Day Five Hundred Thirteen

Merry Christmas Eve!

Virginia is cloudy and rainy and I love it. My parents and I made a trip to Colonial Williamsburg yesterday where we saw festively decorated colonial houses, a couple jail cells where Blackbeard's pirates were held (don't worry, Dad and I got a photo of us trapped inside, because how could we not?), and met a man in full historical costume who was, surprisingly, just as much of a tourist as we were (we got photos of this also). The trip was fantastic, I ate at Cracker Barrel for the first time, and I even stopped by the packed outlet mall to get some new jeans. Day = success.

Today was much more low key, consisting of lunch with my parents friends (Archers, it was a pleasure to meet you!), me learning how to make hard boiled eggs, and some Christmas movie watching. Tomorrow......we CHRISTMAS!

Day Five Hundred Eleven

I'm in Virginia! Things are just as adorable and colonial as I remember. And it actually feels like winter here, which I love. Yesterday was a long day of traveling that involved two flights, both of which were full of way too many infants and children. It was the most haphazard day of flying I've experienced, including people having to walk back off the plane after boarding to check their luggage because the overhead bins were full as well as hanging out on the tarmac in Dallas for 35 minutes because a plane was at our assigned gate. Get it together, Dallas! I wanted to sit down at the bar and grill to eat dinner! Instead I settled for a bagel sandwich. But I do love bagels, so things could have been worse.

Overall, I'm here safe and sound and ready to enjoy the holidays, not think about school, and read as many books as possible.

Day Five Hundred Nine

I decided that since I don't actually have a cold and its only my sinuses bothering me, I shouldn't take NyQuil. Instead I bought another Vicks product aimed solely at sinuses. Its called QlearQuil. Yeah, try saying that name without sounding like you're swallowing your tongue. Its ridiculous, but it works, meaning I have to type another fast post before falling in to QlearQuil dreamland.

I somehow became more busy once classes ended. Its all mostly fun stuff, but it leaves me exhausted at the end of the day! Wednesday I went with a friend to Trail of Lights, a huge lighting display that covers a large part of Zilker park in downtown Austin. It was absolutely amazing, and the forecasted rain didn't even show up! This meant we avoided the huge crowds that usually flock to Trail of Lights. Yeah! There was also a giant ferris wheel that gave an incredible view of downtown Austin - I'll post some photos soon. Thursday I had dinner with my Grandpa and Mary. It was delicious, and Mary made one of my favorite desserts to ever exist - chocolate french silk pie. That pie is basically a dream come true, I can barely even handle it. I worked in lab through Thursday, then made the executive decision to take Friday off and do nothing but write Christmas cards and watch Netflix. I finished off the rest of my 20 festive holiday stamps, which I consider an accomplishment.

Today was another full day of lunch with the Avants at SmashBurger (yum!), visiting with family from out of town, packing (I'm still not done......oops), and going to watch the UT Men's Basketball game. We beat Long Beach State (barely) and at the beginning of the game all got to witness a UT player sprinting from the court to a nearby trashcan before getting ill. Poor guy. It was unexpected to say the least, and probably a bit embarrassing to get sick in front of hundreds of fans and likely on television. Get better, basketball player whose name I don't know! And let's all be thankful that it didn't start some horrible chain reaction.

Tomorrow I'm Virginia bound! I can't wait.  :-D

Day Five Hundred Five

I'm going to type this post as fast as possible, because I just took Nyquil to help with sinuses and I think we're all familiar with Nyquil mini-comas. It could hit at any moment.

As promised, here are some photos from the past few days. First are a couple from The Singing Christmas Tree performances at Bannockburn Baptist Church. I went to watch the performance on Sunday, then helped usher on Monday (and was able to snag a photo with Rudolph!). The performance was amazing, and I hear it's different every year, so it's nice to know I have a new Christmas show to look forward to next year!

Some of the esteemed ushers for Singing Christmas Tree.

The tree in all its glory.

Next up is a evening out at The Goodnight, an 18+ lounge/bowling alley/restaurant. A group of us went to celebrate Kelly (the roommate) being done with 3/4 of her landscape architect certification exams. Go Kelly go! We learned that the bowling alley is "vintage" meaning you manually keep score. Let me tell you, sometimes it's hard to tell how many pins are still standing 30 feet away (I have no clue how long a bowling lane is...), but we did our best. In other words, if we weren't sure we just assumed we knocked down the most pins -- conversations went as follows:

"Is that three pins still standing?"

"I can't tell. Let's say it's two."

We're essentially pro bowlers.

The vintage bowling alley portion of The Goodnight.

I bought a new batch of Christmas cards today. Who will get one?! Will it be you?! Check those mailboxes.

Day Five Hundred Four

Today, I was the definition of scatterbrained. I need the break to just BE HERE already!

In short, my last two days have consisted of two performances at my church of a show called the Singing Christmas Tree and a night out with friends at an 18+ lounge/bowling alley. Elaboration and pictures to come tomorrow.

Day Five Hundred Two

Woohoo! Past five hundred days! How bizarre. I've had an exhausting week of research followed by multiple movie nights that have had me so sleepy that I've forgotten to write blog posts. You guys, I know I've said it before, but grad school is all encompassing and completely exhausting in every sense of the word. Research this week was filled with frustration over failed experiments, so we just won't tall about that anymore on this post.

Yesterday afternoon I braved the post office. The line was as long and slow moving as I expected, but I got all of my Christmas gifts mailed out so I feel like a holiday champion. The mailman at the counter was also pleasantly surprised that I actually admitted that one of my boxes contained something flammable (but totally legal, don't worry), and immediately thanked me. You're welcome, postman. No planes will be going down because of my boxes, I won't allow it!

As if I needed a reminder that I'm getting older (I know, I know, I'm still not that old) I went to a 9 year olds birthday party today. By the time I got home I couldn't get to bed fast enough to take a nap...that thing wore me out. And I knew I had to stay awake for a UT basketball game tonight, so I had to reboot. UT played horrible but still pulled out a win. I went to the game with a big group from church, and it was a blast. We then all had a late dinner, and now I'm going to sleep. If the maintenance man decides to pull out his leaf blower at 8am again tomorrow, I may throw something at him.

Day Four Hundred Ninety Four

Guess what everyone.....guess what? I don't have to take the final in the one class I'm taking this semester! That means I'm done with classes and exams until mid-January. YEAH! Before you all start rejoicing for me, I still have to work up until I leave for Virginia, so I'll still be on campus every day. But hey, I'll take any silver lining I can get.

I bought textbooks for next semester. That's always a little painful. Thank goodness for half.com and Amazon. And it's such a relief to know that this is the last semester I'll have to buy textbooks (at least for class - I have a feeling grad school will probably find a way to make me buy more textbooks just for research purposes).

Yesterday, I was a Christmas machine. I bought lights to put around the apartment, gift wrapped everything, and got all but one of the boxes packed that I need to mail out. Words cannot express how accomplished I feel, and how happy it makes me that I don't have to step foot in the mall until next year. Victory.

I will now leave you to partake in some binge Netflix watching.

Day Four Hundred Ninety Two

With the exception of a 30 minute gym visit, I spent the entire day today in sweatpants. Best thing ever. Sweatpants + book + fleece blanket + Netflix = happy Allison.

Day Four Hundred Ninety One

I know, it was an even more epic blog fail than I anticipated. But I'm back! I had my last class day of the semester today, which mean I had my last regular exam of the semester today. If I can pull off an A or a B on this exam, I'll hold on to a solid B in the class and not have to take the final. Cross your fingers for me, everyone!

This week has been busy and exhausting. I figured out a routine in which I can get 3 full experiments done each week (as opposed to two), and if I can convince myself to go in on Saturdays for an hour or so in the morning I could potentially get 4 done. Woohoo! Go research, go! It'd be even more exciting if things actually worked the way I wanted them to. Bah humbug. I also finished up my Christmas shopping this week by braving the mall yesterday...and it was the emptiest I've ever seen it. I was expecting massive Christmas shopping hoards, but apparently I still beat that particular crowd. Sweet! Now I just have to mail everything. UT, I wish you gave us a Christmas bonus. So, so badly.

And now, Kansas stories! I flew in on Wednesday night after a 3 hour layover in Dallas (during which I learned that DFW has an odd affinity for 90s pop music), and landed in the bustling Wichita International Airport, which is very accurately described as "a middle school with a runway." It literally looks like a grade school, it's all very confusing. During my stay in Wichita, I learned that it's pretty much what I expected it would be......flat and boring. Jeff and his roommates (Grant and Jacob - thank you guys for letting me stay with you!) kept things entertaining though. We thought about going out and doing something on Saturday, but then found out that everything in Wichita closes at 5pm on Saturdays. Seriously, Wichita? That's just absurd. So instead we ate a bunch of turkey, played lots of cards, watched lots of movies, and watched way too many episodes of RuPaul's Drag Race (a reality show competition with drag queens...I'll let your imagination fill in the blanks with that one). Guys, I had a great Thanksgiving break with all of you (especially you, big bro!), and hopefully I can come back soon and we can actually make it to the zoo in time.

Jeff and I with Grant's dog, Knox. The cutest, snuggliest scottie that ever
lived.

Jeff had to work on Thanksgiving, so Grant and I took him leftovers.

Day Four Hundred Eighty Six

I know. I big-time-failed at posting anything while I was in Kansas. And now I'm too tired to do so tonight. Tomorrow, I promise! And there will be pictures! Not many, but they'll be there. For now I'll just say I had an awesome time in Kansas with my big bro (and Grant and Jacob - thank you for letting me stay with you!). Now back to the daily grind. Be gentle this week, grad school. Be gentle.

Day Four Hundred Eighty Three

Happy Thanksgiving! More from my holiday in Kansas with my brother tomorrow - for now, I sleep.

Day Four Hundred Seventy Eight

It's been an exhausting weekend so far. Thursday my experiment wasn't working due to equipment difficulties, so I pushed it to Friday instead knowing it would mean I'd have to come back in on Saturday to take some images. Lab work on the weekends.......and so it begins. While the experiment was successful on Friday (yay!), the result today wasn't ideal. Lame. Once I pass one hurdle, I slam right in to another one. Go easy on me grad school, its the holiday season.

After finishing the first part of my experiment yesterday, I headed over to A Christmas Affair at the Palmer Center in downtown Austin. For those of you who don't know what this is (which is probably most of you) - its a giant Christmas bazaar. Giant. GIANT. They had a massive tree set up in the middle of the room that was topped with a chandelier. Its so over the top, but they had some really cool vendors, almost all of whom were very much out of my price range. I managed to find a birthday gift for my roommate, as well as some delicious homemade tortilla chips. Maybe next year I'll be more successful, since I'll know what I'm in for in terms of the sheer size of the event. To finish off Friday I went to have dinner with my grandpa and family. The food was delicious, and the company was fantastic.

Today started with...Chuck E. Cheese! Because what responsible adult doesn't spend their Saturday morning there?! It was my roommate's niece's 4th birthday. I played some skeeball, put out some virtual fires (in a game that was terrifying for children), and ate part of a Frozen themed cake. All in all a successful morning. Then the trip to campus, then home to take a nap, then out to dinner to celebrate my roommate's birthday. Add to all of this a ridiculously stormy day. Thank goodness where we ate dinner just happened to be right next to BookPeople where I could wait out the worst part of the storm. How very convenient. I got home just in time too, as the lightning started to get so severe that it turned the sky white. Texas weather, sometimes you crazy.

Day Four Hundred Seventy Five

Today I learned we have a mouse that occasionally visits lab. How did I learn this? Well, I heard a grocery bag by my desk making noises it shouldn't have been making, then saw a speedster of a mouse fly out of it and into a hole in the floor. After inspecting surrounding food/snack stashes (all of which I proceeded to throw away just for the principle of it), I learned this mouse has an affinity for chocolate. I can't help but admire his good taste in snacks.

Day Four Hundred Seventy Three

I really have no excuse for not posting anything the last five days. I barely touched my laptop and didn't have the patience (or the needed level of consciousness) to type anything out on my phone right before going to sleep. So to make up for it, I'll post a couple photos!

Friday morning I had an exam in my microbiology class (yuck), but if I have to have an exam, I want it to be on a Friday. Because then I get a weekend of sweet, blissful nothingness. No homework or studying or anything. Just sweatpants and my book and a list of DVR-ed TV shows. But before I got super lazy, I decided to kick off the weekend with the UT men's basketball home opener on Friday night. I went with my laboratory-partner-in-crime Mindy, and we ended up three rows from the very top of the arena. Sweet seats UT, thanks a bunch. Apparently if you're a student and don't shell out money for the athletic package (I have it, Mindy doesn't), they make you sit in the nosebleeds. No matter though, we could still see what was going on just fine from our aerial view. I must say, after a season of exhausting football games where I'm forced to stand for almost the entirety of the 3 1/2 hour game, sitting in a nice covered arena was pretty nice. And UT won, so that made it extra nice.

Saturday I did the sweatpants-book-DVR thing until 6:00pm, when I was forced to put real pants on to go to a game night hosted by a couple at the church I go to. I drove out to their neighborhood, creepily lurked around trying to figure out which house was theirs, then when I gave up and called them I was informed that game night had in fact been canceled. I even made muffins, you guys. No harm, no foul though, their house is close to the cheapest gas in town, and I was able to fill up my very empty gas tank for less than $20. Then I went back home and turned on the UT vs OSU football game and watched our boys secure bowl eligibility. Woohoo! I never thought that would happen after a disastrous 2-4 start, but they've pulled it off. Well done, Stronghorns.

Today was...a Monday. I managed to stay alert for almost all of class this morning (a solid 43 out of 50 minutes, I'd say), got angry at mini centrifuge tubes for not filtering my solution (this doesn't have to make sense to you, just be assured it was very frustrating), and drank a cup of hot water to stay warm in lab. Because it's always freezing in lab. Always. With the weather getting colder out we've all been wearing scarves and knit hats outside.....and then just not taking them off inside. I've simply gotten used to the confused looks in the hallway when I emerge from lab and walk around in Welch Hall looking like I just walked in from the north pole. At least I love my sweaters and scarves, and work always gives me a valid reason to wear them no matter the time of year.

Day Four Hundred Sixty Eight

Sometimes, all the stars align and you realize you have a roommate that will enthusiastically buy matching winter-themed onesie pajamas with you from Target. So.......guess who went shopping tonight? I hope you're all ready for some epic roommate Christmas photos. Side note - they are seriously comfy.

This week has been research heavy, with one failed experiment and one hopefully successful experiment (I'll find out tomorrow) thus far. Those little bacteria are just being way too elusive. Its like they know I'm planning to shoot a laser around them. Stop hiding bacteria. I'm not trying to kill you. I'm just trying to capture you in tiny, tiny boxes from which you can never escape. Better, right?

In other news, last week I bought my next book club book off Amazon. I got a package in the mail on Monday, and after marveling at how big and heavy the box was for a single book, I opened it to discover that Amazon had sent me bedsheets instead. Expensive bedsheets that didn't even fit my bed. Wait...what?! After a slightly confusing phone call with my mom that went something along the lines of:

Me: "Did you send me sheets that won't fit my bed?"

Mom: "..........No."

I emailed Amazon and had a very nice UPS man come today and pick up the random sheets to take back. Long story short - I never got my book. Way to go, Amazon. Luckily one of the UT libraries had it. School saves the day.

Its cold here right now. And I love it.

Day Four Hundred Sixty Five

Picture post! All of these are from yesterday, because all I did today was drive my dad to the airport and sit around my apartment in sweat pants.

Former longhorn football player Jordan Shipley

Tailgate!

One of the army paratroopers (Golden Knights) during pregame

UT about to score! Yeah!

The chemistry grad school football group! Edward gets very enthusiastic
(I don't think I even need to specify which one he is).

Beautiful sunset

Orange tower! UT wins!

Day Four Hundred Sixty Four

UT won today! We upset #24 ranked West Virginia, and it was an awesome game to be at. Consequently, I am completely exhausted, so this post will be short in order to minimize any incoherent ramblings.

Dad came in to town yesterday afternoon (yay!) and we went and hung out at my grandpa's house all evening and had delicious Mexican food (the extent of the Mexican food I ate was homemade tortilla chips, but the rest of the food looked delicious).

Today we started off by going out to breakfast at IHOP with my other set of grandparents, and I got a Belgian waffle and it was the best. No better time to carbo-load then before a big football game. Then we headed off to the Co-Op up at campus to buy some UT goodies and get autographs/pictures with two former longhorn football players, Jordan Shipley and Quan Cosby. I just so happened to be wearing my #8 jersey, which was Jordan's number at UT, so we instantly bonded. I decided to refrain from telling him that I got this number jersey because it was on clearance. I also neglected to inform Quan Cosby that I didn't even know he existed until today. It just seemed like the wise thing to do.

Then, drum line at the tailgate and football game. I'll post pics tomorrow. Until then, I sleep.

Day Four Hundred Sixty One

It rained all day today - a steady drizzle that was so unlike Texas and so much like Washington that it made me miss home. It reminded me that no matter where I end up, I'll always consider myself a Washingtonian at heart.

All these crazy Texans, however, aren't sure what to do with rain. They talk and talk and talk about how much they need rain, and when it finally shows up people grumble. Then they begrudgingly grab their umbrellas and speed walk everywhere. I find it humorous, and probably saw more umbrellas today then I did the entire 14 years I lived in the pacific northwest. I just threw on my raincoat and leisurely walked around campus enjoying the cool weather.

Something weird happened on the drive home though. There are always vultures hanging out on the light posts waiting for road kill, but for some reason the rain caused them all to stretch their wings out while they were sitting. All of them. On 10 consecutive posts. It was so creepy, like some kind of bizarre bat (vulture?) signal.

I voted yesterday. It was my very first time voting at an actual poll booth, and it felt very patriotic (sorry Washington, but mail in ballots just don't feel the same). And for what seems like the first time ever, some of the people I voted for actually won! You best believe I wore my "I Voted" sticker with pride.

Day Four Hundred Fifty Nine

First things first - I filled up my car with gas today that only cost $2.59/gallon. Can we all just take a moment to appreciate how awesome that is? I love "winter" in Austin, suddenly things get so very cheap.

The most ridiculous moment of the day came while I was shopping at HEB. A lady next to me grabbed some canned fruit and showed it to her 5 year old son, who responded with "is it organic?" When the mom said no, he replied "then I don't want it." And she PUT IT BACK. I think I stood there for a few seconds trying to comprehend what just happened before silently walking away in disbelief. It was absolutely absurd. Since when does a 5 year old even know that word exists?

I had my first book club tonight! It met at BookPeople in downtown Austin, and consisted of 5 mystery-novel-loving individuals (including me). I'd never been to a book club before, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but I had a great time. I've already ordered next month's book off Amazon. During book club I found out I had just missed Lavar Burton making an appearance at the store earlier this week. Um, are you kidding me?! I could have met Mr. Reading Rainbow who also now stars in a show I love (Perception on TNT)? I was bummed about this, and relieved to be in the company of people who understood the awesomeness that is Lavar Burton.

It's supposed to storm this week. And do you know what that means? Cooler weather. I. Can't. Wait.

Day Four Hundred Fifty Eight

I read all weekend for book club. It was the BEST.

Day Four Hundred Fifty Six

In case you were curious - yes, I am that person that stays in on Halloween night and reads her book all evening instead of going out. And it couldn't have made me happier. Plus I've got my first book club meeting on Monday, so I've got to get this thing READ. We didn't get trick or treaters, but I imagine that's pretty normal for a gated apartment complex? I'm not sure. Regardless, that just means more chocolate eyeballs for me. And I don't hate that.

I was planning on making it a short day today since I've gotten all my experiments done this week, but it was made just a little bit shorter by an emergency evacuation of the entire building. You guys! My first official chemistry building evacuation! I still have no idea what caused it (my guess is something exploded), but it was a little thrilling. Hopefully no one got injured, anything that warrants the entire, giant Welch Hall to be evacuated can't be good.

I'm too tired to think of anything else interesting to write. Happy Halloween, everyone!

Day Four Hundred Fifty Four

And the big news is..........

I passed my written qualifying exams!!!!! Now the only hurdle between me and candidacy to the doctoral program is my spring seminar. One. More. Step. Bring it, grad school. BRING IT. I found out on Monday, but was sworn to silence until Wednesday. Its safe to say I've been an emotional wreck ever since finding out. So many feelings...so much stress and anticipation finally taken off my shoulders. Finally.

Today I had class. Then prepped solutions for experiments tomorrow. Then used my nearly-expired Groupon to see Gone Girl at Alamo Drafthouse. Its a very good movie, but if you haven't read the book (I didn't read it), brace yourself. That movie is going to go in all sorts of directions you won't expect, and will leave you dumbstruck by the end. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Day Four Hundred Fifty Three

I got my first book club book in the mail yesterday! Its "The Black Hour" by Lori Rader-Day. Then I double checked online to see when the book club will be meeting and......oh, its this coming Monday. Oops. But guess who just got an excuse to read all weekend.  :-D

I also got flights booked for the holidays, and am so excited to spend Thanksgiving with my brother and Christmas with my parents! Those trips can't come soon enough, I miss my family. And thank you, mom and dad, for being so patient with me as I muddle through trying to find the best deals on flights.

I got some big news yesterday, but you'll have to wait until tomorrow's post to hear about it, as I've been sworn to silence not to share anything until Wednesday. I hope you're all still able to sleep tonight after I just dangled that cliffhanger right in front of you.

Day Four Hundred Fifty One

Things might have gotten out of hand this weekend, and I may or may not have joined 3 more book clubs. Oops? I like to reason with myself that it gives me options if a couple of the clubs have lame looking book selections each month, but I also know that when I get really excited about something, I lose all sense of self control. This is often what happens to me in Costco as well, and is how I end up with things like a 5 pack of toothpaste tubes or a 4lb case of strawberries. Regardless, I chose two of the four book club books for this month, ordered them off Amazon, and am eagerly awaiting their arrival.

I've also been consignment store hopping all weekend in a desperate attempt to make some money off my clothes that no longer fit. I've been to 2 out of 3 and have made $20 (enough to support my newly acquired book club habit for the month), and am hopeful that this 3rd store will show some love to my look-like-new Gap jeans. Come on, Buffalo Exchange!

Other than that, I've spent the weekend relaxing, writing Halloween cards, reading, and watching football. I slept through the second half of the Texas game, because that's how well things were going for that team, and cringed the entire way through a very messy Seahawks win. Get it together, boys!

Day Four Hundred Forty Nine

I don't even know where to begin describing this past week. I am just so glad it's done. Remember that "no big deal" spider bite last Friday? Turned into a big deal. Swelling eventually transitioned in to debilitating joint pain in both legs that turned in to 3 more doctors appointments (the latter two of which I went to a new doctor on campus - very good decision), a Lyme disease scare, a bevy of blood tests, and copious use of ice packs. The final verdict is....no Lyme disease and all normal blood test results! Just a mysterious bug bite to which I had a severe reaction that will (hopefully) gradually dissipate over time. While the joints are still pretty achy, they're no longer preventing me from doing day to day activities. Now everyone just pray that they get back to normal soon.

My air purifier continues to make me a very happy girl. If I could strap this thing to my back and take it with me everywhere I go, I probably would.

Today was the first day this entire week that I finally felt somewhat relaxed after this whole allergic reaction mess, which is saying a lot since I had an exam this morning. I treated myself to trips to Bath and Body Works and Barnes and Noble (its okay, I had coupons for both) and came out with some mini candles, a new lap desk, and an invitation to join an online book club. I told my roommate about the book club, to which she replied "Oh god, that's so nerdy. You totally joined it didn't you." Um, of course I did. And I'm legitimately excited about it. I think I'll read said book on my new lap desk while relaxing to the aroma of a mini candle. So there.

We're dog sitting Mia the corgi this weekend. She's a sweetie, but she makes me miss my Sophie. I still love that little dog to pieces.

Day Four Hundred Forty Two

This is the saga of the last couple days. After getting back to Texas from vacation, I noticed that our apartment was starting to smell faintly of tobacco smoke again, especially in the evening when we crank the A/C. Why, you ask? Because our downstairs neighbor smokes like a chimney and it comes through the plumbing and vents. And makes me absolutely lose my mind. LOSE. MY. MIND. After talking to the front office (result - deal with it or move), making maintenance reseal all the plumbing in my bathroom, crying, and talking with my parents about how unfair life is, I decided to buy an air purifier. It only arrived today (Amazon was amazing and delivered it one day after I ordered it), but I'm already hopeful that this may have been one of my best purchases ever. Bonus - it should also help with my allergies. There is literally no down side.

My new best friend.

In other news, I got my first Texan spider bite. Right smack on the back of my knee. Fabulous. After watching it progressively swell, I decided that perhaps I should get it looked at to make sure I wasn't going to lose a leg (I'm quite fond of both of them). I'm happy to report that while it is a nuisance, it should go away with the help of some steroids and benadryl. I was also supposed to get some fancy cream to put on it, but when I went to the pharmacy they told me it was $72 post insurance. Seriously?! 72 dollars?! Is it magic cream? No thanks. I'll just stick with $5 hydrocortisone cream.

School has gone well in the 3 days I've been back. It's nice to return to focusing on research, even though my first experiment back failed at the second to last step. It was my very first experiment working with bacteria (yay!), and I was disappointed (boo). But hey, it wouldn't be science if it worked perfectly the first time.

And to finish off this post, photos from Colonial Williamsburg that I promised a few days ago. Enjoy!

Nameless confederate soldier graves.

The palace.

Things got a little worrisome at one point by the court house...

The Capitol.

Day Four Hundred Thirty Nine

Sorry for the lack of blog posts the past couple days...I was enjoying not having to be glued to my laptop on vacation, then once I got back to Austin I learned that the internet in our apartment wasn't working. On vacation, no internet is totally okay. But once I'm back to real life and school and work, no internet is definitely NOT okay. I just got it fixed a little while ago, so I'll be able to post some more Virginia photos tomorrow.

Vacation was exactly what I needed after the stressful 3 months of studying for and taking qualifying exams. Virginia was beautiful and seeing my parents was the best. My first trip to the east coast did not disappoint. The first leg of my trip back to Austin got a little interesting though...due to bad weather in Atlanta combined with a closed runway, the plane I was in got put in a holding pattern until a spot opened up for us. This means we traced big circles in the sky for about 45 minutes. And as our pilot so graciously informed us, we were given the okay to land in just enough time, as we were almost so low on fuel that our flight would have had to make a detour and land elsewhere. Thank you for being so honest, Mr. Pilot, but I really didn't need to know about the low status of our fuel. The good news is we landed, I didn't miss my connection due to a 2 hour layover, and I made it back to Austin safe and sound.

Day Four Hundred Thirty Six

The Seahawks lost, and I am sad.

But in better news, I had a good rest of the day exploring downtown Richmond and my dad's dental school.

Museum of the Confederacy, right next to the White House of the Confederacy,
and awkwardly squished in the middle of an abundance of hospitals in downtown
Richmond.

Because there's no more appropriate pose to strike when
next to an absurdly large (and real...this thing was attached
to an actual ship) anchor.

No picture could truly do justice to the sheer size of the monuments
on Monument Boulevard. It was ridiculous. And awe-inspiring. And ridiculous.

V!C!U! Go Dentists!

Day Four Hundred Thirty Five

I'm in Virginia! After a grueling week of horrible exams, I needed a vacation. Badly. And after a rough week like that, there's no better place to be then with your parents. I flew in yesterday evening, had dinner at Red Robin (Yum! We don't have any Red Robins in Austin, so I've been craving it for roughly a year now), and then explored my parent's new house. I officially approve of their house buying decision.

Today was a day of shopping. And when I say shopping, I mean "shop so much that your legs hurt by the end of it." But overall the day was a success, and I have some new pants. Victory! I can't get over how beautiful and colonial everything is here. This is my first time on the East Coast, and it is definitely different then the west (best) coast, but in all good ways. Tomorrow I get to explore downtown Richmond and see some true historical sites, as well as my dad's school, so I can pretty much assure you that tomorrow will be a picture post. Today would have just featured pictures of store fronts, so I figured we didn't need visual documentation for that.

On a final note, Texas almost pulled out a major surprise win against OU today. Good job, Longhorns! I was expecting you to suck in tremendous fashion, but I was gladly proven wrong. You made it a true battle. Now on to tomorrow, where Seahawks jerseys will be worn and proudly paraded all over Richmond. Go Hawks!

Day Four Hundred Thirty Two.

You guys, it's been a rough week so far. With the second half of qualifying exams on Monday afternoon and a Microbiology exam this morning (none of which I felt good about), I am physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted. So I'm going to read a funny book and go to bed and pray for a better day tomorrow.

Thank goodness I'm flying away to see my parents this weekend - it couldn't have come at a more needed time.

Day Four Hundred Twenty

As promised, a belated picture post! 

First up - a photo from the Jon McLaughlin concert I went to at the beginning of this month. I finally downloaded photos from it! This is Amanda, Kelly, and I with the opening act - Jon Paulson. He was great, I bought his CD, and I'm excited to see what he comes out with in the future.

Next up - remember that giant storm I told you about? Well, here's what our pool looked like at the beginning of the storm (a few minutes after I took this photo, you could barely see the trees across the pool it was raining so hard). PS - isn't our balcony view awesome?

Aaaaaand, here's what it looked like the next morning. As a scientist, I found it interesting. As a human being, I found it gross. It's back to normal now (or that's what the leasing office tells me)...until the next major storm hits.

As you all know, I've been spending most of my free time these past couple months studying for quals (and unfortunately, I still am...only a week and a half more!). Here's a sneak peek at what me and all the other analytical second years have been going through. This is a smattering of some of the equations memorized for the first set of exams. Does it give you a headache? Me too.

To end on a happier note, getting up obscenely early to beat traffic and get to an 8am class (this is not the happy part) means I get to see some pretty incredible sunrises (happy). A few days ago I was sitting still on the highway, looked to my right, and was greeted with this view. It's times like this I'm thankful I have a camera phone. Good morning, downtown Austin.

Now, back to studying.

Day Four Hundred Nineteen

Guess what I did today?! Studied. Then napped. Then studied some more. I promise to be more exciting once qualifying exams are over. Promise! I did get an awesome sunrise photo this morning though when I was stopped in morning traffic. I would post it, but I'm typing this on my phone and am not overly motivated to get out of bed to use my computer to post a photo. So...get ready for a catch-up photo blog tomorrow! Yay Friday!

Day Four Hundred Eighteen

The first half of my qualifying exams was this past Monday, and it was four hours of stress and tough questions. And we all get to do it all again in 12 days. So...that's really all that needs to be said about that for right now. Tomorrow begins the next phase of intense studying to prepare for 3 more tests on 3 new subjects.

A few interesting things have happened since the last blog post, such as a giant thunder and lightning storm that was happening off and on for 3 days. Our apartment complex happened to be in the line of fire for all of the strongest storm cells, and we got 8 inches of rain in 2 days (5.5 inches of which happened over the course of about 6 hours). It was madness. And....it turned our pool green! I'll post a photo of it tomorrow, because it is a sight to see. I just stood at my window and stared at it for a few minutes to make sure my exhausted brain wasn't playing tricks on me. Turns out, lots of lightning and just the right pH can trigger a pool algal bloom over night. Needless to say, the pool was closed for about a week. It just reopened yesterday, but I think I'll give it a week or two to really let that chlorine do its job before going in. I showed a photo of it to basically everyone I knew at UT, and one guy looked at me and said "did you get a sample?!" He was completely serious. Welcome to grad school, everyone.

I also had my first laser hair removal session yesterday (thank you Groupon and Elements Laser Spa). We don't need to go into the details of that, but part of the paperwork I filled out was this quasi-genetic thing to figure out your skin type, asking for hair color, skin color, tendency to burn, and.....eye color. Normally this isn't too big of a deal, but each eye color had a different score attached to it. Um, what? I had to start averaging numbers and going, "well, the majority is this color, but there's also that color, so does that score become a 2, 3, or 4?" It was way more difficult then it should have been. I'm sure the lady behind the counter was looking at me thinking, "this girl is in grad school? She doesn't even know what color her eyes are." Heterochromia can be a tricky little thing.

I apologize for the extended hiatus that preceded this post. If you ask me what I was doing the past 8 days, the answer will undoubtedly be either studying, napping, or eating. My upcoming 12 days will likely look remarkably similar, but I promise there will be more frequent posting. Goodnight!

Day Four Hundred Nine

One week until quals blog hiatus.

Day Four Hundred Five

I started going to the gym again this past Wednesday. You guys...the elliptical is exhausting. I had big plans to start going every day, but yesterday I was still so tired from my Wednesday workout that I took a nap instead. So...every other day it is! Baby steps.

Yesterday I treated the blueberry to a car wash. It is so shiny right now. The car wash attendant asked if my eyes were real or contacts (haven't heard that one in a while - though I'm still fairly positive that they don't make half and half contact lenses) then complimented me on how pretty my eyes were. In a nice way, not a creepy way. It's been a while since someone has commented on my funky eye color, it's nice to know some people still think they're cool.

In today's odd occurrence, I found a guy's rent check on the UT shuttle ride into campus. In a very roundabout process involving calling his parents (whose number was on the check), then getting a phone call from him, then getting a text from his roommate to meet up on campus, the check found its way back to where it belonged. David, you're welcome for not being evicted this month. Don't give your rent check to your roommate ever again. Ever.

Day Four Hundred Two

For those of you keeping track and thinking, "wow, Allison hasn't had car trouble in a while!"... Today remedied that. I waltzed out to my garage at 6:50 this morning, attempted to turn on my car, and it grumbled at me and died. Nothing says happy Monday like a 7am call to AAA. Thankfully it was only my battery, and I was able to get it jumped in time to get to campus for a 9am meeting. Thank you AAA for coming in clutch this morning, and thank you Christian Brothers Automotive for squeezing my car in without an appointment this afternoon to replace my battery. You're both wonderful, but I hope I don't have to see either of you again anytime soon for the sake of my car and my bank account.

As if the morning hadn't been ridiculous enough, I went over to grab a snack after my meeting and realized I had left my lunch in my car, which was parked in a lot over a mile away. This was my day.

If nothing else, this day made me realize that since moving to Texas I've gotten much better at handling unexpected situations and not dwelling on potentially stressful things. I'm certainly thankful for that.

Day Four Hundred One

I haven't posted on here since Tuesday. And it's because every evening since then has been so busy and exhausting that by the time it gets close to bedtime, I have a one track mind that does not include my blog.

Wednesday was concert day! Jon McLaughlin was playing a show at Stubb's BBQ, and it was impossible for me not to go. Have any of you listened to Jon McLaughlin? He's amazing, and even more so live. I've seen him twice now in the two most different venues on the face of the planet. In Seattle I saw him a Triple Door, where you reserved seats at tables, dressed nice, and were catered by a wait staff the entire night. In Austin...Stubb's BBQ. I don't think I even need to describe that this place was a lot less swanky, much smaller, and had no seating whatsoever. Regardless, they both had Jon McLaughlin, and that's all I need to convince me to go just about anywhere.

Thursday night was all about the Seahawks. Who absolutely dominated their game! It was wonderful. A little less wonderful - having to leave 30 minutes into the game to pick up my laptop from the Apple store. I dropped it off to get a new battery at 3pm, thinking it would be a quick fix. 4 hours later I finally lost my patience and called to ask if I would get it back that day, and was told it'd be done within the hour. Seriously, Apple? It takes you 5 hours to replace a laptop battery? I huffed in there wearing my Seahawks jersey and an expression that I hoped said "Make this quick, I have a game to get back to." Luckily the employee helping me also happened to be from Washington and understood my growing need to leave the store and find a TV. A couple mall kiosk people tried to stop me as I was speed-walking out to my car and I was able to dodge them while saying "I can't I have to get back to the game!" Mall people, do not get in my way when I'm trying to root for my Hawks.

Friday...Dad came into town! Then Saturday we had an all day birthday extravaganza for him. Lunch with friends, a visit to his dad, a trip to the Co-Op, meeting and getting photos with Longhorn and NFL football legend Earl Campbell, tailgate with more friends, then to top it all off, a wildly disappointing UT football game. Happy birthday, dad! Sorry the football team was such a massive failure, I'll smack them all on campus tomorrow.

Hanging out with Earl.

BERTHA!

Day Three Hundred Ninety Six

Guess what I did today?

Study.

One full chemistry textbook FINISHED. On to the next. Life is a dream.

Day Three Hundred Ninety Four

For anyone who was curious, yes, I did wear my periodic table Toms in honor of the first day of Fall semester this past Wednesday. I took a photo to prove it, and can finally post it now that I've transferred it from my phone to my computer. I love chemistry, but I may love these shoes even more so. Also, this is (partially) the view from the window next to my desk. Not bad, right? At least it isn't just the side of another building.

But now for the main event. FOOTBALL FOOTBALL FOOTBALL. UT football returned with a vengeance yesterday, and thankfully won their first home game under the guidance of new head coach Charlie Strong. The offense looked pretty shaky at times, but the defense was absolutely killer - which surprised many of us, since the defense was basically non-existent last year. For anyone who watched the football season last year, I'm sure you all remember the UT vs BYU game, where the BYU quarterback put up a record number of rushing yards. In his giant knee brace. Because our defense couldn't quite understand how to deal with a quarterback who ran. Thank goodness those days seem to be behind us (hopefully).

It was a balmy 93 degrees at tailgate, and it cooled down all the way to 91 for the game. You guys, it was just so hot. I thought I would feel better knowing that I survived the first home game last year in 104 degree weather, but it didn't even help a little bit. I chugged as much lukewarm water as possible and still woke up this morning feeling dehydrated. It was brutal. You know it's a hot game when the line for the drinking fountain is longer than every single concession stand line.

Bob Avant went to the game with me, and tolerated all of us chemistry nerds like a champ (there are 11 of us that all sit together this year at football games). Thanks for going to the game, Bob! It's always fun to share a UT football game with family and friends. Dad, you're up next week, I hope you're ready!

Today was recovery day from the game. That isn't even a joke. I studied and cleaned and did laundry. Mainly, I did everything I could to stay in my air conditioned apartment. And it was glorious.

Day Three Hundred Ninety Two

You guys, 5:45am is early. Really early. I leave at 6:45am, get to campus by 7:20am, and watch the sun rise as I walk to lab. Thankfully my class seems like its going to be really interesting, or else this whole 8am lecture thing would be absolutely awful. I'm in an upper division undergrad biology class that I was able to get approved for graduate credit (sweet!), and it is far and away the biggest class I've ever been in. 300 students. What?! The largest class I ever had in undergrad was 35. This professor has to use a microphone as he lectures. My undergrad professors could whisper and everyone would hear them. It makes me thankful that I went to such a small school, I liked having the professors know who I was, as opposed to having the professor point at me and say "You." if I raise my hand in class (this happened to someone today). Either way, I'm excited for what this class holds. Even if it makes me wake up at an ungodly hour.

Besides class, this week has been study study study. I decided to take a break today and do an experiment instead, and it worked from beginning to end. On the first try. It was a pretty fantastic way to end the work week. And to celebrate, I think I'll study some more. Ugh.

But another study break comes tomorrow in the form of the first UT football game of the season! I can't wait. Tailgate and concrete bleachers that no one actually sits on and giant overpriced soft pretzels. Let's do this, Longhorns. Try not to embarrass your new coach too badly, because if you do, he'll probably yell at you. As will many others. In the most loving, encouraging, demanding way as possible.

And now, I sleep.

Day Three Hundred Eighty Nine

And so begins the semester of waking up at 5:45am almost every morning. Awesome. Is this what grown up life is like? I'm not sure I like it.

The one positive about waking up at this hour is I get really pretty morning-photos of campus. The fact that the fountains were on made it even better. For those of you who ever wondered what UT looks like on a summer morning at 7:15am, I give you these...

Not bad, right? And it was actually pleasant outside too. Now if we could move the football games from 7pm to 7am, the temperatures would be way more bearable.

First day of the new school year tomorrow!

Day Three Hundred Eighty Eight

I had the flu shot ickies this weekend. Hence no blog posts, because all I wanted to do was sleep. Then I kicked off my week with an extremely tame (boring) Monday. Drive to school, study, go to grocery store, drive home, eat dinner (Salmon! Yum.), study more, and now sleep.

Maybe tomorrow will be more exciting? Hope springs eternal. Maybe I'll go get a snow cone.

Day Three Hundred Eighty Five

Guess what? Picture post! I'll start with what basically my entire week consisted of - sunrises and LabVIEW training. I promise I was careful while taking this photo. Promise. Here's the Austin sunrise. I almost got it coming over downtown (which is behind those trees), but took the photo a couple seconds too early. I was bummed, but as my mother so kindly pointed out, since I have an 8am class this fall I'll have ample opportunity to get more sunrise photos.

And here's a photo of my computer screen from my LabVIEW training. It was four straight 8am-5pm days of my screen looking like variations of this. Does it make any sense to you? No? Me either. I got really good at connecting wires and boxes and making things run, but if you asked me why certain things worked and others didn't, I would be at a total loss. Good thing I kept the manuals.

Today was my one non-LabVIEW day of the week, so I celebrated it by studying for qualifying exams and getting a flu shot. Best celebration ever. My arm hurts, and I'll likely feel icky tomorrow, but I just see that as a good excuse for me to stay in bed all day. I will take it. The pharmacist commented on how I was getting my shot early this year, and I simply replied "In five days I'll be surrounded by undergrads. I can't think of a better time to get the flu vaccination." But something did happen today that made me smile - I stumbled upon a squirrel giving himself a dirt bath. I didn't know squirrels did this, but I guess they are as desperate to cool down as everyone else. Also, one of the best parts of summer (in my opinion) is seeing squirrels laying flat on their bellies in the shade. Makes me happy every single time I see it.

On a final note - remember how I challenged my favorite comedian, Jeff Dye, to the ice bucket challenge? Well, he did it, and he mentioned my nomination in his video, and it is just about the best thing ever.

Jeff Dye Ice Bucket Challenge

Day Three Hundred Eighty Two.

I drove to campus during sunrise and drove home from dinner during sunset today. Both were beautiful. But sunrise drives equal really early drives, another of which I have to make tomorrow. Goodnight.

Day Three Hundred Eighty

Today was fantasy football draft day for the Gridiron Gals! I'm pretty happy that I'm in an all female fantasy football league, it might just be one of the coolest things ever. We all met up at a place called Sherlock's Baker Street Pub, and it was just as awesome as it sounds. Plus they gave us all free drink coozies for doing our draft there. And who doesn't love free things?

The Gridiron Gals

Everyone with The Moonsnails (my team) luck. One draft down, one more to go.

Day Three Hundred Seventy Nine

Yesterday, Earl the penguin got his very first shirt from my sister Krystle. Just in time for football season!

Today, I did the Ice Bucket Challenge to help raise awareness and funds for ALS. It was 100 degrees outside, and I had just gotten back from the gym, so the bucket of ice water was pretty much the best thing ever. I may just do it every day from now on.

Day Three Hundred Seventy Eight

I just got nominated to do the Ice Bucket Challenge (to help raise awareness for ALS/Lou Gehrig's disease) by my brother. I should have known he'd call me out! Regardless, I'm happy to help raise awareness, and I don't hate the idea of pouring cold water over myself in the 97 degree Austin heat. Get ready for some photos tomorrow.

Today in lab...we cleaned. And I mean really cleaned. I mean filled up two garbage bags, the recycling container, and half filled a glass waste container kind of cleaned. I think the most common conversation was as follows -

"What is this?!"
"I have no idea, throw it away."

My boss will think he walked into a whole different lab when he gets back to Austin. This is what you get when you accept two first years (almost second years now!) in your research group that don't tolerate messy.

My sister-in-law sent me a surprise gift in the mail today, and it was such an awesome way to start the weekend! She sent me a little Texas Longhorns shirt that fits my stuffed penguin, Earl. And he looks adorable in it. I'll post a photo of this tomorrow as well. And you may faint from the cuteness overload. Krystle, I love you, you're the best.

Day Three Hundred Seventy Six

A pigeon collided with my front windshield on the highway this morning while I was en route to campus. And judging by the thud it made, it was a pigeon of substantial girth. Needless to say, I was extremely alert for the rest of that drive. Never a dull moment in the blueberry.

Day Three Hundred Seventy Five

The Blueberry passed it's yearly inspection today. I made an appointment at 8:15am thinking, "there's no way they could already be behind that early in the morning!" Well, apparently that couldn't have been more false, as my 30 minute car inspection turned into an hour and a half wait. Not cool, guys. You're lucky you have such a nice waiting room, or I would have been way more cranky. Regardless, my car is freshly inspected and has new windshield wiper blades, so I am ready to take on this unpredictable Texas weather.

Today was a qualifying exam study day at school. It was productive, minus the part where Mindy and I both fell asleep on top of our textbooks. Chemistry textbooks are not the most riveting of reading material, so we took frequent breaks to watch episodes of Hannibal, if for no other reason than to remind ourselves that things could be worse. Then a few of us from the Shear lab went out and had a farewell dinner for Mike and his wife, Shelli. They're off to greener pastures in DC, and I will definitely miss having Mike on the other side of my desk hutch. He was always a trooper when I offered him Starbursts on the condition that he let me deliver them by throwing them over my hutch blindly in hopes that they wouldn't smack him in the face. Mike, Shelli, and soon to be baby, good luck with your move and new home! And don't be surprised if I stop by sometime when I'm in the area.

As promised - overdue Houston Dash photos.

Pre-game

We had pretty awesome seats. 3rd row? Don't mind if I do.

Adorable mascot, albeit slightly spastic.