i just work here

good from far, but far from good.

That is how I will describe Pittsburgh... like a chick that looks super hot from across the room, but has a snaggle-tooth and go-funny eye when approached... just keep walking like you were on your way to the chips.

See how nice?  Well, WRONG.  Because A) there are no shops of any interest and B) you're not safe here, even during the day.  Incidentally, I've never heard so many people talking about being safe in my life.  Not as in, you're perfectly safe, this is a safe place... more like, 'just so you know, I'm a safe person'... which usually means you're not.  Every time we got into a cab, the driver professed to us that he was the safeEST.  um... wha?  Why do you even SAY that?  Whenever we'd go for a walk, it would become apparent that it was a BAD idea to continue walking and not go straight back to the hotel.  So we really learned about speed-walking while remaining assertive-looking. 

Also, the service staff is... interesting?  I know I come from a place where the first thing you say when you approach a customer is, "sorry!"  Like, "sorry!  can i take your order?"  or "sorry! do you have your keys so I can park your car for you?" or "sorry! are you done with that drink?" Also, we're really big on please and thank you.  A server can come to a table to bring over waters, and EVERY person at the table will say thank you as she sets their water down.  So I know that I have expectations about "sorry" "please" and "thank you" but aside from that... the politeness from the service industry in Pittsburgh was lacking.  I won't go into details, but y'all need to start being nice.  Those 3 phrases alone could make your city safer.  Seriously... people being happy as a result and not trying to steal your jewelry. 

One of the conference-associate events (of which there were FAR too many) was a baseball game.  Pittsburgh Pirates vs. the Milwaukee Brewers.  There was a 2 hour rain delay, and were were FREEZING AND WET...

This is Brenna (left) and I expressing our feelings about the whole thing.

But then we saw these squeegie-weenies come out and the cheering was deafening...

I'm telling you, these maintenance men were NOT messing around.  I have to imagine there was a fair amount of practicing these tarp/squeegie routines.  After they scraped off the water (pretty much totally ineffective in our scientific opinions), they then performed this very, very elaborate in sync walking with the edge of the tarp manouver, back and forth, back and forth again, then some breaking away from the line to fold their part... Then they RE-red-dirted the pitching mound and general bases area.  Who gives a shit if the dirt is old?  Just play!  Anyway, it was interesting to watch.  Other things we enjoyed were deciding if we liked the message that each player sent with their chosen music as they approached the field to hit.  Also, the crummy food... that was a guilty pleasure for certain.

The next night we went on a river-boat cruise... also conference associated.  Apparently, I don't like boats so much.  We basically stood there comforting each other while we tried not to barf.

Essentially, it was like most of the conference, trapped in an area with COMPLETE nerds dressed for the most part in laughable ways while we sat uncomfortable outside of the aformentioned dorks.  The conference centre was SEVERELY freezing. 

That night, after we held down our shitty dinner that was served on the USS Barf, there was a dance.  That's right... a dance for the scientists.  I shouldn't have to explain what happened that night at the dance, you should all be able to assume what scientists do on a dance floor... but here is evidence, nonetheless.  Now, I was trying to be covert, and I stuck my camera on a pile of sweaters, obviously strewn there so that their owners could go bust an AWESOME move, but suddenly a sweater owner came back.  You'll then notice the camera moves, yet doesn't turn off immediately... I really, REALLLY wanted to capture more of what was going on, but I finally gave up.

My sister watched it about 45 times. She loved how the lights are all on. In fact, Emily loved it so much and there was SO much to see, that she declared she could do a thesis on this video. If only you'd seen it in real life, Em. This really WAS NOTHING.

Well, I hope you've enjoyed my pictures of Shittsburgh.  Sorry, Pittsburgh!  Perhaps it was the crappy conference that clouded my opinion of your fine, fine city.  See... "sorry"... it does a lot.

And just to leave you with... Lou sleeping (that's ALL SHE DOES).

you think you're funny... don't you universe.

This is Lou.

Well, the breeder had her named Lulu... and we figured we'd call her Lucy, but Sam keeps calling her Lou which is the cutest thing ever... so Lou it is.

She's um... perfect?  I don't ever get perfect things so I know it's a trick.  I'm knocking on wood but here goes:  She's not had ONE accident in the house.  She sleeps all day.  She doesn't get upset if you put her in her crate.  She SLEEPS IN in the morning.  She snuggles whoever you put her on.  She doesn't overeat/beg/chow.  She's perfect looking, even.

WHEN'S IT ALL GOING TO GO TO SHIT?  I know this can't last.  Things aren't easy in this household, EVER... and everything we own/care for is cuh-razay. 

This week has been just a little toooooooo perfect, and I have to admit, I'm waiting for the bad news (please noooooooooooooo!).  Eli's getting a big job opportunity, I am graduating, I am getting travel scholarships for the conference I get to speak at, I packed my suitcase with everything I wanted to bring and I still have room, Sam is super cheery, the dog is perfect, I'm losing weight... it's not normal.  Watch me get pregnant and NOT miscarry!    Watch out now!

Anyway, Lou is fabulous.  I caved and got her a black Buddy Belt. 

Starting at 6am, my life goes back to crazy busy... but it's been a nice week, anyway.  :)

See you soon internets... with pictures of Pittsburgh (you're so excited!).  And thanks to the commenter from my last post, I also agree... penguins ARE super great. 

i have to do dishes, but...

1.  i mentioned sam's unwillingness to discuss his feelings to you... today we're watching charlotte's web (NOT THE NEW ONE, i hate that little girl in the new one... the animated one) and the part where fern saves 'yet-to-be-named-destined-to-die-by-axe' runt piglet.  papa is explaining how runts gotta die, he knows more about raisen' pigs and he's got half a mind to bla bla bla and i look over at sam, he's got his eyes gaping wide trying to NOT cry a tear.  so instead of saying, 'it's alright, sam' i said... 'man, this part makes me SO upset!' and he replied 'why do they DO THAT?'  successful round-about discussion of our feelings.  see that?  i'm learning. 

incidentally, i should mention that i can recite charlotte's web verbatim and NOT because sam watches it all the time (because he doesn't, i make him excersize and like, play intelligent games and stuff, swears).  even if i did, it teaches sam words like 'pragmatically' and 'articulate'.  do you think the things that spiders make webs with are actually called "spinerettes"?  and you know what, it's JUST LIKE REAL LIFE... because poor Charlotte spins to save Wilbur until she DIES, and what do people think when they see words written a web?  They think, wow... that PIG is great.  The pig?  Women get no respect; stupid fat little boys steal it.

actually i know all the ins and outs of Char's Web because i watched it all the time with my sister emy.  where was my mother?  anyway... we love to make it part of our daily inside jokes... like instead of saying terriffic, we always say T-double-E-double-R-double...and so on, just like the goose; or "family-amily".  and the songs... dude, the songs get stuck in my head like you wouldn't believe.  other movies that i can recite are:  beaches; annie; willy wonka and the chocolate factory; and dirty dancing.  i think i mentioned that before, actually. DAMNIT, i'm repeating stories now, i hate that about myself. in fact, here it is.

2.  i am off to PITTSBURGH on saturday for a conference:  the Society for the Study of Reproduction (SSR).  no hating, pittsburgh, but... PITTSBURGH?  last year when i didn't have enough data to submit an abstract the conference was in HAWAII.  my coleagues were booking their swim with dolphins (no lie).  well, i just confirmed my attendance at the pittsburgh event... a baseball game.  i don't WATCH baseball.  if you can tell me what's great in pittsburgh, i'm all ears... i'm sure there's something super great about it...

3.  Lucy is coming home Thursday now... she needed to get her shots to cross the border and her breeder couldn't get an appointment until tomorrow.  it's killing me.  in order to feel like i'm not doing so much waiting, i've become obsessed with dumb shit.  it's true.  the buddy belt.  you can click the pictures to see who that pug is and why it's wearing the coolest harness ever.  i spent 3 hours doing internet research into the buddy belt last night, pricing it out, thinking about colors, deciding what size my hypothetical dog would be when she was an adult.  honestly?  I CAN DRIVE ME CRAZY.  and yes, i DID buy one even though i don't have a dog yet, much less an adult dog.  How awesome is that pug? 

4.  One more month and then it's been 3 months since my last miscarriage... and that means we can start trying again in September.  One whole year more than I had originally planned.  I had one of the docs from the IVF clinic run a screen on me to figure out if there was some glaring error with my physiology.  I know it seemed a little silly, but anyone who has had a miscarriage, let alone 2 in a very short row, knows that they NEVER EVER EVER want to go through that again.  sometimes i think about miscarrying again... and i can't even think of words to explain that, actually.  anyway, the recurrent miscarriage screens she ran were "disgustingly normal" which I take to mean that I am superbly healthy.  :)  Anyway, at the risk of the loss, we'll try again in September, or so I feel we will.  Who knows what will happen in 2 months.  She's prescribed baby aspirin starting now, and Prometrium once I am pregnant.  I don't know what to do.  Do I take the prometrium?  I need to do more research into it.  In my gut, I feel that my hormones failed me... I feel like my corpus luteum didn't do its job, and that the placenta never had a chance to really dig in... my body just started shedding the lining.  So maybe the prometrium is the thing to do.  I wish I knew what to do.

5.  We had our first successful beach visit that didn't end in a sand storm or all-out fly attack since last summer.  It was unbelievably pleasant, except for the back of the leg sunburn.  BUT WHO puts sunscreen there?  Shit.

Anyway, that's my update to you before I leave and don't post for a couple of weeks.  BLOGGER, that's where I am.  I'll be back, with pictures of terrible towels and stuff. 

S

seriously this time.

new puppy.  comes home tuesday.  Lucy the Boston Terrier.  YOU. JUST. WAIT.  so cute.

I put this up for you, Jess. 

P.S.  REMEMBER COWBOY!!!! 

And Murray is SO right, guy nerd is a douche.

please, PLEASE hit me in the head with a 'writer's block'

it's the only way to make use of such a thing.

i have been writing so much that i can't make word sentences with my mouth out loud to people.  (see?)

i know it hasn't been to you, my precious interwebs, that i've been writing... i've been writing my honest-to-god thesis.  that's right... lil mama's graduating.  GRADUATING.  next month i will, for the very last time, DEFEND MYSELF.  maybe not, i've discovered that science is a series of defenses... defense of your work, defense of your methods, defense of your opinions, defense of your lab.  but for the last time until like september or january!  GAHD.

i won't talk about it anymore lest i get excited about it (i have to believe i won't make it so that i follow through and don't go like this in my head... "you totally did it, you're done now, stop even writing because you're so done" because then i do and then i DON'T). 

you know what pisses me off about the thesis though, the ONLY people that will ever read it are your own students (i cracked open my adviser's for the first time in its life) or subsequent students that want to steal your intro outline.  oh sure, it'll go to the Library of Congress and SIT there, but who gives a shit?  no one.  the publication of the paper, that's the thing... that's next.  right, shit... there's more to do.  GAH.

anyway, i'll be busy the next few weeks... so think of me, but don't expect anything coherent.  :)