Creepy crawlies

Parasitology is definitely an appropriate subject to study right before Halloween.

Halloween confession

I have to make a confession: Halloween is probably my least favorite holiday. The pressure of finding a good costume, the disgusting makeup and accessories (all makeup is semi-disgusting to me), the scary movies/amusement parks (the people jumping out at you out of nowhere — I’m not a fan of that).

Maybe you had to experience it as a child to develop a taste for it. I got a free pass for most of my childhood once we started going to church and they discouraged celebrating Halloween. But I really don’t have a good excuse anymore.

I also have a costume story from back in high school:

One of my boy scout leaders called me up one day because one of his neighbors needed some help. Well it turns out that it wasn’t just some yardwork — he needed help moving stuff around in his costume warehouse about 30 minutes away. And I was the only kid helping him.

Anyway, it got dark, and my parents got increasingly worried (”You’re where??” “It’s just you?!” “You’re going to be there for how long???!”), so they came and insisted that the costume people let me go. But they didn’t really want to because there was still half the warehouse left to move. So there was kind of a confrontation, but I eventually did go.

And they paid me $30, but then I lost it!

No, no, no, no … okay

I do this a lot: I often tell someone (who offers me something), “No, no, it’s okay.” And then I cave in when they insist.

Sometimes I really mean, “Yes, that would be great, but I don’t want to be rude so I’ll refuse at first.”

Sometimes I really mean, “No. Seriously. But if you’re going to make a big deal about it, then fine.”

So, as a consequence, *certain people* in my family have started to simply insist all the time. Even when my “no” means no. “Here, have some more food (starts putting their food on my plate).” “I’m going to buy you this [whatever it is that I don't really want].” “We’re going to pick you up to come home this weekend.”

Me: “No, it’s okay. Really. I couldn’t use it. No, I’m okay, really. No– ok, fine, whatever.”

It’s not anything big. Just a lot of minor inconveniences. But I need to work on saying no and sticking to my guns. And saying yes right away if I do want something. Then we can save everyone a lot of trouble.

Condom song :D

Here is an important message about condoms. Try and keep a straight face, will ya?

Say! Say! Say! Say! Say!

It’s time for some Hard Gay! HOOOOOOO!

I am so going as him for Halloween. (Except, maybe next year.)

Santiago Canyon fire updates

The Santiago Canyon fire was set intentionally in three places, the Fire Authority says.

I think I speak for everyone when I say, “What the hell!! Seriously!” I hope they catch the idiot.

Right now it’s 30% contained. Updated reports at www.ocfa.org. The arson tipline is 1-800-540-8282.

Insane fires

There are some massive fires all throughout Southern California right now. I was driving back to Orange County and the air was just a haze, and there were dark billows of smoke like storm clouds. There’s a lot of smoke and wind here. And several power outages earlier this afternoon.

It’s supposed to worsen as the Santa Ana winds kick up in the next few days. So good luck to all the firefighters.

Here’s a Google Map with updates on all the fires. I’ll be refreshing that page for a while.

The protozoan that smiles back

Here’s a cute little critter from our micro text:

Giardia lamblia — endemic protozoan that causes diarrhea from drinking untreated stream water, or oral-fecal contact. Fun to look at, not fun to have.

Things I did yesterday

I’m just going to fire off a quick list of what I did yesterday.

Slept in. That was great.

Went to class. The lecturer had slides full of size 12 font text and basically said one sentence for each one. I left at the break, because honestly, I don’t need someone giving me short random highlights from his core notes that I won’t remember anyway.

Came home. Did some dishes.

Went into lab. I’m getting back into lab work, which is great because I’d really love to get published, and to make a good impression on my PI. But with classes and other activities, I already feel like I’m tightening a noose around my neck. We’ll see.

Emailed a friend about going to the gym tonight at 9:30. A lot of people seem to go 4-5 times a week. Will I have to go that much?

Went to a guest talk by Andrew Fire, Nobel laureate and Stanford professor. It was interesting at first, and then the grogginess set in, and I don’t think I was alone. But he did bring up some fascinating stuff about periodicity in DNA (mini-sequences spaced a certain distance apart — has to do with histone binding and chromosomal ultrastructure). He’s really a great speaker (especially in comparison to this morning) and his work is very original. People were leaving early, though, which bugged me a lot. I mean, I know there’s a run on free food, but gosh, show some courtesy.

Parents decided to drop in unexpectedly. And by “parents” I mean “criticism and guilt.”

Went to the gym. We successfully tried heavier weights — I think we’re making progress.

That’s it!

I’m an uncle!

My sister-in-law just had a baby — I’m an uncle!

Mom and baby are both healthy and well, no complications. Apparently there wasn’t even any pain because she got an epidural. So I’ll be sure to tip off my niece if her mom tries to give her any pain-of-childbirth related guilt.

I’ve never been an uncle before! What kind should I be?

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