acetaminophen for my headache, ibuprofen for my swollen right hand, is cough medicine with codeine okay to put on top of that? I feel like I'll lose a lung (and valuable sleep) by morning if I don't...
while were at it, does anyone make a pill to make me good at physical chemistry? I need that pronto. (Imagining some sort of alice and wonderland thing, "one pill will make you bigger, and one will make you small, and this one will make you do double derivatives and understand entropy of a system and apply it to the universe)
Grand Scheme: Don't get involved with science. It burden's the mind.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Friday, October 2, 2009
Old blog post draft: publish for posterity! For growth and understanding!
Today is Friday, and I am recovering from a particularly horrid Thursday in which the department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology decided they wanted to give me and my fellow students two exams on the same day. The first: a 9AM written exam on the theory and techniques of mutation rates and bacterial mutation isolation. The second: 2:30PM written exam in physical chemistry (albeit, the "easy" life sciences physical chemistry...if you are one who likes to claim this distinction you can go f...nevermind). This is my fourth year, I can't pretend this hasn't happened before. This is not a new problem. I am whining. The point is I ended up in a trusted professor's office, crying my eyes out, having a little bit of a breakdown. Which is okay, that hasn't happened in a while.
I can't help thinking, these are the good years right? I should be enjoying this torture. Wednesday night, around 3 AM when I had just left a study session of about 8 students, I zipped my jacket against the newly crisp October air and prayed that I somehow contracted swine flu from the Canyon pizza we consumed in an effort to alleviate the stress. "Pizza party" sounds so much better than "study-session-that-only-proves-that-you-know-nothing". (Funny to think that I'm praying for a microbe to infect me so I can have a break from studying microbes). The last time I wished a curse upon myself to escape proving my knowledge on a white piece of paper in exchange for my percent worth was my freshman year, walking to my calculus final and praying I would be struck by lightening on the way (now, that sounds extreme, but I assure you I was going through a little more emotional distress than a simple calculus exam).
The point is....what the hell am I going to do with myself???
I can't help thinking, these are the good years right? I should be enjoying this torture. Wednesday night, around 3 AM when I had just left a study session of about 8 students, I zipped my jacket against the newly crisp October air and prayed that I somehow contracted swine flu from the Canyon pizza we consumed in an effort to alleviate the stress. "Pizza party" sounds so much better than "study-session-that-only-proves-that-you-know-nothing". (Funny to think that I'm praying for a microbe to infect me so I can have a break from studying microbes). The last time I wished a curse upon myself to escape proving my knowledge on a white piece of paper in exchange for my percent worth was my freshman year, walking to my calculus final and praying I would be struck by lightening on the way (now, that sounds extreme, but I assure you I was going through a little more emotional distress than a simple calculus exam).
The point is....what the hell am I going to do with myself???
Thursday, August 6, 2009
So I'm pretty sick. Some sort of viral infection. I can't help but think of the microbes in my body, the pathogenesis. It kind of excites me...in a very very strange way. I mean, I hate being sick...but I like thinking about how my immune system is a powerful army that's going to protect me. The commander of this army says, "give us a few days, we'll sort this one out...in the meantime, eat some chicken soup, drink peppermint tea, and stay away from other people". So, I'm following the orders. It's times like these I really wish I had cable television. I've been a slave to the internet the entire first half of the day. Luckily there is a lot of research to be done on which universities offer joint programs in medicine and pathology/microbiology with a department of Global Health - that part is especially important to me as it's what I want to do with my life. Georgetown seems as if it is the best candidate so far.... (so right now I'm pretending as if I GET TO CHOOSE which medical school I go to, not WHO WILL CHOOSE ME. It's a fun game, I like it). Here is a cool thing I came accross while looking for NPOs dealing with water sanitation that I might like to one day work for, or at least endorse. As a future microbiologist, water sanitation is also another passion of mine. If you're a student at Penn State, try taking MICB 201...there's a whole section of the curriculum on water sanitation - it's fascinating. You will also like this class if you like wine and cheese and beer, as the production of these products is also rooted in microbiology).
Really cool thing:
This is my motivation. Of course, I'm not discriminating against boys. I think boys need to be educated just the same as girls. I think there needs to be an overall balance in education that above all else promotes tolerance, generosity, and an appreciation for knowledge, as well as a respect for the earth.
Do I want to change the world? Yes. Am I delusional about it? No. Am I a helpless optimist? Yes. Is that OK? It better be.
Grand Scheme: I will leave you with the lyrics to a song by Cat Power called "maybe not". I think I'm getting this tattooed somewhere on my body....
You’ve got to choose a wish or command
At the turn of the tide, is withering thee
Remember one thing, the dream you can see
Pray to be, shake this land
We all do what we can
So we can do just one more thing
We won’t have a thing
So we’ve got nothing to lose
We can all be free....
Well, actually, here's the whole song:
Really cool thing:
This is my motivation. Of course, I'm not discriminating against boys. I think boys need to be educated just the same as girls. I think there needs to be an overall balance in education that above all else promotes tolerance, generosity, and an appreciation for knowledge, as well as a respect for the earth.
Do I want to change the world? Yes. Am I delusional about it? No. Am I a helpless optimist? Yes. Is that OK? It better be.
Grand Scheme: I will leave you with the lyrics to a song by Cat Power called "maybe not". I think I'm getting this tattooed somewhere on my body....
You’ve got to choose a wish or command
At the turn of the tide, is withering thee
Remember one thing, the dream you can see
Pray to be, shake this land
We all do what we can
So we can do just one more thing
We won’t have a thing
So we’ve got nothing to lose
We can all be free....
Well, actually, here's the whole song:
Friday, July 31, 2009
Not sure if it's the rain outside making me nostalgic, or the boredom of waiting here at my desk until I can pick some cell cultures from a rather disappointing petri dish....one of those dudes has GOT to have my plasmid in them...but I'm digging into some music - new and old - that have been given the honor of a place on my life's soundtrack. (I actually have a playlist on my computer called Life Soundtrack, if you were wondering).
Here is just a sampling :) Stuff I'm listening to at the moment.
1. Reverend and the Makers - Silence is Talking (Alex Metric remix)
I'm sure by now my friends are shaking their heads and saying, "please stop talking about this Alex Metric kid, please stop playing this song over and over and over." Well I can't. It's the newest addition to the LS and for good reason. It's got a great beat, appropriately timed highs and lows, is NOTHING like the actual song "Silence is Talking" (which is still okay, reminds me of the 90's when I wore VANS shoes, and never brushed my hair, but is not LS worthy)
2. Bright Eyes - Four Winds (album - Cassadaga)
This song delighted me. I was in a particularly bad mood, and was looking for some whiny, sad, emotional music to accompany me in my pity-party, so I turned to Bright Eyes. Despite the sunny outlook the group's name gives me, I know it's misleading. Bright Eyes rarely sing about anything bright, or sunny. So big surprise when I figured I'd check out their new album and this came on. It pulled me out of my bad mood, and I listened to it about 59 more times that day. When facing troubled times I still turn the the words: well I went back by random Cadillac and company jet/like a newly orphaned refugee retracing my steps/all the way to Cassadaga to commune with the dead/They said "you'd better look alive".
3. Stereophonics - Maybe Tomorrow
It's an older one. This song speaks for itself. Give it a listen. You'll see.
4. Passion Pit - Let Your Love Grow Tall
Such a true song. Great for driving, especially along Rt. 99 between State College and Tyrone on a sunny day with the windows down and great big white clouds floating above the mountains. This makes the list because (I can't say this any other way, I am settling with the Christmas card phrase I think is most appropriate, cliche as it may be) it fills my heart with joy.
5. Uncle Bob -Swans
This is another song you're just gonna have to listen to. It's short and sweet, and has a killer ending that makes me think the word "epic". But then I'm a sucker for string quartets.
6. Kings of Leon - The Bucket
Another great rhythm. Kings of Leon was introduced to me by my college roommate Katie, and I will be forever thankful. Even my dad likes this one...and he's tough to please, as he is stuck thinking Steely Dan and Three Dog Night are the greatest bands to ever exist (okay, so maybe both of them make appearances on the LS, but GREATEST...?)
7. New Radicals - Mother, We Just Can't Get Enough
"There's something about you......" Ah, just to hear those words sung with the piano lightly building in the background makes me shiver. This song is a LS veteran, and it never gets old. It has a genius combination of what I like to call "build ups" and "break downs"....terms coined by Better Than Ezra as they explained the science of any good song on one of their live albums. Any time I need motivation, or inspiration, or just to feel good....this is the go-to song. NR's "Get What You Give" is on the LS too, it's equally amazing and once I even declared to my freshman English teacher that if I were a country, it would be my national anthem.
8. Curtis Mayfield - Move On Up
Since we're on the funkier side of things at the moment, I though I'd give a shout out to Curtis. Move On Up is actually a family favorite. I grew up in a pretty soulful house, my dad growing up in jazzy Montgomery Alabama plays motown, big band, and funk throughout the house on a regular basis.
9. Phoenix - Too Young
Here's some New Age funk. My best friend Monica and I like to play it when we're cruising down Constitution, pretending like our life is a movie. You should try this sometime. For some reason, whenever I'm in the District I NEED to listen to listen to Phoenix. This addition was actually made to the LS by Conrad Lucas, my 18 year old brother. Must be a family thing (actually that is not true at all.....my sister's music, not going there).
Aaaand, I'm going to stop at 9, because it looks like I'm gonna have to get to picking some cell colonies. I think it's a pretty sufficient list though.
Grand Scheme: make yourself a LS, and choose wisely. Music changes lives.
Here is just a sampling :) Stuff I'm listening to at the moment.
1. Reverend and the Makers - Silence is Talking (Alex Metric remix)
I'm sure by now my friends are shaking their heads and saying, "please stop talking about this Alex Metric kid, please stop playing this song over and over and over." Well I can't. It's the newest addition to the LS and for good reason. It's got a great beat, appropriately timed highs and lows, is NOTHING like the actual song "Silence is Talking" (which is still okay, reminds me of the 90's when I wore VANS shoes, and never brushed my hair, but is not LS worthy)
2. Bright Eyes - Four Winds (album - Cassadaga)
This song delighted me. I was in a particularly bad mood, and was looking for some whiny, sad, emotional music to accompany me in my pity-party, so I turned to Bright Eyes. Despite the sunny outlook the group's name gives me, I know it's misleading. Bright Eyes rarely sing about anything bright, or sunny. So big surprise when I figured I'd check out their new album and this came on. It pulled me out of my bad mood, and I listened to it about 59 more times that day. When facing troubled times I still turn the the words: well I went back by random Cadillac and company jet/like a newly orphaned refugee retracing my steps/all the way to Cassadaga to commune with the dead/They said "you'd better look alive".
3. Stereophonics - Maybe Tomorrow
It's an older one. This song speaks for itself. Give it a listen. You'll see.
4. Passion Pit - Let Your Love Grow Tall
Such a true song. Great for driving, especially along Rt. 99 between State College and Tyrone on a sunny day with the windows down and great big white clouds floating above the mountains. This makes the list because (I can't say this any other way, I am settling with the Christmas card phrase I think is most appropriate, cliche as it may be) it fills my heart with joy.
5. Uncle Bob -Swans
This is another song you're just gonna have to listen to. It's short and sweet, and has a killer ending that makes me think the word "epic". But then I'm a sucker for string quartets.
6. Kings of Leon - The Bucket
Another great rhythm. Kings of Leon was introduced to me by my college roommate Katie, and I will be forever thankful. Even my dad likes this one...and he's tough to please, as he is stuck thinking Steely Dan and Three Dog Night are the greatest bands to ever exist (okay, so maybe both of them make appearances on the LS, but GREATEST...?)
7. New Radicals - Mother, We Just Can't Get Enough
"There's something about you......" Ah, just to hear those words sung with the piano lightly building in the background makes me shiver. This song is a LS veteran, and it never gets old. It has a genius combination of what I like to call "build ups" and "break downs"....terms coined by Better Than Ezra as they explained the science of any good song on one of their live albums. Any time I need motivation, or inspiration, or just to feel good....this is the go-to song. NR's "Get What You Give" is on the LS too, it's equally amazing and once I even declared to my freshman English teacher that if I were a country, it would be my national anthem.
8. Curtis Mayfield - Move On Up
Since we're on the funkier side of things at the moment, I though I'd give a shout out to Curtis. Move On Up is actually a family favorite. I grew up in a pretty soulful house, my dad growing up in jazzy Montgomery Alabama plays motown, big band, and funk throughout the house on a regular basis.
9. Phoenix - Too Young
Here's some New Age funk. My best friend Monica and I like to play it when we're cruising down Constitution, pretending like our life is a movie. You should try this sometime. For some reason, whenever I'm in the District I NEED to listen to listen to Phoenix. This addition was actually made to the LS by Conrad Lucas, my 18 year old brother. Must be a family thing (actually that is not true at all.....my sister's music, not going there).
Aaaand, I'm going to stop at 9, because it looks like I'm gonna have to get to picking some cell colonies. I think it's a pretty sufficient list though.
Grand Scheme: make yourself a LS, and choose wisely. Music changes lives.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Can we really ever have it all?
Looking at my options for any form of higher education in the microbiological sciences. I know for sure that I absolutely want to study those little buggers....but who knew the education required to study this miniscule world would be so darn HUGE AND COMPLEX. So here lies the paradox.
I am extremely interested in bacteria, viruses, the immune system...that whole world. But, starting in 2006 I worked as a tech in a hospital where I constantly found myself moved to tears, inspired by my co-workes, full of joy and full of sadness. I know my life must be lived to serve others - especially the sick - and really I've been ruined for any other job.
My mother has been such a source of inspiration to me. She is so beautiful, and when people comment on our likenesses - appearance and temperment - I am honored. I am not one of those daughters who "can't stand" their mother, or who just wants to run away from my parents. My father is the intellectual side of me, my inquisitive nature, but my mother is compassionate. She is now the ICU nurse manager of a Northern Virginia hospital. She works herself to the bone to provide for her staff. This year she just received an award for all of her hard work, although she never tells anyone. I know my mother works so hard to be able to pay for my education, and I think I'm sort of driven by that. I don't want to let her sacrifice in vain. Her dream for me my whole life was to become a doctor or scientist.
Just recently on a visit back to Virginia, while my mom and I were watching that series "Hopkins", I got up and went to this junk closet in our basement. I dug around for a while before pulling out a tattered box and inside lay my very first microscope. When I was maybe 5 years old we set this up in our kitchen to look at my blood cells after I scraped my knee on the driveway. The things my mom has done for me are innumerable, but this one, this experience, will never be forgotten.
A list of schools on my wishlist for MD/PhD(microbiology): NYU-Mount Sinai (fat chance, but this girl can dream), VCU, UW.....that's a terrible list. I need to do more research.
I've got time though...But here's what I am constantly thinking: Take GREs, Take MCAT, Graduate undergrad, hike the AT, Join the Peace Corps for two years, Enter into an MD/PhD program (that will take me all the way up until I'm 32). And lastly: HOW I'M GOING TO PREPARE TO DO ALL OF THIS WITHIN THE NEXT YEAR!? (it is normal at this point in this regular progression of thoughts to have a small freak-out moment where I decide to do none of it and move to New Zealand - I've gotten all the way to the payment page for plane tickets before...I wonder when I'll actually click the "buy tickets" button) Applications must be filed, tests must be studied for, recommendations must be obtained, not to mention my regular course load.
That's as far as I've gotten, and notice there is no time in there to say "get married", or "have children"....which I want to do....and will eventually....I wish there was someone out there I could talk to who has these same dreams, who's done this all before. I don't want to make sacrifices, I want to do everything, I will do everything - even live in New Zealand. The postdoc I work for told me she only knew one woman MD/PhD, and that scares me.
I can only hope to stop moving forward occassionally, stop planning, and enjoy myself, bring joy to others (and age gracefully). God gave me this brain, God gave me this body, he gave me this soul....if I only used it to obtain the next highest educational degree it would be an incredible shame.
phew, writing that was good for me...and maybe a little psychotic.
SK.
I am extremely interested in bacteria, viruses, the immune system...that whole world. But, starting in 2006 I worked as a tech in a hospital where I constantly found myself moved to tears, inspired by my co-workes, full of joy and full of sadness. I know my life must be lived to serve others - especially the sick - and really I've been ruined for any other job.
My mother has been such a source of inspiration to me. She is so beautiful, and when people comment on our likenesses - appearance and temperment - I am honored. I am not one of those daughters who "can't stand" their mother, or who just wants to run away from my parents. My father is the intellectual side of me, my inquisitive nature, but my mother is compassionate. She is now the ICU nurse manager of a Northern Virginia hospital. She works herself to the bone to provide for her staff. This year she just received an award for all of her hard work, although she never tells anyone. I know my mother works so hard to be able to pay for my education, and I think I'm sort of driven by that. I don't want to let her sacrifice in vain. Her dream for me my whole life was to become a doctor or scientist.
Just recently on a visit back to Virginia, while my mom and I were watching that series "Hopkins", I got up and went to this junk closet in our basement. I dug around for a while before pulling out a tattered box and inside lay my very first microscope. When I was maybe 5 years old we set this up in our kitchen to look at my blood cells after I scraped my knee on the driveway. The things my mom has done for me are innumerable, but this one, this experience, will never be forgotten.
A list of schools on my wishlist for MD/PhD(microbiology): NYU-Mount Sinai (fat chance, but this girl can dream), VCU, UW.....that's a terrible list. I need to do more research.
I've got time though...But here's what I am constantly thinking: Take GREs, Take MCAT, Graduate undergrad, hike the AT, Join the Peace Corps for two years, Enter into an MD/PhD program (that will take me all the way up until I'm 32). And lastly: HOW I'M GOING TO PREPARE TO DO ALL OF THIS WITHIN THE NEXT YEAR!? (it is normal at this point in this regular progression of thoughts to have a small freak-out moment where I decide to do none of it and move to New Zealand - I've gotten all the way to the payment page for plane tickets before...I wonder when I'll actually click the "buy tickets" button) Applications must be filed, tests must be studied for, recommendations must be obtained, not to mention my regular course load.
That's as far as I've gotten, and notice there is no time in there to say "get married", or "have children"....which I want to do....and will eventually....I wish there was someone out there I could talk to who has these same dreams, who's done this all before. I don't want to make sacrifices, I want to do everything, I will do everything - even live in New Zealand. The postdoc I work for told me she only knew one woman MD/PhD, and that scares me.
I can only hope to stop moving forward occassionally, stop planning, and enjoy myself, bring joy to others (and age gracefully). God gave me this brain, God gave me this body, he gave me this soul....if I only used it to obtain the next highest educational degree it would be an incredible shame.
phew, writing that was good for me...and maybe a little psychotic.
SK.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Prepared samples for a Western Blot. The PhD students there must think I'm an idiot because I kept referring to lysis buffer as phosphatase inhibitor, and phosphatase inhibitor as lyisis buffer. Oh well, that's how you learn I guess, by making a fool out of yourself. I have to keep reminding myself that these people have been working on their PhDs for years, and I haven't even finished my undergrad...gotta lighten up. (I have to find a symbol, or font or something that has a P with a circle around it.... "phospho-this and phospho-that" got really old about three years ago).
Oh, and also finally ended my painful saga with the USPS. All in all, I'd say today was a success.
I promise I'll find something much more worth writing about soon.
More music to come; figuring out how to put mp3's all up in this joint.
Oh, and also finally ended my painful saga with the USPS. All in all, I'd say today was a success.
I promise I'll find something much more worth writing about soon.
More music to come; figuring out how to put mp3's all up in this joint.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Plasmid Procured, Moving Forward
I've thought a lot about how and what I am going to write on this blog. Will it be anything and everything? Will I censor myself? Will I only include the information I want people to know or that I'm willing to divulge?
The decision I've made is this: This is a blog about a girl (me) who spends countless hours dealing with the microscopic world, while maintaining a relentless and rather absurd faith in the Grand Scheme of life. This blog is as much for me as it is for anyone that happens upon it. So, no detail left behind. It is one of my general philosophies that while it is always important to see the Grand Scheme, it wouldn't even exist without little idiosyncrasies to be the building blocks..
Moving On....
Today I finally transfected cells with the plasmid I've been trying to construct for the past two weeks (among other variables...obvi). I always like transfections because it usually means I don't have to go to the lab for a day before starting a western blot. That means....I'M GOING OUT TONIGHT! WOO! Also, today was the birthday of my mentor (he's the greatest, so patient while I'm breaking wb plates, screwing up dilutions, and wasting whole stocks of purified plasmid). So that's the research update. I wish I could divulge more about it, but alas I have signed my knowledge away to be property of The Pennsylvania State University. Now that I'm moving forward in my project, I feel like I can move forward in life. Funny how the two work the same. Make progress, move on.
Like always, when life just isn't working I dive into the music world, and the scientific world - music for the feelings, science for the lack thereof. Between the two I form my own separate balanced reality. This is what I've found:
Hanne Hukkelberg - "Blood From A Stone"
This is a rather simple song, with simple lyrics, a simple voice, and simple melody - I love it for that. It says exactly what I'm feeling: Never ask/at all times keep the disguise/let no one know/tell me who gave you these rules, oh/you never made no promise, boy.
Phoenix - "Lisztomania" (and any remix of it)
Nothing too much to say about this song because phoenix is fabulous, as usual. But it's been a cheery song in gloomy days. The upbeat, feel-good song is one of many phoenix songs that save the day from being wasted on my couch. There's no way you can listen and not become motivated to get moving (even if that means simply dancing in your living room, which is productive in its own rite).
Jack's Mannequin - "The Resolution"
Diving back in time for a moment to my angsty high school years (who am I kidding, I'm still full of angst) Jack's Mannequin writes this powerful song about finding closure? Finding a purpose? He admits to not having all the answers, being controlled by his past, while wanting to move forward. It's a very hopeful song, and I think that's why I found it appealing. The first few seconds always get me. He reaches for that top note and the strain in his voice sends tingles up my spine. He beleives this stuff he's singing about. He feels it.
TV On The Radio - "Staring At The Sun (In Digital Time Remix)"
I've used this analogy before but....this song is sex. (It probably has more meaning, but I'm leaving it at that.)
Kat Edmonson - "Just One of Those Things"
The amount that I identify with this song is uncanny. It speaks to me. Kat's voice is sultry, the saxophone parts are moving. Ms. Edmonson's jazz style is right up my ally. This song is reminiscent of Anya Marina's "Move You" - another favorite. Kat Edmonson's cushiony, comfortable "Lucky" is also a lovely song.
More to come. :) SK
The decision I've made is this: This is a blog about a girl (me) who spends countless hours dealing with the microscopic world, while maintaining a relentless and rather absurd faith in the Grand Scheme of life. This blog is as much for me as it is for anyone that happens upon it. So, no detail left behind. It is one of my general philosophies that while it is always important to see the Grand Scheme, it wouldn't even exist without little idiosyncrasies to be the building blocks..
Moving On....
Today I finally transfected cells with the plasmid I've been trying to construct for the past two weeks (among other variables...obvi). I always like transfections because it usually means I don't have to go to the lab for a day before starting a western blot. That means....I'M GOING OUT TONIGHT! WOO! Also, today was the birthday of my mentor (he's the greatest, so patient while I'm breaking wb plates, screwing up dilutions, and wasting whole stocks of purified plasmid). So that's the research update. I wish I could divulge more about it, but alas I have signed my knowledge away to be property of The Pennsylvania State University. Now that I'm moving forward in my project, I feel like I can move forward in life. Funny how the two work the same. Make progress, move on.
Like always, when life just isn't working I dive into the music world, and the scientific world - music for the feelings, science for the lack thereof. Between the two I form my own separate balanced reality. This is what I've found:
Hanne Hukkelberg - "Blood From A Stone"
This is a rather simple song, with simple lyrics, a simple voice, and simple melody - I love it for that. It says exactly what I'm feeling: Never ask/at all times keep the disguise/let no one know/tell me who gave you these rules, oh/you never made no promise, boy.
Phoenix - "Lisztomania" (and any remix of it)
Nothing too much to say about this song because phoenix is fabulous, as usual. But it's been a cheery song in gloomy days. The upbeat, feel-good song is one of many phoenix songs that save the day from being wasted on my couch. There's no way you can listen and not become motivated to get moving (even if that means simply dancing in your living room, which is productive in its own rite).
Jack's Mannequin - "The Resolution"
Diving back in time for a moment to my angsty high school years (who am I kidding, I'm still full of angst) Jack's Mannequin writes this powerful song about finding closure? Finding a purpose? He admits to not having all the answers, being controlled by his past, while wanting to move forward. It's a very hopeful song, and I think that's why I found it appealing. The first few seconds always get me. He reaches for that top note and the strain in his voice sends tingles up my spine. He beleives this stuff he's singing about. He feels it.
TV On The Radio - "Staring At The Sun (In Digital Time Remix)"
I've used this analogy before but....this song is sex. (It probably has more meaning, but I'm leaving it at that.)
Kat Edmonson - "Just One of Those Things"
The amount that I identify with this song is uncanny. It speaks to me. Kat's voice is sultry, the saxophone parts are moving. Ms. Edmonson's jazz style is right up my ally. This song is reminiscent of Anya Marina's "Move You" - another favorite. Kat Edmonson's cushiony, comfortable "Lucky" is also a lovely song.
More to come. :) SK
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Passion Pit::Fit for anything
I'm here to blog about my new obsession with a Cambridge-born electro band called Passion Pit. Namely their song "Moth's Wings (Manners)". Here are the lyrics, they're pretty great (I'm a lyrics person to the max):
Dear friend as you know
Your flowers are withering
Your mother's gone insane
Your leaves have drifted away
But the clouds are clearing up
And I've come reveling
Burning incandescently
Like a bastard on the burning sea
You're just like your father
Buried deep beneath the water
Your pressing on your laurel
Is stepping on my toes
Whose side are you on?
What side is this anyway?
Put down your sword and crown
Come lay with me on the ground
You come beating like moth's wings
Spastic and violently
Whipping me into a storm
Shaking me down to the core
But you run away from me
And you left me shimmering
Like diamond wedding rings
Spinning dizzily down on the floor
You're just like your father
Buried deep beneath the water
You're pressing on your laurel
Is stepping on my toes
Whose side are you on?
What side is this anyway?
Put down your sword and crown
Come lay with me on the ground. (x2)
I especially love the "Whose side are you on?/What side is this anyway?/ Put down your sword and crown/Come lay with me on the ground". I think it is very much the stance I take when I think about the world. Complete pacifist? Non. But I do choose my causes cautiously.
Anyways, chillin' in the lab, tryin' to groove out a little bit without disturbing anyone. What better way to pass the time waiting for a plasmid recombination than on:
http://hypem.com/#/SarahKLucas.
just found a ton of new songs, which luckily saved to my "Listening History" after this kid commandeered my hype machine at a party on Monday. I like his taste. Got his numba....I won't use it, but maybe I'll jam along side him some day in the future. The Penn State community gets a bit smaller in the summer, my odds have improved.
Dear friend as you know
Your flowers are withering
Your mother's gone insane
Your leaves have drifted away
But the clouds are clearing up
And I've come reveling
Burning incandescently
Like a bastard on the burning sea
You're just like your father
Buried deep beneath the water
Your pressing on your laurel
Is stepping on my toes
Whose side are you on?
What side is this anyway?
Put down your sword and crown
Come lay with me on the ground
You come beating like moth's wings
Spastic and violently
Whipping me into a storm
Shaking me down to the core
But you run away from me
And you left me shimmering
Like diamond wedding rings
Spinning dizzily down on the floor
You're just like your father
Buried deep beneath the water
You're pressing on your laurel
Is stepping on my toes
Whose side are you on?
What side is this anyway?
Put down your sword and crown
Come lay with me on the ground. (x2)
I especially love the "Whose side are you on?/What side is this anyway?/ Put down your sword and crown/Come lay with me on the ground". I think it is very much the stance I take when I think about the world. Complete pacifist? Non. But I do choose my causes cautiously.
Anyways, chillin' in the lab, tryin' to groove out a little bit without disturbing anyone. What better way to pass the time waiting for a plasmid recombination than on:
http://hypem.com/#/SarahKLucas.
just found a ton of new songs, which luckily saved to my "Listening History" after this kid commandeered my hype machine at a party on Monday. I like his taste. Got his numba....I won't use it, but maybe I'll jam along side him some day in the future. The Penn State community gets a bit smaller in the summer, my odds have improved.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
sometimes the best paths are chosen for us...by who? It depends, but I'd like to call Him God
Life pre-arrest:
I am a naturally busy person - in that I can't NOT have something to do. See, even here I decided to start a blog....so I can be doing something in the downtime where I have nothing to do. Being the busy person that I am I found myself in a life CHOCK FULL of things to do...and realistically no time to do them. To summarize, I am a microbiology major, biochemistry minor, pre-med aspirerer (I know that's not a word, but I like it), Young life leader, full time philosopher (always been my downfall - thinking is as unfortunate a pastime as it is inspiring), avid snowboarder, world traveler, and friend.
(okay, The Kooks - Naive just came on in the coffee shop ("Para" in Charlottesville, soooo lovely - get the Red Eye if you are a fan of boldness) and I had to take a moment and appreciate serendipity).
In the song "3AM" by Matchbox Twenty "She gets sad when there's nothing going on," was written about me. (I know common belief is that Rob Thomas wrote this song about his mother, but its not...it's about me, I'm sure of it).
I guess a cinematic mind would claim that my life was "spiraling out of control". Really, on all levels everything was a little unstable. I couldn't make a decent grade if I tried, I couldn't sustain a relationship with a certain "musician man" probably because of my inability to relax, because the only time I stopped going going going was when I was sleeping sleeping sleeping. Honestly on the first time we hung out...I invited him over so he could type code on his computer and I could study for an immunology exam - romantic. I wasn't really being an effective mentor to the high school girls I was seeing day to day, in my opinion, I was a "bare minimum" type of leader. (Spoon - Summon You) I think a good thing I had going for me was that alcohol and marijuana were not my poison of choice (I succumb to self deprecation mostly these days), I had gotten that out of my system the year my dad got cancer and I lived in a little box in the basement of the engineering dorm through the longest, coldest winter I can ever remember in the strange and lonely state that is Pennsylvania. Since we're looking on the bright side of things, a lot of quality poetry came out of that year (if I do say so myself), and all of it is in an obscurely named file in the depths of my computer only to be read on the sunniest of days.
One might think this is a pretty dark introspection...but I think it's fair, especially since life is so full of light these days.
The catalyst of such a wonderful turn of events? One fateful night I got arrested. Legitimately handcuffed, put in the back of a cop car, fingerprinted and photographed. The reason: DUI. I must clarify, I'm not a big drinker. There is the infrequent occassion where I let loose after a tough week of exams, or celebrate something momentous. In fact, I verbally scorned such people who would even THINK about driving a motor vehicle while intoxicated. So naturally I decided to do it. Post drinking a few beers I got in my car to go home. I made it two blocks before being pulled over by a State College police man for driving without my headlights (in a well lit downtown area, in a rental car, on State Patty's day weekend no less...for all you Penn staters). So that was that. I was done for....
But I wasn't. Since then, and maybe I am wrongly assuming that this enlightenment is a product of my decisions and not the changing of seasons, I am entirely more happy. The arrest allowed me to survey my life, and do a little rearranging. (Steely Dan - Do it Again). In the following week I landed a job working in a lab this summer doing biochemistry research, I found a place to live during the summer, I found more time to study for my upcoming exams, I made so many new friends at this small cafe in downtown State College: A wonderful girl named Megan, a man named Thomas who has been such a rock (and source of good, dark chocolate), Igor, T.C., Dan, Amy...to name a few. All people who have been such a comfort and joy to me.
In the Grand Scheme of things: even getting arrested can be a good thing, a great thing. Of course there are obvious consequences, so choose your offense wisely, but understand (making a rough generalization) When you pray to God for direction, for wisdom (as I was), but don't listen and watch for the ways He is presenting opportunities to you, sometimes we just need to be arrested - Taken aside by Him and put in "time out" for a little while - if anything to take an unadulterated evaluation of what life is and where it is going. (The National - All the Wine)
-SK
I am a naturally busy person - in that I can't NOT have something to do. See, even here I decided to start a blog....so I can be doing something in the downtime where I have nothing to do. Being the busy person that I am I found myself in a life CHOCK FULL of things to do...and realistically no time to do them. To summarize, I am a microbiology major, biochemistry minor, pre-med aspirerer (I know that's not a word, but I like it), Young life leader, full time philosopher (always been my downfall - thinking is as unfortunate a pastime as it is inspiring), avid snowboarder, world traveler, and friend.
(okay, The Kooks - Naive just came on in the coffee shop ("Para" in Charlottesville, soooo lovely - get the Red Eye if you are a fan of boldness) and I had to take a moment and appreciate serendipity).
In the song "3AM" by Matchbox Twenty "She gets sad when there's nothing going on," was written about me. (I know common belief is that Rob Thomas wrote this song about his mother, but its not...it's about me, I'm sure of it).
I guess a cinematic mind would claim that my life was "spiraling out of control". Really, on all levels everything was a little unstable. I couldn't make a decent grade if I tried, I couldn't sustain a relationship with a certain "musician man" probably because of my inability to relax, because the only time I stopped going going going was when I was sleeping sleeping sleeping. Honestly on the first time we hung out...I invited him over so he could type code on his computer and I could study for an immunology exam - romantic. I wasn't really being an effective mentor to the high school girls I was seeing day to day, in my opinion, I was a "bare minimum" type of leader. (Spoon - Summon You) I think a good thing I had going for me was that alcohol and marijuana were not my poison of choice (I succumb to self deprecation mostly these days), I had gotten that out of my system the year my dad got cancer and I lived in a little box in the basement of the engineering dorm through the longest, coldest winter I can ever remember in the strange and lonely state that is Pennsylvania. Since we're looking on the bright side of things, a lot of quality poetry came out of that year (if I do say so myself), and all of it is in an obscurely named file in the depths of my computer only to be read on the sunniest of days.
One might think this is a pretty dark introspection...but I think it's fair, especially since life is so full of light these days.
The catalyst of such a wonderful turn of events? One fateful night I got arrested. Legitimately handcuffed, put in the back of a cop car, fingerprinted and photographed. The reason: DUI. I must clarify, I'm not a big drinker. There is the infrequent occassion where I let loose after a tough week of exams, or celebrate something momentous. In fact, I verbally scorned such people who would even THINK about driving a motor vehicle while intoxicated. So naturally I decided to do it. Post drinking a few beers I got in my car to go home. I made it two blocks before being pulled over by a State College police man for driving without my headlights (in a well lit downtown area, in a rental car, on State Patty's day weekend no less...for all you Penn staters). So that was that. I was done for....
But I wasn't. Since then, and maybe I am wrongly assuming that this enlightenment is a product of my decisions and not the changing of seasons, I am entirely more happy. The arrest allowed me to survey my life, and do a little rearranging. (Steely Dan - Do it Again). In the following week I landed a job working in a lab this summer doing biochemistry research, I found a place to live during the summer, I found more time to study for my upcoming exams, I made so many new friends at this small cafe in downtown State College: A wonderful girl named Megan, a man named Thomas who has been such a rock (and source of good, dark chocolate), Igor, T.C., Dan, Amy...to name a few. All people who have been such a comfort and joy to me.
In the Grand Scheme of things: even getting arrested can be a good thing, a great thing. Of course there are obvious consequences, so choose your offense wisely, but understand (making a rough generalization) When you pray to God for direction, for wisdom (as I was), but don't listen and watch for the ways He is presenting opportunities to you, sometimes we just need to be arrested - Taken aside by Him and put in "time out" for a little while - if anything to take an unadulterated evaluation of what life is and where it is going. (The National - All the Wine)
-SK
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