So I punched a guy in the face

So okay, okay. I know I suck. I have started to feel like Mike Cohen in regards to this whole blog thing. No time for excuses. I know I'm a slacker. I hate myself for it. I'm sorry. I suck. Feel free to give me shit for it for a long time. (or like 3 days).

So anyways, this weekend I punched a guy in the face on the train and that's only the end of my Saturday night. It started off with sushi with my co-workers where the 5 of us plowed through several bottles of wine (5 and a half to be exact.) Then we chilled for a bit and watched some great SNL skits and then headed out to a bar. Shots all around, rumor has it we went to 3 more bars after that, I don't remember.

Anyways, we got on the train to head north around 130AM. There were a bunch of Iowa fans leaving the bars and such after they got destroyed by Northwestern. From what my blurred memory, eyewitness accounts and a text history can show, one of them really irked me and I punched him. Not sure what he did or to who but my guess is that he deserved it. Alli tried to start stuff with him too, so he was obviously an ass.
Our plans to go home were quickly destroyed when we got a text to go to another bar and thus we once again ended up staying up until past 4:00AM. I felt it so hard in the morning, but thankfully my fist didn't hurt. (though I hope that guys face does).

That's my adventure. I'll keep posting more often. Don't hate me Eric and Matt (and maybe Mike?)

Here's some AMAZING SNL skits featuring Kristen Wiig.
Surprise Party
Surprise 
Penelope - Therapy 
Penelope - Traffic School 
Penelope

Peace Out!

Lasers

On Friday I went to a social event organized by my program at a place called "Frankie's Fun Park." You can imagine what I expected: janky go-karts, mediocre putt-putt, laser tag over-run with little kids, and silly arcade games. When they told us to bring some money for food, I thought to myself, "ok, pizza and hot dogs for dinner."

I was thankfully surprised. Sure, the name needs some work, but Frankie's was actually a lot of fun. I got to shoot some people that annoy me (multiple times) and watch our faculty mentor run amuck like an 8 year old during a few rounds of laser tag. I also enjoyed the go-karts and thought about how Eric would've been nuts in one, despite the fact that he'd want to make it go 5 times as fast.

Even better: there was a bar. Our faculty mentor bought us a couple rounds (....before go-karts; questionable?) and a few appetizers at dinner. That was cool. All in all, a decent night.

I feel like Matt needs to step it up. I know he's busy with work, but I'm busy too and looky what I can do!

Summary:

Became an 8 year old for a night.

Matt is a slacker.

Currently listening to: Straight No Chaser

Did you know?

I found out last night that Foo Fighters are not just a band. The term originated in WWII when pilots flying over Germany saw bright glowing orbs hovering around them. They called them Foo Fighters. Some scientists think they were balls of charged mercury, that when gotten to move in a gyroscopic rotation, somehow hovered. The orbs were supposed to be attracted to the bombers and then disrupt the electronics of the plane, causing it to fall from the sky. If this is true it would mean that the Nazis were working on technology that is still beyond what we have today. They were producing immense amounts of Mercury toward the end of the war. No one really knows why. Several sunken U-boats have been found that had cargoes exclusively composed of Mercury.

There is also speculation that the Nazis got some of this technology from a spacecraft that crashed into the black forest sometime during the war. Crazy stuff.

Fashion and stuff

What is up with women's sweater fashions? My sister was home for the weekend last week and she wore two sweaters to various functions. One was tiny and came about half way to her waist, the other was about knee length. Do they not make clothes that fit anymore? Then there are the boots. I understand that those rubber rain boots keep you dry and uggs are warm, but they are both hideous. And who first thought it would be okay to wear tights as pants with Uggs!?! You have to have a killer body to not look at least mildly gross wearing that, and even the super hot can't avoid the skank factor. I think if I ever saw someone wearing rubber rain boots and tights I would evacuate my stomach right then and there.

I have heard that there are a number of people who check this blog almost daily. I would like to use this space to personally express my concern for your well-being if you come to a blog that gets written on at best once a week every single day. Go play some solitaire or something one day. Believe me, it is way more entertaining than this.

ScarJo is hosting SNL this week. I'm excited.

Volleyball

A group of older grad students needed an extra player on their intramural volleyball team this week. I mentioned I had played a little at Miami, and they signed me up. I even got a neat shirt!

Anyway, while Team Malakalak will always have a special (and I do mean "special") place in my heart, the team I've been playing with here, "Ph.Digs" is ridiculous. Pretty much everyone can spike the ball, they have a designated setter, and I felt like I was completely new to the game. It was intense, but fun. Sadly, we didn't make it to the playoffs, so technically, so I'm not sure when I'll play again. Either way, it was fun and very educational. I'd like to see Team Malakalak play them. Ph.Digs might be well-organized, but there's no predicting what a scrappy team like Team Malakalak can pull off. It was so unpredictable. Yes. I said that.

In other words, I went to a professor for some help and he basically said "For God's sake it's in almost a thousand textbooks. Go look it up!" I guess that when a professor assigns an exam, I assume the material will be from the class that was taught. Oh well, it gave me a reason to check out the chemistry library, which was rather sexy. Yes. I said that too.

In summary:

Played volleyball.

Went to the liberry.

Listening to: "Brothers Sing On," by the Miami University Men's Glee Club

The Bright Side of Fun-Sized

The best part about fun-sized candy is that you can enjoy the experience of indulging over and over and over....like I've been doing for the past week. I bought a bag of candy for trick-or-treaters and alas (?) no one showed up. I would be lying if I said I didn't contemplate calling three Reese's and a Kit-Kat dinner one night. I eventually realized how dumb this was and had a bowl of soup. (As an aside, I recommend Campbell's chunky sausage and chicken gumbo soup).

It's been a fairly uneventful week here in Chapel Hill. We had a two-day biophysics symposium Thursday and Friday, and unfortunately it started early in the morning and went until nearly 6pm. What this meant though was that I had free breakfast and lunch for two days! I ate so much at lunch that I didn't need to eat much for dinner, effectively spending $0 on food for two days.

Work in the lab is going well, and my NSF proposal is coming along decently. I'm also planning a trip to Target to get a few festive things for the apartment, as it's present state is seasonally drab.

Currently listening to: the fan on my laptop, since nothing is playing.

There is nothing fun about fun size

When I think of fun I always think of disappointingly small portions, don't you? I'm kidding of course. Fun size candy should be never ending, or at least humorously large. While we are on the subject, why is there no queen sized candy bars? Fun sized, psh.

On my way home yesterday, I came across an interesting sign. It was a warning against aggressive driving and ended with the phrase "drive smart Kentucky." I thought this was interesting, as most drivers in the area are not smart enough to read, let alone drive smart. Nice try kdot, nice try. Kentucky also has signs along the freeways that tell drivers to keep right except to pass. I like these signs and wish we had them in Ohio. Drivers here think it is cool to sit in the left lane for mile after mile. Morons. I blame drivers education programs. They spend hours graphically explaining the horrendous results of not wearing a seat belt, but barely spend any time at all teaching how to drive properly and avoid accidents in the first place. Don't even get me started on the complete ineptitude of the general population when it comes to merging. It makes me angry just thinking about it.