My trip to Merlland was fantastic. It was sooooo good to see The Empress again. I miss her so much it hurts sometimes, but I don't realize it hurts until I see her, and then I have to leave. She was one of my first best friends, and still the person that understands me best.

( The Laundry List )

And then I came home. Which became an event unto itself.

( Reasons the Universe is Laughing at Kat, Number 916 )

I'm now at work. My abstract for the Keystone Retrovirus conference was accepted, so now I have to work on making a 4-foot-by-4-foot poster. Color me excited. Which I can, now that I have Emotion Crayons, given to me by Stacie!

Funny the things that come to mind when you're drifting in that zone of consciousness between asleep and awake.

When I was in high school, I had a folder of articles that I had written and were published in regional newspapers. I had an honest-to-God portfolio. I don't have one now. I feel like I was a more accomplished and driven writer 10 years ago. That needs to change.

It's been a struggle writing my She's Such a Geek piece. That may be because I don't feel like a true geek. Yeah, I'm a scientist, and I wear glasses, but that seems to be the extent of my geekiness. That and I can ramble on about the technical aspects of several topics, none of which have anything to do with math or computers.

When I'm wrestling with my writing, I find that Mozart's Requiem Mass seems to ease the flow of words. Of all the musical works on the planet, my brain is soothed by a death mass. Go figure.

2005, quite frankly, exists as a giant hole in my head. It is like marshmallow fluff- fun, but not very substantial (kinda like Alan Rickman, huh Miss Inertia?). After the Great Life Overhaul of 2004, 2005 was more like Life Tweeking.

I busted my ass in lab a lot more. I got better at belly dancing. I wrote fiction a little more (although not as much as I wanted). I won 2nd place in a story contest, which got me thinking hey, maybe I'm not too bad at this writing thing. My music geek quotient went up a couple points. I tried new things, like gravestone rubbing and lace knitting.

And so was 2005.


Here I am, at the beginning of 2006. My eyes have apparently decided they're going to be green instead of blue-grey-green. I'm not going to argue. One of my resolutions is to at least wear lipstick from now on. I took a picture before this without lipstick and I looked like death warmed over in the microwave.

So, as for resolutions:
1. Graduate goddamnit
2. Set up two writing schedules- one for science, one for fiction
3. Set up a dance practice schedule
4. Wear makeup, dress 3/4 decent, start wearing jewelry again
5. Get macrophage paper published
6. Get one fiction piece published

Nothing earth shattering, or even that deep. My main focus this year really needs to be getting my research and my thesis done. And enjoying my (hopefully) last year in Woosta!.

What do I find attractive in another person? I've been thinking about this lately. I've decided that I'm not entirely interested in looks, although they do help. I don't have a definite physical type, except maybe that the other person be taller than me. Since I'm 5'2" on a good day, that's not too difficult.

I like smiles. Big goofy ones, small smirks, toothy grins, it doesn't matter. A nice, ready smile can really do it for me. I like a clean appearance. It doesn't have to be neat, per se, but clean. Hair washed, no body odor, facial hair trimmed (if we are talking about the boy folk), clean clothes. I don't like sloppy, but messy is okay. I'm somewhat messy myself, with my clothes constantly wrinkled and my hair all over the place. Sloppy implies dirty, and dirty I cannot handle. I know from past experience.

In terms of personality, I like sense of humor, niceness, and some social aptitude. My sense of humor can be very sarcastic and dark. I like a person that can appreciate it, and isn't offended easily. I like niceness, but not overly nice. I'm also a bit pushy, so people that don't push back sometimes I end up running over. I know about this from experience as well. Some social aptitude is nice because it just makes life easier. I also like someone that has some drive in their life. Not necessarily a direction (lord knows, I don't have one), but a drive to be doing something. A spark and a zest for life.