a 10 minute walk from the dorm), I utilize my "free" (read: $25 but they include it in the housing charges so you don't see it) pass and take the city's public transport system. Hence that collection of papers--it's a bunch of bus schedules I grabbed on my last trip.
My hometown, however, is not nearly as enlightened as this one when it comes to sidewalks and public transportation. So I resort to the usual suburban mode of getting from point A to point B--The Car.
(which I don't have a picture of. But it's a silver Honda Accord.)
Believe it or not, that did not take too much effort on my part to compile. (And my feet aren't usually that unhappy with everything. I had just gotten back from class when I took that picture.) Being a college student with no car (and on a relatively small campus), I provide most of my own transport--I walk nearly everywhere. Class, activities, grocery store. Yes, there's theoretically a shuttle system...except that by the time it gets there, you could have been in class five minutes ago. It's a 10-15 (depending on how lucky I get with the traffic lights, of course) walk to most of my classes from my dorm. Unfortunately, my dorm is at the top of a hill, which is accessible by the a set of stairs. Whoever built these stairs was a freaking idiot. The treads are all different so that it's hard to get a rhythm going, and it takes me two steps to clear most of them. They're not terrible to walk up or down...until you try it with a backpack full of books or a computer and an organic chemistry textbook.For anything further afield than class, activities and the grocery store (about a 10 minute walk from the dorm), I utilize my "free" (read: $25 but they include it in the housing charges so you don't see it) pass and take the city's public transport system. Hence that collection of papers--it's a bunch of bus schedules I grabbed on my last trip.
My hometown, however, is not nearly as enlightened as this one when it comes to sidewalks and public transportation. So I resort to the usual suburban mode of getting from point A to point B--The Car.
(which I don't have a picture of. But it's a silver Honda Accord.)
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Look, knitting!
Because you know I'll be putting something up when I have something major due the next day. In this case, a biology lab report. (It's nearly done. Just need to add figure legends to the graphs and put my group members' names on the word document.)
So, almost fittingly--a modified DNA scarf. I'm using the DNA cable (I am too lazy to look up the link right now), but I must have had Mariah on the brain when I started this. Rope cables, ribbing...look familiar? The bottom 3 or 4 rows are 1x1 ribbing. This makes excellent lecture knitting.
Is ANYTHING I knit not nerdy in some way (apart from Mariah)? I have this scarf, the Periodic Table scarf, the Harry Potter scarf (back at home), the matching bookscarf...I have the penguin! (Know what's pathetic? Last Monday, I was sitting in a review session for biology...and was trying to figure out how I'd knit a benzene ring using cables.) I have some SWS for socks (courtesy of a shopping trip to Joann Fabrics 2 weeks ago), so I might cast on and hope I don't try to put an alkane-looking cable on there. I think a nice mistake rib or basketweave pattern.
Mariah...it's very much a matter of "one step forward, two steps back." (Reminds me of all the footwork drills we do in fencing.) Short attention span? What short attention spa--ooh! Sleeve!
This thing has been frogged I don't know how many times. Numerous times at the beginning for messing up cables. The first major one was because I knit about 24 inches of sleeve and then realized I had forgotten to increase. Riiiip. Then, more ripping because of cables. And then....nearly a full cable repeat that was mis-crossed, probably the product of...knitting in lectures...or bio lab (what? it was a lot of waiting around while stuff was in the centrifuge! And then an hour sitting around doing nothing...)
See that mistake? I'm NOT fixing that...at least, not at the moment. And is it just me, or did my gauge change over the course of this sleeve? I wouldn't be to surprised.
So, almost fittingly--a modified DNA scarf. I'm using the DNA cable (I am too lazy to look up the link right now), but I must have had Mariah on the brain when I started this. Rope cables, ribbing...look familiar? The bottom 3 or 4 rows are 1x1 ribbing. This makes excellent lecture knitting.
Is ANYTHING I knit not nerdy in some way (apart from Mariah)? I have this scarf, the Periodic Table scarf, the Harry Potter scarf (back at home), the matching bookscarf...I have the penguin! (Know what's pathetic? Last Monday, I was sitting in a review session for biology...and was trying to figure out how I'd knit a benzene ring using cables.) I have some SWS for socks (courtesy of a shopping trip to Joann Fabrics 2 weeks ago), so I might cast on and hope I don't try to put an alkane-looking cable on there. I think a nice mistake rib or basketweave pattern. Mariah...it's very much a matter of "one step forward, two steps back." (Reminds me of all the footwork drills we do in fencing.) Short attention span? What short attention spa--ooh! Sleeve!
This thing has been frogged I don't know how many times. Numerous times at the beginning for messing up cables. The first major one was because I knit about 24 inches of sleeve and then realized I had forgotten to increase. Riiiip. Then, more ripping because of cables. And then....nearly a full cable repeat that was mis-crossed, probably the product of...knitting in lectures...or bio lab (what? it was a lot of waiting around while stuff was in the centrifuge! And then an hour sitting around doing nothing...)
See that mistake? I'm NOT fixing that...at least, not at the moment. And is it just me, or did my gauge change over the course of this sleeve? I wouldn't be to surprised.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Er, stuff.
The answer to this week's Knittyhead Blog Stalker 2 prompt ("what's in your purse?"). I don't carry a purse normally, so I shall show you the innards of my backpack...ooh, scary.
The Monster and the Generic Dorm Furniture:
I'll do this by pocket. What's in Pocket Number 1?
Well...that's nice. But what IS it?
Ah. Much better. That would be...my organic chem textbook, notebook for o-chem, notebook for o-chem homework, the Notebook That Gets Used For Random Things and a Catch-all for Miscellaneous Paper, my biology notebook, and what looks like random paper and some escaped biology notes. On the left is a chem textbook I borrowed from my professor from last semester (and I need to give it back...) and my planner. In case I have to be reminded how busy I am.
Onward to Pocket Number 2!
It would appear that it happens to contain the bag that would otherwise function as a purse. If I weren't lugging the Monster around, that is.
The contents of that bag:
My wallet, $1.50, a receipt, and a copy of the bus schedule.
And the rest of Pocket Number 2:
A WIP (the periodic table scarf), a dime, a wrapper to a cough drop, an eraser, and my flash drive (I was wondering where that went).
And now...the Pocket that Needs to be Emptied:
Not too bad, right? Au contraire.
From left: chemistry flashcards (is there anything in this bag that is not somehow related to chem?), some random trash-type stuff, calculator, a pen cap, a bunch of abused post-it notes, pens on a keyring, index cards, a green pen, a mechanical pencil, 4 crochet hooks of varying sizes, another receipt, Vash keychain, owl keychain, scissors, a highlighter, clicker thingy for biology.
But wait! There's more!
From the left--the highlighter and clicker thing from the last picture, a huge number of writing implements of different colors, dock adapter for my iPod, jingle bells, 2 tubes of Burt's Bees lip balm, more writing implements, 2 AAA batteries, various pins that either fell off or never ended up on the outside of the Monster, and $0.67. I didn't include the "supplies" (do you really need a picture? Honestly.) or the two containers of bubble liquid, which I only just found. My backpack must be some kind of bottomless pit or something.
And I just discovered that I had actually folded the gold wrapper into an origami crane...
The Monster and the Generic Dorm Furniture:
I'll do this by pocket. What's in Pocket Number 1?
Well...that's nice. But what IS it?
Ah. Much better. That would be...my organic chem textbook, notebook for o-chem, notebook for o-chem homework, the Notebook That Gets Used For Random Things and a Catch-all for Miscellaneous Paper, my biology notebook, and what looks like random paper and some escaped biology notes. On the left is a chem textbook I borrowed from my professor from last semester (and I need to give it back...) and my planner. In case I have to be reminded how busy I am.Onward to Pocket Number 2!
It would appear that it happens to contain the bag that would otherwise function as a purse. If I weren't lugging the Monster around, that is.The contents of that bag:
My wallet, $1.50, a receipt, and a copy of the bus schedule.And the rest of Pocket Number 2:
A WIP (the periodic table scarf), a dime, a wrapper to a cough drop, an eraser, and my flash drive (I was wondering where that went).And now...the Pocket that Needs to be Emptied:
Not too bad, right? Au contraire.
From left: chemistry flashcards (is there anything in this bag that is not somehow related to chem?), some random trash-type stuff, calculator, a pen cap, a bunch of abused post-it notes, pens on a keyring, index cards, a green pen, a mechanical pencil, 4 crochet hooks of varying sizes, another receipt, Vash keychain, owl keychain, scissors, a highlighter, clicker thingy for biology.But wait! There's more!
From the left--the highlighter and clicker thing from the last picture, a huge number of writing implements of different colors, dock adapter for my iPod, jingle bells, 2 tubes of Burt's Bees lip balm, more writing implements, 2 AAA batteries, various pins that either fell off or never ended up on the outside of the Monster, and $0.67. I didn't include the "supplies" (do you really need a picture? Honestly.) or the two containers of bubble liquid, which I only just found. My backpack must be some kind of bottomless pit or something.And I just discovered that I had actually folded the gold wrapper into an origami crane...
Friday, September 21, 2007
...I'm late. Is that an answer?
This week has been the Week from Hell, so I haven't been able to get this past week's theme for Blog Stalker 2 up until now. I blame midterms. Anyway, last week's theme was "Who am I?' I don't know if I can answer "who?," but I can answer "what?". Those are two different questions. Funny how we tend to define ourselves by roles we play.
Back on topic...
I am first and foremost a student at an Ohio college. And yes, I have three majors--BS in biology, BA in chemistry, and a second major for the BA in environmental studies. This means I'm insanely busy. The tools of the trade:
Calculator, pile of chemistry textbooks, homework, coffee cup, laptop, printer, iPod.
And all the rest of my books (apart from the ones in my backpack).
And a bag of Hershey's Kisses. I think I went picture-happy in this post. Incidentally, I hope you appreciate it--I cleaned especially for this! (Not that my room didn't need it.)
Since I got here last fall, I've become something of a chemistry nerd. I live on a floor full of chem nerds. You should hear the conversations. We somehow manage to compare things like homework and eating lunch to chemistry. It's terrible, and really funny at the same time.
My bulletin board, with pictures from home and something every chem major should have (in my opinion) on their wall--a periodic table.
What? It's relevant to two of my majors!
Okay, I think I have a life outside schoolwork. I'm a fencer (with swords, not stolen objects, thanks). Fencing owns the part of my life that higher learning doesn't. Here's a picture from a tournament my college's team went to last year:
Terrible picture (I didn't take it, obviously), but not bad considering it was taken at about 7:30 on a Saturday morning, and I'd gotten three hours of sleep the night before. (I cropped it to remove my teammate who probably wouldn't want her picture plastered on the internets.) I'm primarily a sabre fencer, but I'm learning foil in my phys ed class.
I'm also a violist, and have been for the past...nine years. Well, nine years had I actually practiced for most of them. Unfortunately, this was the hobby that had to go when I came to college because practice time was so limited. I didn't even bring it up with me this year, so I don't have current pictures, but here's one from my high school "senior spotlight" concert from two years ago.
That's all I can think of to say about me. I'll be back for this week's post on Thursday, probably. (Biology and o-chem exams next week.)
Oh yes. I knit too.
Sometimes.
Back on topic...
I am first and foremost a student at an Ohio college. And yes, I have three majors--BS in biology, BA in chemistry, and a second major for the BA in environmental studies. This means I'm insanely busy. The tools of the trade:
Calculator, pile of chemistry textbooks, homework, coffee cup, laptop, printer, iPod.And all the rest of my books (apart from the ones in my backpack).
And a bag of Hershey's Kisses. I think I went picture-happy in this post. Incidentally, I hope you appreciate it--I cleaned especially for this! (Not that my room didn't need it.)Since I got here last fall, I've become something of a chemistry nerd. I live on a floor full of chem nerds. You should hear the conversations. We somehow manage to compare things like homework and eating lunch to chemistry. It's terrible, and really funny at the same time.
My bulletin board, with pictures from home and something every chem major should have (in my opinion) on their wall--a periodic table.
What? It's relevant to two of my majors!Okay, I think I have a life outside schoolwork. I'm a fencer (with swords, not stolen objects, thanks). Fencing owns the part of my life that higher learning doesn't. Here's a picture from a tournament my college's team went to last year:
Terrible picture (I didn't take it, obviously), but not bad considering it was taken at about 7:30 on a Saturday morning, and I'd gotten three hours of sleep the night before. (I cropped it to remove my teammate who probably wouldn't want her picture plastered on the internets.) I'm primarily a sabre fencer, but I'm learning foil in my phys ed class.I'm also a violist, and have been for the past...nine years. Well, nine years had I actually practiced for most of them. Unfortunately, this was the hobby that had to go when I came to college because practice time was so limited. I didn't even bring it up with me this year, so I don't have current pictures, but here's one from my high school "senior spotlight" concert from two years ago.
That's all I can think of to say about me. I'll be back for this week's post on Thursday, probably. (Biology and o-chem exams next week.)Oh yes. I knit too.
Sometimes.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
AAAAH!
Okay, I am now thoroughly convinced that college is trying to either kill me or drive me insane, whichever comes first. My course load is not exactly taxing, it's just that my schedule sucks:
Calc II: MWF, 8:30-9:20; Tu 11:35-12:25
Bio 215: MWF 9:30-10:20, Th. 1:15-4:15
Fencing: MW 10:30-11:20
O-chem: MWF 11:30-12:20
Genetics: MW 12:30-1:45
Chem lab: M 2:00-5:00
On top of this, I have fencing practice (for the club) on Mondays and Wednesdays at 6:30, and Fridays at 3.
The work isn't hard (yet), but the volume of reading is huge. I have another chapter to read for bio, and 2.5 chapters of genetics to read. For Monday. As well as my o-chem homework to rewrite so it's actually legible (resonance structures are evil!), calc homework, and the video to watch for lab. For Monday. What HAVE I been doing all weekend?
Calc II: MWF, 8:30-9:20; Tu 11:35-12:25
Bio 215: MWF 9:30-10:20, Th. 1:15-4:15
Fencing: MW 10:30-11:20
O-chem: MWF 11:30-12:20
Genetics: MW 12:30-1:45
Chem lab: M 2:00-5:00
On top of this, I have fencing practice (for the club) on Mondays and Wednesdays at 6:30, and Fridays at 3.
The work isn't hard (yet), but the volume of reading is huge. I have another chapter to read for bio, and 2.5 chapters of genetics to read. For Monday. As well as my o-chem homework to rewrite so it's actually legible (resonance structures are evil!), calc homework, and the video to watch for lab. For Monday. What HAVE I been doing all weekend?
Sunday, September 2, 2007
The tale of the Second Hedgehog.
Yes, friends. I have another FO, and yet another stuffed hedgehog. Only this time, I documented the entire process. So, without further ado:
Here is the knitted-up, un-felted hedgehog. Poor thing, doesn't know what's coming.
A watched pot never boils. Or does it? And is this going to turn out a bit like Schrodinger's cat? (I'm probably misremembering that...)
The tools of hedgehog torture--the shampoo and a potato masher. Don't worry, my friend. It won't take too long. I hope.
Since I shall refrain from quoting Macbeth (too easy), I shall instead quote The Goons. "He's fallen in the water!"
A partially felted hedgie. Elapsed time between this picture and the last one: 1.5 hours. Yup.
And here he is, all finished!
Specs:
Everything is the same as the last one, except that I used both Copper and Chocolate Fun Fur for the back.
Comments: He didn't felt nearly as well as the last one. I don't know whether it was because I got sick of trying to felt it, or because I used Burt's Bees shampoo rather than dish soap or because of the much thicker fur on his back, or a combination of these. He is rather more huggable, though--I used up all my polyfil on him.
In other knitting news:
Periodic Table Scarf: Through knitting in lectures, I managed to get started on the bottom row of the main part of the table.
Mariah: Slowly working the sleeve again.
Here is the knitted-up, un-felted hedgehog. Poor thing, doesn't know what's coming.
A watched pot never boils. Or does it? And is this going to turn out a bit like Schrodinger's cat? (I'm probably misremembering that...)
The tools of hedgehog torture--the shampoo and a potato masher. Don't worry, my friend. It won't take too long. I hope.
Since I shall refrain from quoting Macbeth (too easy), I shall instead quote The Goons. "He's fallen in the water!"
A partially felted hedgie. Elapsed time between this picture and the last one: 1.5 hours. Yup.
And here he is, all finished!Specs:
Everything is the same as the last one, except that I used both Copper and Chocolate Fun Fur for the back.
Comments: He didn't felt nearly as well as the last one. I don't know whether it was because I got sick of trying to felt it, or because I used Burt's Bees shampoo rather than dish soap or because of the much thicker fur on his back, or a combination of these. He is rather more huggable, though--I used up all my polyfil on him.
In other knitting news:
Periodic Table Scarf: Through knitting in lectures, I managed to get started on the bottom row of the main part of the table.
Mariah: Slowly working the sleeve again.
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