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May 2009 JASC reunion!

Last night we were lucky enough to have another Boston JASC reunion! Catherine, Colin, Kai, and Giff visited Cambridge. We got Thai food together and strolled by the river...

The six of us by a bridge over the Charles.

Old RT leaders together again!

And of course, as happens when Catherine visits Cambridge, we went to Finale!

Colin being very sophisticated with his espresso and his pinky finger.

One of our elegant desserts (as it turns out, you were not meant to eat the lavender--I found out the hard way).

Kayoko trying to avoid my camera!

DOCTOR GIFF! Yes, he brought his labcoat and stethoscope to dinner...

It was wonderful to see everyone again and have an evening that felt like JASC!

Potpourri

1) Noah the Gondolier
It blows my mind that someone could have sketched this on the spur of the moment.

2) Kiwi!
Hands down the saddest 3 minute animated short I have ever seen.
It made me cry.

Thesis!

It's done!



Photograph taken by Rachel: I was napping on the floor during one of our all-nighters

Thesis.

Unlikely as it has seemed all year--
particularly with the dramatic twists and turns that have characterized my thesis-writing process--
I have printed and turned in a thesis.

It is possible that it is just horrible gibberish,
but I don't care!
At this moment, all that matters
is that my baby, the product of months of misery,
is currently in the department's office,
being filed away to collect dust for years.

Sometime, maybe sometime soon,
I will be willing to examine the process of thesis-writing.
But for now, I am going to lie in bed and allow myself
to
be
happy!

Rachel's ginger tea

Ginger tea is good for what ails you. I mean it--whatever is wrong, be it nausea, cold, sore throat, malaise, ennui, terminal misanthropy, my ginger tea will cure it. (Okay, I'm still a misanthrope, but at least I am a happy misanthrope with tasty tea.)

Have a non-recipe:
Cut a few slices of fresh ginger root (no, powdered ginger is not okay). I have discovered by experimentation that you can leave the skin on with no ill consequences, which is good, because I am lazy.
Boil them in some water for however long it takes (usually: too long) for the tea to smell delicious and gingery. And look a little yellow.
Pour the tea into mugs (you can even leave the ginger slices in, depending on how strong you want the tea). Squeeze in a few drops of lemon juice. Add honey to taste (by which I mean, add lots of honey, because it is delicious). Stir. Be healed!

Drink it while it's hot, because it becomes vaguely repulsive (to me) when cold.
I read somewhere that you could use rosemary instead of lemon, but why mess with perfection?

I am home (obviously), the only place where I have the luxury of fresh ginger, or a pot to make tea in, or a stove to put the pot on. Bliss.

The ABCs of despair

Earlier, Nancy and I were exercising our creativity by composing an alphabet of despair.

Allow me to demonstrate.

a is for angst
b is for beatings
c is for cry myself to sleep
d is for despair
e is for ennui
f is for failure
g is for
h is for
i is for
j is for
k is for kvetching
l is for
m is for melancholy
n is for negativity
o is for
p is for paralysis
q is for
r is for
s is for shame
t is for
u is for
v is for
w is for weeping
x is for
y is for
z is for

We've had some brilliant contributions. How many letters can you think of?

Geography

I was having a conversation with a friend today in which we discussed Mercator projections, cartograms, and other cartographic quirks. To this discussion, I contributed my considerable geographic knowledge.

I present to you:

Rachel's map of the world