Study-hibernation

I know, it's awful.

I blow NaBloPoMo and I stop writing.

It's just that since I have been back from the most wonderful visit to Buffalo, I am FREAKING OUT about the amount of work that must get done in the next few weeks.

So, the cell phone ringer has been off, the blog-checking has been kept to a minimum, and I am officially in study-hibernation.

It seems about time for study-hibernation, with the cold front about to hit the Little Town.

And thus, I apologize for posting sporadically. I'll try to keep the focus and update as frequently as I can!

Black Friday = Death of NaBloPoMo

Curses. Foiled again.

I wasn't able to blog every day for the month of November.

It was Black Friday that did me in.

For the first 5.5 hours of Black Friday, I was in line at Circuit City and then wrestling people for good deals (more on that soon).

The next 3.5 hours were spent shopping around the mall and getting annoyed with other bargain-hunters.

Then Ry and I spent 4 hours trying to get in a bit of sleep, showering, eating, and packing up the car with all of our purchases, all of our luggage, and all of the Christmas gifts my crazy family sent home with us, since we won't be back with them until after the holidays (they are too generous).

Then it was 7 hours of taking turns driving and sleeping (never driving while sleeping) all the way back to the Little Town.

We then spent 1.5 hours unpacking my car and packing up his car with half of the items from my car for him to drive back to his own little town.

Which left me alone in my house with 2.5 hours to write a blog. Purely exhausted, I reached for my laptop and turned on.

No wireless internet.

My grad student poverty prevents the purchase of my own internet connection. So I faithfully rely on "Shishwlan", the higher being who provides me with a connection to cyberspace.

All hail Shishwlan.

Who apparently also takes time off for the Thanksgiving holiday. I guess even higher-beings need a day off for family, turkey, and remarkable deals on electronics and sweaters. Regardless of my need to blog each day.

Oh well, it was fun while it lasted!

Stay tuned for photos of all of the fun Ry and I had during our Buffalo visit!

Miss you Buffalonians already!

Gobble, Gobble

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you gobble your way through the day!

I'm off to make an apple pie (recipe to follow); go to the movies with Ry, little bro, and K; shop the ads for tomorrow's buys; eat lots of food; and head out to the stores at midnight to get in line for our Black Friday shopping. Yes, Midnight!

Opps ... almost forgot!

At Anna & George's with some of the coolest people ever.

Drinking BLUE, playing guitar hero, and having fun!

Gears of War?

What is it with boys and video games?

I just don't get it. I am dating a successful, intelligent, driven, kind, respectful man. Who likes videogames.

We spent a wonderful day with my parents and were later joined by my little bro and his gf for a nice dinner by the Falls and then drove around to see the Festival of Lights in Canada. Awesome day.

But, the talk of the day was Ry's purchase of the XBOX360. He already has a perfectly fine Playstation 2. But this is "the next generation of video games". OK, whatever.

Luckily, he thinks I am the super coolest girlfriend, because I "allowed" him to buy the video game. With his own, hard-earned money. And, he is now spending the evening bonding with my little bro over some stupid videogames.

And he can never complain when I buy yarn or shoes or .... whatever other senseless thing I can think of to buy ....

Fly me to the moon ...

Can someone explain to me how the airlines determine their ticket prices? I seriously do NOT understand.

I would like to buy a ticket to go down to do field work this spring, but I just can't commit.

Below is a graph from kayak.com (cool travel website). You see that the X- axis represents a given purchase date from September until today. The Y-axis, also called the "dependent axis" represents the cost of a plane ticket. Yes, as you see, the COST is DEPENDENT on the DAY that one might purchase the ticket. How can the cost change based on day of purchase?

Nothing else changes about the flight or the traveling. The exact flight costs $400 one day and $600 the next? But it is THE SAME FLIGHT. Same departure, same plane, same destination, same too-small seats, same crappy food, same annoying flight attendants, SAME FLIGHT.

I, being a bargain shopper, can understand if the lower price were due to a SALE. For example, sometimes, a 12-pack of diet coke is on sale 4 for $10. Regular price is $4.99. When I go to the store, I expect to pay $4.99 and get happy when there is a SALE. I don't go into the store, wondering what price diet coke might be at today. It is set, and sometimes it goes on sale. And when it is on sale, the sale lasts at least a week. Or at least 3 days. And there is an ad. It's published, therefore, it is official.




Why do we allow this, people???

So...

So much fun at DDs Birthday party.

So much food and drinks and laughter.

So late leaving.

So much work to do today.

So tired.

So cold in my apartment.

So happy to leave for Buffalo in 24 hours!

Da Vinci Code & A birthday bash!

Last night Ry and I rented DaVinci Code. I have been whining about it since before it came out. It happened to be in theaters while Dancing Fish and I were down in Texas, and because the closest movie theater was 80 miles away from where we satyed, we did not make it to see it. Then, when I got back to the Little Town, Ry wanted to take me to see X-men 3 (which was OK, but NOT DaVinci Code!).

The movie was good, but it just confirms my theory that the book is always better than the movie!! Seriously. I read the book 3 years ago now, and I still remember it being amazing. Best book ever! The movie was bound to disappoint, even with Tom Hanks!

But good news -- the DVD told us that Angels & Demons is currently filming! YAY! Loved that book too!

OK, I am off now because it's Double D's 33rd birthday today! We're heading down south soon to celebrate in style with football on direct TV and grilled meats! DD's a super great guy (post doc in Ry's lab), so we made him a spectacular birthday T-shirt. It was Ry's idea, but I have the experience (and the supplies for) making iron-on T-shirts, so it was a joint effort. I will take some pictures today so you can also enjoy our crafty-ness! And everyone's drunkenness!

Have a happy Saturday!