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Moonpies for Misfits

HWM is doing a few reunion shows. I thought for sure they would stick to their hometown: Gainesville, FL. Which for me, is out of the question.

But they are playing 2 nights in Chicago. Should I go? Do I really want to buy a plane ticket to see my favorite band - a band who I am not completely enamored with anymore....a band that I was 100% devoted to in high school....a band that changed my life forever? ( <-- a little dramatic, I know....but I was thinking about getting their "symbol" tattoed on me! )

Do I want to fork out hundreds of dollars to go to a show to see HWM perform a handful of songs - some songs that I don't really even like? I sort of gave up on them after A flight and a crash...I just wasn't into it. "Paper Thin" off that album was like a bad remix of "Minno" from Forever and Counting. Both songs about love and loss. But the energy and the emotion in "Minno", both on the album and when performed live... they can never recreate that for me. Sure, they signed to Epitaph before putting out Flight and that turned me off - but the quality of their music went out the window. They lost their ability to lure me.

I've given The Draft a shot - I haven't seen them live. The album isn't bad. But listening to Hot Water Music sans Chuck Ragan doesn't quite do it for me, either. It just makes me want the old Hot Water back.

But I LOVE Chuck Ragan's solo stuff. I've seen him perform at the Bottom of a Hill two times now. The first time he played with Matt Skiba (of Alkaline Trio fame). That show was unbelievable! Chuck whipped out "Rooftops" and the whole crowd went wild. Last month, my friend Nick (who is also a big HWM fan) and I saw him play and again I was blown away. He's still got that passion for music that I can't get enough of.

I digress. Still I can't seem to make a decision about the reunion show. My friend Dave and I used to go to all the HWM shows together in high school. We drove hundreds of miles to see them play. New York, New Jersey, Philly, Virginia...up and down the East Coast and our hunger to see them play live could not be satiated.

Dave bought 2 tickets to the show in Chicago - he said "no one I'd rather have by my side than you"....











I still want that tattoo.

Microbiology is for winners

David Goodsell does research for Scripps and paints these beautiful pictures.

I am going to go as far as to say that he inspired me to study biochemistry and microbiology. His pictures made me fall in love with pharmacology. And in studying pharmacology and volunteering and working in a hospital, I realized I wanted to become a doctor. David Goodsell's art inspired me to study medicine!! I am going to Medical school next year!

I am a very visual person - I learn better by seeing pictures. The pics below are a few examples. If you look at the (mostly) green pic, you'll see a funky little red thing in the middle - that's an enzyme, embedded in the phospholipid bilayer that surrounds each and every one of our cells.

That enzyme is called cyclooxygenase. It catalyzes a reaction that releases these little chemicals which cause inflammation - which in turn leads to pain and discomfort. Biology terms aside (for you non-bio majors), when you pop Ibuprofen into your mouth, the drug eventually travels to your cells and lodges itself into that little red enzyme - thus blocking the inflammatory pathway.

Interesting stuff, no? I love this guy....Thanks David Goodsell for your wonderful paintings!

this is DNA replication: quite a complex process

Red blood cell - hemoglobin carries Oxygen and makes your blood look red!

E. coli has a little tail/whip that allows it to move (called a Flagella)

The yellow stringy things are its DNA

Everyone bring a 6-er

A retelling of the event: Beerluck, 2007. See for yourself.

Porno canyon

Pomo Canyon!

Jen, Ash, and Hayes went up in the morning to stake out a campsite....unfortunately, there were no campsites left. But fortunately, these are not ordinary human beings - they quickly set up camp in the middle of a path to nowhere - and this was where we all slept for 2 nights. Deepak, another Jen, Randi, Saik, Eric, Igor and I joined the three mischief-makers.

Hallucinogens found Ash and Hayes fighting their nemesis bush.
Jen took silly pictures.
I fell down the little canyon during a quest to find a good place to pee.
Hayes fell off a tree perched above our campfire.
We made cheese sandwiches on the black sand beach.
Racoons stole our bread the first night and left several slices with bite marks. We did not make that mistake the second night. They came to visit the second night, chomping on our tortilla chips and watching us intently.
Eric and I slept wonderfully on our sleeping pads ( a must-have for any camper!)
The rest is history :)

everyone get up really early to drink and pin balloons to yourselves!

Bay to breakers was a great success. Here's the proof:

I would really love to retire in Lake Tahoe. That's my dream.

For now, though, I'll just have to visit.
Jen organized this really fun weekend of Tajo happy family fun time. Bummer that I had knee surgery a few months prior, so there was no snowboarding for me.

I didn't mind. I was perfectly content to sit in the jacuzzi and just relax. I was also studying for the MCAT (yes, I had to take it again, which is unfortunate in itself because my previous scores expired).

There was a lot of drinking involved. Some flip cup. Some ghetto-ness. Oh and I forgot to mention a champagne bottle thrown at my head. Why? Still not sure. I managed to snap a photo of the moment before said bottle was thrown. Okay I guess it wasn't really thrown...more like a gentle toss....but still! Who does that?

Anyway the weekend was awesome. I better start saving for my retirement.

Kicked out of a bar :(

i got kicked out of Cafe Du Nord tonight because I brought a beer in.

i'm very embarrassed. please bring it up next time you see me so that i can relive that wonderful first-time experience again.

as I ascended the stairway out of the bar/venue (by the way, we went to see Dr. Dog, a much anticipated show) I watched as everyone stared at me....my "escort" took my un-touched PBR from my hands and threw it (loudly, as if to make a point) into the trash can outside. My embarass-o-meter was so high I didn't hear what he said.

and then I walked home and posted this note....i shall learn from my mistakes.

i have a stack of about 4 books on my nightstand. I have started to read all of them. I have failed to finish any of them.

In fact, i probably haven't gotten through the first chapter of any of them. We'll just, for now, ignore the fact that this pattern, this starting and not finishing, is a basic pattern in my life (isn't it like that for everyone?).....

Anyone have any good book recommendations? I really need something that will prevent my eyes from closing during that first initial "getting into bed and feel like reading but really sleepy" moment.

The last few books I finished include: Kite Runner, The Red Tent, and that's it because I haven't finished a whole book in a while and my memory escapes me right now....

What I don't like: Kerouac-esque stream of consciousness. I've tried, many times now, to get into Kerouac's On the Road and Maggy Cassidy. Our minds all behave, that is, we think how Kerouac writes. I just can't handle the disorganization and spontaneity on the page. When I sit down with a book, I need for it to be structured and meaningful.

With that said....I'll let you know if and when I complete my next book.

for my own sense of cute overload, check out Jule's cat Tuna:










and yes that's my mom in the backround asking Jule if I can use her hose to wash my car.....just a random side note.

and more of Amu's....

we recently traveled to Santa Cruz, CA, home of the banana slugs, to celebrate Amu's 21st birthday. Check it out:

The cat dander bothered Eric and I so we left Amu's house early and went to In n Out. Grilled cheese, animal style with chilis! Can't go wrong.