Day Two Hundred Fifty Two

It's finally the weekend! Why did this week feel like it lasted for an eternity? I have a stack of work to get done this weekend though, so that puts a damper on things. I'm in that stage where it's the final few weeks of the semester and I don't have the motivation to do anything...which isn't good when you have two classes worth of lab reports to grade as well as a homework assignment from each of the two classes you're taking. Yup, this weekend is going to be a party.

For some reason, both of the big UT fountains were running today even though all the US presidents have left campus. Graduation photos, maybe? I wish Texas wasn't in such a horrible drought, I would love for the fountains to run 24/7, they're so beautiful. I guess I'll just have to settle for the two tiny fountains in the pool at my apartment complex. Not quite the same thing, but I'll take what I can get.

Fountain #2 at UT.

I went grocery shopping yesterday and was reminded that the completely rabid nature of UT football fans knows no bounds. See the following photo for explanation.

Easter (football) bunny?

Goodness gracious UT, you permeate everything in this city. I'm all for school pride (I now own an abundance of burnt orange shirts and a few stuffed longhorns), but even I had to laugh at how ridiculous this was.

Day Two Hundred Fifty

Lesson learned today - Texas may be in a historic drought, but when US Presidents are on campus, you better believe UT is going to run the gigantic fountains 24/7.

Day Two Hundred Forty Nine

Bad news - I'm one of the ones presenting at group meeting tomorrow morning. At 830am. Which means I have to leave for school by 7. I'm going to be one tired girl tomorrow.

Good news - The smoke smell in my apartment is waaaay better today.

Best news - I got to see Jimmy Carter at the Civil Rights Summit this evening at UT. It was amazing. He's amazing. I feel so lucky and blessed that I got to be there.

Day Two Hundred Forty Eight

Yestedays baseball game was cold. Much colder then expected. I took an all-weather blanket to sit on since I knew my seat would be wet from the rain...little did I know I'd cocoon myself in the blanket by the end of the second inning and remain that way until the end of the game. Another perk of going to a baseball game alone - no one makes fun of you for looking like a giant caterpillar pupa. I was warm and cozy though, so I didn't care how ridiculous I looked. And UT won 4-0! It was a great game.

I finally caved and went to see an allergist today. Official allergy testing will take place within the next couple weeks, which sounds like a super fun time. But if it means making these monster Texas allergies more bearable, sign me up.

Tonight we had what felt like a mini hurricane. It came out of nowhere, with 40mph winds, heavy rain and hail, and some pretty impressive thunder and lightning. It only lasted maybe 30 minutes. Weird. Texas, you got some straaaaange weather.

Day Two Hundred Forty Six

Today, I learned that someone who just moved in either above or below me smokes like a chimney. I opened the cabinet under my bathroom sink and the smell was so strong it was like whoever it was had snuck in and huddled under the sink to smoke their cigarette. Not cool, man. Not cool. So I made an impromptu trip to HEB and bought 5 different kinds of air fresheners/odor removers. I'm sure the people who saw my basket were curious what happened that required that much ammunition.

Then...I graded. And graded and graded. And tomorrow? Oh, just a little more grading. It'd probably go faster if I turned off the TV, but then I would run the very real risk of falling asleep on top of all the lab reports. It's happened before.

I missed two days in a row blogging. I need to get back on track! Thursday was full of class, office hours, and lab work. Friday I got the oil changed in my car. You know it's going to be a smooth visit when the guy at the front desk comes out and says, "Allison...are you in a hurry this morning?" Nothing was wrong with my car, but apparently the car before mine was not as lucky. Thankfully they had a really nice waiting room (way nicer then any car place I've been to ever before) and I didn't actually have to be anywhere that morning. Even with the unexpected wait, I officially endorse Christian Brothers Automotive.

My brother and I were sending old family photos back and forth tonight. I leave you with this particular gem, circa 2007 - 

The essence of the Myers family.

Day Two Hundred Forty Three

I watched the series finale of Psych tonight. It was so perfect. I may have gotten emotional and cried a little.

In other news, I also watched my first mammalian cell culture today. I learned it involves copious amounts of ethanol, some of which is used to douse your hands and forearms to ensure sterility as you work in the culture hood. It was a little intense, and a lot awesome.

Day Two Hundred Forty Two

Amanda flew back to Washington today. It makes me miss being home in the Northwest. And it was 87 degrees outside today in Austin, which didn't help.

Today was a rather frantic day, going to morning class, running back to the apartment to get Amanda, driving back to campus and racing to get to my second class, showing Amanda around campus, then driving to the airport. It was exhausting. I came home, watched an episode of Psych, read some research articles, and just stared for a little while.

Time to get back to my regular routine tomorrow. Grading, I knew I couldn't avoid you forever.