Wednesday, December 31, 2008

End of the Month

Happy New Year!

So good thing we bought a service contract for my instrument, because it's big bad broken. The technician spent four hours yesterday and four today and it still is broken and he has no idea what's wrong.

Yeah. Happy New Year.

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Christmas Fun

So, it's been a while since I've written. It just seems like nothing is really happening worth mentioning. But, then I sit down to think about it, and that's not really true. I just don't know how interesting anyone else would find it!

So...we're going to Mim's for Christmas. Scott has to work Christmas Eve, but only until about noon, so after we will go down to her house. We will have Christmas Eve cheeseburgers as per tradition, and then we'll probably play games and stay up late and just have a blast hanging out with each other. Scott and I got awesome presents for Em and Jorg and Mim and we're just so excited for it all to come together!

So, big news! Not really. My instrument is acting screwy again. Yes, AGAIN. And, of course, my tech is on vacation this upcoming week...haha. I'm going to try to reprogram the darn thing on Monday, but we'll see if that actually works. But, I only have to work Monday and Tuesday this week, and then I get five days! Woo!

We had our company Christmas party on Friday, and I won a basket with all sorts of candy and goodies, and so I have eaten SO healthily this weekend...heh.

Here is a cute picture of Buster sticking his head out of the window:

It's been snowing! Finally! I've had to shovel four times, and it's still snowing, so I'll probably shovel again tomorrow! I know it's work, but I just love shoveling!

And Scott got me Jewel's and Sarah McLachlan's Christmas albums. Happy day!

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Thanksgiving

We went to Scott's family's house for Thanksgiving dinner. I like traditional Thanksgiving food.
This was NOT traditional.

I almost threw up.

But, we went down to Mim's, and on Friday we had turkey and mashed potatoes and fruit salad and cranberry sauce and rolls, etc. All well done. As in, not nasty and definitely cooked all the way through.

And that's enough of that.

Buster is getting used to our routine here. We're making progress training him and he's just a really sweet dog.

At work I have free time while things are running and I can't just leave the instrument because every time I do, it decides to quit on me. So, no leaving. So, I brought crochet: I found some cashmere blend, blush colored thread on eBay (I LOVE eBay). It looks more white here, but it's a pretty shade of pink, I promise. Here it is so far:
I want to lose weight. I bought Slim-Fast at the store today and so we'll see if that helps. I'm tired of not fitting into pretty clothes. I hate that they don't make pretty bras my size (unless you go to Lane Bryant, in which case you might just have to sell a kidney to afford one). Mostly, I hate that I hate looking in the mirror. I'm really pretty when I'm skinny...I just haven't been skinny in a long time, so I'm having a really hard time with the self-esteem thing right about now. I ate salad for dinner.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

New Things!

We got several new things! I got a zune! A pink one! See?
We got a dog! His name is Buster, and he's a Briard mix. See?
I gave Mim her sweater and took some good pictures of the details and the sweater on her. See?
Thanksgiving! We're spending it with Scott's family, and then when we're done there we're going to go down to Mim's and spend the rest of the weekend there. Hopefully the allergies won't be too bad and Scott will be able to stay. We're planning on having a Stargate marathon! Mim was nice enough to switch her Thanksgiving dinner from Thursday to Friday so we can have two Thanksgiving dinners! Hooray for Turkey :)

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Cashmere

I want cashmere. Yarn, that is. Fingering weight...I want to make a sweater. The sweater I made Mim turned out so well that I want to make myself one. I'll post pics of Mim's later.
The problem is, cashmere yarn is so ridiculously expensive, and it comes in 50 g balls, so it would take like, 20 to make the darn thing, and cashmere can cost anywhere from $5 to $15 per skein. So, at least, $100 to make it. Dumb. I've been stalking all the yarn stores online to see if something comes on sale. I found this one website, mypollywogs.com, that sells yarn on spools, which is perfect because there are fewer ends to tie and weave in. Anyway, I went to buy something from them for a great price, but they were out of stock. So, I e-mailed them back and asked about another product, but I guess the lady that works there had a death in the family so she said she would get back to me next week or something, so hopefully the other stuff I want will be in stock and I'll be able to make a sweater!

This past weekend I went down to see my family. Friday night Mim and I went shopping. We found a comforter set with sheets and pillowcases, the works. I bought it for her for an early Christmas present, but when we got it home and tried it on the bed it didn't fit, so we had to return it the next day. Too bad...it was really pretty. Anyway, after we went shopping we went to Red Lobster for dinner. Mim had never been there, and she really liked it, and I tried lobster for the first time, and I liked it, but I still like crab better. Saturday I woke up early because my body is on a schedule now (boo, I can't sleep in if I try) and took a bath in Mim's giant tub and it was so relaxing...I've been a little stressed lately with things being broken at work. After that, I was able to fall back asleep for a few hours.

Saturday the plan had been for me and Em and Jorg to go to lunch together, and then we would come home and Mim and I would run errands. But Em and Jorg wanted to come with us, so we all went to Provo together and we went to Pizza Factory for lunch. Bad idea. The one by Mim's house is great, the one by my house is great, but this one was awful! Bad food, bad service. Never going there again. Anyway, then we went to run our errands and Em and Jorg complained the whole time...grrr. They had asked to come along. Anyway. We went to Kohl's to return that comforter set, and they wouldn't put it back on my card. They said either store credit or cash, and I said I didn't want store credit, and the salesgirl got this look on her face like, I don't want to be here and I don't want to help you. Anyway.

Then we went to a specialty yarn shop in Provo, looking for yarn for aforementioned sweater. These old ladies were running it. I looked around, and then I asked if they had any cone yarn and they argued with me about why I wanted cone yarn and I explained that I hate weaving in ends and then she tried to tell me she could teach me to tie off ends and weave them in, like I wouldn't know. She saw me, 22, and thought well she's not 80 years old so she must not know anything about anything. Gr. I'm not stupid, people, and I can crochet better than 99 percent of crocheters out there. So there.

I stayed at Mim's until Sunday evening, and I was so tired when I got home that I went to bed almost right away.

Monday I went in to work and my first e-mail of the day was from Richard: I'm coming to fix your instrument today! Woohoo! Now here's the funny thing: it took him all of five minutes to fix it. I was so mad. It isn't something I could have fixed or I would have felt so horrible. It turns out that the tension was off between the contact cones and between the two halves of the magnet. He said what probably happened was the last time it was calibrated, the contact cones were on wrong and so when they were on right, like now, the instrument thought it was wrong.

Either way, it's fixed! So I'm back on schedule, back into my rhythm. It makes me feel so much better. I'm a creature of habit, and when things get different, I get stressed, even if there's nothing making me work harder, even if nothing's hard. I just feel all out of sync I guess. So I'm feeling better, more relaxed. I got a good night's sleep last night. That might be because of the benadryl though. Being at Mim's is great, but she has so many animals, so for a few days after I get home from there I have to take antihistamines and decongestants or I'm miserable. So, I took a half dose of benadryl last night and it helped a lot.

There were only two samples today, so I thought I was going to be out by 12:30 at the latest, but then another lab called with the results from all our retests, and everything was way high and didn't look right, so I had to re-prep everything since last Tuesday and run them, so I was there until 1:30. Still not bad.

I came home, bought lunch and some new fish, and took a nap after I picked Scott up. Scott then went to Naomi's to fix her computer, and even though he couldn't fix it, she slipped him a hundred dollars. I know she loves to give her loved ones money, but I feel so bad...I mean, she's getting old and probably needs it more than we do. But she's a sweetheart, and we love her.

For Thanksgiving, we're going to Scott's family's house, and then when we're done there we're going to spend the weekend at Mim's.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Two Days in a Row!

So I don't know why but I feel like ranting a bit.

First, work:
I swear on the precious that I told my boss's boss last week that it was the furnace and the spectrometer that needed a service plan, and that the furnace was the last thing to have broken. So, of course, what do I find out today? He didn't sign us up for the furnace, just the spectrometer. Which never breaks. Ever. So, he's going to try and re-negotiate and fix it, which means who knows how many more days without my instrument.

Ok, me:
I am so freaking tired all the time lately. I'm tired, and munchy, and dizzy sometimes...I've gained two pounds, which doesn't seem like much but to someone who is constantly at the same weight all the time for ever and always it's a change. I'm also getting these headaches...blech. I want to get back to dieting and exercising, and so every day I think to myself, "Gee, I think I'll spend a half an hour on the treadmill today!" and then I get home and feel like crap feels on a bad day. SO TIRED.

On the plus side, I am exploring the fun of trying to crochet socks without a pattern. My mom likes red socks, so I am making her red socks. I have no idea what I'm doing. I've undone them three times now...yeah.

Ok, family:
I hate that I live two hours away from Mim and Em and Jorg, and I should really be grateful that's all it is, because the only other way it would be is if they never left Sioux Falls, and then I would never see them ever because gas got expensive. I am glad I get to see them about once a month, but sometimes I get lonely and want to spend time with them, and they're all the way down there and I can't just go visit because I have to go to work and stuff. I like work, but I like my family too.

I am so tired of seeing kids out with their parents, where the kid and the dad are talking and smiling and joking around and just having a blast with each other. I'm so freaking jealous...I hate to admit it, because my whole life I haven't had a good, strong father figure in my life, and I like to think that I'm strong and I don't want or need it, but it isn't always true. Jealous.
I'm tired of dad thinking we're all retarded enough to fall for his crappy lies.

I love Scott. More than yarn, and pickles, and puppies, and music. That's a lot of love.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

LONG Time

Ok, so there's no excuse this time for being so late...every time I got home from work I would get on the lappie in the living room and all my pictures are on my desktop so I was like, I don't want to post without pictures, that would be boring, etc. and the rest was all pure lazy.


Anyway.


Here is a picture of something my brother made:They are apple-chuks. Yes, my brother is awesome.

We had the first snow a while ago, and it hasn't snowed since. Just rain. I hate it when it's like, "I'm going to snow" and then it doesn't, or it just melts. Hopefully soon. It makes driving dreadful, not because driving in snow is hard or anything, but because nobody in Utah knows how to drive to begin with, let alone with snow. Here is our yard the day it snowed though:

Boring, small backyard, but snow makes it magical!
I ordered some tee shirts online. I ordered this one from toothpastefordinner.com (One of the best websites ever, also check out nataliedee.com and superpoop.com):


Unfortunately, the sizing runs big so I have to exchange it for a smaller size...I hate it when you buy something on the internet, and they say it's this big, etc., and they give you measurements, and you get the thing and it isn't really that measurement...yeah.
So one of my projects lately has been to start food storage. We finally have room and with the way the economy is going right now it wouldn't hurt to have non-perishable food around just in case. So, I figure so far I have about 2 months of food if we tighten our belts a bit, and I add to it every time we go grocery shopping. Here it is so far, but since I took this picture I've added even more to it.

Anyway. That's it for pictures, at least for now. I made a sweater for Mim, which I need to take a picture of, since it turned out really well. I want to make one for myself now in pink cashmere, but it's going to be expensive, so I'm going to make socks for now. I'm having so much fun making things for other people that I forget to make things for me. The sweater for Mim was supposed to be for me, but when I had gotten far enough that I didn't want to start over, I realized that it was going to be too small for me. Way too small. But, since Mim is smaller than I am, it'll work out just fine!
Ok. Work. DRAMA. First, my boss got fired. Out of nowhere. We all knew he and his boss didn't get along, but we thought they could at least keep that professional. It looks as if his boss took a lot of minor things and wrote him up for them and used it as justification for firing him. So, everyone was kinda sad and angry, because we all liked our lab manager and we thought he was actually doing a very good job as a boss. So the next day the new boss started. I think he's cool. He seems to know what he is doing, and it really good at taking the initiative and figuring things out and getting it done. He's been really helpful while my instrument is down, but that'll be the next story. So he started, and another woman in our lab had a really bad attitude about it from the beginning...she just has a short fuse, and she and the old manager were really getting to be good friends. So, a week went by and everything started to smooth out, and then she got called into the boss's boss's office. She then stormed back into the lab and announced that she had quit. I guess what happened is he tried to call her on her attitude problem and she took it badly, and didn't want to have people telling her what to do and how to be (which is silly because that's what being someone's boss means). So she was gone. Now, when our lab manager was fired, they had planned it in advance and had someone to replace him, but since she just quit they had nobody. SO. She walked out, and we had no idea where in her work she was. And since our new boss was only a week old, he wasn't entirely sure of the methods and prep and such and so for a week we kinda had to tag team it to cover her work while they tried to find someone to replace her. But they found someone. Hwent to BYU, and I actually think I had him in a lab class, or else I delivered demos to his chemistry classes, because he looks familiar and he said I looked familiar. But he's really nice and very smart and clean, which is nice because between the four of us we will get that lab clean and organized if it kills us. I really want to scrub out that fume hood somehow, but I just don't know how I would do it. It's so dirty and corroded. Nast.
Things are calm at work now.
Even though my instrument broke.
Again. It won't let me get a new cuvette in. It won't even let me do a clean burn on it, it just says error! and it's an error message I've never seen before, so I called tech support, and they told me to change the contact cones, and that didn't fix it, so we need to get someone to come out and take a look at it. Here's the catch: the last time it broke my boss's boss was looking into getting a service contract for the instrument, but then they stuck it on the back burner and it expired. So, now, as soon as this happened they were like OH NO and they started getting the contract set up all over again. So, once it's set up, we should be able to get someone out, but I'm not sure when that will be. In the meantime, we didn't want to spend a gazillion dollars sending out all the heavy metals samples to another lab, so my new manager and I put our heads together and figured out some methods on the ICP to run heavy metals and so far it's mostly working. We're getting some interferences, such as manganese with lead, but most of them work so we're only having to send out two or three samples a day. The nice thing is, we're sending them to a lab we contract with instead of the (expensive) lab we usually use, and so they aren't charging us. I think my coworker must have set up a deal with them or something because I know we do a lot of their testing.
It's fun because I'm getting to learn ICP, which is good experience to have. Pretty fun. Also, as soon as the new manager figures out more of the methods on the HPLC, he's going to teach me so I can help out with the testing.
I just ordered a Zune from Best Buy. I'll get it next week or so, and I hope I like it. I read a ton of product reviews and customer reviews about it, and it seems like exactly what I want in an mp3 player. There were a few little things people didn't like about it, but for the most part it sounds perfect. I'll let you know how much I like it. It's pink. I *heart* pink.

Sunday, September 28, 2008

New House, Old Snake

It's been a long time since I posted, but there are good excuses! We got a house, and we're moving this coming Saturday, so we've been pretty busy packing and planning, etc. As soon as we have our house full of stuff and organized, I'll post some pictures. It really is a beautiful house! We have a ton of people who are going to help us move, and we'll have conference playing on the TV and pizza ordered so it will be like a moving conference party, I guess.

I was down at Mim's a little while ago. I went for Jorgen's birthday, so I spent almost all of Saturday hanging out with him. We went shopping and saw a movie. While I was there, though, I helped my mom get things put together. She's moving back to her big house, so we painted and got floors ready to be installed and stuff. Anyway, she doesn't have a place to keep Roach (her boa constrictor), so she's giving him away. Before he left I got some pretty pictures of him. He was HUNGRY. I would get close to the cage and he would coil up as if to strike me through the glass. But, when we tried to feed him, he wouldn't eat! Weird. Anyway.



He's gorgeous. Six feet long! It's sad to see him go, but it's very expensive to feed a boa constrictor! And dangerous. We always had to keep weights on the top of his cage because even though it supposedly locks he can still muscle his way out. He could have strangled someone easily.

Monday, September 15, 2008

Up And Running

So my toes are healing. They are healing slowly, but healing nonetheless. My feet still hurt, which makes me not want to walk around anywhere. Oh well, there aren't that many places to walk anyway.

I finished a baby blanket for Mim's friend Lisa's granddaughter. It took me about two weeks or so to make it...nothing compared to the one I'm working on now for Scott's sister's baby.

I'm rewatching Gilmore Girls, because it makes me happy.

I got my stuff up and running again at work.

That's basically all the news for now. More later this week, I think.

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Intentional Chemical Burns

So yesterday I went into the doc to have him look at some ouches on my toes. I expected him to look and then schedule a surgery, but he did it right there! So, my toes are gross, and wrapped up and swollen, and it was fun to drive home yesterday without being able to feel most of my feet...Hello gas pedal! Hello brakes! I went to work today anyway, since I figured I could figure a way to be sitting most of the day, which I did successfully. Anyway, the procedure was pretty simple, since he just had to work on two of my toes. He got in there and basically gave me chemical burns with sodium hydroxide intentionally, and in specific places, and then put acid on it to neutralize it, and over the next two weeks it will heal and I won't have ingrown toenails any more. Hopefully. Crossing the fingers.

We had a lab meeting today, and they ordered Chinese food, and since I'm on Atkins I couldn't have any and I was so sad because it smelled ridiculously good. And everyone kept trying to get me to eat. It's getting really annoying telling people every single day that I can't have carbs. I explain what I can eat and what I can't, and people still ask every time, and are all like, why don't you eat, blah blah blah? People should mind their own business and stay out of it if they've been told ten times.

I did something difficult today. My boss was talking about a woman at my work yesterday. He was saying things about her weight and eating habits and how she's so fat, blah blah blah. Well, I overheard and was completely offended and very hurt. I mean, if that's how you feel about one fat person, is that how you feel about others? I'm overweight...I hope people don't talk about me behind my back. Anyway, I went into his office today to call him on it. I was so nervous...I didn't know how he would take it. For all I know, he could have gotten mad and said something mean. Anyway, I just went in and told him how I felt, and that it isn't fair to say things about a person behind his/her back, and how if she had heard it she would have been devastated. I said how I was overweight and have a sister who is overweight, and told him he can't understand what it's like, since he's never been overweight. For all we know she could have a thyroid problem or an eating disorder. You just never know. Anyway, he was very gracious about it. He said he wouldn't talk about it any more and that he was glad I was honest enough to just tell him.

Monday, September 1, 2008

New House and Mim

So this weekend was busy, fun, and interesting. We have been looking at this house a few blocks from here. It's a rent-to-own, which is pretty much what we're looking for. We don't want to take out a home loan yet, but we want to start building equity. Anyway, this house is a perfect first flip. It was funny: the first thing we thought when we saw it was, "Hey, it looks like my Mom's house!" Then, when we walked in, we noticed that it had the same layout on the main floor. So we called it Mim's "mini-me" house.

The house is in a good neighborhood, just off the main road we live near. It's close enough that we're still super close to the stores and restaurants and such, but far enough that you can't hear the traffic on that road. It's blue with stony-looking brick accents on the outside and has a reddish-brown fence for the backyard. It has three bedrooms and one bathroom, but hookups in the unfinished basement for another bathroom. It is in really good shape, too. We talked to the owner today and filled out an application and made him an offer, which he took. We talked him down $100 from what he wanted for rent, and we talked him into cutting the security deposit in half! It will basically be a lease for a year with a portion of the rent going toward a down payment on the house, and at the end of the year we have the option to buy, and we are pretty sure we are going to buy it, assuming we can get the loan in a year.

Upstairs there is a wall between the living room and the kitchen that we want to knock out and build a nice island there instead. The way into the backyard is on the side of the house, with this little deck that really looks kinda silly, and doesn't flow. So we're thinking we'd like to put a double door in the dining room leading out to a deck we want to build. Also, we want to finish the basement and add that second bathroom. We figure we'll live in the house for about three years total, doing one project at a time to update and renovate, and sell for a profit. Then we can move to another home and do the same thing. Eventually, we would like to build up enough profit that we could buy a house to live in and buy another to flip, so we could stop moving. We'll see.

We had a three day weekend, and on Friday there were only five samples to test, so I'm betting tomorrow there will be quite a few and I will be there a long long time. Oh well. I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow to look at my foot and hopefully we can figure out why it's been hurting and swelling.

Scott and I had Mim up this weekend, too. She came up Sunday evening, and we took her to see the house, and we had steaks on the grill for dinner, and we watched TV and talked and had a lot of fun. Then today we all went to look at a different house (for comparison purposes) and we went shopping a little bit. We watched some Stargate and did pedicures and we all slept in today, which was nice. I don't mind getting up so early as much, since it's straightened out my sleep schedule and now I have more energy and don't feel tired during the day as much.
Tomorrow I will go back in to work. That will make three straight weeks of not working a full workweek, so next week will feel so long in comparison! That's ok, I like my job.

I can't believe we're getting a house. I feel like I'm a grownup all of a sudden...it's weird.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Bye Li, Hello AA!

AA does not stand for Alcoholics Anonymous. In fact, it stands for Atomic Absorption. Here is my graphite furnace (Pb, As, and Cd):And here is my cold vapor (Hg):As you can see, they're both sooooo nice. We went through a very difficult time this week.

Mercury needed a new computer, since the air inside my AA room is so moist and full of acid and such...yeah, the computer corroded itself to death. So that was replaced...fun times. Mr. Graphite Furnace had a bad week, too. First, he wasn't getting enough power to his circuits, and his magnet failed. It turns out that the silly men working downstairs turned off my power while I wasn't looking. Apparently the switch is right next to the switch for their swamp cooler. Oops. Next, the computer decided that there just wasn't a furnace at all, nor an autosampler. So, the repair guy came out and fiddled and poked and prodded and came to the conclusion that he couldn't fix it unless he could get schematics and the service password. SURPRISE, Thermo wouldn't give it to him, so we had to have a Thermo technician come out, and of course, that costs a lot of money so the boss wasn't too happy. SO. The Thermo technician came and fiddled and poked and prodded, and said we needed a new part. THEN, all of a sudden, it worked! For no apparent reason! So we sent the technician home. The next day, the lead sequence ran just fine, but when it came time to play Arsenic, it died. Again. SO...the Thermo guy came back (His name is Freeman. I don't know if this is his first or last name.) and it turns out he had to recalibrate the alignment on the arsenic lamp, which he should have done the first day, so he only charged us for half an hour of work this time. While all this was going on, we had to get the samples tested somewhere, and the lab we normally contract out to was broken just like we were, so we had to find a place who could do it fast and that means lots of money. So, to sum up:

Travel expenses to have the Thermo guy come out:

3,300.00

7 hours of labor:

1,960.00

Getting 5 days of samples run at an outside lab with a rush priority:

12,000.00

Finally having my freaking instruments back:

PRICELESS.


Li is gone and I'm a little sad. We had so much fun. I took some pictures of animals at the zoo...we intended to go to Lagoon but it didn't end up happening because we forgot to check the schedule and when we remembered it was too late. Oops.

Monday, August 11, 2008

Li! Panda!

Work today was cool. Everything worked perfectly the first time, so I got done quite early. I came home and tidied up a bit because LI IS COMING! I'm so excited. I haven't seen her in over a year, so it will be nice to catch up and do all our fun things. We're going to hit Panda, since that's something we did together quite frequently during college.

So we went through our shed and some of our closets today and got rid of a lot of things. I feel less cluttered...so relaxing. I still have odds and ends around the house that I need to find places for, or put them where they're supposed to be.

Scott has been trying to sell some old games and paintball gear, and of course the Jetta, and people keep calling, saying they're interested and that they will come at x o'clock, and they never show up. This has happened like ten times. It's getting old. But what can you do? We have it on KSL, and we bought window paint so we can put a note on the window that it's for sale.

Yesterday we went to get groceries and when we came out to the car, the tire was flat! It had a big hole in it that looked like we had run over a nail. So, we went to the only tire place that was open (Wal-Mart) and spent a few hours wandering around while we waited for our car to be better. Our other front tire was close to bare, so we had that one replaced while we were at it. This car is turning out to be more expensive than we thought...one of the headlights is out and the dealer said it would be $400 to fix it...and we tried to get another mechanic to do it, but he said it was beyond him, so we HAVE to go to the dealer. Snakes, the lot of them.

I love my new phone!!!

So, when I turned eight years old, my mom bought me a ball of yarn, a crochet hook, and a little book about how to crochet. Here is a picture of the first thing I ever crocheted: Clearly, I've come a long way. Right now I am making a tablecloth/centerpiece for Naomi. Here is one of the pieces:And of course I'm making all my scarves for the homeless shelter (except this year I learned how to make hats!), and I think I might make myself another purse sometime. Here is a picture of the tree I crocheted onto the end of one of my scarves.I think I will go do logic puzzles for a little while. Then I will sleep. My favorite!

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Pink!


So after seeing the receptionist at work with her adorable nails, I decided I wanted them too! And, since I don't work with organic solvents, they won't dissolve. Turn yellow from nitric acid, maybe...but they won't dissolve!
Anyway.

Work today was ok. There weren't many samples, but outside companies contract with our lab to have testing done, so I ended up testing lots of samples on FTIR. Also, I couldn't get the graphite furnace to behave while I was trying to test for cadmium so I had to replace parts and take it apart and fiddle with it for like an hour...at least I'm becoming a pro at fixing the darn thing!

Now let me vent/brag for a minute. I'm venting because the guy training me is annoying. I'm bragging because everyone at work already likes me better than they like him and they think I am doing a better job. SO. Maynard is his name. Actually, it isn't. His name is Kirk. But he doesn't go by Kirk because someone once told him he looks like the lead singer of TOOL (which he doesn't). Anyway, so Maynard. He's a jerk. Straight up. Nobody likes him because he's just mean to everyone's face and talks trash about everyone behind everyone's back. Nast. But, tomorrow's his last day, so I think I might survive. It's funny how I totally had the wrong impression about him. I guess I just want to like everyone.
Here's the braggy part: so, apparently, Maynard is a lazy bum. He doesn't clean up after himself, he doesn't refill things when they're empty, he won't help anyone out, and he leaves work for other people to do that would be easy for him to do. He plays all day on the internet and talks on his cell phone, and, though his purpose in still being there is training me, exhibits obvious distaste for any questions I ask. All that is to say: I am so better than he. Everyone has already said so. I get results to people in a timely fashion, I fill things if they're empty, even if I didn't empty them, I go the extra mile. That's how my Mim taught me to work, so there. I just hope everyone likes me. I try to be nice to everyone and I don't say mean things about people behind their backs.

The end.

My stomach hurts.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Mercury and Sugar Free Candy

GOOD NEWS: Lamictal went generic! Now, instead of paying at least sixty dollars a month for it, it's ten! I win the race!

Today went ok. I had 23 samples, which isn't too bad...the other analysts think it's too much but it doesn't bother me as long as everything runs smoothly. BUT, after my 23 samples, I had another 14 because every month at my company the water from every faucet has to be tested for heavy metals, and, oh, look, that's my job. OH WELL. It wasn't a problem. The problem was, the mercury AA didn't want to play nice today. I checked everything and replaced the tubing and everything, and it still didn't work. I thought maybe it was something to do with my prep work, but after about an hour of messing around with it, it just all of a sudden started to play nice. Everything came out just as it should, so I'm sure I'm prepping right.

Last night I took Nyquil, since the last few nights I haven't been able to sleep. I felt terrible this morning, since it doesn't wear off for me in six hours like most people. For me, it's more like 12-14 hours. So, about eleven this morning I started to feel not dead. I had to take a break this morning and run to the gas station and get a diet Dr. Pepper (mmm, favorite) to help wake me up. You can't be messing with concentrated acids and be sleepy. Bad mix.

The Atkins diet is hard because I crave carbs. Mostly, I just really want a biscuit. I had a dream about biscuits the other night. The diet is easy in one sense: I have a problem with portion control. Instead of seeing Oreos and thinking, oh, I'll just have one, I have twelve. So, on this diet, I know that if I take even one bite of forbidden food the whole diet will crash, so I just don't. And there are cravings, but no temptations. However, I do have a sweet tooth so I have bought stuff to make low-carb fudge and the other day I tried to make low-carb chocolate mousse, but I whipped it too long and it turned into chocolate butter. But, I have bought some sugar-free candies (which are meant for diabetics, but some of them are ok for this diet, too), like Yorks and chocolate covered caramels. HAPPY DAY!

Right now I am listening to the soundtrack for Prince Caspian, and it makes me so happy. I grew up with the stories in the Chronicles of Narnia, and I was so afraid that when they started making them into movies that they would butcher them. They didn't! They did such an amazing job! I know that some people were disappointed that they changed the storyline of Caspian, but as long as I look at them as different stories, I don't mind. The music is beautiful, they chose perfect actors and actresses, and the costumes and computer imagery...wow!

I better get some sleep. Work is early. I don't like early. Boo.

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Atkins and KBr

So I am getting into the rhythm at work. Monday I was a little out of it so I made a few mistakes but other than that everything turned out splendidly. Today I did all my stuff and was done a little early, so I read some literature about a patented way to measure percent chelation in a chelated mineral sample using an ICP and an FTIR. The problem is, we don't have the right equipment to use with our FTIR. We would need a die set, press, amalgamator, and the inner setup that allows for the use of KBr pellets. So, my task is to find a way to make it work without these extras, and I'm thinking it isn't going to work. Oh, well, something to work on while my 5 zillion samples run through the graphite furnace.

That is a very nerdy paragraph.

I'm on a regular sleep schedule now and I think that combined with the new diet (Atkins, or some personal variation thereon) is giving me a lot more energy. And, I got my logic puzzles in the mail yesterday so I am energetic and sharp as a tack. I could do those for hours. Actually, yesterday I did.

So I'm eating weird, since that's the definition of Atkins. It isn't so bad. Atkins makes some products that are portable, so I can take a shake or a bar to work for lunch. I also got lots of sugar free sodas, some sugar free candy, and string cheese. I love it. I did a test, and I'm already in ketosis, so I should start seeing some weight loss soon. I hope I lose a million.

Thursday, July 24, 2008

New Job

So, I now have a new job. My company manufactures chelated minerals for use in nutritional supplements. I work in the quality control testing lab as "Analytical Scientist".

So yesterday was my first day. It was a little hectic, seeing as I had to learn how to use two new instruments, one of which didn't work so we spent about an hour trying to get it to work, and of course a whole day of new routines is just a lot. I am training with a guy named Maynard. He's really funny because he walks around trashing people all day. He's totally kidding, which is why it's ok and funny and I don't think he's just some jerk. Anyway, I'm to be his replacement, so I have to learn everything I possibly can in the next few weeks before he skips off to grad school.

Today was a bit better but still crazy because the first day Maynard just showed everything to me and explained what, why, how, etc. Today he made me do all of it, which is fine, except he kept saying "OK what comes next?" and sometimes I got it right and sometimes I just had to smile and say "I don't know what button to push." But I wrote everything down today and I can review it tonight and make a list so I know exactly what all I need to do tomorrow. He isn't going to be there tomorrow, so I will be on my own. My supervisor will be there in case I have questions, but mostly I'm alone. I think I'll do ok, unless something superbad happens.

I like it there so far. The only thing is, I'm not used to standing all day since my last few jobs have been quite sedentary, so my feet are killing me. After yesterday I thought that if I wore my shoes with the squishy inserts they would hurt less, but apparently I was quite wrong. I'll probably get used to it.

I'm so glad tomorrow is Friday. I worked all last weekend since I had the paperwork mountain, so it'll be nice to have a weekend. Speaking of paperwork, Andrew called me AGAIN and said, well, we found more papers, so you should do them for us. And I had the satisfaction of saying, NOPE! I got a new job! I win!


I've been toying with the idea of going on Atkins again. I would have to be super careful about it though, I don't know if my stomach could handle it. Maybe if I did it with more broccoli. I just really want to lose about 50 pounds.


Anyway. I'm off.

Friday, July 18, 2008

A Car For Em

SO, the stack of paperwork that was supposed to be a two-day project is much much bigger than we expected...I foresee working ten hours or so both Saturday and Sunday to get it done.

In other news, I have a job interview scheduled for this coming Wednesday. I hope I get it, or something, soon. This particular job would be as a heavy metals chemist, which sounds like fun to me! The pay would be low for the first six months, but then get much higher after I've proven my worth...shown them how sparkly I am.

We went to pick up the new car this morning and when we got there we found out that the mechanic had not actually done the alignment like he told us he did, so we had to wait the rest of the day. I think Scott is on the way home from picking up the car as we speak...type...thing.
So today was pretty uneventful. I didn't have anything in particular to be angry about. I miss my mom, which sounds silly coming from someone my age, but we hang out all the time and I've been too busy. I need to get down there soon, though, because she's thinking about buying the Jetta for Emilee to use. I'm all for this, except for the car is starting to make noises and need new things, etc., and I don't want Mim to have to deal with that. But, if she's ok with it, it would be a great first car for Em.

I get terribly timesick. It's like homesick, except you're not really sick for a place, per se, but for a particular time in your life. I get so sad sometimes to think that even if I went back to SD right now, it wouldn't, and never could be, the same. Shelby has moved away, and a lot of my other friends are all over the state or else busy with plays. A lot of my friends have also stayed close the whole time they've been in college, so I would feel like the odd one out even if I got everyone together again. I miss theater, I miss the Pan and Perkins, I miss movie nights and sleepovers and all the other fun stuff.

Later: I just got back from the hospital. It looked like Scott's dad had a heart attack, but he didn't. It was just pain. So, they're keeping him overnight just to keep an eye on him. Good idea.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

A New Beginning

SO...back to blogging. I had a blog before, started my first year of college. I abandoned it...life got too crazy what with the college thing. Anyway, I've been itching to write, either in a journal or a blog or notebook...to put my thoughts down, whether in a cathartic manner or creative. I have dreams, strange dreams, but dreams that could be used to create fiction, the stories are so vivid. I have a crazy life, with drama leaking over from my family to my own life, creating tension. At times, I feel like screaming, and at other times I feel completely at peace with the world. Either way, I've been told that writing can help with the tension. And, who knows...maybe someone will stumble across this and get something out of it. What they would get, I can't tell you. Just maybe.

So what is it today? I had a wonderful experience at a car dealership. After months of financial planning and research and fighting with dealers, we settled on what car we wanted and got approved for a loan. Dealers have tried to sell us vastly overpriced cars, and when we tried to negotiate, they pushed and lied and made us feel like we were stupid, which we're not (I have a degree in chemistry. It may mean I'm unemployable, but it also means I am NOT stupid). So today, when we had given up all hope of getting someone to treat us like people, we saw the light at the end of the tunnel. We found the car we wanted on KSL and called to set up an appointment with the dealer. We were surprised when we got there to find a small dealership with only one employee, the nicest car salesperson I had ever met. No hassle. This is the price. Take it or leave it. The price was perfect, it was the perfect car for us, and it was in fabulous shape. So, we bought it. All in under an hour, with no arguing whatsoever. HAPPY DAY!
So, we have a bright, beautiful new precious. I will drive it with the utmost paranoia in order to keep it pristine.

I had a moment today when the drama with my family overwhelmed me and left me speechless. I have no qualms about openly declaring to the whole world (or at least any who read this) that my dad has crossed all boundaries of human decency and family responsibility. The fact that he is a very successful doctor, but my family is struggling financially because of his self-sabotage and his selfishness absolutely leaves me speechless.

I got a call from the pharmacy yesterday, asking me to do two boxes worth of paperwork by Friday, so I better get to work. 15,000 prescription payment records, wooHOO!
I put some papers in a box today and shut the lid. Somehow, the papers magically got out of the box and onto the lawn. There was no hole in the box...the box was securely closed...I must be magic. SO, I win the race.