so many babies, so little time

there is a rash of babies going around. i know way to many women who are or have recently been knocked up. it's even starting to affect my dreams. the other night i dreamt that i was in the overflow maternity ward (a hallway) and that i had just had twins (though i didn't know it right away). it was a very odd dream. my friend just had a baby, and i am working on making her a sling, and i am planning to make one for my other friend whose baby is due on mother's day as well. i also have a blanket to finish for the second friend. but first, passing the semester is my goal. wish me luck!

the poster

here's the poster that i presented for NCUR:

(with a few alterations)

oops

sorry about the lack of video on the last post. i'm not sure why it didn't work. here's the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9r0zm4surY

back to the real world

i'm back at school, and now i've got A LOT to do before the semester ends (only 13 regular class days left). the rest of the trip went well. my presentation rocked! i even got complements from an archaeologist. :) the only thing that really sucked about the trip, despite being not-quite-but-almost-lost in san francisco, was the total of 46 hour on a bus.

not fun.

the rest was cool. of the trip that is... there really wan't much rest on the bus... couldn't sleep.

anywho, i spent a whole lot of time on my poster, and so if i can, i will post it here.

in the meantime,

here's a funny little ditty a friend showed me today:

i think that they are norwegian soldiers... i could kinda see the flag on their uniform.

from lovely california

here i am, in california for the 21st annual NCUR. the bus ride was nearly 24 hours long. we had a mostly uneventful trip. being the brilliant person that i am, i thought of every little thing that i might need for my presentation, but did i remember a pillow? no. 24 hours on a bus without a pillow = hell, no matter who you are. i also didn't bring a blanket, but fortunately a truck stop in utah had some polar fleece ones on sale for $5. score! it's not like i don't already have about a million of them, but they are good to have around. after that stop i could finally sleep.
(kinda)
then i woke up, and we were in reno. we stopped at an obvious tourist-trap/casino for breakfast. the bus driver said 'this is your breakfast stop' over the loud speaker, and then turned the loud speaker off, so no one could hear the directions he gave to the actual restaurant. most of us ended up wandering around until we found a starbucks kiosk amongst the slot machines. eventually one person came up and told the rest of us where the open restaurant was (there were several restaurants in the complex, but none seemed open), so some of us managed to get in a good breakfast. if you're ever reno at 'boomtown,' i recommend the biscuits and gravy... very tasty.
a few hours, several hills and mountains (where we had to stop the bus and put chains on the tires due to snowy road conditions like the ones in sd when people only slow down by 5mph, if that) later, we arrived at our hotel. it was 12:30 local time, and we were told that we could not be checked in until 3pm. but they would be glad to take our bags and put them in a storage closet until then. by the time they were almost all done labeling and moving our bags, they had found a way for the system to let us check in before 3. the hotel is a bit of a maze, but once we found our room, showers ensued. then: lunch. we wandered towards a large-ish maul that we saw on the way in, and ended up at a pretty good chinese place. yum! and it was fairly inexpensive... score!
then came the obligatory stroll through the maul, stopping a few times for window-shopping. one store, called 'flying elephants' or something to that effect, had some very neat things. especially of the furniture variety! oh, if only i has the money/space for a few really cool tables and cabinets! the stuff was amazing.
anywho, enough for now, as i am pooped and should go to bed. i think we are planning to go to san francisco tomorrow, so there will be more tales for your reading pleasure. all none of you out there. don't lie, i can hear the crickets chirping.

an insomniac's dreams

last night, i thought that i would try to stay awake for a change and write a paper... after a short nap. so i got off work at 10, was off the phone with suzy by 10:30 and in bed by 10:45. i set the alarm for an hour and a half of sleep, and when it buzzed, i even almost got up. i should have. but that's another story. in my 'ten more minutes' frame of sleepy mind, i rolled over and spiraled down into oblivion. and i dreamt. all i remember now is that i was at erin's house (not where she is living or ever has actually lived), with tara, and that i was trying to get ready to go somewhere with them. i went to the bathroom to brush my hair, and all i remember is wanting to hide the odd blue streak of hair on the side of my head. the orange and red bits were of no concern, but i got it brushed just right so that you couldn't really notice the blue. when we left, erin told me to leave the bathroom door open, so the cats (there was a herd of them) could get to their food.

then i woke up. at this point, my paper was not going to be done on time, but hey, at least i got in one weird dream...

Randy Newman - A Few Words in Defense of Our Country

I love Randy Newman, he's brilliant.