Memory Lane

In preparation for a visit by a World Renowned Author, Professor, Ex-Blogger, I have been cleaning out my spare room.  During which, I discovered a treasure trove of memories.  One of which being the above drawing of a 48-hour chick embryo.  Which I made during the most difficult class I ever took, Comparative Vertebrate Embryology.

So, I posted the photo to the facebooks and a former classmate said she had also saved all her drawings and reminded me of the nickname we had given ourselves (ourselves being the 8 students in the class): The Pig Masters.

This was because we spent way too many hours every week in the lab staring into a microscope making sketches of cross-sections of a 10mm pig embryo.  Oh, yeah.  Good times.  And, at 3AM, things could get a little punchy ...

AND, then, tonight, I phoned my BFF from College (who was also in that class) and she was at her mom's house for the rest of the week.  Her mom is amazing (of course, everyone else's mom is always amazing).  She makes some of the best food I have eaten. And lots of it (which was very important to a college student).  BUT, we spoke on the speaker phone today and she was all, "STEVE! IT BEEN LONG TIME! HOW LONG IT BEEN? I THINK YOU SOMETIMES!  YOU GOOD PERSON!  YOU GOOD HEART!"

*sigh*  It's that sort of thing that makes one a little homesick, no?

AND, in other news, things with the BF are going well.
The house is nearly clean.
Work is cool.
And, I just got a promotion (by default ... the other guy didn't want it).
I am now a Senior Environmental Scientist/ (SLASH!) Deputy Program Manager.

Life is pretty damn good, no?

*smooches*

Catching Up

Good Evening, Kittens.

I can't even remember the last time I posted. I don't think it was *that* long ago. 

So over Memorial Day weekend, the BF (yes, over the weekend, we DTR'ed*) and I went to Pittsburgh (of all places) and Fallingwater.  Pittsburgh was surprisingly not awful.  We had good food.  Our hotel was nice (but I seem to have left a pair of chinos there).  People were friendly, which -being from the decidedly not very friendly DC/Metro Area- was a little disconcerting.  We adapted.

Here are some of my favorite pix (Have I mentioned how much I dislike Flickr's new interface?) ...









There are more pix available on the Flickrz.

After we returned from the trip, we got into a bit of a rather stupid spat.  It was all his fault, of course.  We didn't speak for several days (because he needed "time to think").  Finally, he admitted he was wrong.  And we spent most of this past weekend having very hot (and sweaty) buttsecks. 

So, all is well and right with the world! 

*smooches*

*Defined the Relationship (Does anyone else use this? Or is it something I invented?)

Two Thumbs

Who has two thumbs and totally got mad at someone for cooking him breakfast this morning?

Oh, yeah ...

THIS GUY

I feel I was totally justified though.  The Certain Someone didn't start cooking until about 5 minutes before I usually leave for work.

Plus, I was stressed out because today was a Very Important Day filled with Lots of Things I Had to Do.  And I could not be late.*

Plus, all I could think was "I'm going to have to do all those dishes when I get home."

Also, it's hot.  My back has been hurting.  And,5 thousand other reasons that make it perfectly OK to get mad at Someone for Cooking Me Breakfast.

*sigh*

And one wonders why I am not alone ...

*smooches*

*as it turns out I was 20 minutes early.  I don't know how that happened.

Pottery Picture Post

Good Saturday Afternoon, Kittens!

Yesterday, I left work a few minutes early to pick up pottery from the studio.  Although, I have two pots which haven't been glazed yet and a missing pot, most of my pots have been fired.  The only thing that hasn't been fired is the Platter of Trials and Tribulations ... I may be able to pick that up later this summer.  We shall see ...

Anyway, here are a few pics of the Pots of Spring 2013.  Enjoy.

All of my photos from Pottery Spring 2013 can be viewed on Flickr.

Enjoy the rest of your Saturday!
*smooches*

Weekend Update: Elon Edition

Good Evening, Kittens!

Pottery class has ended for the session ... the final Glaze Firing still hasn't happened.  I hope to have some Pottery Pictures (and possibly some Pottery to Give Away) for you by the end of this week.  We'll see ... I don't have much confidence in the speedy work ethics of the new pottery studio manager.

ANYWAY, no class tonight means I have time to update you on my SuperFun, sex-filled weekend in the booming metropolis of Elon (and Burlington), NC.

A couple of weeks ago, I received an invitation to a former professor's retirement celebration at my alma mater, Elon University.  I was surprised that she remembered me, and I needed a little get-away, so I rented a car, booked a hotel, took Friday off work, and drove down to North Carolina.

I may (or may not) have had a certain someone come along with me ...

Friday, we slept a little later than usual, and, then, headed out to pick up the rental. Driving is stressful,

but, at least, I am wearing cute shoes.

Traffic was awful.  I had planned to get to the hotel around 3:30PM, which would have given me enough time to shower and iron my clothes before heading to the reception.

Unfortunately, we got to the hotel at 4:45.  Isa was already there to pick me up for the reception.  I had to rush around to get ready.  Not fun.

But, in the end, we still managed to look fabulous.

After the reception, Isa and I went to pick up my Mystery Guest, and we drove to Reidsville to hang out with another college friend, Elisa.  That was fun.  Lots of wine and snacks and laughs and conversation.

Isa dropped us off at the hotel after midnight and we CRASHED.

Saturday morning, we had breakfast and, then, walked around Elon University's campus.

This is the building formerly known as the Student Center.  Isa and I would sit on these benches for hours gossiping and making fun of all the Frat Boy Clones.

After lots of walking (in 20 years the campus has GROWN!), we had lunch at a cute little restaurant with lots of veggie options.

I had a falafel burger thing ... and a couple of beers.

Then, we headed to the outlets in Burlington.  Even though there was an Allen Edmonds store, I didn't find anything I liked.  *sad face*

That evening, we had Mexican for dinner.  Yum.

$6.95, people.  $6.95!!!

And, later, I learned that having teh buttsecks 3 times in one day might be a little too much ...

And, then, we watched "Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter" on HBO.  It was mildly entertaining.

Sunday morning, we got up, packed, and drove to Durham to meet Isa for brunch.  And, then, we drove back to the DeeCee.

It was sooooo good to finally be home.  Plus, I bought myself a present ...

A case of Cheerwine! (although I've given most of the cans away)

And, that was my exciting weekend!  Hope yours was equally as fun!

*smooches*

National Poetry Month, Day 1

Good evening, kittens!

I have been bad blogger.  I am sure I will eventually have a few moments to fill you in on all the excitement (or lack thereof) in my life.  Until then, here is a photo (and they are worth a thousand words, I hear):

And, now, to the purpose of this posting.  April is National Poetry Month.  I am going to attempt (no promises about success) to post an original poem every day this month (probably not on weekends though, but we'll see).  No promises as to the quality of the poems either.  We'll see how this goes.  So, to kick it off, here's something I wrote while I was in high school (circa 1986 or so).

Limerick

A witty little limerick

I started out to write,

but, it seems my wits have left

and will not return tonight.

*smooches*

Weekend Update: Best Day of the Year Edition

Good Evening, Kittens!

As you may know, yesterday (3/17) was the Best Day of the Year!  And, I spent the entire Best Day of the Year weekend in fabulous and exciting New York City!  *w00t*

But, before I left, M came over on Thursday night for a little pre-birthday celebration (and a lot of hot buttsecks).  He gave me a watch as my present, which was very sweet ... but also shows that he doesn't listen very well.  I had suggested that he not buy me a present, but should cook dinner or something for me sometime in the near future. 

Anyway, this is the watch:



It is cute.  and green.

Then, Friday morning, there may (or may not) have been more buttsecks and I may (or may not) have been a smidge late for work ...

It was after work when the real fun began.  I metro'ed over to Union Station and had time to have 2 cocktails, a beer, and locate a likker store that sold little boxes of wine before boarding my train to NYC.

I arrived in NYC around 10PM-ish and headed to Jake's condo in Greenpoint/Williamsburg.  We ended up chatting and drinking and watching TV until very late.

The next morning, we got up and went to pick up my bib number for the NYC Half Marathon.



And, then, we walked to Uni-Qlo for a little Retail Therapy.  I was very good and only bought 3 pairs of pants, 3 dress shirts, and 2 ties.  Yay me!



Then, we headed back to Brooklyn for brunch at this cute little French bistro-y place, the name of which I have forgotten.  But it was tasty.  And cute.

We spent the rest of the afternoon blobbing on the sofa and watching TV, and later that evening, went to a cute little restaurant, Adelina's for pre-half-marathon-carb-loading.

It was very yummerz.

The next day (Sunday) was the Best Day of the Year.  I woke up at 5:15AM, got dressed, and headed to the NYC Half Marathon Starting Line.  This is what I look like at that time of the morning:



The run went REALLY well.  I beat my personal best half marathon time by a little more than 6 minutes, finishing in 1:56:21.  YAY ME! 

My results were as follows:

Overall: 5954
Gender: 3780
Age Place (40-44): 604

And, my split times:
5K - 00:28:51
10K - 00:56:57
15K - 01:24:08
20K - 01:50: 45

FINISHER!

After finishing and finding Jake, we hobbled back to his place.  I cleaned up and we went to Enid's for brunch.  Bloody Marys! Free Guinness Mimosa (because it was the Best Day of the Year!)!  And, this:



Nom nom nom nom nom.

Jake and I spent the rest of the afternoon/early evening blobbing on the sofa.  I may have had a couple of glasses of vodka ...

THEN, we headed to the Upper East Side for a birthday dinner with David and Ray.  We went to Candle 79, a delicious (if a bit over-priced) vegan restaurant.  We started with an eco-cocktail each.  I had the Cardamom Pom, which was quite tasty.  And, then, we shared several appetizers - steamed dumplings, a "cheese" plate, and an avocado tartare.  For my entree, I had the Moroccan Spiced Chickpea Cake.  And, for dessert, David and I split the Chocolate-Peanut Butter Bliss.  Tasty!

After dinner, we walked over to the Carlyle Hotel bar for another round of over-priced (but delicious) drinks.

And, then, it was like after midnight.  How did that happen?  So we all parted ways.

This morning, I packed.  Ran to Uni-Qlo to pick up my pants, which had been hemmed.  And, then, eventually, boarded the train and headed home.

So, all in all, a pretty durn awesome Best Day of the Year weekend, no?

Tonight, there is no pottery class  BOO! ... but, M may be coming over for post-birthday celebrations!  YAY!

*smooches*