our summer in fall
and in winter our spring
is the yes of yes

love was and shall
be this only truth
(a dream of a deed,
born not to die)
but worlds are made
of hello and goodbye:
glad sorry or both
(big little and all)

            –e. e. cummings

You don’t own me, I am not just one of your many toys
You don’t own me, don’t say I can’t go with other boys
Ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba BA!
And don’t tell me what to do
Don’t tell me what to say
And when I go out with you
Don’t put me on display
Pretty good, I’m impressed.

You don’t own me, don’t try to change me in any way.
You don’t own me, don’t tie me down ’cause I’ll never stay.

I don’t tell you what to say
I don’t tell you what to do
So just let me be myself
That’s all I ask from you

I’m young, and I love to be young
I’m free, and I love to be free
To live my life the way that I want
To say and do whatever I please

I’m young, and I love to be young
I’m free, and I love to be free
To live my life the way that I want
To say and do whatever I please

Oh no, you don’t own me. Uh uh uh no You don’t own me
Wa oh oh oh , you don’t own me, Oh oh, you don’t own me
Forever, young and free, oh , you don’t own me

You don’t own me
Forever, young and free, oh , you don’t own me

Oh no, you don’t own me. Uh uh uh no You don’t own me
Wa oh oh oh , you don’t own me, Oh oh, you don’t own me
Forever, young and free, oh , you don’t own me

—as sung by Lesley Gore

green olives and fruit juice should not a dinner make.

*blech*

I just got my new teaching assignment for next quarter! And it is NOT Bio101! Yay me! I will be teaching Bio116, Honors Biology for Life Science majors.

Of course, I have NO clue what I’ll be teaching them. But at least they’re sciency people!

****

And since you’re already wasting time on-line….who wants to read my tentative abstract for my impending conference? I’m open to any suggestions about it. The only rule is that it can be ONLY 1,000 characters long. What I’ve got written right now is 972.

The basis of variation in intraspecific pigmentation in pelage or plumage is of considerable interest from a molecular and ecological point of view. Nucleotide variation in melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R) gene has been implicated in the melanic variants in wild populations of Coereba flaveola and Chaetodipus intermedius, as well as several other species. MC1R variation was used to examine the molecular basis for two intraspecific plumage varieties in avians – the inland and coastal subspecies of Melospiza georgiana and the Florida and Georgia subspecies of Ammodramus savannarum. Each subspecies is variable in the amount of melanic plumage (Florida and coastal varieties more melanic) but lacks the total body melanism seen in the other studies. No correlation between variation within the MC1R gene and plumage variation was found. This leads to the conclusion that MC1R is not responsible for these small-scale pigment pattern variations.

 

oh xanga!

I missed you!

Headphones at work are an insidious thing…they encourage me to sing. And me singing, especially along with my not-so-secret Garth addiction…yeah that’s BAD! Even my cats hate it when I sing. I really love to sing in the shower or in the bath…but the cats give me such dirty looks that I usually cave under peer pressure.

Indeed, the other night, some gloriously bad Roy Orbison came on my winamp and I was belting it out, all bubbly in my nice warm bath. Boots and Possum, the sibs, hopped up on the edge of the tub and GLARED at me, laid their ears back and said “MEH!” Which I took to mean “Shut the hell up bitch, we can hear you in the other room!”.

Then they ate all the bubbles out of my bubble bath.

***

I’m reading a book that I got via OhioLink – it’s from a different university and not only did I order it on the internet, I ordered it to be delivered to my mailbox…so I can get any book that any university in the Ohio has…delivered into my mailbox – and never venture outdoors.

Now why didn’t I find out about this before the end of winter?

The book however, is a bit dry. It’s “Melanins and Melanogenesis” and while I’ve been looking for a book that covers the basic biochemistry of these cute little molecules that make up so much of my life – I just wish that someone less Italian and a bit more, well, like Jackie had written it.

***

I have finagled a slight extension for lab work. Thank all the gods and quite possibly skinks. Lisle has extended my work until April, which is about 3 weeks extra. I’ll still be working half to death, but at least this way I don’t have to SLEEP (or rather, NOT sleep) in the lab.

***

On the subject of sleep…Mine’s been sucking a lot lately. I’m averaging something like 10 or more dreams a night and typically waking up from each one for at least 5 or 10 minutes. Cutting into sleepy time severely.

And they’re fucked up dreams! I dreamed the other night that my cats were catching mice and dropping them on my head in my sleep. I dreamed that my friends Beliquits, Irishgem and Lesliele were with me on a bizarre relality tv show that required that we make out with each other in order to win money. *shrug* and of course, we did it.

The oddest thing so far though, has been last night when I woke up without covers or pillows, laying perpendicular to the bed with my legs hanging off of it and all three cats laying on me. It was like I tried to get up, and just kinda collapsed back into the bed. *shakes head*

***

ah well, I think I have a date with the Shrek soundtrack next….and some more reading to do…pardon my randomness.

The Intern
Deliberate Gentle Sex Dreamer (DGSDf)

    Capable. Trustworthy. Carnal. The Intern.

    From our experience, Interns are nice girls who would really, really like us to come on to them. They, like you, must be looking for sex, preferably from someone good-looking and successful. So… what are you doing later? Oh, okay, cool. Well, maybe next time? Okay, okay, jeez.

Your exact opposite: The Sudden Departure Random Brutal Love Master

    The thing is, you’re a little bit quiet, so men think you’re waiting for them to start things. You do like sex a lot, they’re right about that, but few of them realize you’re a genuinely thoughful person.

    You’re choosy, not wanting to get mixed up with just anyone. Girls can get away with this kind of selectiveness for some reason. Most guys have to take whatever’s lying around, passed out.

    You’re not necessarily looking for a steady relationship right now; that’s cool. Be careful to avoid people trying to tie you down to anything other than bedposts.

ALWAYS AVOID: The False Messiah, The Vapor Trail

CONSIDER: The Bachelor

I got a great big old kick out of this….

I really don’t think of myself as “Intern” material, I mean, I’m not Monica Lewinsky….

from her:

What do you most look forward to – and dread – about growing old?

I look forward to being treated like a grown-up and not being carded for the simple things in life (Rated R movie purchases, per se). I look forward to having gray hair, good skin and wrinkles.

I dread having my family and friends dying and I dread losing control of myself both physically and mentally. Also, the whole “back in my day”…I swear to kick myself at least twice if I ever say that.

Spent most of the weekend slacking off…got a haircut and dyed it again…

Visited one friend and saw her new HOUSE. Another friend was visiting and I got to meet her boyfriend (he’s a newbie). We had some good foods and some good shopping.

I cleaned my apartment and had a complete and total lack of any useful or intelligent thoughts.

And yet I’m still exhausted as fuck.

Oh yes, I also got a gift in the mail from my cousin in Portland – A set of coasters with pictures of historical vibrators on them…they’re absolutely LOVELY!