Humans VS. Zombies

HVZ starts today. It's a campus wide game of tag. I saw people playing last year. I'm playing this year. Should be fun. Let's see how long I stay human.....

Success Highway

The signs are pretty clearly pointing in opposite directions.
Don't forget to drive too fast.
The speed limit's a minimum here.
If you go too slow you'll miss your exit.

If we pretend that the ache is not there, does that mean we feel no pain?
Nobody cares, just keep driving.
Do your aching on the inside where it hurts the most.
That's the way the strong do it.
That's the way the men do it. The women are men too.
Sure, why not?

You fail. You fail.
You are not wanted here.
But thanks for asking and don't give up you sorry sod.
Go be extraordinary.... and then maybe we'll see.
Keep trying. Keep trying. Nothing's free.
Keep failing. Keep failing, just don't let us see.

Don't laugh. Don't laugh. Everyone's crying.
Everyone's aching, drowning, trying.
Can it really surprise you that some of us bleed?

We are the elite.
We are all the extra special outcasts, trudging through our lonely, expensive lives.
We have everything. We have nothing. Worse still we are nothing.
It so easy to get lost on Success Highway.

Considering the Future

Oh hey! Look at this. I can change the font.
I stayed up all night last night looking first at engineering internships, then, when I found that most of the internships I was interested in were also for environmental science majors, I began searching jobs in environmental science. After all, I already have that degree. Looking at environmental science jobs lead me to research masters programs. It was fully light, and probably after 6:00am by the time I finally went to sleep. Good thing I'm on vacation. The morning brought Kate's help in researching more graduate school options and the tentative conclusion that an engineering undergraduate is not the way that I want to go.
That does not, however, mean that the last two terms have been wasted. No learning is wasted, of course, but physics and differential equations are required for some of the programs of interest.

Quote of the Day

"This food tastes better sitting next to you."
-Dad speaking to Mom

What to Capitalize in a Title

I'm ashamed to admit, I've been confused on this matter for years.
The following is copied from a handy website I found on the subject:

~These are the words that should be capitalized:

~The first and last words of the title

~All nouns, pronouns, verbs, adverbs, and adjectives

~Any conjunction or preposition of five letters or more --(This is optional. You can choose to go with an older rule that says not to capitalize prepositions or conjunctions regardless of length. The five letters or more standard has developed over the last two decades or so. Either form would be acceptable, as long as you use it consistently.)

~These are the words that should not be capitalized:

~Articles (the, a, an), unless the article is the first or (less likely, of course) last word of the title

~Prepositions of four letters or fewer (unless the preposition is the first or last word of the title)

~Conjunctions of four letters or fewer (unless the
conjunction is the first or last word of the title)

~The particle "to" used with an infinitive (unless the "to" is the first or last word of the title)**

http://grammartips.homestead.com/caps.html

a problem of rolemodels

It ocurred t0 me this evening that my love of fantasy fiction may be causing me some trouble in my life expectations. Unlike many young women of my generation I am generally untroubled by what I've heard described as "the Disney princess complex." That is the idea that meeting the right guy will solve all of my emotional problems and we'll live happily ever after.
However fantasy literature may have done me a disservice in another way. I might have what I will call a "fantasy warrior" complex. I expect that I will one of these days develop special talents or magical powers. After all, I'm a perfect candidate for the job I'm currently unextraordinary, confused and uncertain of direction. All of this can been explained quite easily in the fantasy universe. I'm actually quite extraordinary. I just haven't quite noticed yet. Any day now my magical abilities will kick in and I know my place in the world and follow the path I was born to follow. As a matter of fact a great man or woman with mysterious sight into the future and a very friendly cat foretold it. I will fight dragons and outsmart wizards. I will navigate labyrinths and find I have the ability to open doors just as my life depends upon it. Oh yeah and I'll be incredibly good looking while doing it. My lovers will always be super hot too.Why not. Sounds more interesting than a life of closed doors, turned down job applications and day to day ordinary.
That's the trouble I guess, all my life I've wanted to be a character from a fiction novel, and I'm having a hard time living my dream. I wonder why :P

Quote of the day

When asked if he would wear Kate's red high heals.

"I don't know. What size feet do you wear?"

-Chris

Rose Garden Espionage

Stealth Dog, Our Canine Espionage Unit (left)



Stealth Dog and Kate. (Right)

Kate is my secret weapon. I've been hiding her up my sleeve for just the right moment. This friend and roomie is more than what she seems. A character not to be underestimated, she strikes when least expected.

Killer Kate, Stealth Dog and a spy who shall not yet be spoken of by name joined me for a dangerous midnight mission to spy on roses this evening.

Math Dreams

When my alarm woke me up this morning, I was dreaming about making a smoothie out of a partial integral. Food and calculus on the brain.

Backpacking Near Elk Lake

Much to write but no time to write it

I've been so busy doing interesting things that I would like to write about that I haven't had a chance to write. Well, to be honest, I've also been doing school work that I don't want to write about because that would be boring. Anyway, the point of this entry is to tell you that i haven't gotten tired of writing. Check back on Wednesday and I will have some interesting adventures up. :)

Roast Chicken

Yesterday, I roasted the chicken I wrote about in my last post. I ran into my first problem when I realized I didn’t have a beer can. I had beer, just not in a can. Images of exploding glass deterred me from attempting to stuff a beer bottle in the chicken cavity. The solution to my dilemma presented itself in the form of a stainless steel measuring cup. It fit in the cavity nicely and held the desired beer. I threw some whole garlic coves into the cavity, rubbed salt all over the skin and put it in the oven at 350F. When Nicole arrived baring fresh rosemary, I pulled the chicken out and stuck sprigs of that inside the chicken with the garlic and the measuring cup of beer and sprinkled rosemary all over the top.
The chicken cooked for about an hour and a half filling the whole house with the smell of rosemary. How did it taste when it came out? I was delicious! Nicole and I both thought so, and stuffed ourselves full. Even so there was quite a bit of meat left and I let it sit out on the stove until it could cool enough to put in the fridge.
My differential equations studying went somewhat less well than my dinner. With a contentedly full stomach, I wanted to sleep or bounce of the walls. I was halfheatedly trying to study when somebody I know from okcupid offered to help me. What joy! I grabbed my books and went over to his house for a couple hours. It turned out that I didn’t really need help. All I needed was the option of help. Sitting on the couch with somebody of whom I could ask questions, I answered all my questions myself. On my way home, it occurred to me that I hadn’t put away the chicken.

When I opened the front door, the first thing I looked at was the stove. I was relieved to see all the pans exactly where I’d left them. I walked over the chicken pan to see if I could put the whole chicken in the fridge. There was no chicken. I looked at Colby-Jack in horror and marched into the living room. I expected to see a gnawed chicken carcass adorning the living room rug or perhaps lurking behind the couch. There was nothing.
I wondered if I’d put the chicken away absentmindedly and forgotten. That’s something I would do. I looked in the fridge. No chicken. Upon a second inspection of the living room I found…. The measuring cup that had been inside the chicken. Colby-Jack followed me licking his chops.
He ate the whole things bones and all. A greasy spot on the kitchen floor revealed where my dog had his feast, but that is the only other sign of chicken to date.
In conclusion the roast chicken was a great success. Nicole, myself and Colby-Jack all found it to be delicious.

Local Meat

The local temperature has jumped 40F in the last two days. The AC in the classroom where I take dynamics and strengths of materials has not yet been turned out. I left class an hour early because of the heat. I was also motivated by the fact that we were covering the homework. I haven't done all of it and I don't want to ruin the mystery until I've given the problems a try and gotten stuck. David Kidd, the instructor for these two engineering classes posts recordings of his lectures online. I think that's the best college level teaching idea this century. I wish all instructors would do it. I love being able to pause and rewind the class, something one cannot do while the class is being taught, "everybody freeze! Don't speak! I'm figuring this out." I wonder how long you could do that before the other students murdered you.

I went to the Corvallis farmer's market with Nicole. We wandered around looking at vegetables as my brain melted. There is a nearby poultry farm which has a booth and the market on Wednesdays and Saturdays. It's a dream come true. I can buy meat that I know has been treated well. I have nothing against killing animals for food. I do however have a problem with torture and cruelty. So I'm willing to pay the extra price to know that my dinner had a happy (if rather short) life. I bought a small chicken which I plan to roast tomorrow. I'm thinking beer-can chicken seasoned with rosemary and garlic. I'll tell you how it turns out.

The chicken farm is called Norton Creek Farm. Their website is:
www.nortoncreekfarm.com

I asked the woman selling the chicken if they allowed visitors at the farm. She said yes, gave me a printed sheet of paper from their website. "We're busy right now, so call ahead to find out when to come," she advised.
I hope to go later this summer.

Strawberry Picking

To get to TwedT's from Corvallis, take highway 20 North toward albany. For the strawberries, take a right on garden ave. just after the closed down gas station with the signs blaming Wallstreet. Drive a little way and You'll see the sign. TwedT's sells other produce that's grown on the left side of highway 20. I'm looking forward to further fresh fruit later in the summer.


Meet Nicole, my long time friend and partner in crime. I met Nicole in 2005. She was my roommate at reed coop at OSU (not to be confused Reed college.) This random roommate pairing was an incredible stroke of luck of a judicious move on the part of higher powers. This crazy girl is one of the fabulous few who will climb trees with me.
She is a selective strawberry picker. She covered three times the distance that I did as she searched the row of strawberries for the very best.
I’m glad that strawberry picking is something that I do for fun and not for a living. For and hour it was enjoyable and my back was only just starting to hurt when we stopped. Nicole was commenting on the absurdity of paying $4 for a pint of strawberries when you can pick them yourself and pay $0.75 /lb. However this only actually saves you money if you:
1. make relatively little
2. enjoy picking
At the moment Nicole and I are in the double win category because we don’t make much and we’re having fun. I hope that I will still be able to afford the time in ten years. I think it is easiest to be happy when you're somewhere between professional strawberry picker and high powered executive.




We're so proud of ourselves!

Introducing Colby-Jack and Me

Introducing!
me!
I am Jenny, the author of this story and often a character in it. At this moment I live in beautiful and rainy western Oregon.

Introducing:
Colby Jack, the love of my life. He is also known as Canine perfection. However, though close to it, he is not perfect. This amazing fellow has a weakness for bread. He cannot be trusted with it. In the time since he came into my life, I have lost many a loaf to his addiction. I know now that bread and butter must be stored in the fridge or else on top of it, but I still sometimes forget much to Colby's delight. He loves walks, cuddles and food. He's a charmer. I sometimes envy his ability to make friends.