Summer

Too busy living this summer to blog. But the Mockingbirds had a great time Playing Hard, Drinking Beer, and Breaking Hearts.

I kicked the 300 workout's ass in the final. Went to Baton Rouge, Chattanooga, and Dallas (multiple times). Attempted to waterski for the first time (unsuccessfully). Dealt with or avoided the heat. Drank plenty of Sweet Tea Vodkas. Still teaching myself my way around the kitchen, but my baking is coming along well. My favorite this I made this summer were Car Bomb Cupcakes. Those turned out beautifully. Tasty, too.

good to know

Interesting revalation of the weekend:

If you look cute in a mini-skirt while on a pub crawl "socially awkard dork in a bar too loud to attempt small talk" comes across as "too cool for school."

Bloodfest was good, if a bit surreal. Being one of the in charge people had me all kinds of distracted. I've never done bracketing, but that wasn't difficult. Game times were more so, but that wasn't something I was in control of. Working with the guys was a good experience, though, if not enough to convince me I should be an officer next year.

It was a day of with some great rugby and good times had, broken up by a pretty fantastic storm most of us waited out under the trees. And the Beavers took 1st place! Wendy at Scrumhalf Connection has a write up and video on her blog of both Bloodfest and the Dallas tourney.

(photo by Shalay Mefford)

Hollywood takes over Austin

Aside from the fact that the power in my apartment was out (and still is...) thanks to Wednesday night's huge storm, Thursday evening started out fairly normally. Until I actually get Nasty's and find several friends and other familiar faces milling outside between a tent of rather technical-looking lighting equipment and a large truck. There is a very different breed of people wandering around, wearing headsets or carrying walkie-talkies and looking at the group of us that is gathering like we might be vermin. Apparently someone is filming something. And they've removed the underwear which has resided on the ceiling for longer than I've been in Austin. (I do not envy the person who was assigned that job.) And Stiffler's mom is inside. From what I can see as people come in and out of the front door it's very bright inside and probably really hot from the lighting. Nasty's under strong lighting...well, it's a sight I have no interest in seeing.

The movie people don't like us, but that's too bad. The waiting regulars are griping, in that completely ineffectual way that Norm or Sam may have done on Cheers. Mike summed it up nicely, "This is a rugby bar. At 9:30 on a Thursday night. Get out of our bar." The crowd continues to grow, and to gripe. Another former rugger drives up, slowing down upon seeing the ruggers milling outside, causing pompous git walks up and asks derisively "Can I help you?" Finally someone comes outside, lets us know that this is the last shot and if we're quiet (and thus don't f*ck up the sound recording) they'll go away. Eventually, they do, though not before a sighting of the "talent." For the record, Heather Graham is a very normal-looking person in person. And Jennifer Coolidge (aka Stiffler's Mom) is a rather statuesque woman and looks exactly in person in the movies.

whining

There really ought to be something I could blog about that somehow matters or is in some way at least a little bit significant. Today, however, has shaken it all out of me. Getting frustrated with this damn gel, or rather the PCR which is requiring five gels to get results. Seriously, there has GOT to be a better way to do this. And here I am at work past five o'clock just getting more and more frustrated with this damn thing because I think I'm going to have to do it over again despite all the pain and effort and ridiculousness and why did I even try doing this many samples at once and people are waiting for the results and maybe I'll just getting really drunk on green beer tonight and call in sick tomorrow.

Okay, done whining now. I think.

weekend

Simply put, this weekend rocked. Friday night was the Dropkick Murphys show at Stubbs. I went with some great friends and ran into a number of others (some literally, as I spent most of the show in the pit). Many of whom were happier than I've seen them in a long time. Leave it to a rugby player to sparkle with excitement while in a mosh pit. The show was totally worth waiting two years since the last time they played in Austin.


Saturday night was a time warp. One of my teammates held a party to celebrate leaving her Starbucks employment after five and a half years. Six hours disappeared without my noticing, lost in good converstation about everything from books to politics. One of our rookies is apparently a kindred spirit of mine. Even if she does think Jonathon Frakes looks better without the beard. And getting to spend time with my best friend was golden, watching her be as comfortable as I've seen her since she moved to Austin. By the time I happily, wearily crawled into bed after dropping off drunk friends, it was after 5AM. Damn daylight savings.

strung out

There is a new website for the research group my lab is a part of. It's simple and shiny and attractive. There is also a photo page with a bunch of students, many already graduated from my or other alcohol labs. Most of us look like we're feeling the strain of it all.

dodging a bullet

Yesterday afternoon/eveningish I spent some time working on my thesis. Or at least ostensibly working on the thesis. As part of my delaying I spent some time on the website of the NIAAA (the NIH branch that funds most of the research going on in my lab). Said website contains a lot of information aimed at a lot of different groups of individuals from middle schoolers right up through alcohol researchers. Whilst piddling around on the site I found the following:

"However, whether an individual will drink in response to stress appears to depend on many factors, including possible genetic determinants of drinking in response to stress, an individual's usual drinking behavior, one's expectations regarding the effect of alcohol on stress, the intensity and type of stressor, the individual's sense of control over the stressor, the range of one's responses to cope with the perceived stress, and the availability of social support to buffer the effects of stress."

(from here, because all good little graduate students cite their sources).

Basically that paragraph is a clear description of my life. Upon moving to Austin the amount of alcohol I consumed in a given period of time was indeed directly proportional to the quality of friends I had. The level of stress I'm under certainly hasn't decreased since those early days of graduate school. It has changed (and if anything increased to the "who would willingly do this to themselves?!" level). However, I do not spend weekday evenings at home depressed on my sofa watching movies like Nora while drinking copious amounts of wine like I might otherwise. Because I now have absolutely awesome friends and my my perceived stress has dropped considerably. You all (and you know who you are) are my buffer. Thank you.