Taking a Rest

So today, for the first time in my life...i've taken a sick day at work. Now I know what some of you are thinking, "ohhh, renee...skipping work!" but sadly, no. I actually am sick :( And being the crazy boarderline work-a-holic i am...i actually tried working today! Lol, i went in to work at 7am this morning thinking i could work my sickness off...but by 8:30 i realized that this was not going to happen so i packed my stuff and left. I would like to tell you it feels great, but really i feel bad. I mean, i've been bumming around the house all day (not counting my trip to wal-mart to pick up medicine) feeling like poo. It's funny how you never realize how sick you are until you actually slow down and allow your body to feel like crap and recover. I personally think we're all better off not taking sick days and powering through it (that way you'll never accept how sick you truly are). But until the days when colds and flus aren't contagious and runny noses aren't gross i guess we'll have to make due with bumming around the house for 24hrs. *sigh* I'm actually looking forward to going back tomorrow (even if i'm still feeling this bad) I NEED to feel productive. Well, back to being a sicky-sickerton i go!


Currently Listening to: Just a friend - Mario (a slight throwback!)

Currently Looking Forward to: Feeling better & my trip to Ohio this coming weekend :-D

The long overdue post

So i'm chillin' in my room, waiting for the kitchen to open so i can cook dinner and figured i should write a long overdue post :) Unfortunately i have no pictures to put in this post because i hardly ever take pictures. I feel like if you're too busy taking pictures you're gonna miss out on all of those exciting things in life you're trying to capture. Plus some of the best images of my life are stored in my mind. Sadly, this does not make for an interesting and detailed blog. Lol, perhaps one day i'll increase my photo taking to at least one a month. This weekend was fairly eventful. I went apartment hunting and fell in LOVE with the one I went to see. I'm 99% sure i'll be signing the lease for there in the near future. I can't wait! Perhaps then Indy will feel more comfortable and more like HOME. Also, i'm not sure if you have heard, but the STEELERS WON THE SUPERBOWLLL!! I was slightly excited, as my parents are both from Pittsburgh. I think i'll finally purchase a terrible towel and a jersey (i know, i'm a disgrace for not already having these items...but hey, i'm broke!). I watched the game with Will at a party in Indy some of his co-workers threw. I actually had a really good time. The more I go to these work functions with him, the more fun I have. I'm finally learning names and I look forward to seeing some of the people there :) I have also completed my tax returns and am looking forward to all of that money coming back (all of which will go to my bills, credit card and student fees...ick!). Hmmm, what else? I am slowly growing used to Holly (my new hamster...please don't ask about FITC :() lol, however she has this weird habit of making this horrible screeching noise when i wake her up. And her face looks possessed when she makes the noise as if she's screaming, "back off bitch!" lol. hopefully she'll learn to be less moody. Well, that's all! ta ta til next time :)





Currently Listening To: Upside Down-by Jack Johnson. I know it's from the soundtrack of a little kid's movie...but this is one of my all-time favorites. It makes me smile even when i'm down.

Currently Looking Forward To: A possible trip to OH to visit will's brother and his girlfriend :-D

My Favorite Things

Since winter is quickly approaching and with it many of the things I hate (ie- cold weather, walking through snow, etc) I figured I should focus on the things I love...


Warm springtime breezes and beaches in Cali
Steaming earl grey tea and a Penn State pep rally
Manicured nails and silver rings...
These are a few of my favorite things
Kisses from Brady and my family road trips
Fishing with Higgins and G. Knight with the Pips
The Christmas season and the joy that it brings
These are a few of my favorite things
Taking hot showers on a cold winters day
Getting drinks and not even having to pay
Seeing John Mayer in concert while he sings
These are a few of my favorite things
When the gel rips
When the blot's blank
When I want to quit
I simply remember my favorite things
And then I don't feel like S*@# ;)


Currently listening to : THE TV!! such a novel idea to me...i rarely get to watch it :(

Currently looking forward to : Thanksgiving I'll be home and done with my grant and seminar ;)

Anxious

I am feeling a bit anxious this week...okay okay, for those of you who know me, I'm anxious 24/7. lol. but it's really starting to bug me. I mean, as soon as I finish one task, I'm anxious about finishing the next. And when I was younger I always thought, "this is temporary Renee, once you get a job, you'll have no other reason to be anxious." but lets face it, by that time in my life (i'll be about 30 mind you) i'll have 10X's more things to worry about! I mean I'm just anxious about thinking about my anxiety!!! argh! lol

So, I've decided to try a new outlook on life. I need to revert back to my childhood days of f*%$ it. You know, like when something didn't work out (ie- a toy breaks) you move on the the next one like the first one never existed (unless it was your fav...then of course you cry for a few hours and then move on). I mean, I try so hard and worry so much...i don't know what i'm even working and worrying for! Yep...from now on you're gonna see a new Renee. Problems will just roll off my back....(riiiiight) ;)

Other stuff: my week of babysitting my son (aka Brady) has come to an end (i'm slightly relieved...i really think he was trying to kill me! haha). I figure I should post some pics from our time together. i *heart* this puppy :-D

Blessed...this is life

Ahh, fall has come yet again and thus another year of school begins (year number 19 for me :(). I would like to say that this summer has been productive...but it hasn't. It's not for lack of effort, trust you me. I've been told that the first year of research can be a bit of a wash as it takes a while for you to work out all of the kinks in your experiments. Knowing this, I figured I would work extra hard, reasoning that if i work harder than the average grad student than I will have the same amount of failures, and a greater number of successes. Well, i was wrong...very wrong. Today Leela (the senior graduate student in the lab/my mentor) told me that our PI has noticed that I am working very hard...which should make me happy and flattered, but I just wanted to cry at that comment. Besides my PI's praise, I have hardly anything to show for the past 3 months of work. *Sigh* I guess "this is life" though (dunno what Brett was huffin' when he called it "blessed"). I'm sure in 5 more years from now I will have the success I seek *fingers crossed* lol. I think a flight attendant (on my trip home from FL) put it best when she said, "I love my job, I love my job...I'm just waiting for it to sink in..." lol. I guess that's how most of us will feel until we retire...perhaps I should just focus on making the best of it instead of crying about it ;) Well, back to research I go...can't wait for my love for grad life to sink in!


Looking forward to: Babysitting Brady next week while Will is on vacay...I LOVE that pup!!!!
Listening to: "Blessed" by Brett Dennen

No More 3x5's (Fort Lauderdale, FL)

"Didn't have a camera by my side this time...hoping I would see the world through both my eyes. Maybe I will tell you all about it when I'm in the mood to lose my way, but let me say: you should have seen that sunrise with your own eyes...it brought me back to life. You'll be with me next time I go outside; just no more 3x5's. Today I finally overcame tryin' to fit the world inside a picture frame; maybe I will tell you all about it when I'm in the mood to lose my way with words..."

A much needed break

So, the title of this post says it all...it says what i'm currently doing and what I will be doing in a few more days! Right now I'm in lab taking a much needed break from my experiments (which haven't been panning out very well lately) and next monday (the 11th) I will be taking a much needed break from the corn fields of IN to go to the sandy beaches of FL :-D can't wait!!! Although not much is going on in my life right now, i thought i'd post a pic of Will's puppy (or his son as he so fondly calls him). lol. So, here he is: Brady Higgins (he is nearing 4months).

Currently Listening to: "Let Me Get This Right" by Ne-Yo...one of my favs :)

Looking Forward to: Escaping from PCRs and going to Ft. Lauderdale!!