Coming Attractions: A Preview

The Periodic Table Scarf, in all its unfinished glory:And a close-up:

I apologize for the awful picture quality--these were taken using my camera phone. Still, you get the point, right? I just finished the lanthanide series yesterday. It's my first attempt at stranded knitting, so there's quite a bit of puckering going on. I'm hoping that blocking it to within an inch of its life will help when it's finished (whenever that might be.)

The Physics of Fainting

I wound up in the ER yesterday. Long story short--dehydrated. Blacked out in bookstore. Spent 3 hours in the ER with a saline drip in my arm.

Physics is driving me up the wall. It's a chapter a day, basically. And I have an exam on Monday. So I'll be spending tomorrow and perhaps part of Sunday where I can't get so distracted--Starbucks.

I have an FO to show you all. Very cute. I don't have my camera with me, so you'll have to wait until I get home. (July 6th.)

The knitting I have with me is something I started back in March or April, and got sick of knitting. So, a fiber change, a needle change, and life is better. What is it? Let me tell you a tale:
Back in March, I was hanging around outside my chem professor's office, knitting one of the SWS socks. There were a bunch of people already in his office, discussing test corrections and such, so I- along with a bunch of other people- just sort of stood there outside his office. (Very narrow hallway, so it's not conducive to doing much.) The prof came out of his office, told the assembled masses that he'd be back in a little while, then saw me, knitting away. "Knitting again?" he asked rhetorically, in a somewhat disparaging way. I usually get ignored or "Ooh! That's so cool!" when I knit in public. This little comment was annoying. I think he meant it as a joke, as I don't think this professor is the type to be nasty to people just for the heck of it, except that it didn't quite sound that way.

So, on the advice of some Knittyheads, I set about looking for something chemistry-related to knit, just to...I don't know, be strange. It'd be very Case of me anyway. :D I was pointed towards this chart, so I modified it to include Sg-Rg, cast on 260 stitches (that was a nightmare) and got knitting. My first foray into colorwork of any type. Might I add that I was using Clover's Bamboo circs (16"). Terrible joins. And might I also add that I was using Red Heart Supersaver. That was no fun to knit with. It was initially a very Oberlin-spirited scarf (maroon and gold). Fitting, as that was where I bought the yarn while I was visiting a friend. I hated knitting it, if only for the yarn and needles. So, when I went home, I made a trip to the LYS and bought 2 skeins of Cascade 220 in a purple color. I'm still using the gold (Paton's Classic Merino) from Oberlin. (It's very Imperial Rome-ish now, I think. And, as an added bonus, it goes with both my coats.) I also bought an Addi Natura circ in a size 5. So much easier, apart from the fact I can't seem to read the chart anymore! And the yarn keeps tangling.
And, as a bonus, an amusing story about it (which I posted on the Knittyboard, so I'll just copy and paste):
[Originally posted Wed April 18, 2007]
"I had a few spare moments after class today, so I pulled out the periodic table scarf and knitted a few more rows, with the chart balanced on my bookbag. While I was doing this, my professor walked over and asked conversationally how my day was. He then happened to see the chart, said "Is that what you're working on?!", picked it up, looked at it, and then: "That's the coolest thing I'e seen all week!" He then told me not to leave out seaborgium."
[end]
Of course, the man also asked if it was a cross-stitch pattern. :| I think I'll go back and annoy him when I finished the scarf. I'll post pictures when it's recognizable. (Right now, it's about two rows into the actual table part of the chart, with a gold border.)

I'm HOOOOME!

Actually, I've been home for nearly a week. Then I get to go back to Cleveland in June, so I can take the first semester of physics--in five weeks. I'm nuts.
I made my decision about majors: I'm doing a BS in biology and a BA in chemistry, with possibly an add-on major in Environmental Studies. Yes, I AM nuts. Well, it's not quite so bad: I have an extra semester of physical chem plus lab, a semester of quant. analysis, and another semester of o-chem lab. In addition, I have whatever electives I need to take. But since I'm doing a BA and a BS, I get out of 6 credit hours for the BA. Now, the question is, do I want ACS certification? If I do, I need to take a semester of biochem, a semester of inorganic chem, and five hours of research. Given my combination, the biochem might be a good idea. The research...we'll see if I can wrangle something that fulfills that and my research requirement for bio.

I actually scraped an A in chem this semester!!! When I went to pick up my final, my professor handed it back to me and said "Congratulations! Well done!" I looked at it, and discovered I got EXACTLY the number of points I needed for an A. Ended up with an A in anthropology, and a B in my seminar and chem lab. Not surprised. Next semester, I'm taking:

1. Introduction to Organic Chemistry I
2. Cells and Proteins
3. Shakespeare: Histories and Tragedies
4. Organic Chemistry Lab
5. Calculus II
6. Fencing.

I'm thinking of signing up for the orchestra for non-music majors, but I'm not 100% sure of it yet.

I do actually knit, in case we'd forgotten. I'll get some pictures of the WIPs up tomorrow. (And maybe an FO or two...hmm....)

An FO and an almost-FO!

The SWS socks are finished! I'm wearing them now. They're on the big side, but they're fine for lounging around in. Depending on how I like them, I might give them a conditioner bath.

Pics when my camera cooperates with my computer.

The almost-FO is the IHS. I'm down to the last little clump of alpaca. This is DEFINITELY getting a conditioner bath when it's done. The stuff feels so good when knitting with it and the fabric is all squooshy (yay! I made up a word!) but when it's around my neck, it's a little scratchy.

Wow.

Well, the last chem test (not the last one I mentioned x_x) went really well. I left the room feeling pretty good about it, but I didn't expect a 99% on it! And the single point I lost was something stupid--I forgot to write the percent dissociation for HCl. That was brilliant. I have another one on Friday. Same kind of thing, but you have to do it three or four times for each problem. Hopefully my prof will be nice and not put four of the same kind of problem. I might die of boredom otherwise.

And now, some more interesting news. (Or not.) I seem to be at the center of some intra-familiar and inter-disciplinary conflict. When I filled out my college applications, I wrote "biology" as my intended major. And then I looked at the course requirements for the BS in bio (two semesters of general chemistry, two semesters of organic chemistry and a semester of physical chemistry). Turns out that's essentially a minor in chemistry (two semesters of gen chem plus lab and two semesters of o. chem plus lab) So I decided I was going to go for a BS in biology, a BA in environmental studies and a minor in chemistry. Until I took a bio class this semester. I was in it for a grand total of two weeks, because a) the university decided they were going to grant me credit for my AP grade after all, and b)I hated it. As much as I loved bio in high school, I can't seem to muster the same passion for it a year later, if that. Trouble is, that goes for basically anything. I don't have a strong enough interest in any of the humanities to do any more than dabble. I also don't know if I have a strong interest in any of the sciences to major in any of them. And this is where the parental units come in. Mum wants me to give bio another shot. She's really trying to push me away from the physical sciences. My dad, on the other hand, doesn't seem to care so much, though he was pushing me in the chemistry/biochemistry direction. It's sort of what I want to do, but I don't really know. And that means I have to work out what that means for the math requirements. I need to talk to someone, but I have no idea who. My adviser is the head of the English department, which is not good if I want to talk to HIM about something, science major that I (still) am, but he does know who I should go talk to. The other person who I think I could talk to is my chemistry professor, but he's probably sick of me, not to mention the fact that he has a class of 250 or so students to deal with as well. Now I just have to buck up enough courage to talk to SOMEONE...

Grr...

Why do I decide it's a good idea to blog when I have an inordinate quantity of work to do?! I have a 5-to-6-page essay for my seminar class to write for Monday (it was due either the 9th or the 19th--I didn't have it finished for the 9th because of midterms), another essay for anthropology for Wednesday, plus math, chem and lab stuff to do. Speaking of labs...I have no idea how much I have to make up for that. Two titrations for the aspirin analysis lab, printing the results for the iron compound lab, and solution 4 for the spectrography thing. Yuck. So, when is makeup week again? -_-''
On top of all that, I'm supposed to be leading the seminar discussion on Wednesday. I have to watch this movie in order to do so. Go figure, neither my laptop nor my home DVD player will play it. Guess I'll watch it when I get back. I have no idea when my discussion post for that is due. Probably Monday. I hate Mondays, and I hate that class. It's completely pointless. The whole program is pointless. (It was probably designed to get science/engineering students to take humanities classes. Or because someone decided that they couldn't write.)
I'm supposed to be heading back to Cleveland tomorrow. Today, actually. I still haven't completely packed. My anthro book is who-knows-where, I'm still using my laptop, there are various cords everywhere, my chem book is next to me on the floor, and my room is an almighty mess. On the other hand, I did manage to fit everything else I'm taking back up with me in my fencing bag. Amazing!
There is some good news in all this. My chem prof finally (okay, yes, I know he's on break too) got around to posting the exam scores. I got a 99 percent. Which is amazing, considering that I failed the one before that. I wonder what I lost that point on. I know that's insignificant, but I can still wonder. If it's only one point, then it's probably a rounding issue or something small.
I went to the LYS on Thursday. They were out of the Fiber Trends' Hedgehog pattern I wanted, but I treated myself to a (don't tell my mother!) $16 circular needle and 2 skeins of sock yarn. I then went to Michael's and bought myself 8 skeins of Paton's Classic Merino in chestnut brown. Why? I'm planning on knitting Mariah from Knitty. Hopefully my attention span will be kinder to me this time around, now that I've got cable-y goodness to keep my attention. The SWS toe-ups are about 60% done. One is finished and looks good, even if I did bind off a little tight. (I seem to have inherited my grandmother's problem in that.) I also sense another scrap yarn scarf in the future, to go along with my scrap-yarn blanket. And this time, it'll have wool and alpaca in it to go along with the synthetics. :)
Crap. Why is it 4 AM? I have to get up in 5 hours, pack, call my friend to see what the final plans are (he hasn't made them yet. Genius.), drive back to school, then finish the remaining 4/5 of my paper. *headdesk*

Bloody weather.

I'm an Ohioan, for all practical purposes. I should be used to strange weather. But I think this takes whatever baked item you would like. And eats it. Last week--6-12" of snow on Tuesday night-Thursday morning, on top of whatever was already there. (I stopped caring. It's white stuff). Right now? It's 48 degrees (F). What the heck? I like how my college sent out an e-mail telling us to be aware of falling icicles. You'd think that'd be obvious. But this is the same school that built a giant ugly building for its business school, and now has to close the sidewalks around it whenever it snows because snow and ice has a nasty tendency to fall off its hideously modern curving metal exterior. Yup.
Other than that, I'm supposed to be working on my prelab for chem tomorrow. Why did I register for the 8:30 lab? What was I thinking, exactly? Oh, and I have a chem test on Friday. Joy. I was up until 4 AM yesterday studying for my anthropology exam, which turned out to be something on the order of "explain the structure of DNA." 10 pt questions, pick 5 of 7. All of them were like that. :(
Knitting...I'm afraid I haven't done much of that lately. I'd post pics of my January Socktopia socks, except that a)I can't find the socks, and b)I don't have the connecting thingy for the camera here. The "Furry Fetchings" are about 55-60% done. I have one glove done save the thumb, and the cuff on the other mostly finished. Ribbing is getting really boring right now. (The cuffs are 2x1 ribbing, the body is 4x1, and there's another band of 2x1 above the thumb. ) And did I mention it's FUN FUR? And I need them done by Friday. Lucky me, I have 4 hours of classes tomorrow and I'm done by 12:30. Guess what I'll be doing?