Pavlov's Cat

It's been awhile since I've posted anything about my beloved Cougar. Those of you who have had the privilege to meet this frisky feline know he's more dog than cat. For instance, he greets people at the door with loud yowls, pawing, and earlobe licking while standing on top of the tv. When I leave for work, he lays on the living room floor with his chin on his paws, looking forlorn.
Recently I've noticed that when I get home late at night, that I end up with drops of moisture on my arms as he's trouncing around my shoulders like a parrot. I was a bit concerned and confused.
Last night, however, I identified the source of the mysterious substance...
Cougar's favorite times of the day are right after I wake up in the morning and when I get home after work because he gets canned cat food (with delicious gravy). If I come home from work, leave again, and then return, he assumes he's getting fed again.
Pavlov's law at work. He automatically salivates to the point of drooling when I get home. Disgusting. And adorable. I'm going to get him a bib.

lab and shedd

it was one of those mornings that took all i had to get out of bed...

Friday after work I headed to Bradley to begin the process to analyze my last set of samples for my thesis research. This was the third time I'd run the "last" set because the ELISA (Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay)had failed during the previous two attempts. To give you an idea of how this works, picture this: you take a technologically advanced drinking straw, called a pipette, to suck up a fraction of a droplet of liquid and place is into a well, which is smaller than a pencil eraser. There are 96 of these wells on a plate, each which must be filled with a different sample or standard concentration of chemical. There are 3-4 different solutions that must be pipetted into each well-a very tedious and nerve-racking process. It took 4 hours to do the first part of the procedure Friday night. Then I picked up the plate and other supplies Saturday morning and drove down to the SIU med school in Springfield to analyze them. This is where I get the numbers that tell me how much stress hormone is in each sample from the specific animal being studied. Before the analysis can be done, however, the wells have to be rinsed 5 times with a detergent. So, as per protocol, I rinsed and as I was emptying the solution, the plastic strips of wells in the plate all popped out of the plate and fell into the sink. Furthermore, the geniuses who came up with this design did not label the strips so there is no way to determine what order they go in. So now I have a bunch of numbers that are good for nothing because I don't know what animal they belong to. What a great waste of 8 hours of my life and a trip to SIU. Am I destined to not finish this thesis or what?

Sunday was better. Gina and I accompanied the Reality group to Chicago for a day on the town. Some went to a Sox game, the rest wanted to shop. We had no desire to go to the game and shopping would only mean spending money that didn't belong to me (because I have none), we went to the Shedd Aquarium. Neither of us had been there since Jr. High. The dolphin show was the best! They also had a lizard exhibit open and had a gigantic Komodo dragon on display! We walked to and from the aquarium from Michigan Ave, so had a great opportunity to enjoy a beautiful day along the lake. Dinner was at Ed Debevic's. It's always nice when you can enjoy a meal while being yelled at and harassed by your waitress.

Dirty Word

I've come to enjoy Mondays. NOT because of the start of the work week, but because of what happens at the end of the day.

I've been meeting with my friend, Joe. Joe has lived a lot of life in his 28ish years here. He's been a cabinet maker, a mechanic, an Army soldier, an Airforce Sergeant, and most recently, a father.

His ability to quickly master any task he puts his mind to never ceases to amaze me. He is a man of incredible depth, and yet probably the funniest guy I've ever met.

Joe and his wife decided to buy a 4-unit apartment building in a not-so-good part of town a few months before the baby was born. It has turned out to be "a bit of a project," renovating each unit to get them rentable.

Here's where it gets interesting-we started out meeting as a bible study/accountability partner deal. But what was weighing more heavily on his heart and mind was getting the apartment ready so they wouldn't be paying 2 mortgages at once. I suggested that after work I would meet him at the apartment and we would work each week, while engaging in The Word. Therefore, getting dirty while in the word.

And it's awesome. I love seeing things come to fruition, not only in building of the physical, but also in reigniting a fire of faith. It's easy to push aside time spent in the word when life gets heavy. I'm just thankful Joe and I can share that, while at the same time learning from ANOTHER carpenter.


p.s. we don't wear tights like the fellows in the photo. that would be weird.

Asian invAsion

Wow, that was cool.
The premise of shooting flying fish out of the air with a bow and arrow sounded like fun. But let me tell ya, it's a whole lot cooler than it sounds.

Here's the scenario: You're standing on either the bow or the back of a pontoon boat, cruising up and down the river banks at full-draw. Without warning, a 10-20 pound dolphin-like silver creature errupts from the muddy water and disappers just as quickly, sometimes skipping across the surface like a flat rock thrown from the shore. Your goal is simple-put an arrow in the sucker.
And holy moly, is that hard to do!
The hardest part is just keeping your bow drawn in anticipation. It's two days later and my shoulder still hurts!

So, you may be thinking, "how many did you get?". I hit one. And scared a lot more. The total confirmed kills for the entire boat was 6. But at least now we've got it figured out. Next time we'll need a barge to carry off their stinking, bottom-feeding, carcasses.

Oh, and I got a really sweet tanktop sunburn. Feels like I'm wearing a tshirt made of sandpaper.

kamikazee carp

tomorrow i'm headed out to the Illinois River for some redneck fishing (shooting flying fish with a bow).

i'm sure it is much harder than it sounds, as you are moving, the fish are moving (fast), and you're shooting a relatively slow-moving projectile, which requires you to lead the target and predict their movement.

if nothing else, it will be a boatload of laughs. i'm bringing the video camera.

yeehaw!

here's a link to a video of some of our local fish shooting celebrities:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=SGWiaqGjQaU

Intellectually Challenged Individuals

IDIOT SIGHTING:
I live in a semi rural area. We recently had a new neighbor call the local township administrative office to request the removal of the Deer Crossing sign on our road. The reason: "Too many deer are being hit by cars out here! I don't think this is a good place for them to be crossing anymore."

IDIOTS IN FOOD SERVICE:
My daughter went to a local Taco Bell and ordered a taco. She asked the person behind the counter for"minimal lettuce." He said he was sorry, but they only had iceburg. He was a Chef?

um, i don't think there are any "chefs" working at the local taco bell.

IDIOT SIGHTING:
I was at the airport, checking in at the gate when an airport employee asked, "Has anyone put anything in your baggage without your knowledge." To which I replied, "If it was without my knowledge, how would I know?" He smiled knowingly and nodded, "That's why we ask."

IDIOT SIGHTING:
The stoplight on the corner buzzes when its safe to cross the street. I was crossing with an intellectually challenged coworker of mine. She asked if I knew what the buzzer was for. I explained that it signals blind people when the light is red. Appalled, she responded, "What on earth are blind people doing driving?!"

IDIOT SIGHTING:
At a good-bye luncheon for an old and dear coworker - she was leaving the company due to "downsizing." Our manager commented cheerfully, "This is fun. We should do this more often." Not another word was spoken. We all just looked at each other with that deer-in-the-headlights stare. This was a bunch at Texas Instruments.

IDIOT SIGHTING:
I work with an individual who plugged her power strip back into itself and couldn't understand why her system would not turn on.

IDIOT SIGHTING:
When my husband and I arrived at an automobile dealership to pick up our car, we were told the keys had been locked in it. We went to the service department and found a mechanic working feverishly to unlock the drivers side door. As I watched from the passenger side, I instinctively tried the door handle and discovered that it was unlocked. "Hey," I announced to the technician, "its open! His reply, "I know - I already got that side." This was at the Ford dealership in Canton, Mississippi.

IDIOT SIGHTING:
I had to have the garage door repaired. The Sears repairman told us that one of our problems was that we did not have a "large" enough motor on the opener. I thought for a minute, and said that we had the largest one Sears made at that time-a 1/2 horsepower. He shook his head and said, "Lady, you need a 1/4 horsepower." I responded that 1/2 was larger than 1/4. He said, "NO, it's not. Four is larger than two." We haven't used Sears repair since.

STAY ALERT! They walk among us .... and they REPRODUCE!

on the other hand...

it's exciting to see what's on the horizon for reality.

a new season with a new perspective.

what truly matters is the students and their deepening relationship with HIM.

people will always fall short-it's our nature.

all we can do is carry on, obeying HIS will.

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

what do you say?

when someone you love is publicly made a spectacle.
when their flaws are bared to the ones they lead.
when their pain is exposed by one who is supposed to protect them.

no one is perfect or above reproach.
but as Paul writes, when character changes are required, who better than a friend to bring them to light. then one other person. THEN the church.

if a mission of the church is to grow each person in it, why push one in need aside and replace them, rather than pick them up and get behind them.

so many unanswered questions...

my prayers are with you, friend.

take me away

hohum.

Let's see...what's new?
The new roommate, who was supposed to move in last week, bailed. Without Gina and her incredible generousity and support, I'd be at the blood bank right now selling my plasma. The other guy that is moving in the first week of August is still in, as far as I know. So that will help a bit.

The supervisor for the food program here at the health department inspected our kitchen/break room this morning. We got a 56. 75 is failing. bunch of hypocrites.

I'm really getting into the mission of the Shaklee Corporation. They have some incredible products that are all-natural, biodegradable, and work just as well or better than other name brand products that are toxic to us and the earth. AND they're a lot cheaper since you buy in concentrate. Cuts down on physical waste from packaging, greenhouse gases from manufacturing and product transportation, etc.

On the other hand, my heart has been very heavy for the past 2.5 weeks. When politics slither their way into the church and capture someone close to you, it's hard not to feel the bite as well. I just pray for the same grace and peace he has displayed so bravely.

thankful

GINA IS BACK! GINA IS BACK! GINA IS BACK!

Gina has returned from a long week at Castaway camp in Minnesota. We spent yesterday sharing stories of our separate adventures while apart, watching a couple movies, playing with crazy Cougar, and went to an interesting edition of "Confession" at Riverside.

Kyle is moving out today for Atlanta. I lived next door to him for a year at the fraternity house and then for the past three years at Burncrest and Yellow House. It's going to be sad to see him go, but he's got a great opportunity at an art foundry near his dad's house.

work has been taxing lately. i don't hate my job, or even dislike it. i'm just not passionate about it. it's just something i do. hmm...

cha ching.

Thank you to all who prayed, crossed their fingers, etc. that I would be blessed with a roommate to lessen the financial burden or homeownership. I showed the house to a guy on wednesday and another last night. I now have two renters-one of which will be moving in next week and the other the first week of august!
This is the first time that while I felt the pressure of the situation, I did not doubt that God would provide. I think that I am FINALLY learning to have patience and remain faithful in the wait.




And Charlie, I agree with you on the humility thing. losing hurts, but it hurts a lot more when it happens week after week after week. at least we're still having fun...kind of...

like brother, like sister

my sister, Jillian, has a new blog: http://artisticinspiration.blogspot.com/
there is no doubt we are relation after reading her first entry.
wow.