State fair and stuff

A bunch of things happened since I last posted, which was unfortunately a while ago.

I've been out sick for a couple days now. A nasty stomach thing. I keep feeling nauseous and hot and cold at the same time.

As for work, it is still frustrating and I feel like I'm screwing up all the time and that Dan keeps making requests of me and I have no idea when I'm supposed to get them all done. He is very understanding outside of meetings but during meetings I always feel on the spot and the stress is really getting to me. I've talked with him a bit about leaving the group since this summer was only supposed to be a trial period anyway.

Jenny got me a Transformers Mr. Potato Head which kicks ass. He's got a cool helmet-type thing and everything. And he's a Mr. Potato Head

A couple of weeks ago, we went to the farmers' market which was awesome. Lots of cheese there but also lots of fresh veggies and such. I got some raspberries and sugar snap peas and I even got a couple of little stuffed dragons :) Also tasted some ostrich meat while I was there too.

This weekend I think I'm going to start ordering parts for a new computer to replace my desktop.

Jenny's in Europe right now, roaming around Italy and having lots of fun.

That's all I can think of right now. I'm sure I'll remember something else though and post it up here.

So this week at work has been both annoying and productive. I got a bunch of things done. So we're working on these IR/Optical/UV-blocking filters for our x-ray detector but a bunch of them seem to be really messed up. I organized the data that we've collected and today I took some more IR measurements which is good. By tomorrow, we should be able to send some of the filters to Luxel for testing to find out what went wrong when they manufactured them. On the other hand, my boss/supervisor is a really hands-on guy and somehow finds something wrong with everything I do. On top of that he tells me to make something a certain way and then tells me that he didn't expect me to make it that way and that I did it wrong. I am getting pretty frustrated with that. We have meetings every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings to go over our progress and I always dread these meetings because although I would like to show him I've done something productive, he inevitably craps on whatever I show him. It's not very conducive to me telling him anything actually.

Also Jenny got me an Albert Einstein action figure. It's awesome :) He has a little piece of chalk in his hand and he has froofy crazy hair too. I was slightly disappointed that he didn't come with accessories like a chalkboard or a book or a sheet of equations or anything but he's still really cool.

So I've been going regularly to this used bookstore on State street (the main drag here in Madison) called Paul's books. I love used bookstores. There's something about stacks and stacks of books that is very appealing to me. Especially when you sometimes find gems in there. I usually buy a book a week and sometimes a small set of books. Today I found the Loeb Classical library set of Aristophanes' plays (3 volumes) for $20. So for those who aren't familiar with them, the Loeb books are all classical texts (Greek or Latin) with the original language on one page and the English translation of it on the facing page. It's nice for people like me who like to be able to read a text quickly but still want to be able to go to the original language to pick up the nuances. I also hope to refresh my language skills so the Loebs are good for that too.

(Zapp) Brannigan, Begin Again

I'm going to try to be better about posting up here from now on. I've resolved to post at least once each week. I usually try to simultaneously post to my website, LJ, and Xanga at the same time.

So for those of you who don't know, I'm going out with a girl named Jenny who is now a veterinary student here at UW-Madison. I usually don't like to describe people in writing but I feel like I should let you all know something about what she's like. She's smart and cute. She has a great memory. She can be blunt at times but I like that. Not surprisingly, she likes animals; she has a ton of them at home: 2 dogs, 3 cats, 2 fish, 1 quail, and she used to have a bunch more. Anyway,

So I'm now working in the lab I thought I would work in: rockets and x-ray detectors. It's pretty good so far. I've realized that I probably get more stressed out about work in a research lab than I do about teaching. I think it's mainly because I feel more responsibility to get work done in the lab than I do when teaching. There are about 8 projects my boss wants me to work on and I want to get them all done as soon as I can. I guess I don't have the patience yet. This was a problem in my other labs too but because I felt like I had a) more time and b) less interest in the field, it didn't bother me quite as much. I have realized that my patience has gone down hill more recently too.

I've started to go to Meeting for Worship here in Madison. For those of you who are familiar with Quakerism (and not the cereal brand like so many people here think it's about!) this needs no explanation. For those of you who don't know about it, Meeting is basically the Quaker equivalent to church. There is much less formality and in what I consider real Quakerism there's almost no structure to the service. Meeting for Worship begins with everyone who wants to coming in to a room (usually with benches and chairs set up all around), sitting down, and being quiet for up to an hour. The silence is only broken when someone is "moved by God to speak." Frequently this consists of reflections on the previous week, philosophical and ethical ponderings, and sometimes people even sing songs they feel are appropriate to the setting. The end of Meeting is signified by everyone shaking hands and then announcements being given. It's very relaxing and usually very fulfilling. Anyway, having gone to a Quaker high school, I am sort of used to it and I began to miss it at some point in undergrad so I decided to start going again, this time of my own volition rather than the teachers making us go :) Anyway, I'm going to try to go to Buddhist meditation sessions as well, which should also be enjoyable and relaxing.

In Madison!