Blue Orange Green Pink Purple

I’ve been camped out on the dining table for the past two months. This is because I kicked apart and threw my previous desk into the dump. People who cannot follow assembly instructions shouldn’t buy a desk that requires assembly. The girl who owned the desk before me left out a ton of pins, installed the keyboard tray backwards, and left nails sticking out everywhere.

So I need a desk. But I have no money. Technically I do, but it’s allocated to the house /month-t0-month rent charges fund. If I don’t end up buying a house this year, definitely going to buy a few things (computer, TV, washer/dryer, desk, sanity)

Desks

Price: $250 at Office Depot

This one just looks gorgeous. Traditional but modern enough for my tastes.

http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/101095/Realspace-Soho-Magellan-Collection-L-Shaped/#reviewTab

Price: $140 at IKEA

It’s relatively cheap and has tons of storage and since it’s from IKEA I can pack it into a handbag

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/S19861339

Price: $105 at World Market

Like the clean lines and it’s solid wood, unlike the two above which are particle board. It’s a bit smaller than I want, but on that same note I’m not a student anymore with mountains of books and papers piling up around me.

http://www.worldmarket.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3696381

Decor

Price: $80 at World Market

One of the only Van Gogh paintings I like. Good composition and color.

http://www.worldmarket.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3597008

Price: $4800 at Anthropologie (I could make my own for <$100)

This would look awesome in a modern breakfast nook. Totally on my to-do list to make in the future.

http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/catalog/productdetail.jsp?id=863026&catId=HOME-LIGHTING&pushId=HOME-LIGHTING&popId=HOME&sortProperties=&navCount=155&navAction=top&fromCategoryPage=true&selectedProductSize=&selectedProductSize1=&color=sil&colorName=SILVER&isProduct=true

Aviary project

I spoil my birds, even if the little devils probably don’t deserve it. This is what they were living in before I moved. Took about three weekends to make and looked gorgeous, but was a terrible pain in the ass to clean. After moving to the new apartment, I decided it was time to scrap it and build something new.

Once I get my house, this is what they’re going to get. Designed to scale using Google Sketchup, which is an awesome design tool. It’s done in 3-d and you can pan and move around your entire project.

Final dimensions: 6ft wide by 2.85ft deep by 6.7ft tall.

101 List update

Keep forgetting to keep up with this list. Anyways, a few more things to cross off, some which I’d done all the way back in April but forgot about.

8. Buy a Canon EF f/1.8 50mm lens for my DSLR
56. Get a decent full time job in my field after I graduate
65. Plant a tomato plant so I stop buying the little tubs of cherry tomatoes for $5 at whole foods
66. Plant a blueberry bush…antioxidants are good plus blueberries are just yummy

Working full time is draining. During the day I’m completely fine, but as soon as I walk past my bedroom door I am pretty useless. There have been multiple days where I’ve taken 6pm-8:30pm naps, and not of my own volition. I am going to give myself some credit and say the warm weather stimulates the urge to just laze around and sleep all the time.

Work is great so far, I’m working in biological manufacturing for Agilent Technologies. So far I’ve only gotten to work with RNA isolation, but excited to start diving into microarrays which is supposed to be my main area of work. Great environment, nice people, health coverage, and a non-desk job…I am lucky to not be one of those people who hates going to work everyday. The only downside is the commute but once we move out of West Campus and I35 traffic, I’ll be much happier.

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May 28

Graduation

Hook em horns. UT Austin Class of 2009! Graduated with a B.S. in Human Biology.

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May 13

Wanda Sykes

This pretty much sums up my opinion on things. FOX news needs to go kill itself off already. Anyways, watch Wanda Sykes’ speech from the White House Correspondents dinner.

Notable quotes

“This is amazing, the First Black President – I know you’re biracial – but the First Black President! You’re proud to be able to say that – The First Black President. That’s unless you screw up. Then it’s going to be, ‘What’s up with the half-white guy, huh? Who voted for the mulatto, what the hell?’”

“Gov. Palin, she’s not here tonight, she pulled out at the last minute. Somebody should tell her, that’s not really how you practice abstinence.”

“Mr. President . . . you’ve had your fair share of critics. … Rush Limbaugh, one of your big critics, boy — Rush Limbaugh said he hopes this administration fails. So you’re saying, ‘I hope America fails.’ You’re like, ‘I don’t care about people losing their homes, their jobs or our soldiers in Iraq.’ He just wants our country to fail. To me, that’s treason. He’s not saying anything differently than Osama bin Laden is saying. You know you might want to look into this, sir, because I think Rush Limbaugh was the 20th hijacker but he was just so strung out on Oxycontin he missed his flight”

Bonus video, Obama’s speech at the same dinner

“Mother’s Day is a tough holiday for [Rahm Emanuel]. He’s not used to having to say the word ‘day’ after ‘mother.’”

“Most of you covered me, all of you voted for me. Apologies to the Fox table.”

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May 12

Pretty fire

Went to a BBQ with some old friends, should have taken more pictures but was too busy swatting away flies. This was the highlight of the evening, watching the grill suddenly burst into flames. At least that was the last batch of meat on there.

More festivities to come when everyone finishes with finals and graduation. It’s so nice to be able to let loose and relax now, since I have only one more exam to take.

Also, new layout!

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-05-10

@jessica_liu But nothing can beat those vietnamese iced coffees! Mmm condensed milk. in reply to jessica_liu #

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May 08

Homestretch

Just finished my last ‘official’ day of college today! Went and absolutely smashed the exam then biked home. Such a weight lifted off my shoulders. All I have left is a cumulative final on the 19th but that should be a piece of cake provided I don’t procrastinate. At this point, I’m just aiming for the 70.3 I need to keep my B in the class.

I grabbed a stack of 5 textbooks that had been wasting space over the past couple years and took them to the buyback counter at the bookstores with the roommate. Somehow ended up getting $193 for the lot of them. That kind of cash windfall just made my day, although $49 of it went to purchasing my cap and gown for graduation. New camera lens or hard drive time.

I also received a precious gift in the mail today along with an incredibly sweet letter from down under. Missing my other half.

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-05-03

Is fighting a losing battle against a spreadsheet of muscles that must be memorized by tomorrow #
@wwho The door handle? in reply to wwho #
Roast potatoes, green bean casserole, and juicy pork tenderloin. Mmm food. #

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Apr 30

My garden

It’s still a work in progress but it’ll be amazing when my roses, tomatoes, blueberries, and cucumbers start flowering and fruiting in June. My cilantro went into overdrive and I have coriander seeds for cooking now.