more photos!

here are some pictures from the scavenger hunt during orientation (about a month ago at least). we had to pose in front of certain spots in new haven. very silly and fun. the cute austrailan boy is in all these pictures. try and guess which one he is. (hint: he's the cute one)









also, this is a napkin that has the med school's crest on it. slytherin, i swear.



my tummy is very full of chicken tikka masala. delicious chicken tikka masala. that i have lots of leftovers for dinner tomorrow night too. woohoo. we went out to dinner because it is jenny's birthday today. yay! and we might be going out for 2-for-1 drinks a gpscy too. if everyone realizes that they don't actually have that much work to do. which they don't.

fluffies don't have any work to do!

woods hole retreat: a photographic adventure

this weekend was the mcdb (molecular cellular and developmental biology department) retreat to woods hole, ma. i went because i thought it would be fun. and it mostly was. there were a lot of research talks to go to and they were pretty boring. but hanging out with everyone was cool. so yay. and there was a lot of food and wine and beer. hooray!! friday we got there in the afternoon and then ate dinner and went to talks. after the talks there was a social where i drank A LOT of wine. ha ha. after going to bed around 1ish, i woke up with the sunrise and couldn't fall back asleep. stupid insomnia. at least it was very very pretty, and the view out of my window of eel pond was very nice.









saturday morning there were a bunch more talks. but then we had the afternoon free to go exploring. and explore we did!



here's carolyn and rajini posing for the camera



a horseshoe crab made out of horseshoes



we walked along the road to the lighthouse. it's cute. because it's small. but there was a nice beach too.





carolyn, jenny, rajini, and i in front of the water



and now in front of the lighthouse



what a cute little lighthouse!





saturday night was a lot of fun. the social included silly games including trivia, charades, the newlywed game, and ddr. lots of ddr. even faculty played. and we went out to a bar for about an hour and played flip cup. and then at 1am it was last call. (i know, wtf??) we went back to the common room for more drinks and more ddr. people think i'm actually pretty good at ddr, which is a lie. i think it's funny. at 3am we all went to bed.

sunday morning we skipped the boring boring talks and sat outside in the sun. it was better that way



alice even decided to take a nap in the grass



while we waited for the bus back to yale, jeff decided he was getting sunburnt and covered his face with his jacket



jeff is silly



alice and mike are waiting for the bus



and here are all of the lovely first year mcgd students that got sucked into going on this retreat. there are an awful lot of us!



the bus finally came and we all made it back home safely. hooray. two exciting things were waiting for me when i got home. the first was the first season of the simpsons on dvd that i had ordered. the second was my tickets to the killers concert this friday. hooray i'm excited. and then i did a bunch of laundry.

tomorrow is my first day in my first lab rotation! woohoo! i have to get up so early.

fluffies.

bbbq (the extra b is for beer!)

this was the most rediculously fun disaster of a bbq ever! we knew the weather wasn't going to be perfect but the whole day had been rain-free and relatively nice. we kept our fingers crossed and at 5:30 i started the grill....

5:50 - downpour. thunderstorm. scary shit. lightning right on top of my head. in trying to protect the grill from the rain i discovered that my ass is so big that it sticks out from under umbrellas. wearing a white dress in the rain is a bad plan, so i changed.

here's me checking on the grill when the rain slowed down. still hot so the burgers went on to cook! (i attempted to make kaitlin burgers by adding the onion, garlic, oregano, parsley, etc, and people seemed to like them. hooray!)


a lot of people drove over because of the rain. brad brought chips and half of a keg from the mcdb happy hour on friday. i have no idea why i'm making such a rediculous face.


and here's the keg. too heavy to carry still, causing jeff to break the handle on the bucket. oops. the keg turned out to be mostly head which was sad. it was sam adams though.


here are rich and jenny who got caught in the downpour and had to borrow clothes from erica and carolyn while their own stuff went into the dryer. a couple of wet rats drowned by hurricane ophelia. kind of ironic isn't it?


jeff, casey, and rich standing in the kitchen. this time casey is making a funny face. so at least i'm not the only one. :P


this is erica's boyfriend jason. he is staying with us for the weekend, but we haven't actually seen erica or jason at all today.


brad thought it would be funny and productive to juggle his ground turkey while making it into burgers. he's just rediculous


this is a silly picture of diana eating. sorry, diana.


alice doesn't like to have her picture taken aparently. and phil didn't notice. yay candid shots!


again with the candid shots and funny faces. alice is still hiding and jeff must be feeling guilty about eating that brownie or something.


this is a cute one of carolyn and diana.


look how sad i am after receiving the text message that the cute (married) austrailian boy sent me saying he couldn't come to the bbbq because of the rain and he had too much work to do. lame!! (also note that i had to change again because my ass got rained on again. i had given up on the cute outfits at this point) (also note that i toasted marshmallows over our gas stove to make smores. they were still tasty!)


and we all had some hot apple pie shots. yum yum!!


i like playing bartender.


we all watched robin williams live on broadway, which is still hilarious. and there was much discussion of movies and their relative goodness/badness. good times were had by all. after the movie, most people left and carolyn, erica, jason, diana, brad, and i went out to the gpscy and bar. note that i was still wearing pajamas. so comfy. but it was funny walking around downtown new haven passing all the bars and clubs that wouldn't let me in dressed like a slob. i got some good drinks (they are cheap at gpscy, hooray!!). i talked to brad about music. then i talked to carolyn, diana, and brad about sex while erica was drunk on jason. then we all went home and went to bed. or at least tried to go to bed. i didn't get to go to bed until 4am because gerrit called and i have rediculous insomnia. how it's possible to go from mono to insomnia i don't quite understand. but whatever.

i was up this morning at 8:30, i went for a biking adventure, went on a walk to collect chinese take-out menus, and made delicious pizza with steak and mushrooms on it.

hooray for bbbqs, pizza, and fluffies! poo on the rain!

evolution schmevolution

this week is a special evolution schmevolution week on the daily show, and i must say that it is amazing. the debate between evolution and intelligent design being taught in schools as described by jon stewart. definitely worth watching every night this week. (not that that is a problem since i don't actually do anything exciting in the evenings) i love it! as a scientist, and specifically a biologist, it's hard to understand how anyone can think that evolution is complete bullshit. i mean, it's been shown to occur in a lab setting. the origin of life from little nitrogen bits and a spark of lightning has been recreated. yeast cells have been shown to adapt and evolve into different yeasts. by having selective pressures act on different colonies of yeast that started out the same, scientists have caused those yeast cells to evolve into different forms of yeast that are no longer compatible for mating with each other. maybe that's just a very small example, but i think it's pretty impressive. anyway, the daily show is always worth watching, but i think this week it is a must.

and here's some music that i've been listening to as promised:
-british sea power - i really like these guys. kind of similar to the stars. poppy and fun. i'm excited to see them in concert in a few weeks.
-ok go (new album!) - i don't like it as much as the first one because it's less upbeat. but still awesome. i think i will like it more as i listen to it more.
-bloc party - i like these guys too. it's true that some of the songs blend into each other, but i like the music for background music, so it's all good.
-architecture in helsinki - these guys are weird but i think i like them just the same. again, similar to the stars and arcade fire (not as good as either of those bands). i think i have to listen more and i will grow to love them.
-hot hot heat (new album!) - i've only listened to this once, but so far so good.
-the black keys - i'm not sure about these guys. there seems to be a lot of 80's influence in my opinion, but who knows. i will be giving them another listen
-jump, little children - love love love. i missed the concert last saturday because it was so last minute. but i'm enjoying these guys.
-22-20's - eh. not so sure about this one. after my first listen i was not terribly impressed.
-the futureheads - pretty good, but not fantastic. we'll see if i change my mind at all later.
-snow patrol - i downloaded the album after one of my new friends recommended them. a little slow at times, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. in general they seem pretty good.
tv on the radio - a little bit too trancy/technoy at times but generally ok. again another listen is needed for these guys.

i've also downloaded a bunch of stuff that i haven't really listened to a lot yet: the rapture, human television, the hold steady, robbers on high street.... maybe another music post will happen in the future. we'll see.

in terms of life, things are good. my harry potter gryffindor scarf continues charming. i will probably finish it by the end of the week. and then i get to make about three more for other people. i may try to just teach some people how to knit instead of making a million scarves because i will get bored of it at some point. again we'll see how that goes.

i picked my first lab rotation! i'm going to be working in susan ferro-novick's lab this semester. she studies vesicle trafficking and organelle inheritance in yeast. i will probably be doing a project involving some sort of yeast genetics (which is good because i know about that stuff) and hopefully i'll get the chance to work with some tissue culture cells and fluorescence microscopy and fun stuff like that as well. or at least watch over someone else's shoulder while they do it. for my second rotation in the winter, i'm going to be working in michael koelle's lab. he studies a g-protein signal transduction pathway involved in neuron communication and development in c. elegans (worms). i've never done stuff like that so hopefully it will be a fun learning experience.

i'm sorry to those people for whom the last paragraph meant nothing.

tomorrow i'm auditioning for the grad student a capella group. hopefully i'll get in because i am so bored right now. there's nothing to do after class except eat dinner. i've already done all the homework for the week that i have so far. ugh. oh well. when rotations start things will get much busier i hope. and that will be good. i'm still debating whether or not to audition for assassins, which is the undergrad theater organization's fall musical. i can't decide if it's worth it or not. i mean, i really want to be involved in theater, but i think my chances of being cast in the show are pretty slim, especially because i'm a grad student. also, i'd have to find two songs (one upbeat and one ballad) to sing by the end of the week. we'll see if that happens. if anyone has any opinions on me auditioning for this show, let me know.

anyway, that's my life. my gnocchi came out good this time and not like potato-flour paste. they are still very soft in texture; i think i had too much potato and not enough flour. but that's ok because i think they taste good. and really that's what matters, isn't it.

also, i went running today for the first time in about three weeks. and it was awesome. i felt really good. i will probably go running again tomorrow. i kind of want to investigate running up east rock because i miss hills. but i might die if i try that so we'll see.

we'll be seeing about a lot of things over the next week or so, it seems. i'll keep you all posted, oh faithful readers.

fluffies!

here are some cool pictures that my cousin's boyfriend took at the family reunion:

i just thought they were cool that's all. the fluffies and i are going to try to make gnocchi for dinner tonight. hopefully we won't fail!

here is the funniest aim convo ever:

this conversation happened after the clippership booze cruise during senior week. the last line is my favorite. the rest is kind of dumb but still funny.

(01:08:00) Miklos: hey
(01:18:09) Catherine: hi
(01:22:57) Miklos: going to sleep?
(01:25:02) Catherine: soon
(01:25:05) Catherine: gerrit got here
(01:28:39) Miklos: me too
(01:28:41) Miklos: i'm drunk
(01:28:43) Miklos: it was fun
(01:29:41) Catherine: yay
(01:31:19) Miklos: yup
(01:31:25) Miklos: tell gerrit i said hi
(01:31:30) Miklos: diddly
(01:31:50) Catherine: (This is Gerrit) Hi doodely
(01:32:03) Catherine: I heard clipper ship was awesome
(01:32:08) Miklos: hoodely
(01:32:14) Miklos: it was indeedely
(01:32:16) Miklos: doodely
(01:32:19) Catherine: I think I would have been rather better off if I had been able to come, but I had to go to DAve and Busters with the RA staff
(01:32:40) Miklos: my, wasn't that a complicated sentence
(01:32:47) Miklos: at least for one that is in the condition i am in
(01:32:51) Catherine: Haha, it's troodely
(01:32:58) Catherine: basically:
(01:33:01) Catherine: Dave and Busters Sucks
(01:33:05) Catherine: I own better video games
(01:33:08) Catherine: Dancing Rulez
(01:33:12) Catherine: Boats are sweeti
(01:33:13) Miklos: hah
(01:33:16) Miklos: tru dat
(01:34:04) Catherine: It's kinda sad to see all the RA's go, but on the other hand, I didn't love the job too terribly. toodely.
(01:34:35) Miklos: i never loved any of my jobs all that much
(01:34:40) Miklos: best job i had was last summer
(01:34:47) Miklos: average of 2 hours of work per weekday
(01:34:50) Catherine: haha
(01:34:54) Catherine: my summer might be awesome like that
(01:34:58) Miklos: after that, freedom to go hemingway's
(01:35:02) Miklos: should be
(01:36:18) Catherine: I will have freedom to go to hemmingways soon
(01:36:21) Catherine: NICE.
(01:36:34) Miklos: sweet
(01:36:51) Miklos: time to pass out
(01:36:57) Miklos: later dude
(01:37:05) Catherine: goodely night
(01:37:10) Catherine: later
(01:37:17) Catherine: bye bye Miklos! - catherine
(01:37:56) Miklos: schoodelymoodelydoodelypoodelyinthefluffidoodely
(01:38:02) Miklos: night

makes me happy.

here's a list of things that make me happy:
-fluffies
-cookies
-cute things
-hot austrailian boys
-girlfriends
-being allowed to drink yummy shooters again (everyone should send me recipes for their favorite shots because i can't remember many)
-being excited about research at yale
-my bike
-downloading lots of good new music (to be disected and analyzed in a later post)
-going to the killers (and british sea power) concert in two weeks with miklos
-visiting miklos
-still being able to read .vomit
-bbqs
-smores
-harry potter
-making a gryffindor scarf for myself and having requests from three other people
-baking/cooking
-my new yale shirt that says "yale class of 20??"

here are some things that make me unhappy:
-boys
-burnt popcorn
-sleeping by myself in the cold cold fall nights
-the drinks at the gpscy are not as strong as those at hemmingways (my long island was weak last night, sad)
-crying a lot
-boys again
-hot austrailian boys who are married
-being lonely
-feeling out of place at yale
-the lack of theater in my life that will most likely continue for a good while
-having no money
-being bored out of my mind in classes
-missing everyone to death
-not being in on the .vomit jokes
-mono
-the flatness of connecticut
-poopfaces
-being lame, boring, and unattractive
-stupid boys
-not knowing people like miklos and phil and connor here at yale (i suppose they are one of a kind)
-being so uncertain about everything

well that was fun and exciting now wasn't it? next post will in theory be a music post. woohoo. i think i will find something interesting to cook for dinner tonight and work on my scarf and stuff. yes.

fluffies!

bbq fun!

so as you know if you've been reading this stupid thing over the past week or so, i recently bought a little charcoal grill. tonight we decided to invite people over for the first (hopefully first of many) bbq in our backyard. a bunch of people came, we ate, we played eat poop you cat, we laughed and generally good times were had by all. here's a pictoral telling of the evening. photos were taken by carolyn my housemate....

here is chris (doesn't he look like tom cruise???) taking charge of the grill after i lit it and set up all the coals and everything. connor, he's taking over your role as the local grillmaster....



paula, cory, casey, and i are standing around the bench looking silly:



here's erica with the plate of french fries that she made. yes, she cut up potatoes and deep fried them in her fryer. they were actually very good. we were all impressed!



chris went to notre dame and of course is a big football fan, so he brought a football along to the bbq so he could play with the other boys there. unfortunately, diana tried to throw the ball at brad and hit him in the nuts instead of the stomach. oops!



and here's diana laughing hysterically at what she just did.



chris tried to explain to brad that what he needed to do to stop the pain was to get up and jump up and down. apparently this helps. i wouldn't know, since i don't have a penis.



brad got his revenge on diana by picking her up and threatening to throw her on the grill....



when we wouldn't let that happen, he tried to throw her into the garbage can instead. erica came to the rescue and moved the can out of the way, and no one was hurt.



brad, still a little upset, threatened to throw the small plastic chair that belongs to the four-year-old downstairs at anyone who came near him. it was all very silly.



after all the food was done cooking, we added a few more coals and toasted marshmallows. making s'mores is my favorite part of a bbq!!



and here's erica, chris and brad making s'mores too. looks like we all had a fun time!



after the backyard was cleaned up, we all headed upstairs to watch the simpsons and family guy and play eat poop you cat. everyone really enjoyed the game and we spent a good amout of time laughing at all the stupid things that happened. one of the most memorable: "puppies are cute" turned into "sheep sex is bad." wtf? i'm not sure what happened there. then the tv got boring and everyone went home.

i think next time we have a bbq, there is going to have to be more liquor and beer involved. hopefully i'll be able to drink again soon. erica says i can drink again when my throat is better. i think it will be better tomorrow or tuesday at the latest. so this weekend maybe i will go out and drink!! woohoo!!

the end!

yay for fluffies!