Keeping Busy

I can't believe that I've still got so much work to do! I have a full day of experiments today and I have no clue what's going on tonight, whenever I get a chance to go out. I'm starting to pack things up and hopefully will be able to take a good car-load down to Austin on Friday after I get done checking out for work. I spent most of last night tagging my records with their BPM, which is a little tool to help me learn what records go together well. I went over to Mike Tann's for this little party he had. Way more people than expected showed up (much to his fathers chagrin) and I was, again, the oldest person there. I mean, when I have pissed drunk 17 year-olds mad at me because I cut off their 100-proof vodka supply because they were under 100 lbs each and drinking the stuff like it was water, it's time to leave. I did get to hang with Mike, Albert, Whitney, and Meredith (people at least near my age) and that was good (we actually kept up mature drinking conversation and we weren't there to get smashed). Most of the people there knew my brother and his infamous parties (keeping in mind that he's 3 years younger than me) and acted around me the same way they would around him. Some of the brighter ones caught on and stopped being such children, but it wasn't too bad. I can't wait to have a real party though (at least going until 6 the next day).

I called the Birthday Boy (read: roommate) last night and they did a great job getting him all drunk and happy. I'm glad he had a good time, and I'm glad to welcome him into the ranks of the Brotherhood of the Glass. I can't wait until I get to see everyone this weekend and I'm very excited about moving a few things into my new apartment, even if Michelle is moving out soon. Nick went down to sixth with a pretty big group, so I hope they all got back safe and sound and I hope they will have the same stamina built up that I have had to acquire this summer: going out drinking or at the very least staying out late until awful hours only to have to get up (if I sleep) a few hours later to go to work for another long day. My body is a machine now: requiring little sleep, large quantities of booze, good music, good friends and long hours. Bring it on, Austin- I can hardly wait!


Idle hands are the devil's workshop

Dante Was A Punk

I'm working in Hell, Dante has nothing on me. I've got quite a few busy days ahead of me, fitting that this is my last week. I'm not doing a poster and hopefully I should have some semblance of virus actually built by Thursday if everything goes according to plan (like that'll work). This summer was nothing like it should've been and if I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times, I need to get back to Austin.

I've been busy looking into the background of the coffeeshop that I'm interviewing for on the 15th (what? You can walk into an interview blind about the company but I'm a pro, son! I don't want to not know something even if I'm getting in at the counter-monkey stage). This is what I've gotten so far: Teo's (short for Matteo -Italalian for Matthew) is run by UT MBA alum Matt Lee. The shop is on its 2nd year of business and in its first few months was ordered a cease and desist order by Mario Batali ("Malto Mario" and "Iron Chef America") because the first name for Teo's was Babbo's (literally "daddy" in Italian) which is the name of Batali's restaurant, book company, and other business propositions, thus under his trademark. A contest was held and "Teo's" won the new name contest. Lee has two children and the interviewer, Anna is his wife. Teo's is considered to be one of the cleanest, well lit coffee joins in Austin and the coffee is imported from Tuscany by Lee. Lee studied in Italy under a family of gelato makers and makes all the gelato in-store. Lee also runs "Texas EXpresso" which is in the Alumni Center on campus. Teo's has very good WiFi access but is lacking in the number of power outlets (there's one by the bar) for laptops. There is a patio with a fireplace which would be good in Fall, but word is that it could stand to be colder inside the cafe (which is on 38th, just west of Lamar).

I think that should work for a good base knowledge, though I should really go there before my interview (or at least drive past) to see how it is, etc. The internet is such a great tool, and it's amazing what you can find if you look hard enough or dig deep enough (it's all about the Google). I'm aching to get back to spinning records at home (for some reason this is a driving thing with me now) and I want to practice and get new records to play (not really latest and greatest, but something to practice with). I went to Borders last night to find, much to my chagrin that the listening stations are gone from the music dept.! This is awful, as that was a main reason people came into Borders for music in the first place, because almost any record could be opened and played over and over until you were sure you wanted the record. Even Carrollton's "independent" shop, CDaddict, won't open the records for you (I don't give a flip about the top 40, you moron! Open the LP of the 1995 Tenaglia's Elements or I'll beat you with Brittany Spears new CD!) unless they've got a promo-copy. Just plain wrong, I tell you! I will make a run to Waterloo Records in Austin when I get down there.

I'm going to get back to work, and then run a few miles (I still need to lose some serious weight) then go home and play some records (then I need to start packing stuff up for Friday's trip). Post a comment or anything you want, or send me an email because I like getting those too! Have a better day than I'm having- I'm getting out of the ninth circle soon!


Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate

Gonna Dance All Night To This DJ

I went to my friend's graduation party last night and that was a lot of fun. I brought over a lot of music and we listened to French house for a few hours until I went off the the club. Misty and I went to Lizard Lounge and the cover was steep, but it was not too bad considering that DJs Oscar G. and Richard "Humpty" Vission were spinning. I danced my feet off but it was really fun. Misty, I found out, had never been to a club before even though she lives in Orange County! She said she had the most fun she's ever had going out and wondered why she hadn't done this sooner! We had a great time and the progressive house was amazing. The DJs had the place going nuts and jumping around with hands-in-air. I would love to one day play venues like that and make the dancefloor organism move like a throbbing mass. We met some really cool people at the club and danced with them for a long time. I told Misty that she has to go on Saturday because DJs Dan, Kid Icarus, and Dieselboy will be there and that party will be sick.

I am so tired from going out last night (I didn't even have any drinks) but I'm here at work prepping up DNA that I won't use for an experiment I don't care about anymore, but what's a scientist to do? I think tonight I'm going to go to Shade with Misty, Tiffany, Chris, and whoever else wants to go. The Nu Age Phunks (the duo I met at Uropa not to long ago) have a residency there and I'd like to go see them in a club that hopefully won't suck like Uropa. I'm so close to Austin I can taste it! I can't wait to get down there. In other news I got an interview with Teo Coffee house on the 15th, so hopefully I can land me a j-o-b!


This is the house that funk built

My Hand-Made Setup

Here it is, as I promised: My setup for my DJ equipment. Here are a few pictures of the whole thing from different views:




This is the control unit that acts as the "turntables" you can use the wheels as the record platter.



This is the Mixer unit that takes two inputs and plays them over one another. See the horizontal slider on the bottom? That selects which imput is played loudest. CD1 is total on the left and CD2 is on all the way on the right, while the middle plays both at the same time (read: mix).



This is the front of the box, and the thing on the bottom is the actual CD player(s) itself. The middle thing is the power button and the two black things are the CD trays.



This is the side of the box, made from black painted MDF with a poly-urathane coat. The handles (the other side looks the same) are forward because the weight is centered up front.



This is the top of the box, looking down over it. The space in the back is there to allow me to put my hands back there for easy cord issues without having to go around to the back of the unit (although that's open too) and fix stuff on the fly. I know it looks like there isn't a bottom, but it's there and the flash just made my carpet look the same color of the untreated MDF (it isn't).



The last picture, this is my whole setup (minus speakers) which I can take around with me and only need one wall socket and one set of RCA speakers and I'm good to go. I'll post other pictures of me playing them sometime soon (maybe when I get good enough to host my own parties).

That's about all for now, just felt like putting those out there for those who wanted to see what I kept talking about. The whole thing there cost me about $600 but with the condition of the stuff and it's new custom case, I could probably get a grand if I felt like selling this stuff to upgrade my kit.


Home-made just tastes better

TGIWTF, Mate?

So to recap: Monday was uneventful, like all Mondays, nothing went on, so that's fine. Tuesday I was supposed to get sushi with the work crowd- 4 cancellations= no sushi. Wednesday was supposed to be a bikini contest (I could care less, honestly) with $0.50 wells- 3 no-calls= no drinking with people. Thursday, drink specials at Billiards Bar with Maggy O. or people from work off lower Greenville- 2 cancellations, 1 whilst I was sitting in hellish traffic= no billiards or drinks. Last night was rescued from certain doom (read: drinking at home watching a movie) by Tiffany who wanted to drink and watch MST3K with me (I had some Spanish wine and some cheese, so it was nice) but lack of sleep on my part with wine and exhaustion did not mix so I cut it short and went home (it's a bit of a drive back) and actually got 4 hours of good, solid sleep- I was proud at myself for that.

Work is totally non-existent today, as I had nothing to do today, and the only reason I'm still here is that I get fed at the end of the day by the GSO. I had lunch with Faith and Nikki and they always know how to make me laugh until my sides hurt. I had another little lunch thing with Misty and as I was about to leave, Drs. Dal Nogare, Weissler, and Mehrad all ran into me and we chatted for a while (these gentlemen work or have worked with my dad and are in the pulmonary crew for Parkland whereas my dad and Dr. Pitchard work in the VA). It was nice to talk to them, as they've known me most of my life and I actually worked in their lab last year, plus it's nice to talk to really smart doctors once in a while when you plan to hopefully join their ranks (the doctor part, not really the smart part).

I will post pictures of my mixer setup today when I get home after fighting Friday rush-hour traffic, so expect those sometime later this evening. I was trying to mix at home last night but my mom keeps telling me to turn it down (it's not that loud, she just assumes it is). She called my "robot music" "just noise" yesterday and I told her didn't her parents tell her that about the music she liked as a 20-something? But I think I'm getting better, it will just take more practice. I think I'm going to go out to a club with some of the SURF people tonight, I just need to find a spot with good drink specials or at the very least good music. We'll see how it goes, but given this week's track-record, I may be sitting on my ass all evening at home.

In other news, my bestest-buddy, Mike Hanson, has a problem. If you or anyone you know needs a place to live for the year, call him, as his girlfriend needs another roomate. She lives right off campus in the apartments behind Jack-In-The-Box on the Drag. The rent is $585/month (which is cheap for being one block away from campus). It doesn't matter if it's a boy or girl. Give mike a message or a call at (469) 879-1885 or ml_hanson@hotmail.com for more details. Mike and I have been friends since we were three, so I'd like to help him out. Randi (his girlfriend) has a really nice place and it's very big, so I'm sure it'll work great for anyone. If anyone knows people in the Co-op programs (Julie, know anyone?) that need a place, that would be fine too!

A big shout-out goes to Matthew John Donovan who turns 21 today. If you're in Houston and know him, buy the man a pint because he can now drink legaly in every country he calls home! Nick's (my roomate) birthday is on the 9th too, so drink with him if you can.


But I am le tired

Science Is A Cruel Mistress

Wow, that's really all I care to pontificate on this whole thing. If you read this, you know that I've been burnt-out and tired of troubleshooting this experiment for the last 6 weeks that I've been stuck on this step of the experiment. Miranda, the lab manager, does the same procedure I've been at for weeks using the old reagents, and lo and behold: a miracle. The thing works perfectly for her the first time. It's an old rule in science that if you're really really stuck, I mean you've exhausted all the possible permutations, then giving off to someone else is a sometimes useful course of action. There's something about a fresh pair of hands on a sticky experiment that often coaxes it back into working order. I did this for Virginia with her EMSA last summer, she was stuck: she would get a good result and then it would fail, or be un-repeatable, or some such thing. I did it three times perfectly using the exact protocol she had been using. I didn't know until know how much of an idiot that will make you look. Yes, this is a group effort; yes, this is one of the many flukes of science that we as scientists can't or won't question; and yes, the new hands often aren't seeing the big picture or get tripped up in the minute details like the primary person would; but this still makes you feel stupid. I suppose it has something to do with the ego we all put into our projects and our work. We take time, blood (sometimes literally here!), sweat and tears to make this stuff work. This goes for any job where people are passionate about what they do! When someone just nonchalantly comes and makes this thing you're stuck on work like a well oiled machine the first time, it makes you feel dumb that you couldn't. I'm trying to be Zen and just throw this up to the fact that this is how biology and cloning works, so just let it go and move on.

In other news I couldn't really sleep last night so I finished construction of my box that you've read about in a few previous posts. It looks very nice and looks like a pro rack box. Here's a description: Imagine looking at a box that's 8" tall and 19"x19" in the length and width. If you look down from the top, you see, as you are at the front of the box, my turntable controls and then the mixer after that. Then there's a gap behind the mixer (so I can get my hands in to change inputs and cords on the fly should anything screw up. I forgot to mention, imagine a 1" border of brushed shiny metal lining all the edges of said box. The front of the box is a descending black panel (poly-urethane treated MDF painted black and given another poly-urethane coat) then the turntable CD unit (think 2 CD drives in your computer side by side) and that's where I load the records. The sides are solid black like the front panel with large, heavy-duty handles that are the same shine/color metal as the lining. The back of the box is totally exposed so that I can plug everything into the power strip and so I can have unhampered access when I'm actually setting up everything. I'll post pictures later this afternoon when I get home and you can see what I've been up to these past few days in my garage! I've cut myself twice, gotten slivers of metal in my hands and feet (I had to pull 3 metal splinters out of my thumb this morning), burned myself three times, and dropped the metal skeleton on my toe: 100% worth it, it looks hardcore!

My family was impressed with how it came out and my dad asked me how much it had cost for everything. I told him and he said I could easily sell it for more than I got it, and I told him that I still wanted to play on it before I ever thought about that! I showed him how to use all the stuff and he was impressed. He was thinking about giving me some old speakers (they're still great and are older than I am) and they've got RCA output which suits me just peachy. I'm really looking forward to playing for people in Austin at parties and whatnot. I keep thinking about Austin, and even though I know it's not that far off for me, I still feel my time here like I'm wading through mud and I can't move much. Dallas isn't really home anymore and I'm wondering if it would ever be again. At least when I'm at my parent's house, it feels more like home, but everyone's schedule is so crazy it feels very different now.

This is all for now, feel free to post a comment if you are so inclined, I'm just plodding along today and there's nothing much to be said of Thursday, except that it's not really Friday and yet it's not so tied to the work-week.


She's so fickle sometimes...

Still Just A Rat In A Cage...

So my experiement failed again. That makes it a total of 8 times now that I've either gotten no result or have a result that isn't what I need. This officially marks the exaustion of any ideas I have on this project and my subsequent resignation of the idea that anything I do in the next 5-7 days will accomplish anything other than a waste of resourses and my time. My PI is still in Boston and really, I couldn't care less. No one in the lab (save Sunbola and I) talk at all and even if we do it's not long. Sunbola and I had a pretty funny 30 min. talk about weddings and I laughed my ass off when she said, in regards to old friends who think she is stuck up simply because she comes back with a masters and in graduate school when they haven't graduated undergraduate from community college, "Don't be mad at me, it's not my fault you're worthless because you won't work for it." She didn't mean that because they are in community college (there's nothing wrong with those) but because the friends had no ambition to make something of themselves.

I'm so sick of the lab, my head actually hurts when thinking about getting back to doing anything that resembles work of any kind. It's almost like I'm trapped in the job, in limbo because I can't very well quit, I have 7 days left, no poster, no data, and nothing much left to do besides try the same damned thing over and over again with the same damned result: nothing! So I am escaping early for a quick lunch lecture and then I'm going to the IKEA grand-opening for a bed. I really hope they have the one I want, I'm really excited about getting a place to sleep other than the rock-hard bed I have in Dallas. I miss my Austin people very much and I'm coming down not this weekend but the next, so we shall all have fun and merriment! Happy Birthday to Katie, Matt, Sanjita, and Nick. If I left you out, tell me. I'm afraid I can't write anymore because being on the lab computer sucks all my energy through the monitor.


We've got to get out of this place...

I'm A Bad Worker Bee...

So I have been playing on the library computers all freaking morning, so now that it's noon, I'm thinking about going back to lab to pour plates, do a little experiment, put it in the incubator for the night and go home to do stuff there. I know that's bad, but I finally got paid and have lots to do elsewhere. Sunbola's leaving too so I don't feel so bad about it. I only have two weeks left, what the fuck do they care if I leave early? It's really not like I have much at all to do (I don't) and it's not as if my PI (read: boss) isn't in Boston (he is) and it's not like my lab cares too much (they don't). So I'm leaving as soon as the experiment is over and done with. It takes 1.5 hrs or thereabouts so I should leave at ~2:00.

I think the SURF people that don't hate fun (Misty, Chris, Phillips 1&2, and maybe Sunbola) are going out for sushi (because raw fish is the most kickass food ever sliced up by mankind) and then mayhaps hit up a bar and down a few pints. I really had a lot of fun last night hanging out with Jon and Zach (I don't get to see them much) and Andrew and Mike T were good to chill out with. We are the only ones that work (Jon was on a grant from Stanford and Zach is just kinda lazy) so we deserved our beers. Mike's not 21 yet but the place doesn't card and he's got a likeable attitude. I got 5 beers and a pizza for less than 10 bucks- this is such an awesome idea, I'm not sure what to say about it.

I'm looking into jobs and two people got back to me. Scratch one research job and put one barista spot into the "hopeful" category. The coffee shop was impressed by my resume and my prior work at the Border's cafe will mean that they can hire a guy they don't really need to train (which I think they'll love) so it is quite possible that I could be slinging mugs and gelatto at Teo (I think it's at 29th and something) but we'll have to see. I just need a low-hour, higher wage way to earn some extra scratch so I can buy the things I need/ want in Austin. I've been figuring out living expenses with Nick and I think I got it all settled. He's looknig for furniture at the moment and that includes a TV, entertainmet center, and dining room chairs. Wish us luck. We think we have an add for a free TV, but it may still be too expensive...check it out here, but be forewarned, it's stupid. I've said it before, but I want to be back in Austin. All I can say is that the parties better be rocking and the beer should flow like wine!


I wanna rock and roll all night...

Daily Grinding (To a Halt)

Such an exausting weekend! I had a fun time, but I was so tired, I was kinda grumpy or zombified the whole time. I went to 2 clubs (for the record: Uropa blows and the only good DJs were way in the back and I like talking to those guys, and Purgatory is ok, but fuck your $10 cover, I'm over 21 you assholes! Plus the DJ that everyone was dancing to couldn't mix a track to save his life, and a one point was just playing a CD!) blew a ton of cash, did chores galore, and other odds and ends to get ready for Austin. I'm just going through the motions at work, and although I'm supposed to be working with the lab manager, she's not really looking over my shoulder at all. That's a mixed blessing, as on one hand I don't want to be baby-sat but on the other, maybe a fresh pair of hands working on the project will push it along. I'm supposed to be eating lunch with Vincent Tran today at St. Paul, so that should be cool. I talked with the infamous Michael L. Hanson yesterday and he's back in Austin. He said he had a great time up north with his femme fatal, Randi McKenna. I can't wait to start hanging out with them again, I've missed hanging out with that duo. Mike says he has pictures for me to see and I can't wait. I'm going back to Austin in a week from Friday, so that'll be cool. I still have to find a bed before I move...hmmm...

I didn't get invited to the Faculty Club (an amazing resturant in the school) this year, but I suppose they don't have to wine and dine me to come here any more. I've been putting in aplications to about 10 or so jobs with different places around Austin (everything from music magazines to research jobs, to cafe spots) and hopefully I'll hear back from some of them and land me a job to supplement the ol' income. I was on the phone a lot this weekend to my phone company people and my credit card company about trying to get a new card (mine expired yesterday) and being on the phone with giant companies is pretty stupid. But today is not a total loss: it is payday and I think I'll go get a beer or something with Maggy tonight. I hope everyone has a good Monday because I have a feeling the week's gonna shoot by!


Got me a pocket full of change