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I am looking for distraction and/or motivation. There's an opening in a lab that does research on opioid receptors, and I'm reading some papers and holy fuck GPCR signaling makes me crazy.

So comment with a pairing or character and a prompt and I'll write something. And then I'll go back to reading. D:
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First things first! It is November, and thus time for NaNoWriMo. I'm trying to get back into the habit of writing, so if anyone's still here, give me a fandom, character or pairing, and three words. I might write a sentence, I might write a paragraph, or I might find a picture or gif that's appropriate. Yes? OK.

The rest:

:( I'm still looking for a job.

:) I went to a Chicago Wolves/Rockford IceHogs game! It was odd. Because the Wolves were the home team, but the Hogs are the bb!Blackhawks, and they're so close to home that the audience was pretty evenly split. The lady next to me is a season ticketholder, but she was utterly clueless, because she kept saying that she didn't recognize any of the names of the players or their faces, and she didn't know what was going on. Um. The team that was the Chicago Wolves last year was the affiliate of the Canucks, and is now in Utica. This team is St Louis's AHL affiliate, and they were the Peoria Rivermen last year. So yeah, none of these dudes SHOULD be people she recognizes. But I just nodded and ignored her. And waved to Michael Davies (tiny forward is tiny), former Badger, who saw Aaron's UW sweater and came over to give us a nod.

:)) FRANK TURNER. Cool venue, great show.

:))) Tabby will be in the Chicagoland area soon. And Butch Walker is playing at the House of Blues next week.

I put a bunch of stuff up on craigslist, but if anyone here wants a table and 4 chairs, some bar stools, a butcher-block, or random band memorabilia (MCR Day of the Dead mask, signed and unsigned posters, etc), let me know. I really just want this stuff to stop cluttering our space.

I think that's pretty much it at the moment.
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today's to-do list:

request copy of last paycheck
inquire about pay for accumulated vacation leave
donate blood
sign/post paperwork for the mortgage for the house in Chicago
read at least one review on follicle development
clean out the closet that holds home improvement odds and ends and holiday decorations
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+ Met up with the fangirl contingent in town for the 1D show, had some Thai, got Discos-related ink. (There was tentacle-porn art on the wall at the Gaslight Gallery, the studio to which we went. I feel like that is a sign we were meant to go there.)

+ Grinding It Out In The Corner, a hockey rare-pair fest, is still going on.

~ Work. Meh. Eight business days left. Although I may work half-day tomorrow.

~ The house showed again today. I'd've been more impressed if the real estate agent hadn't called at 4:50pm (I was already out) to see if it was OK to show at 5pm. Uh, sure, but there's some stuff out that would be considered "cluttered" by a staging person, so. I was planning on doing the heavy duty cleaning tomorrow morning, since there are more showings scheduled between 11am and 2pm.

- Had to walk away from a discussion about the recent anti-choice legislation in TX with someone who felt that "the new laws are really to protect women and unborn children" because NO, NO, FUCK NO.

+ World War Z tomorrow, or something else for the three hours I should be out of the house?
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+ Bonnaroo happened. I didn't take pics, really, and I'm not going to talk about each act, but Frank Turner was as amazing as always. Nas never disappoints. I still don't get the appeal of Macklemore. And I'm not even a casual Beatles fan, but JFC, Paul McCartney can put on a show. Three hours. It was like watching living history. And really, who else in the world can tell a story about a show with Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton and not come off sounding like a name-dropping douche? At one point a stuffed walrus doll landed on stage, and he propped it up on his piano and serenaded it. Yeah. What more can I say?

+ Paper #2 of 2013 is officially out, and we got the proofs for #3. Paper #4 was resubmitted in my absence. There are a few things I will correct if/when it is accepted and proofs arrive.

~ The house is listed. There's been an open house. No offers yet, but I'm not going to give up hope.

+ Now You See Me. I really enjoyed it.

~ I appear to have developed an Andrew Shaw problem. I blame Tabby.

- Aaron's car is in the shop until Tuesday at the earliest. Life in the 'burbs does not make two-people-one-car at all convenient, especially when it comes to meeting pre-existing goals in differing locations.

things

Jun. 11th, 2013 07:50 pm
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+ Fall Out Boy in Texas happened. Patrick Stump's solo efforts really changed the way he works a stage. And it's weird, because I never really watched Pete Wentz that closely (I usually aimed for Joe's side of the stage in the past, but was in front of Pete for 2 out of 3 shows this weekend), but now I wonder how much his stage manner has changed with Patrick's evolution. Holy hell, Patrick's vocal range. When he belts out the lines in Save Rock & Roll that Elton John sang on the album? UNF.

+ I had a [personal profile] why_me_why_not for the weekend! Except she is gone now, and I feel like we didn't have enough time to just chill and watch hockey together.

+ The house is listed!

+ Bonnaroo is a thing that is happening this week. \o/ /o\

+ I finished the imaging for Other Post-Doc's paper resubmission today. The rebuttal is due Monday. No rush, or anything.

+ Apparently PK Subban is going to win the Norris? IDK IDK, I wish there was an award for highest scoring defenseman separate from being a great defensive defenseman. But whatever. Good for him.
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~ Soundgarden. They played the Bayou Music Center Friday night. It was an okay show. IDK, Ben Shepherd was phoning it in, the guitar didn’t sound crisp (I’m not sure if it was Thayil’s playing or the sound system), and they need to either project stuff or have a light show, not both. The song choice was good until the very end, when instead of performing something like Outshined or Slaves and Bulldozers or basically ANYTHING upbeat, they performed Like A Suicide and Rowing. Most. Depressing. Songs. Ever. I had tickets to the show in Austin on Saturday, but didn’t feel like making the drive for a lackluster repeat.

+ The Hush Sound. River City Extension opened for them. I’m perplexed about why they were all shirtless, and I thought they used to have more members, including an actual trumpet player? But I like their music and energy. Did not care AT ALL for Hockey. Just, boring lyrics, too much 80s influence, weird vocals effects.

+ The French Open has begun! This is great, as we ‘ve reach the point in the season where there is no longer hockey every night. I’m excited to see if Sharapova can repeat or if Serena will maintain the stranglehold she’s had on clay this spring. And if Rafa’s return takes him back to the finals.

~ Work stuff. I applied to a couple of jobs in Chicago this weekend. And updated my past employers, since they will probably be contacted by future employers. It’s weird; my thesis advisor has been sitting on a paper for 13 years, not doing any work on it. She’s a serious procrastinator. When I applied for faculty positions back in the day, I got notices from various institutions that they’d love to interview me but they were still waiting on her letter of reference. You can imagine how much I appreciated that. So I emailed the prof the other day expecting to get zero response, but she replied WITHIN ONE DAY. And she’s got a student who’s interested in the subject of that last paper, so it MIGHT ACTUALLY GET PUBLISHED SOME DAY. It’s been so long, and other papers have been published on the topic, so what I wrote will have to be re-evaluated. But it might not hide on a shelf forever. I’m excited about that!

+ Star Trek: Into Darkness. I didn’t have high expectations for this movie, because it’s Star Trek. The even-number movies always suck. But I enjoyed it for what it was, despite some annoyances, particularly the flip in Kirk’s and Spock’s roles between this movie and original The Wrath of Khan.

+ Lagunitas' Gnarlywine. Delicious. I'm not always a fan of Lagunitas, but I'd drink this one again. But probably not much of it, because at 9% alcohol it knocked me on my ass.
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I only have 2 months to get through a) paper revisions and experiments therein, b) grant proposal experiments, c) organizing the lab for whoever gets my job later, so my boss shouldn't be giving more experiments to do, right? RIGHT.

Instead of panicking about the work to be done, plus finding a new job in Chicago, plus dealing with the house, I am spending my lunch break listening to the Backhand Shelf podcast (ILU, REligh, JGoldsbie and JNoone).

Also, a meme.

I currently have 71 works archived at AO3 (because I am lazy about transferring drabbles, comment fics, and some older works that were posted elsewhere). Pick a number from 1 (the most recent) to 71 (the first thing I posted there), and I’ll tell you three things I currently like about it.


Oh god. I need to run so many miles until I can think or breathe any more, maybe that will make me feel better about life right now. Possibly? Hopefully?
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\o/ Proofs for the migration/invasion paper came back. I'm not really happy with the figures - we had them the size we wanted, and the publisher shrank them about 25%. I'd've used more of the white space if I'd known they'd do that. But still. Paper #2 for 2013. One more (a mini-review) is under editorial review, there's another for which I'm doing experiments to respond to reviewers' comments, and there should be at least one more submitted from this lab in the year with my name in the byline, because I started the project even if I'm not going to be the first author.

~ A real estate agent from Aaron's future employer came and assessed the house. Their estimate is about $30K higher than the last tax assessment, but we'll list it there and see what happens. She had three things she wants us to do (all stuff we've talked about but procrastinated on actually doing), but there's nothing major. Paint a couple of things, powerwash, re-tile the master bath's floor. Aaron's going to take care of most of that, because he is FINISHED work. He's being paid for the vacation time he had accrued, but Wednesday was his last day of work for Dow.

? There's a fic meme somewhere for hockey fandom that's all about the stupidly hilarious things that hockey commentators say, right? If not THERE SHOULD BE. Like, no, really, how many times can someone talk about Malkin's penetration or someone getting wood on it without earning a smirk and a laugh?

? I want to see Star Trek: Into Darkness some time this week. WHO WANTS TO GO SEE IT WITH ME?

OK. Rafa's playing in Rome on TTC, I've got to finish reading The Good Earth before the Blackhawks/Wings game, and there's choc chip banana bread to be baked for Carmen's crawfish boil, so I should get moving.
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It's been a while since I posted anything other than the notice about moving, so in the last couple of weeks:

1. This happened. It was a pretty great show. One of the best parts was that there was an 11-yr-old kid next to me at the barrier with his dad, and he was the big TGA fan, somehow had conned his dad into letting him see multiple shows on the tour. (I was sort of horrified that he didn't have earplugs, though. Come on. That's permanent damage you're doing to your kid, man.)

2. And so did this (not my video, I was busy doing chin-hands at them from the next spot over on the barrier). Shortly after that song, BRMC invited the entire crowd to come around the barrier because we were too far away.

3. Saw IM3. More eloquent folks than I have reviewed it, so I'll just say that while I thought there were some flaws, it was a vast improvement over IM2, I enjoyed the portrayal of Tony post-Avengers events, and I'm curious to see how the ending is integrated into the next Avengers movie.

4. Watched a lot of hockey. (I probably should stop doing so while on the treadmill; one day I'm going to flail over a goal or lose my balance watching the puck move across the ice in a direction that opposes the one I'm going. But this way I can watch and exercise, so.) I'm sad that the Wild lost, but not surprised. There's lots of heat on Yeo, but a) he's a second-year coach and b) the Wild had more problems than signing one star forward and one stud defenseman could solve in a single shortened season. Brodin is magic, Darcy might grow up to be a good goalie, and I hope to watch Zucker run his mouth, chew on his mouthguard, and lay out bigger dudes like Brent Seabrook again, but just getting to the playoffs was a milestone for them, I think. To be honest: I picked the 'Hawks to win in 5 for my bracket, because I'm a realist, no matter how much I'd've liked the Wild to win.




The Art Car Parade is the weekend, rain or shine. And I'd like to see Harvest of Empire (I meant to see it last weekend but ended up seeing IM3 again). And there's cleaning to do, and I need to start sorting through things that will be donated to Goodwill or put onto Craigslist or whatever. Plus I should probably read The Good Earth for bookclub. I read it years ago, in school, but have no memory of it whatsoever.

Hope all's well with anyone who's still here. ♥

official

May. 3rd, 2013 05:41 pm
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I told my boss, and my family knows, so I guess it's OK to say it in public now: Aaron has a job offer in Chicago, so we're moving there ~July-ish.
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+ Bush. Reliving my university years, musically. Still, the bassline to Come Down will always make me pause to listen.

+ People watching at BuzzFest XXX. Worth the price of admission.

- My knee is swollen and my calf is super tight. Ugh. Maybe I'll do something lower impact this afternoon.

+ The Aeros made the playoffs! They need to win tonight and the Checkers to lose if they want home-ice for the first round (doubtful), but whatever. Playoffs for their last season in Houston!

+ Mostly cleaned up the coffeeshop AU, so that might be posted soon?

+ [personal profile] why_me_why_not is the best. Last night I texted her I need someone to tell the story of Jeff Skinner, Secret Romantic. His favorite book is essentially an adventure/romance! The rest of the guys laugh about him taking dates to see chick flicks, but he actually doesn't mind? (Also, he gets laid a lot because ladies think he's sweet and sensitive on top of being a hot young athlete, so he wins all the way around. And, predictably, we spewed ideas at each other on the topic until long past we both should have been asleep.

+ Rafa's making a come back (crossing my fingers, anyway) in his match against Djokovic at Monte Carlo. Vamos!
asimplechord: Larsson vs bbOilers (Larsson vs bbOilers)
1. Work! Boss is out of town at a professional meeting, so there have been no "I know you're busy, but can you please do this too?" conversations. I appreciate this.

2. Aeros. :( They still haven't (and probably won't) signed a new lease with Les Alexander and the Toyota Center. It's 99% certain that they're moving to Des Moines after this season.

3. Also Aeros: Eric Haula is supposed to play in his first AHL game tonight. :) Curious to see the Gophers' leading scorer at this level. And there are plenty of guys he's played with or against on the team, so.

4. Leftover birthday cake for breakfast: still an excellent life choice, no matter how much my trainer disapproves.

5. As much as I'm enjoying Empires' Live In Chicago, I still feel that this must be said: GIMME THAT NEW MUSIC. I KNOW YOU'VE RECORDED IT.

6. Apparently it's a good week for music on the internet: Frank Turner's live EP is streaming, and so is Fall Out Boy's Save Rock and Roll. WELL DONE, BUTCH WALKER. WELL. DONE.

7. Clayton Stoner. Why is he still playing? Oh, right, because apparently the Wild only have three useful defensemen, and they need warm bodies. Can't they call up Kampfer? Scandella? Mara, even? Ugh, that pass was so ugly.
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I've been waiting for my credit card company to call me all day. In the last two days, I bought A's birthday gift, most of the groceries and decorations for his birthday party, and four tickets for Fall Out Boy's fall arena tour, on top of the Soundgarden tickets and Buzzfest tickets already purchased. Even if the bank doesn't call to check on the activity, I think my wallet is whimpering in pain.

While I'm thinking about the birthday part... what do people do when couples get divorced and other couples are still friends with both parties? cut while I ramble about background details )

What do people DO when their friends get divorced? Pick sides? Try to stay friends with both?

I guess I'm lucky that this is the first time it's really happened in my close social circle.
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So this happened. (LOL, "Each sent the Moody Theater audience -- which seemed more local and more fan-heavy than most SXSW crowds -- into howls and even some moshing." Because the pit was composed almost entirely of Green Day fans who guaranteed that if they got tickets, they would show up, else be blacklisted to future events.)

I missed FOB, but I think Green Day was a worthwhile exchange.

And then this happened. )

I returned home to find that Aaron hadn't suffered a relapse (he was just whining about being left to entertain himself), and this happened )

And I posted some fic: Celebration's impossible, genderswap hockey RPF, filling the "celebratory kiss" square on my trope bingo card.

One other good thing? BRMC's new album is out, synced to my iPod for the day's listening.

Now I'm going to go do some lab work, and tonight's the Revival Tour's stop in H-town. And possibly ponder vampire or werewolf fic. (Or porn.) It's Tabby's fault. And she's awesome for it. :)
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1. Aaron has pneumonia. Apparently there's a mini-epidemic in our 'burb of runners coming down with it, and their expanded lung capacity makes them not realize how sick they are until they are REALLY sick. The doc gave him a shot and a scrip for an inhaler and antibiotics, and he was noticeably better last night, so I think he'll be okay in the next day or two.

2. Reviews back on the last manuscript submitted. The suggested experiments from two reviewers do not appear too onerous.

3. GREEEEEEN DAY. (I'm still going to SXSW for Friday and Saturday at the very least, even though this has turned into the most hectic week at work and home.)

4. Flyers vs. Devils tonight. I'm hoping that the Devils' recent slump has reached its end, and they'll put the Flyers into the bottom of the Atlantic division in their next couple of games.

5. Jason Zucker :( Chances that Granlund goes back to MN? I favor sending Larsson up instead, or maybe Fontaine, because I don't think Granlund's fast enough to contribute the way Zucker does, but Larsson's solid enough offensively and defensively and Fontaine's right behind him in terms of scoring, while Granlund would benefit from more playing time back with Houston.
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1. this Gally-squared primer
2. the Devils finally won one last night (even if it was in a shoot-out. against the Sabres)
3. running 6 miles in 54 minutes consistently (shut up, I know that's slow; I can either run fast or I can run that long, not both)
4. putting on a pair of trousers that used to be too uncomfortable to wear and realizing they fit perfectly now
5. this morning's surprise awesome result (SCIENCE!)
6. chat-fic with Tabby in which the Staals are a vampire clan, and Jordan's friendship with Jeff is making EStaal cranky


And I think this will continue the happy-making: seeing a local band, Hounds of Jezebel, tonight.


Now I'm going to finish my lunch and listen to the rest of the BHS podcast. As you do.

things

Feb. 24th, 2013 07:45 am
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1. I've basically spent most of the last 72 hours alternately taking cold medicine and sleeping. The only thing I've been awake for is the the Aeros game last night against the OKC Barons. (Holy crap, Matt Hackett, keep making saves like that, 36/37.)

2. Someday soon I might finish reading Sean Pronger's Journeyman and have something intelligent to say about it.

3. I should probably write some trope-fic, shouldn't I? But mostly I just want to poke more at comment-fic and see if anything else falls out of my head.

4. Did y'all see the stats sheet for this game? Check out the video and that right column, particularly for the third period. 244 penalty minutes. Jeez, I thought the Rockford/Lake Erie game was bad for penalty minutes. Mostly I think the coach's, "They're a very caring group in there," is HILARIOUS, because multiple couples-skate fights does not make me automatically think, "Oh, clearly these are very affectionate, loving dudes."
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Who thought it was a good idea to run 6 miles, do a full set of squats, lunges and other lower-body weight lifting, and then spend four hours standing and bouncing for a Flogging Molly show? My quads and calves are super unhappy with me right now.

I'm marginally less cranky about the division of labor on the new grant proposal now that I've had a weekend off to think about it. Well, okay, that's not entirely true. But I'm telling myself that it's job security: the Chief trusts that I can learn to do these experiments under deadline, and once I've established protocols for them, I can pass them off to other people.

Time to go fire up the epifluorescence microscope. And crank the volume back up on the mid-day broadcast of the Aeros game. Or the Devils game. Whichever. It'll get me through three hours of image acquisition and analysis. Hopefully.

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