enormous end of year meme

I'm leaving in last year's answers so I can see the difference or how this year compared to what I thought. I cut some questions because it was way too long.

1. What did you do in 2006 that you’d never done before?
Went to a fancy hair stylist, spoke at a conference, stayed out of C'land for a whole year.

This year I went to group therapy, took an ice skating class, went to a couple of new places, plus some things I'm not going to blog about.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I think I avoided making any because I really didn't think I had a hope of keeping them. I think I might be more optimistic this year.Actually, I did apparently resolve to leave the house each weekend, but I'd completely forgotten about that... I definitely didn't keep it.

I stuck to my Plan (pretty much)! I'm definitely continuing with that.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
No

My grandmother died this year, but I don't think I'd say we were close.

5. What countries did you visit?
Just Conference Country. This wasn't a good year for travel, even within the US.

I think my idea of a good travel year got skewed by the previous couple of years. This was more like last year. I went home and on a few other trips in the US.

6. What would you like to have in 2007 that you lacked in 2006?
Some motivation and self-esteem.

I think I got a bit of each. I'd like some more this year, and a publication or two.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Giving a talk in front of 700-ish people, I guess.

Sticking to The Plan.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Not getting further with my research.

Same again this year.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
The fan for my laptop. I still frequently pause to enjoy the silence.

I got a new laptop last year, but I don't love it like I did the last one. Plane tickets and ice skates were the best things this year.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
I'm going to be encouraging for a change and say mine, right at the end of the year.

I could stick with mine.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Mine, also.

but less so this year.

14. Where did most of your money go?
Boring stuff like rent, transport and groceries. Also a fair chunk went on my Conference Country travels, which was a far more satisfying thing to spend it on.

The same, but I went different places this year.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
I don't think I got that excited about anything, which is sad.

See #11

16. What song will always remind you of 2006?
Pretty much anything from Luckybuzz's Dangerous Mood Mix

Black Cab by Jens Lekman, the vegemite song

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:a) happier or sadder? b) thinner or fatter? c) richer or poorer?
a) happier b) thinner (I've no idea how, but I'm down a belt notch) c) richer
The year doesn't look so bad that way.

a) happier b) maybe thinner, maybe back to the same c) richer

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Talking to people.

That would've been good again. Maybe I should've cut more of these questions.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Hiding in my room and beating myself up about it.

I did do that less this year, but I'd like to keep hiding in my room alone less, and less beating myself up in general. Also, much less procrastinating.

26. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Richard Buckner, I think. Thanks, Luckybuzz! Or maybe I should say emusic.com in general.

Jens Lekman. Thanks, Phantom!

27. What did you want and get?
I got a little mp3 player.

Which I've hardly used. I should listen to music more. I got lots of good things this year.

28. What did you want and not get?
I wanted non-corn syrupy glace fruit from Conference Country, but I didn't get time to buy it. I wanted a lot of books, too, but didn't buy many at all. I still want an ipod, despite the mp3 player I got, too.

I got the glace fruit this year! I don't especially want an ipod now, although it would be cool. I can't think of any things I wanted and didn't get.

29. What was your favorite film of this year?
This wasn't a great year for movies for me. There was only one netflix movie I rated 5 stars, and that was The Station Agent, which I got specifically because I'd seen it before and knew how good it was. Of the few I saw in a cinema, I think I liked Friends With Money best, but I'm not sure it would get the full 5 stars either.

I watched even fewer movies this year, since I cancelled Netflix. I liked Margot at the Wedding, even though none of the characters were likeable.

30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I had dinner with some housemates and they made me C'landian desserts. I was 26.

I did something similar, but they made me cheesecake and I was 27.

31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Not being so depressed or anxious.

That did make it much, much better. Even less anxiety would have been better, of course. Also, getting more work done and seeing my favourite person more.

32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2006?
Same boring jeans-and-t-shirt as usual, but with fancy new hair!

Pretty much the same in 2007.

33. What kept you sane?
This blog and all of you awesome readers/commenters. Thanks!

Thanks again!

36. Who did you miss?
My family and friends at home, and some friends I'm no longer in touch with.

And my favourite person.

37. Who was the best new person you met?
Those of the awesome readers/commenters I got to meet in person. I think I need to work on meeting new people in real life, too, though.

I got to meet a couple of new bloggers this year. The book club people were pretty cool, too. I still need to work on meeting new RL people, though.

38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2006.
Things I'm dreading aren't usually as bad as I expect (something I've been learning for a long time, but I'm hopeful it will stick soon)

I learnt that a bit more. I also learnt that structure and accountability (even if it's kind of fake) are very useful.

In 2007…
4. What will you do different in 07?
I have a plan! Or rather a Plan(tm Katie)! All will be revealed, soon.

The Plan made a big difference. I'm going to keep modifying it.

5. New Years resolution?
All part of The Plan

Again, I'll have more to say about that.

6. What will you not be doing in 07?
Hopefully not despairing so much.

I hardly despaired at all!

7. Any trips planned?
Home! For my little brother's 21st in May. Also hopefully some cool parts of the US.

I didn't go to the cool parts of the US I was hoping to go to, but I got to visit a cool person a couple of times and I went home. I'd like to do the same this year. The conference I went to in 2006 is in another very cool place this year, so I'd like to go to that, if possible.

9. Major thing on your calendar?
Just my brother's birthday, so far. If I ever manage to schedule my thesis committee meeting, there'll be that, too.

I don't think I have anything big on my calendar yet. I'm supposed to have another committee meeting, though...

11. What would you like to see happen differently?
I would like to hide less.

I think I did. It felt less like hiding, anyway, even if I was in my room alone a lot, still. I'd like to spend less time alone, I think. I'd also like to do more work.

12. What about yourself will you be changing?
A lot, I hope.

I did change a fair bit, I think, although maybe those were more lifestyle changes than changes to myself. I'd like to be more productive and confident.

13. What happened in 06 that you didn’t think would ever happen?
There was something unexpected and good, but unbloggable, I think. Oh, and feeling less guilty about S, maybe.

There was more good unbloggable stuff last year.

14. Will you be nicer to the people you care about?
That's part of The Plan.

That part of The Plan didn't work as well, but I'm going to keep trying.

17. Will you better your relationship with your family?
I hope so.

see #14

18. Will you do charity work?
Also part of The Plan.

I'm not sure. That was part of The Plan, but I dropped it at some point, because it wasn't going to happen. I'll try to give blood more regularly, at least.

19. Will you go to bars?
Probably not often.

I did go more than I thought, but not to drink. I probably won't go very often this year.

21. Do you expect 07 to be a good year for you?
I'm more optimistic than I have been for a while.

It was a good year. I'm even more optimistic about 08.

25. Major lifestyle changes?
Maybe I should have just finished working on The Plan instead of doing this meme...

I started exercising and I did more work. I don't know if the changes this year will be as major, but maybe they will be. I'd like to eat better and do even more work.

27. What will you make sure doesn’t happen in 07 that happened in 06?
I don't want to waste quite so much time.

I didn't waste quite so much time, but I'd like to wasted even less. I'm going to make sure I don't just ignore large parts of my project this time.

28. What are your New Years Eve plans?
I saw some ice sculptures and watched some fireworks with my friend from home.

My housemate had a dinner party and we ended up watching the ball drop in Times Square on TV.

30. One wish for 07?
To keep improving and feeling better.

It worked last year so I'll keep it for this year, I think.

year in review meme

January: Apparently, Jeremy's hatred for the penultimate page of The Boy Detective Fails is strong enough to turn our disagreement into a public dispute.

February: So, I got my thirty gold stars, but I still haven't figured out a reward.

March: I made graphs of how often I've been doing all these goals, based on my Joe's goals data.

April: Since eating that first azuki cream puff on Friday, I have eaten (not including breakfasts): [a long list of sugary junk]

May: It wasn't so bad.

June: If I had my memory card reader I would put a photo of a parrot in this post to commemorate the fact that I'm in Styleygeek's city, but I don't.

July: I started writing a grumpy post on the plane when I was feeling tired and squished and sad but I don't think I'll post it after all because right now I'm sitting on Santa Monica Pier, checking my email and downloading blogs to read when I have to go back to the airport for my last flight.

August: I got off to a good start this morning, but I've slowed down this evening...

September: The Plan kind of fell by the wayside again, which is okay, because it was due to good things with higher priority.

October: 92. The Beautiful Miscellaneous by Dominic Smith ***1/2.

November: I'm turning over yet another new one.

December: I was supposed to be on a plane right now, but my flight got cancelled so I’m stuck in the airport for another 3 hours.


It has a lot of Plan posts, unsurprisingly, but I don't think it's a bad representation of the year.

tarquin

A lion seems far too bold for me. I like wolfa's snow leopard better, I think. You can try changing him to something else if your answers to the quiz differ from mine.

valentinr

Get your own valentinr

Giving valentines to friends/classmates etc is very American*, but I like anything that might get people to send me messages. :)
Via B* and Dr Brazen Hussy


*I saw valentine's day multi-packs of play-doh the other day, which made me giggle.

Countdown

Because I feel bad for not posting, but am fairly uninspired.
Via Luckybuzz and Kermit.

10 Firsts
1. First best friend: Lucinda.
2. First car: I kind of owned my brother's tiny, $500 car while he was overseas, but I only drove it a few times before discovering it wasn't at all roadworthy.
3. First love: I'm not sure.
4. First vacation: Probably the beach, with my family.
5. First job: Hearing my mum's students read.
6. First piercing: Ears, when I was 14 (I wasn't allowed any earlier). I thought about getting the top of my ear pierced a while ago, but my mum said she would refuse to be seen with me. I'm less concerned with what she would think now, but given how infrequently I change my earrings, I'm not sure I care enough to do it.
7. First concert: First concert I went to of my own accord was Spiderbait. First concert I was taken to by my parents was probably an orchestral thing for kids (I'm glad that came before the Christian pseudo-pop concert...)
8. First record/CD bought: Also Spiderbait, and Ben Folds Five at the same time. Oh, but I think my brother and I split a Pet Shop Boys CD before that... (I will argue I was coerced into it by him.)
9. First real love: n/a
10. First screen name: I don't remember what I used to sign up for bulletin boards before we got the internet, because I think my brother and I made up a bunch of different names so we could cheat and download more, but after that I just used my real name.

9 Latest
1. Latest alcoholic beverage: I don't remember. Christmas, maybe.
2. Latest car ride: My advisor drove me from one lab to the other today.
3. Latest movie watched: All About My Mother.
4. Latest phone call made: To call a cab from school to lab, since I got a cab voucher.
5. Latest jacuzzi bath: I don't remember.
6. Latest played CD: Camera Obscura, Underachievers Please Try Harder
7. Latest time you cried: Talking to my mum on the phone.
8. Latest meal: Cheese pizza (free lunch!).
9. Latest curse: Dead laptop screen.

8 Things You Wear
1. docs
2. jeans
3. t-shirts
4. star earrings
5. mittens
6. hat
7. scarf
8. watch

7 Have You Ever

1. Dated one of your best friends: No.
2. Been arrested: No.
3. Fallen in love at first sight: No.
4. Been in a TV program: Yes.
5. Had your heart broken: No.
6. Said you love someone without meaning it: Yes.
7. Made a prank phone call: No.

6 Things You've Done Today
1. Gone to the gym.
2. Made porridge for breakfast (with raisins, peaches and brown sugar).
3. Knitted some hat.
4. Read a paper (that was my 30 mins of productivity).
5. Looked at laptops online.
6. Written some emails (some of them work-related, at least).

5 Favorite Things
1. Flying.
2. Polar (and other) bears.
3. Books.
4. Blogs.
5. Hugs.

4 People I Can Tell Anything
You and you and you and you.

3 Choices
1. Black or white? White, because I hate black, but really neither.
2. Winter or summer? Summer.
3. Chocolate or chips? Chocolate.

2 Things to do Before you Die
1. Travel a lot more.
2. Graduate.

1 Thing You Regret
1. The whole LtEHB saga.

Something you could do an infinite number of times:
Daydream.

Now that I've done that I might be feeling more inspired to blog, but maybe I'll save my inspiration for later.

old and new

via Luckybuzz and google.

1. What did you do in 2006 that you’d never done before?
Went to a fancy hair stylist, spoke at a conference, stayed out of C'land for a whole year.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I think I avoided making any because I really didn't think I had a hope of keeping them. I think I might be more optimistic this year.
Actually, I did apparently resolve to leave the house each weekend, but I'd completely forgotten about that... I definitely didn't keep it.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
No

4. Did anyone close to you die?
No

5. What countries did you visit?
Just Conference Country. This wasn't a good year for travel, even within the US.

6. What would you like to have in 2007 that you lacked in 2006?
Some motivation and self-esteem.

7. What dates from 2006 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
I can't think of any. I'm not good at remembering specific dates, anyway. I remember flight dates, I guess. My trip to Conference Country was September 16th - October 1st

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Giving a talk in front of 700-ish people, I guess.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Not getting further with my research.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Nothing major enough to remember.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
The fan for my laptop. I still frequently pause to enjoy the silence.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
I'm going to be encouraging for a change and say mine, right at the end of the year.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Mine, also.

14. Where did most of your money go?
Boring stuff like rent, transport and groceries. Also a fair chunk went on my Conference Country travels, which was a far more satisfying thing to spend it on.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
I don't think I got that excited about anything, which is sad.

16. What song will always remind you of 2006?
Pretty much anything from Luckybuzz's Dangerous Mood Mix

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:a) happier or sadder? b) thinner or fatter? c) richer or poorer?
a) happier b) thinner (I've no idea how, but I'm down a belt notch) c) richer
The year doesn't look so bad that way.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Talking to people.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Hiding in my room and beating myself up about it.

20. How will you be spending Christmas?
With C'landian friends.

21. Did you fall in love in 2006?
No.

22. How many one-night stands?
Zero.

23. What was your favorite TV program?
Wonderfalls.

24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
I don't think I hate anyone.

25. What was the best book you read?
See my top 11 list.

26. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Richard Buckner, I think. Thanks, Luckybuzz! Or maybe I should say emusic.com in general.

27. What did you want and get?
I got a little mp3 player.

28. What did you want and not get?
I wanted non-corn syrupy glace fruit from Conference Country, but I didn't get time to buy it. I wanted a lot of books, too, but didn't buy many at all. I still want an ipod, despite the mp3 player I got, too.

29. What was your favorite film of this year?
This wasn't a great year for movies for me. There was only one netflix movie I rated 5 stars, and that was The Station Agent, which I got specifically because I'd seen it before and knew how good it was. Of the few I saw in a cinema, I think I liked Friends With Money best, but I'm not sure it would get the full 5 stars either.

30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I had dinner with some housemates and they made me C'landian desserts. I was 26.

31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Not being so depressed or anxious.

32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2006?
Same boring jeans-and-t-shirt as usual, but with fancy new hair!

33. What kept you sane?
This blog and all of you awesome readers/commenters. Thanks!

34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
I don't think I noticed too many. The bartender in Wonderfalls was pretty cute.

35. What political issue stirred you the most?
I avoided political issues a lot this year, because every time I thought about them I'd just get depressed.

36. Who did you miss?
My family and friends at home, and some friends I'm no longer in touch with.

37. Who was the best new person you met?
Those of the awesome readers/commenters I got to meet in person. I think I need to work on meeting new people in real life, too, though.

38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2006.
Things I'm dreading aren't usually as bad as I expect (something I've been learning for a long time, but I'm hopeful it will stick soon)

39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

There's only me to blame
But I'm lonely all the same

-Friendless Summer (the Lucksmiths)

Or the more hopeful:

I'm gonna be all right tonight up here
-AOK Up Here (the Universe)

In 2007…
1. Will you be looking for a new job?
No.

2. Will you be looking for a new relationship?
I don't know about looking, but maybe I might be more open to the idea of not avoiding one.

3. New house?
No.

4. What will you do different in 07?
I have a plan! Or rather a Plan(tm Katie)! All will be revealed, soon.

5. New Years resolution?
All part of The Plan

6. What will you not be doing in 07?
Hopefully not despairing so much.

7. Any trips planned?
Home! For my little brother's 21st in May. Also hopefully some cool parts of the US.

8. Wedding plans?
No.

9. Major thing on your calendar?
Just my brother's birthday, so far. If I ever manage to schedule my thesis committee meeting, there'll be that, too.

10. What can’t you wait for?
I think I need to find things to be excited about. I'm looking forward to going home, though.

11. What would you like to see happen differently?
I would like to hide less.

12. What about yourself will you be changing?
A lot, I hope.

13. What happened in 06 that you didn’t think would ever happen?
There was something unexpected and good, but unbloggable, I think. Oh, and feeling less guilty about S, maybe.

14. Will you be nicer to the people you care about?
That's part of The Plan.

15. Will you dress differently this year than you did in 06?
I don't think so.

16. Will you start or quit drinking?
Probably not, unless I find a drink I actually like.

17. Will you better your relationship with your family?
I hope so.

18. Will you do charity work?
Also part of The Plan.

19. Will you go to bars?
Probably not often.

20. Will you be nice to people you don’t know?
I think I already am reasonably nice.

21. Do you expect 07 to be a good year for you?
I'm more optimistic than I have been for a while.

22. How much did you change from this time last year till now?
I haven't noticed any specific changes, but there must be some, because I feel a lot better now.

23. Do you plan on having a child?
No.

24. Will you still be friends with the same people you are friends with now?
I think so.

25. Major lifestyle changes?
Maybe I should have just finished working on The Plan instead of doing this meme...

26. Will you be moving?
No.

27. What will you make sure doesn’t happen in 07 that happened in 06?
I don't want to waste quite so much time.

28. What are your New Years Eve plans?
I saw some ice sculptures and watched some fireworks with my friend from home.

29. Will you have someone to kiss at midnight?
No. But I got hugs.

30. One wish for 07?
To keep improving and feeling better.

And now I have "Fitter, happier, more productive" stuck in my head, so I'll end this half of the meme on a lyric as well*. Happy New Year!

*I'm hoping for a more positive, literal meaning than the actual song.

end of year meme

As seen at Dr Brazen Hussy and Luckybuzz's:

1) Harken back to your archives.
2) Collect the first sentence you wrote every month for the whole year.
3) Entertain us.

January: I really hope today is not indicative of the year to come, even if it is entirely indicative of the year just ended. (sadly, it was)
February: I listen to music on my laptop (whose fan almost constantly makes a loud buzzing noise now) so I'm obviously not a sound quality snob.
March: I was stricter with my definition of visiting for this one.
April: I just went and stupidly said I was free to join housemates for a dinner party, then I freaked out again and realised that I've procrastinated long enough today that I won't get my lab work done until too late, which gives me a handy excuse to get out of it after all, but now housemate has emailed me back saying he's "really glad" I can join them, so I feel too guilty to use the excuse... (that's 3/4 of the post right there in one sentence)
May: Apparently it's worse than I thought...
June: hi, welcome!
July: Everyone's doing this cool meme, so I want to join in, too.
August: I read this post at academic secret last night and, since almost every one of the traits of a chronic procrastinator could accurately describe me, I followed the link to Procrastinators Anonymous.
September: I'm entirely giving up on plot summaries, in an attempt to catch up on books I've read (I still have enough to fill another post after this).
October: I discovered the secret to getting to lab at a reasonable hour: reset my alarm clock from Conference Country time to EST +1.
November: It was a struggle to get my 15 points today.
December: Light a candle for World AIDS Day here and Bristol-Myers Squibb will donate $1 to the National AIDS Fund

I'm not sure how entertaining that was, but I guess it's fairly representative.

books #98-106

Apparently I'm on a big blog-roll tonight (I think I want someone to talk to), so I thought I ought to finish at least one of the drafts I've had sitting around for ages.

98. St Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves by Karen Russell ****. There were some great stories in here, but some of them reminded me why I don't like short stories - I get to the end and want to read the rest of the novel. Actually, I guess that wasn't necessarily a fault restricted to the less-great stories. I especially liked the title story, but I foolishly returned the book without recording the names of my other favourite stories.

99. Pyongyang by Guy Delisle ***1/2. I missed Flea's initial evangelism about this graphic novel, but after she recommended it again, I added it to my request list. I didn't love it as much as she did, but it was fascinating to see inside North Korea, even if the author didn't manage to penetrate far beyond the official facade.

100. One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson ****. I don't really like mysteries, but I love Kate Atkinson enough to almost entirely make up for that. I did really like the characters in this book, and the writing, of course, but I think I would've liked it even more without the mystery.

101. The Glass Lake by Maeve Binchy **1/2. This was a comfort read. I went through a Maeve Binchy phase in high school, thanks to watching Circle of Friends, but this was the only one I remember liking enough to reread. I think I liked how all the women (at least the ones you were meant to like) knew exactly the right thing to say.

102. The Wonder Spot by Melissa Bank ***. I have a half-written post about this one.

103. The Midwife's Apprentice by Karen Cushman ***. See discussion at Phantom's book club: Younger readers edition.

104. So B. It by Sarah Weeks ***. Phantom's book club: YA edition.

105. Born Again by Kelly Kerney ***. I'm not sure if this was meant to be YA or not. I thought it was a pretty believable and engaging portrayal of an evangelical kid coming to question her beliefs, although I'm not sure the characters were entirely consistent.

106. Lost Cosmonaut by Daniel Kalder ***1/2. Parts of this travelogue of places "untouched by tourism" I liked a lot. He had an interesting perspective on travelling and what counts as an authentic experience. The best part of the book was the outlandish chapter on Mari El and the pagan chief he met there. He was amusingly snarky* for the most part, but sometimes his unimpressed tone got annoying.

Finally, a book meme (it's old, I know):

What Kind of Reader Are You? Your Result: Literate Good Citizen You read to inform or entertain yourself, but you're not nerdy about it. You've read most major classics (in school) and you have a favorite genre or two.
Book Snob
Dedicated Reader
Obsessive-Compulsive Bookworm
Fad Reader
Non-Reader
What Kind of Reader Are You? Create Your Own Quiz

I'm not really happy with this result... I think not buying all the books I read held me back from being a dedicated reader.


*The real life friend I was chatting with earlier didn't know the word snarky! She clearly doesn't spend enough time online...

meme experiment

I saw this first at Bitch PhD, but I didn't post it until now because I didn't know how to do step 3 (no, I never bothered clicking on that helpful link right there in step 3), but I figured it out, so here's my data point.

[Short Version: Link to this post in the name of science. Ask others to do the same. Results to be announced during the "Meet the Bloggers" panel at MLA 2006.]

1. Write a post linking to this one in which you explain the experiment. (All blogs count, be they TypePad, Blogger, MySpace, Facebook, &c.)
2. Ask your readers to do the same. Beg them. Relate sob stories about poor graduate students in desperate circumstances. Imply I'm one of them. (Do whatever you have to. If that fails, try whatever it takes.)
3. Ping Technorati.

toe meme

toes

I almost forgot to take a photo today, so thanks LG for the inspiration!

halloween costume meme

From AAYOR:

" If I were designing a [my blog title/pseud here] Halloween costume, it would consist of..."

[My Rule: Try to choose something representative rather than your most stylish/most interesting/most h.o.t. outfit].

I think mine is the perfect one for if you only realise you need a costume with 5 minutes to spare.

The Lucy halloween costume consists of:

• jeans
• t-shirt (maybe you could pick one with a children's book/cartoon character on it, if you want to make it slightly less boring)
• doc martens (or hiking shoes if you only have 4 minutes and need to save shoelacing time)
• hair in a ponytail
• watch (a free-with-Time-magazine-subscription one)
• little, animal-shaped silver earrings (although maybe that's cheating, because I put plain sleepers in my ears months ago and haven't thought about earrings since)
  
• messenger-ish bag with a confusing slogan about my home town on it, for carrying a book and random stuff, or backpack with my laptop in it, if I'm going to lab
  

who am I?

Wolfangel wrote an interesting post about the ways people represent themselves on blogs, which turned into a cool meme idea. I was thinking about this kind of thing recently, too, so I'm going to join in on the meme.

based on this blog, what kind of person do you think I am? If you’ve met me, what has surprised you about me?

quote meme

Since everyone else has already done this, you all know how this works already, right? Quotes from here. (Does anyone else think this meme was started by whoever runs that page, in order to increase their traffic?)

• The great tragedy of Science - the slaying of a beautiful hypothesis by an ugly fact. (Thomas H. Huxley)
• The minute one utters a certainty, the opposite comes to mind. (May Sarton)
• People say that life is the thing, but I prefer reading. (Logan Pearsall Smith)
  
• The universe is not hostile, nor yet is it friendly. It is simply indifferent. (J. H. Holmes)
  
• Never attribute to malice what can be adequately explained by stupidity. (Unknown)

book meme

I've done the book meme that's been going around before, but just so you can share my pain, here's the result for my current closest book:

1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the next 4 sentences on your blog along with these instructions.
5. Don't you dare dig for that "cool" or "intellectual" book in your closet! I know you were thinking about it! Just pick up whatever is closest.

This is an important principle to keep in mind as you conceptualize research problems. For example, if you initially select individuals who scored "severe" on the Beck Depression Inventory, it would make little sense to then correlate their depressiveness with some variable of interest. Similarly, if you are doing research on gifted students, you probably should hesitate to correlate achievement with some other variable. And if you are the admissions officer at a selective university, do not be surprised to find that your students' SAT scores bear little relation to their college GPAs.

Okay, that doesn't really convey the full horror of the fact that I've been reading statistics books for the past hour and a half, and R help files* for four hours before that (I think that's a record for total hours of work! And with only 3 hours of wasting time in between!). It's so demoralising when I actually try to do some work for a change and still accomplish nothing...

Since all that reading hasn't helped me at all, does anyone out there know how I test whether there's a statistically significant difference in noise between multiple groups? I don't care what the actual values are in each group; I just want to figure out which one has the least variation.

*also, why does R have to have such an un-google-able name?

photo meme: final installment

Shrinky reminded me that I hadn't quite finished all the photo requests from the meme. I forgot that ice cream was specifically part of her request, but here's Luckybuzz and me just after eating ice cream:


We even exceeded our original plans and actually talked! That was definitely the most fun meme photo :) Thanks, Luckybuzz! (and Shrinky for encouraging us)

book meme

Now, as a reward for finally writing that review, I can do the book meme, for which I was tagged by both of the wonderful Post-doc and Dr. Brazen Hussy.

1. One book that changed your life?

Like Ceresina, I had trouble thinking of a book that actually changed my life. I love books, obviously, but I don't know how much they actually affect my real life. If I had changed my life based on something I'd learned from fiction, it probably would've been a good thing.
Instead, the only book I came up with was this one: Shy Children, Phobic Adults (or possibly there was a different one I read first, but it was something similar at least). It was on display in the "recently returned" section at the local library when I was 18-ish and luckily the library had self-checkout machines or I never would've borrowed it. Before I read that book, I thought I was just a socially-incompetent freak who never had anything to say and was going to be alone and miserable forever. I didn't realise there were other people who were terrified of talking to people in the same way. After reading the book, I looked up more information about social anxiety online, and I think that was the first time I encountered the shyness support groups I later joined, although I was too scared to even write anything then.
As I read about other people's experiences and treatment programs, I started to be hopeful that maybe I could stop being so miserable and lonely, too, but unfortunately, my "real" life isn't that dramatically different to how it was then, but I have gained a whole online life, which has been almost entirely a good thing.

2. One book you have read more than once?

How about the book I've read the most times? That would be A Solitary Blue by Cynthia Voigt. I've written about this book before, but when I went to find the post, I realised that not drawing attention to the archives was a good idea...

3. One book you would want on a desert island?

The complete Tillerman series (including A Solitary Blue)? I don't think that's been collected in one volume, sadly... The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide by Douglas Adams, perhaps. Or maybe Jane Austen would be better, or Winnie the Pooh. Could I arrange to have all of these bound into one enormous volume (with the rest of Douglas Adams' books added in)?

4. One book that made you laugh?

Anything by Douglas Adams. I tried reading other humourous science fiction/fantasy to make up for my withdrawal since he didn't write enough books, but while I enjoyed some other authors (eg Terry Pratchett, Tom Holt) when I was 14, none of the others have lasted.

5. One book that made you cry?

The Time-Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger. Also, Last Chance to See, by Douglas Adams. I just left Dr Brazen Hussy's answers there because they're true for me, too. I also just read the Book Thief, which had me sobbing even more than the Time-Traveler's Wife.
Really, though, almost anything will make me cry.

6. One book you wish had been written?

The rest of The Salmon of Doubt. A Meg and Calvin book.

Updated: I forgot to also copy Shrinky's answer. I want a book about "me", too. One that doesn't skip from the awkward stage I can relate to, directly to the (reasonably) happily ever after ending. I want the instructions in the middle!

7. One book you wish had never been written?

This one (I could do without the whole genre, actually)

8. One book you are currently reading?

The Beginner's Guide to Winning the Nobel Prize by Peter Doherty. It was a Christmas present from my mum and it's taken me this long to start it, because I'm not particularly inspired by it. I went to the library today, though, so I have a nice new stack of books to choose from. Next might be The Good Fairies of New York by Martin Millar (amazon includes Neil Gaiman as an author, but there's no mention of him on the copy I have here).

9. One book you have been meaning to read?

My holds list at the library includes I'm Not the New Me by Wendy McClure and Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs. I still have the first book of Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle on my shelf, too.

10. Now tag five people:

I listed more than one book for almost every answer; can that make up for not tagging people? No?
I hate tagging people, but I love being tagged, so I guess I should try. So, you're it, wolfa, sheepish (you can have an extension since you're on holiday), galaxy, sftr (if I tag you will you come back out of hiding?) and whoever else wants to do it.

requestfest

Everyone's doing this cool meme, so I want to join in, too. Tell me what you'd like to see photos of and I'll post them. (I think I lost most of my lurkers during the temporary address change, but if you're still around, delurk!)

books #12-14 (plus meme)

12. Parnassus on Wheels by Christopher Morley. I put this on hold at the library after reading Julie (at Bookworm)'s post on it and I wasn't disappointed. It was very sweet. The only problem was that it only took me about an hour to read. I'll have to get the sequel next. Oh, and you can even read it online.

13. The Big U by Neal Stephenson. I loved the rest of his books that I've read (I've had the first in the Baroque cycle since it was published, but it seems like a big commitment so I haven't started it yet). This one was his first book, I think, and was only brought back into print due to his later success. It was a bit over the top and some of the characters' idiocy reminded me, unfortunately, of A Confederacy of Dunces, but I still enjoyed it.

14. The Writing Life by Annie Dillard. After Phantom posted about the inchworm, I had to request this as well. Even though I haven't really tried to write anything since going on a young writers camp in grade 8, I still love reading about writing and her little vignettes are wonderful. Some of her avoidance tactics are rather similar to my efforts at procrastination; I just wish I could claim they were all part of the scientific process...

I was probably going to put this post off for another book, but Andrea posted another book meme, this time Literary Speed Dating from Julie (at No Fancy Name), so I had to follow her lead.
The idea is to pick 3 favourite books to have with you while speed-dating.

1. Cryptonomicon (Neal Stephenson)
2. Stardust (Neil Gaiman)
3. Paradise (A.L. Kennedy)

Alternates: (what? I read the original article, the event is held in a bookstore, where you're meant to find your books; they might not have my first three)
4. Prodigal Summer (Barbara Kingsolver)
5. About a Boy (Nick Hornby)
6. So Long, and Thanks For All the Fish (Douglas Adams) (or the entire trilogy if they have it as one volume)

To quote Andrea: "narrowing it to three felt like chopping off an arm" and I'm relying on my poor memory to let me post this without further anguish. I'll probably feel terribly guilty for betraying much-loved books when I realise what I've forgotten.

books 8-11

8. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden. This was one of those books I'd been thinking of reading at some point, but wasn't sufficiently motivated to actually go looking for it or anything. It was sitting in the new books section of the library last time I went so I picked it up. It was okay, but nothing special. I was interested in learning about the whole geisha way of life, but I don't really trust that the depiction was entirely accurate.

9. Rabbithead by Rebecca Dart. I picked this comic book up because the title and cover looked cute, but it wasn't as cute a story as I was expecting. The layout with different characters branching out into their own series of panels was interesting. It's pretty short and has no words, so I'm not sure it should count as a book, really.

10. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. This is another book I wasn't really motivated to bother reading, but two of my housemates just read it and were so enthusiastic in forcing their copies on the rest of us that I read it. I have to admit, I'm a book snob, and the worst kind, in that I'm automatically suspicious of anything for which large numbers of people loudly proclaim their love, so I wasn't really trying to love the book. Multiple people stopping me on public transport to tell me how great it was didn't help, either (of course, if the book were more obscure, that might endear it to me). It's not that it's a bad book. I liked it more than Memoirs of a Geisha, for example, but only greatness could live up to the hype. The plot points were rather too neat for me. Now I have to return the book without being forced to be more enthusiastic than I really am.

11. Atonement by Ian McEwan. I read Saturday recently and quite liked it, although again it didn't live up to the hype. This one was supposed to be a better book. I'm only on page 90, but I'm already getting very impatient for the thing that has to be atoned for to happen.

Once again, Andrea has posted a book-related meme just in time for inclusion in this series:

A new version of 23rd and 5th.

Instructions:
1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the next 3 sentences on your blog along with these instructions.
5. Don’t you dare dig for that cool or intellectual book in your closet! I know you were thinking about it! Just pick up whatever is closest.

Atonement is right here, so I'll skip ahead for this. Maybe I'll find out what the heinous crime is!

"He went over it again and it looked the same. There was no way out, he would have to speak to her. He put his hand over the bell push."

guess not...

Also from B* - thanks for tagging me :)

Remove the blog in the top spot from the following list and bump everyone up one place. Then add your blog to the bottom slot, like so.
1) doris
2) zerodoll
3) Overread
4) BrightStar
5) Lucy

Next select five people to tag (Sorry!):
I love getting tagged, but I hate tagging people. I worry that people will be annoyed at getting tagged, or think I don't like them enough to tag them. I'd like to read everyone's responses so feel free to consider yourselves tagged, or not tagged, as you see fit, but I'm awarding the tags to my last 5 commenters (who haven't already been tagged, I think):
1) peripateticpolarbear
2) Andrea
3) shrinkykitten
4) jo(e)
5) Phantom Scribbler

What were you doing 10 years ago?
Enjoying the last of the Christmas holidays before starting grade 11. I was all excited about my subjects because we finally got to choose all of them - English, French, Physics, Chemistry, Maths, More Maths! (no biology because in high school it was all about memorising taxonomy and growing hydroponic tomatoes and other things that wouldn't help with uni biology anyway, plus I thought I might want to do astrophysics at that point, or philosophy). I was probably also deluding myself that this year I'd be all sociable...

What were you doing 1 year ago?
I'd just started in my thesis lab and was supposed to be reading a lot of papers to try to figure out a project to do, instead I was finding lots of interesting stuff online, but I probably hadn't started exploring too much of the blogosphere. Other than that, pretty much what I'm doing now - sitting around a lot and wasting time. Oh, wait! I was actually on a ski trip this time last year. We went to Lake Placid and it was -25C/-13F but it was still very fun. I actually started doing some blue trails there. Although, the second day, I somehow forgot how to turn, after riding the lift to the very top of the mountain... It came back to me eventually, but not on that run. I still haven't gone skiing yet this year. I should really do that. Hopefully, I'll remember how!

Five snacks you enjoy:

• cake (pretty much any kind)
• cashews
• peanut butter m&ms
• sour cream and onion pringles
• medjool dates
  

Five songs to which you know all the lyrics:
I seriously suck at remembering lyrics. I can fudge my way through more songs than this, but I can't think of many I'd actually claim to know the words of. It takes a lot of repetition to make the words stick (hence the three affiliation-based songs on the list).

• Falling Aeroplanes (Darren Hanlon)
• Guess How Much I Love You (the Lucksmiths)
• Laudate Nomen Domini (Christopher Tye)
• my high school's school song
• the Commonwealthlandian national anthem

Five things you would do if you were a millionaire:

• pay off my parents' mortgages
• give/invest money for each of my immediate family, including myself (I don't think I'd trust them with all the cash)
• travel all over the world
• buy a house
• give some to charity

Five bad habits:

• staying in bed/in my room all weekend
• being Too Stupid To(TM B*) Sleep
  
• aimless internet browsing
• eating comfort food
• not exercising
  

Five things you like doing:

• reading blogs
• reading books
• watching movies
• playing board games
• travelling
  

Five things you would never wear again:

• any of the dresses my mum chose for me when I was 13 or so
• my purple sunglasses with palm trees and suns printed all over them from the same time
• my hair in a pony tail on the side (my mum still claims "it looks so nice that way")
• floral printed bike shorts from when I was 12
• baggy green jeans from high school
  

Five favorite toys:

• laptop
• digital piano
• digital camera
• lab reagents that change colour when you mix them together
  
• the bottle of wite-out that sits on my desk in the lab. Every so often I get the urge to paint stuff with it - it's fun!