Let’s get lifted…

John Legend very much has my full attention with that song (“Let’s Get Lifted”)…

Saturday was wonderful. I pulled up directions to Bloomington, Indiana (but not any particular place in Bloomington), and Mother-dear, the Rat, WO, and I took off. We wandered around several blocks down from IU, stopping at a chocolate shop, an awesome bookstore, a gaming store, Urban Outfitters (where I acquired two new shirts), and Cold Stone Creamery.

It felt really good to just get out and walk around, like the Basement Crew and I did in San Fran. The Rat had me running all over the damn place, which was fun (again with the desire to frolick). As tired as I already was from last week, though, I didn’t think I wanted to get back up once I sat down to eat my ice cream…

So everything went swimmingly on that front. We got back to campus in time for WO to go to a writer’s coffeehouse while I hunted down Andrea for face-time with the old lady. I’ve been swearing ever since Andrea and I became friends that she and my mother would love each other. And they did.

They chatted while I met and talked with Angela’s parents and while Angela met and talked with the Rat. Turns out I didn’t get to have my curiosity as to what my mother and Angela would talk about assauged, as I don’t know that they said more than a couple words to one another. Oh, well. The Rat liked WO, Angela, and Andrea though.

After Angela and her parents departed, I roped Andrea into going to dinner with us (note to self: yelling “free foo-oo-ood!” is not the way to get someone as prideful about money as Andrea to go with you to dinner…). We introduced her to Garfield’s, which is undoubtedly my favorite “American food” restaurant in the Dirty Dirty. Their chicken quesadilla salad is unbelievable.

We got back in time for me to catch the last half hour of the radio show and to get into bed at midnight in a fatigue-induced stupor, with Mom and the Rat already snoring loudly…

Yeah, I’m glad Mother-dear doesn’t read this…

Sunday was tiring and stressful and unproductive for me. That’s enough about that.

Today, though, tired as I am, I had my last analytical chemistry lab of the term. As much as I like a-chem, and as much as I’ve learned about the field I love like a second child to CS, I will admit to being sick and f’ing tired of titrations. I think I went from being Dr. M’s anal retentive, meticulous child to being one of the sloppiest mo-fos in lab. Funny, since a-chem is often abbreviated “anal chem”…

The next course in the sequence focuses on spectroscopy (according to Phil), which should be a lot more fun for me. Better yet, the third one is more on chromatography, which makes me even happier.

I also finished my computer architecture project today. Cryptographic processors are interesting, but the scope was a bit wide for a project only lasting a few weeks. It went well, though, and working with Nate-dawg and West Point-boy was fun, although West Point-boy put N and I to shame in terms of productivity. And we can’t even blame that shit on Rose wearing us out. Dude is from West Point.

PLC is unmentionable right now. See above about Sunday.

I read a recent post by my old friend Rackrent this afternoon that sent me to tears. Particularly in combination with a recent conversation with Jenny. That’s enough about that, too, until I finish parsing and evaluating my response.

For two more weeks, I’ll keep playing “Let’s Get Lifted” and (strangely) A Perfect Circle while I struggle to sleep enough to put a spark in my academic apathy. I do feel like writing, though, although I don’t think I’d be able to conjure up anything publishable…