Lovely

We set up our bioreactor yesterday.  We went to inoculate it today.  We started the run and inoculated the reactor.  That was when we realized we forgot to turn the temperature bath on and hook the condenser up to running water.  While attempting to hook up tubes to the water supply and condenser, I noticed the pH wasn't going up to where it was supposed to be.  That's when I noticed that the tube connecting the base to the reactor had a few holes.  That's when I made the connection that base must have gotten onto my gloves and then onto my arm.  No wonder my arm was going red and burning.  So, we had to change the tube with one that didn't have holes.  While trying to pull the tube out, it split open and splashed my face.

So, now it looks like I have half of a black eye, only it's pink instead of black.  My skin is a little swollen.  And it looked like the burns on arm were going to blister.  But they didn't.  I just hope the skin below my eye decides to reduce in swelling sometime soon and not blister...

Weekend Fun

So, I took Gizmo on a walk today.  Lately, I've been walking him everyday, and we've been walking about two to three miles everyday.  Sadly, he doesn't get that tired from it all.  Every time we're going outside, he's begging to go walking again.

Anyways, on the walk, we encountered another dog.  It was a Golden Retriever.  And Gizmo got all huffy and had to act like he was a big shot.  And when he does that, I'll let him do that instead of protect him (however, I won't let him bark or growl, only excitement can overtake him).  And then Gizmo realized the other dog wasn't on a leash.  And then the dog came running at us.  And Gizmo ran and tried to hide behind me.  The other dog only wanted to say hi like almost all other dogs, but Gizmo hates saying hi to big dogs.  So, I grabbed Gizmo and he crawled up my arm like a friggin cat (claws and all).  Without thinking, I told the other dog to sit.  Funny thing is she listened to me.  She sat, and let me pet her.  And then a girl came to get the dog and scold her for running off on her.

That's one thing I like about my dog.  He listens when he wants to run off, and we tell him no.  Sometimes, he wants to say hi to small dogs, but he waits for our approval (which usually doesn't happen since he rarely lets another dog say hi to him).  When he wants to say hi to people, he'll usually get excited at a distance.  And then he'll stay in step with us.  Typically, he doesn't run off to another person until he knows they're talking to him.

So, my weekend was overall enjoyable.  I made piña coladas on friday.  And they were awesome.  Rum is probably my favorite alcohol.  And then we experimented with mixing drinks on saturday.  The drink consisted of a few citrus fruit juices, some orange liqueur mixers, and vodka.  It was surprisingly pretty good.

Now I need to go finish my homework and prepare myself for another monday.  But at least life has been good lately. 

Cute vs. Care

So, my family told me that they're going to steal Gizmo from me because he's so cute.  I just laugh because I know they think he's cute, but they don't have the time and patience to take care of him.

My dog is super-high maintenance.  And it's not really that he's spoiled; it's more that there's a disconnect in communication between me and him.  He suffers from major anxiety when left at home by himself.  And I believe a lot of this stems from his upbringing.  When, he gets anxious, he pees in his kennel (and will sometimes poo).  This behavior stems from the fact that as a puppy, he lived in a box with the other pups and momma.  This box was their bed and toilet.  So, while normal dogs do not associate their toilet with their bed, my dog kind of learned that they're one and the same.  And let me tell you, it took a lot of untraining and retraining to teach Gizmo that the potty is outside and not inside.

So, when I am home, Gizmo is the perfect dog.  But when I leave, he's left in the kennel and falls back on his first instincts he learned as a puppy.  He deals with his loneliness by peeing.  And since I'm still trying to work on fixing this behavior of his, I still have to deal with the mess he leaves.  The mess I come home to probably once a week (it used to be everyday, sometimes twice a day).

So, when people tell me they want my dog, I just laugh.  Sure, he's super cute, but he requires a lot of responsibility.  And if you're not willing to take care of him, then you're not ready to have a dog.

And in my case, I don't think I'm ready to have a kid.  Sure, they're super cute, and I want one.  But I'm not ready to devote my life to someone else who has a million needs that must be met.

And so I will settle for my dog.  Sure, he's a crapster sometimes, but I'm willing to give the time to take care of him.  And most of the time, the rewards are far greater than the time I put into taking care of my dog.

I guess what I'm getting at is I'm not ready for kids.  Gizmo is my kid.  He's my high-maintenance kid.  And as crazy as people may think I am for saying that, I really don't care.  I'm happy calling my dog my kid; the kid I can put in a kennel and leave alone for a few hours, haha.

Bubble

Life sucks right now.

I think I pissed my mom off because she took one of my rants a little too personally.

I said I want to move to Africa today.  I think what I meant by that is I want to be in a community where we all work towards the well-being of the people and not the well-being of one.  But socialism doesn't work.  And the rich getting richer while inflation continues and the poor remain poor, that doesn't work either.  I just want to do away with the corruption.  Why does money bring out the bad in everyone?

The USU Parking Authority has decided to announce that someone got a citation under my account.  They froze my accounts with USU since I've had 60 days to pay it.  Only problem is I didn't find out about until last week.  And apparently it's my fault that I don't know about it since I loan my car out to the wrong people.  So, does that mean the joke's on them if I've never lent my car out to anyone?  And then they tell me that the mystery man who got the ticket tried to pay it the next day but was denied due to illegal use of my permit.  Problem is, no one knows who the mystery man who got the ticket and tried to pay for it is.  My husband's accounted for because he never received a citation to go pay and furthermore, was at work when this mystery man went to pay the citation.

I'm sick of going to school.  And since Utah State really enjoys screwing with me, I have no kind feelings for the institution right now.

I pretty much have no kind feelings for anything Utah right now.  And if you're someone who takes everything literally and a bit too seriously, then I'm happy to piss you off.

I'm pretty sure a lot of people right now think I'm some lazy bum who's trying to lie her way out of a ticket right now.  And the fact that I have done nothing to deserve these judgments just makes me even more pissed off.  But I think I can totally agree with the lazy bum some days, everyone needs to be a lazy bum once in a while.

Overall, today has been a horrible day.  On a brighter note, tomorrow is a new day.  A day that will hopefully have sunshine.  A new day to allow my thoughts to start afresh.  To not be in the hating mood that I am in.  Here's hoping.

I think I just want to get away from it all...

Spring is in the Air

Spring is almost here.  And it feels like it even though it hasn't reached 60 degrees yet.  But it's definitely short-worthy weather, lol...

And with spring comes allergies.  My eyes have already begun to water.  My throat has some itchy days and some not-so-itchy days.  I'll definitely be able to tell everyone when the grass really starts to grow though...

And along comes the baby fever.  Well, actually, I don't think the baby fever ever left me.  I've been so baby-hungry lately.  And seeing everyone (well, almost everyone) around me popping out babies like it's nothing is so not helping...  I really hope Jared finds a job outside of Utah by the end of the year.  Or I hope I find a job somewhere outside of Utah.  Here's to hoping.  I just want to see my future kids.  See what they'll look like.  Will they get the blonde hair genes from me or the brown hair genes from Jared?  Will they be jumbo-huge babies like every single baby in my family or the extra-small babies like every single baby in Jared's family (my bet's with the first one since baby size tends to follow the mom's genes)?  Will they get my stubborn "I-can-and-will-do-it-myself" trait or Jared's "whatever-I'm-not-going-to-argue" trait?

I guess I'll end on a weird, crazy note.  Isn't it weird and kind of funny to think that my future baby will never weigh as little as my dog weighs?  My dog will always be easier to carry...