.:Gotta Drop a Blog in The Corner:.

coolio little project

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 00:49:08 -0500

interesting explanation of all that went on with this. http://wherethehellismatt.com

Braces

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 12:47:43 -0500

Just before Thanksgiving 2005, I got braces installed on my teeth. I was expecting to have them off by Summer 2007. Yesterday, I finally had them removed, and I've moved on to the retainer phase. I'm finding that I have to relearn how to speak with this thing in my mouth. I sometimes sound a bit like Shelley Marsh, from South Park. The hardest sound to produce is Q ("cue"). I'm getting better at producing clean S and SH sounds. People who have had braces had some comments to make about the experience over the years. Two things that I was told turned out to be true. One is that after the braces come off, your teeth feel slimy. That's because your lips are used to rubbing against a bumpy appliance, and teeth are quite smooth. The other is that your teeth feel large. That's because your previous sensation against your lips was with small protrusions on the teeth, and now there's full contact for the whole face of the tooth. Other thoughts, I haven't noticed a reduction in lip volume with the removal of the braces - it had felt as if my lips were sticking out more when I first had them placed. I haven't noticed any significant recession of my gum line. The best thing of all, of course, is being able to take out the retainer before eating. The first thing I chewed happened to be a quarter of a pickle, sliced lengthwise. It was so easy to cut into with my incisors. I also no longer need to worry about all the food that would get stuck in the appliance. So, I'm pretty excited about being able to eat properly once again. And I don't really mind the idea of wearing the retainer every night for the rest of my life. I'll be happy when I don't have to wear it all the time during the day, though.

was happy to hear you turned thirty-three, you look good, you're so carefree, wish i could be there

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 22:11:08 -0500

another year is rolling around, and i'm not sure how i feel about it all. lately i've just felt that this is definitely not how i pictured my life when i got to this age. it's difficult someitmes to think that i'm still in school and have a ways to go before finishing, when most of my close friends have steady careers and starting on the "next phase" of their personal lives. even with the friends i've made over the last 3-4 years or so... i've felt that i haven't been able to connect as well with them as i had been able to do previously. i think this is mainly due to the fact that i'm a couple of years older than my classmates, and while i still like to goof around, my interests and thoughts have grown a little more (or so i tell myself, i guess). it could also be that my beliefs are more hardened and rather cemented now that i'm older. in any case while i find it quite easy to find people to joke around with, i find the more serious part of building friendships/relationships a little more difficult now than before. you would think that 4-5 years isn't that long of a time, but 4-5 years during your 20s is almost like a lifetime. when your peers refer to soundgarden as an "old band"... when you play rock band on the xbox and "blackhole sun" comes on to which your band members say... i remember this song from early middle school... you just feel there's this large gap in age. it's strange when i refer to movies from high school or events that happened... and few people in the group can recall what happened... only to say they think they remember something about it. however, i can't fault them... cause they where in jr. high when i was in high school. they were also in high school when i was in college... and i was working when they were in college. they really are a whole generation behind me so to speak. there are days when i wonder what it would've been like to go to a program that had a mix of students that was skewed more to students my age. so... these are some of the things i've been thinking about lately as the 29 comes up.

monthly update 07-08

Sun, 06 Jan 2008 22:32:15 -0500

just checking in... cause i have a little bit of time... so the semester finished, i passed all my classes... not necessarily with the grades that i wanted... though i got past that first semester... and i don't have to take them over so that's a good thing =]. have had people visiting on a weekly basis for the last couple weeks. have more people coming in for the forseeable future. it's been fun... but i haven't been sleeping as much as i'd like... and i LOVE to sleep =p. having friends come in to visit was great... and i'm looking forward to having some more come in. of all the semesters to do it... this semester is probably the one to do it in since i'm on co-op until may. my co-op is @ one of the more interesting and specialized hospitals here in boston... and i'm making a bunch of different drugs for parenteral delivery. so i'm @ this co-op full time... and continue with classes during summer... thus for a few months i won't have to study and won't have exams. i'm still trying to get used to the whole not being able to get up late on weekdays and not being able to take naps during the day thing. my first week @ the hospital i started @ 7am... that was a bit rough. i've since moved to 9am these last 2 weeks... which is still earlier than my 10am classes from last semester. overall the start of the new year has been pretty good... though i still find myself short on time. anyways... i need to go to bed... but happy belated new year to all.

winding down

Fri, 07 Dec 2007 22:10:12 -0500

this hasn't happened in a very long time... but today i walked out of a final with a sinking feeling. i was unprepared for it despite staying up for the last 2 days and nights cramming for it. it was a cumulative final, and i just ran out of time to study for it. things have been hectic since the end of thanksgiving, wednesday i had 2 group papers AND presentations for them due. those two things had taken up a majority of my time the last 2 weeks or so, leaving very little time to study for the exam i had today. i guess it really is my own fault though... i should have been better prepared and started way earlier. it feels like i've been trying to catch up this entire semester, and i never got a chance to get on top of things. what's most depressing to me is i feel like i'm starting to fall back to how i was when i was an undergrad, and would just get overwhelmed and give up. but... anyways... in an attempt to cheer myself up a bit, i downloaded 'charlie brown holiday hits' from amazon. 'christmas time is here' is the song i was looking for to pick me up. i really need to look forward to something that doesn't have anything to do with school right now. and... who knows... maybe the big guy up in the sky will have made most of my guesses on the exam correct... one can always hope right? ok... time to study for my final on monday. IT NEVER ENDS!!!

majorly slacking

Thu, 15 Nov 2007 23:28:02 -0500

2 exams next week before the holiday, should be studying more... but it ain't happening. still so much to do. i need to rapidly increase my mental abilities quickly... don't think it's gonna happen within the time frame i need it to though. i've been taking lots of naps lately, but have been having trouble confining them to power nap time limits. i used to be so good at getting up again after 20 minutes. i need to get that ability back. some members of the US gov't are backing taiwan's reinstatement to the UN. taiwan was previously the representative for china as the republic of china, but once china gained influence taiwan lost its seat to china in 1971. from my point of view, i'm kind of split on this. as a people, even though the people of taiwan are mostly chinese, they definitely have a very different culture than the chinese in china (even within china the chinese are divided into multiple groups speaking different dialects). however, taiwan has no way of defending itself from a mainland invasion, it would be over in about 10 minutes and the people's republic would have control. with china's economy, taiwan has lost influence in the business world as well, so they really don't have the clout to attract investment or invest outside that they once did. buffalo the loser. i wish i had money so i could do this, i'd donate both. it's such a great idea i think, but i am so in debt right now from my own school loans it's not even funny. that's it.

see... more sleep IS good...

Mon, 05 Nov 2007 23:43:38 -0500

how come when you're young... you don't want to sleep? i remember being able to stay awake, and my parents would always be telling me to go to bed. i wanted to stay up later and later... boy do i wish i had that kind of energy now. george carlin was right... life should work backwards... it'd be more fun (ie. funner). so anyways... sleeping more has another benefit associated with it. this is interesting... and it might be me sometime down the line if i ever meet that right person to not live with. it really is hard to spend all if not most of your time with someone... even if you really care about them. i also know that it's a two person thing... as in sometimes i can get pretty annoying too. i love how after all these years with the colts, bill polian can still refer to buffalo as 'us'. i don't know what is wrong with people these days. stuff like this just depresses me. goulet! had an interview today for my spring co-op. i like the place. hopefully i'll be able to land it. it's funny how you just get good at doing interviews as you keep doing them and as you get older. i remember i used to sweat and get really nervous and sometimes have difficulty in reacting and responding to questions. the last couple years, as i've gone into interviews, i just haven't really even thought of anything going in. it's kind of like having a conversation with a stranger that just flows from one topic to the next. i think another thing is, i've said the same or similar things so many times, that it all just comes. the pauses that happen when i "think" of my answer are actually just me recalling what i've said in the past. it's also strange how i can easily talk to people when i don't even know them, but if it's about work i'll have a good amount to say. however, if i'm at a party and i don't know the majority of the people, i won't be the one seeking out conversation usually. well... that's it for me tonight.

no... i'm a big book publisher who's not the least bit interested in your stony memoirs... you're a towel

Fri, 02 Nov 2007 13:40:53 -0500

ok... this whole moving primaries and caucuses up thing is getting ridiculous. after all these years, traditionally the new hampshire primary and the iowa caucus are the first to vote in the country as the democrat and republican races kick off. now everyone wants to move ahead of each other and be the first in order to "influence" who get's the final nod to represent the party. they're all constantly changing the dates now, and telling one another "if you move before us, we'll move our date ahead again." pretty soon... no one will know when the primary is... it'll be like 10 years ahead of the actual year for the election, and it will be a surprise announcement. "SURPRISE! we're holding our state's in 10 minutes. go vote!" i think either we should do away with the primary system and just have everyone on the final ballot, or have every state vote on the same damn date already. besides, i think a big problem with why our country has such low voter turnout and participation is because they are so tired of the politics. it seems like all the candidates are constantly out there getting face time for votes. there always seems to be negative political ads on tv these days. maybe the public is just tired of it all and has tuned it all out? perhaps since it's so ingrained into the background of daily lives when election day does come around nobody cares because it's constantly there anyways? what's up with the sabres this year? why are they sucking so much? (oh yeah, they screwed the pooch by letting both their captains go from last year). what's up with philly and boston being decent too? in football news... remember when the afc east used to be a powerhouse division? how times have changed. miami is still terrible, the jets are in shambles, and the bills are in 2nd place (i don't even know how we're even up there). will anyone be able to stop brady and the pats? i'm getting sick of watching him hook up with moss for touchdown after touchdown. i have a confession to make. i was actually rooting for cleveland to beat the bosox... despite the fact that i like the red sox. it's only because cleveland's AAA minor league affliate is the buffalo bisons, and a lot of their roster has been brought up through their farm system and played ball in buffalo. i'm just happy that the yankees didn't make it and the indians knocked them out. the track 'science' on 'strange birds' is a really good track to crank up the volume on. when i listen to it... it feels like i'm just immersed in this sonic space as it builds up. definitely dig the hi-hat.

to post or not to post...

Fri, 02 Nov 2007 01:56:23 -0500

still quite busy... been kind of wavering between hanging up the skates so to speak on this blog... and continuing to try to post. thing is, at times during my waking hours i'll think of something to write about, but then i either come back to my apartment and forget i even have a blog, or come home and am just totally drained. i think it's just a habit thing... as ever since i've moved to boston, i haven't been keeping up with other people's blogs as much either. however... i think i may try to get into the habit of writing here again... as a ways to put what i'm thinking down. things are ok here and i'm still rather glad that i'm here, but it's still an adjustment nonetheless. life and school are definitely stressing me out a lot more recently. there's just so much to keep track of with various exams, work, meetings, conferences, etc. things get overwhelming pretty quick, and there's at least one time every week when i just want everything to stop so i can catch my breath. too bad time doesn't stop for anyone. there are a few things that i'm glad about though. i ordered and got my futon for my living room last week. it's all assembled now, and all the junk in my boxes that i hadn't organized yet are all filed and put away neatly. i just need to get a couple more additions, but at the very least my apartment feels like it's a home now with large emptiness of my living room filled with something. i'm also really enjoying the weather, the smell of the leaves, the cool autumn air. despite the fact that there are times when i wish it would all end... i feel really lucky to be going to school @ NU. the red sox won the series. i've been listening a lot to david usher's most recent album the last few weeks. it's a good one to listen to as i walk to and from campus. it puts me in a reflective mood. do you ever wonder where you'd be if you hadn't made the decisions you had made? if you hadn't made the mistakes you've made? had some of the successes you've had? happened upon certain people etc.? well... it's the weekend. i hope you enjoy yours.

becoming t.c.

Fri, 12 Oct 2007 00:29:16 -0500

maybe i've lost interest in posting? it's a distinct possibility i suppose, or maybe i just got out of the habit. whatever it is, i think school may have something to do with it, and my life is really pretty boring these days. i walk to school, sit in class, struggle to stay awake, come home, try and do work, go to bed. haven't had that much time to explore boston... been on some weekend trips, down to nyc and back to buffalo. i like the school, i like the living environment, but i don't like school if you know what i mean. it's just draining, and they keep dumping more stuff on you. what i need is a vacation, and to connect with people who share common interests... but... i'm not the young undergrad anymore. boston's a great place to be if you're an undergrad... but when you're a little older going to school here... it's just not the same. the city itself is beautiful though, and i enjoy my walks when i do have time. i think what i really miss is having old friends around.

hippos are totally bizarro

Mon, 17 Sep 2007 00:31:38 -0500

so i'm watching a documentary on pbs now on hippos. they are some weird animals. kinda like some freak pig combined with another weirdo animal like a rhino making an even stranger animal. did you know there's a type of tree called the sausage tree? there is. it's weird looking. school's going ok so far, and my apartment is becoming a ilttle more furnished slowly but surely. my new desk came in along with other office stuff from staples, so i set up my den. right now, i've got my ubuntu box running samba serving files to my macbook over a wi-fi network. i hope to get a new desktop next semester so i can put vista on it and run some windows programs. i have boot camp on my macbook and xp is loaded onto it, but i really much rather work on a desktop when i have to use something like dreamweaver or photoshop. i think word looks much better on a desktop too, though we'll see when microsoft releases their new office for macs. office 2k4 for macs really doesn't run as well as it does in windows. so... anyways... i should do a little reading and go to sleep... but here's my study.

the move... boston is great!

Sun, 02 Sep 2007 23:29:05 -0500

first... can i just tell tansal to frickin post already? ok... now that that's out of the way... the move to boston was ok... we actually unloaded quicker than i had anticipated... it seemed like i had a lot of stuff (it was one of those utility van loads)... but in my new place there really isn't too much going on. i took some pics of the inside. i need a futon to make my living room more living roomish... and i need a desk to make my den more denish. there are other construction projects going on in my head to give this space a better layout... but so far, i really like my place. i'm planning to put up my large canadian flag in my den instead of my bedroom. i think the red and white would contrast well against the light blueish wall. maybe i'll pick up some sort of sabres stuff to put in my room. if tomorrow's nice... i'll take a pic of the outside of the building. i think it looks pretty sweet... lots of character. i ordered a wireless router so i can hook that up when i officially get my dsl package from verizon. i had planned on getting one of those 802.11n routers with a 4 port gigabit ethernet switch... but the n wifi standard isn't yet a standard... and i'd have to get a gigabit ethernet card for my xubuntu box. i'd prefer getting the n/giga routers cause gigabit ethernet will have a longer shelflife than the wireless standards... however the n/giga routers are still around $120... so i think i can wait until the prices drop a bit. i ended up getting a netgear g/fast ethernet router/switch combo for a little under $30. these things were up @ the $120 price level just a couple years ago. saw an old friend from high school and his buddies tonight... went to see superbad. the emotional connection to the characters didn't fully develop as it did with apatow's other films... however... i still thought it was a very funny movie overall. also ran into another person i knew from way way way back when in buffalo... small world. i'm gonna head down to the city this weekend... i need vacation before school gets cray busy... see some old friends... and get some pizza under the brooklyn bridge.

furniture

Mon, 27 Aug 2007 23:22:05 -0500

since i submitted my thesis last week and went to get three copies bound... i haven't done anything these last three days. it feels absolutely wonderful... kinda like how ron livingston's character reacts after going to the hypnotherapist in office space. i'm trying to lengthen this the period of this feeling by procrastinating on packing =]. so... i've also been looking on craigslist for some items that i'll need... since most of my old (but new) furniture went to my brother as he had just moved into a new place when i left new york. this time around, without a job... craigslist will do for now... maybe with a couple additions from ikea. besides a mattress which i already have... the single most important thing i need is a desk. it's the one thing that i'm really picky about. i like big desks... ones with lots of surface area. i like to have lots of books open when i study, and i like to have room to spread out my notes. i really liked my old desk (which is now my brother's) because there was lots of room and different levels for printers, scanners, speakers, and a monitor (which was set back a little). the keyboard was on a pullout tray... so the portion of the desk below monitor level was open and available for writing. i have a den in my apartment that i'll set up as my computer/study room. it's kind of small, so i'm looking for a fairly large desk that has efficient use of space by stacking things on different levels... but most of the desks on craigslist i've seen are the normal kinds you find in the front of a classroom in high school. if need be, this is the one thing that i'll splurge on after i move in if i have to. other than that, i've been looking for a dining/kitchen table, a couch/futon for the living room, a coffee table, and an entertainment center type thing. it's too bad i'm not in boston this week... it looks like lots of people are throwing stuff out/selling stuff as it's the end of the month and leases are up... when the first rolls around there will be more people looking for stuff then getting rid of stuff =[. today was a nice day... so i got ice cream with a friend. i'm really gonna miss anderson's... mmmmm vanilla custard. i think there will be a couple more ice cream trips this week (in addition to other buffalo favorites). if you're really bored and/or want to fall asleep... here is my thesis, 'the inhibition of late erythroblast 1 (leb-1) gene expression using short interference rna technology'. i figure if i post it... maybe someone will read it... so i don't feel like i wrote it for nothing.

americans don't have maps... south africa... the iraq... and the asian countries

Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:08 -0500

dudes... there is something really wrong with our education system here... not only because of the fact that americans can't locate the US on a map... but because people are unable to formulate a complete thought like this girl right here... and our commander in chief. jeez louise... such as...

done... kinda sorta

Tue, 21 Aug 2007 18:38:45 -0500

had my defense this afternoon. the hard part's done now. just have to make last couple edits to my thesis from my committee member's corrections and turn it in by friday. I'M FREE!!!!!! and it feels GOOD!!!!