Miscellany

I had to post this; the picture is far too good for me not to:

Psycho Kitty! You don't like to be crossed and
will take it out on anyone who is stupid enough
to try!


What kind of cat are you?
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Recently I got a rowing machine via Freecycle. An elderly woman and man were giving it away, as they're moving to Phoenix to a retirement community with all the exercise equipment they could possibly want. I love this thing. I get on it several times throughout the day: when I get up in the morning, when I watch TV, etc. It has been a godsend in terms of my cardio, especially since I've had to stop jumping rope in the mornings because the downstairs neighbor complained about the jumping, resulting in a letter from management, scolding me and telling me that this is one, and if I get three complaints, I'll be evicted (hiss). The rowing machine has also made my shoulders and back feel great: sore, but in a good way. I highly recommend taking a free rowing machine if one is offered to you. :)

I've spent a good deal of time today tweaking my CV after attending a job search workshop in my department. I've updated my "Conference Presentations" category, taken out most of the bulleted lists, added a couple of items under "Professional Activities," and added two categories: "Invited Presentations" and "Interviews." I do presentations at colloquia and workshops here at the University of Minnesota, and I've done a few interviews with news publications, but before the workshop I assumed no one would care about that stuff, and it would look like I'm padding my vitae. However, I stand corrected: Everyone urged me to put it on there, so there it is. If any of you have other suggestions for how I should arrange and present the material, feel free to let me know; I'd appreciate the feedback.

Last night, I made a lot of headway on that purse I blogged about a while back. I did the following while indulging my latest addiction: season 2 of Alias on DVD. I can watch four episodes in one night. :)

Today marks the 56th day since the last time I donated blood, so at 1:00 I'm scheduled to donate again. I don't know if I've written here before about why it's important to me to donate blood as often as they'll let me. As long as I can remember, my mom used to give every 56 days, but in November 1999 she got diagnosed with breast cancer and went through chemotherapy and radiation. She hasn't been eligible to donate blood since then; she's now on Tamoxifen and, while she'll be eligible again in a couple of years or so, she hasn't been able to donate in a long time, and I know she would if she could. So I wanted to do it in her stead (not that I'll stop when she's eligible again! Only 5% of the people who are eligible to donate do it, so I'll continue). I'm going to eat a huge lunch of pork tenderloin, black beans, and jasmine rice beforehand. I weighed myself this morning to make sure I was still meeting the weight requirement -- 110 lbs. -- and I was, but barely. I've experienced a weird sea change in my body and metabolism after losing all that weight in the summer; now, it seems, I have to try to keep from losing weight. My goal now is not to go below 110. One last thought on blood donation before I move on to go-go boots: Last time I gave blood, they timed it, and I filled up the bag in six minutes. I'm both fascinated and disturbed by this fact. I even opened up my calculator and figured out how many ounces per minute it was.

Via feministe comes Go-Go-Boots.com, a fabulous tribute to go-go boots. It's got a great image gallery, and I've chosen this one as my desktop wallpaper.

As if I'm the first person to think of it...but for those who haven't been struck with this inspiration, I'd like to pass it along. So you're at the used CD store, flipping through the new arrival bins, with that familiar tapping sound of jewel cases hitting each other in the background. Sidle up to a cute boy or girl (first, try it with a not-especially-cute person, just to practice). Grinning and twinkling, say, "Excuse me. I'm looking for (insert band here) CDs. Would you mind keeping an eye out for them and pulling 'em for me if you happen to see one?" If the response is positive, ask if cute boy or girl is looking for anything in particular and offer to pull it for him or her. If cute boy or girl finds what you're looking for, he or she will walk up to you triumphantly, holding the CD(s) up. Be delighted and thank him/her profusely. Then ask cute boy or girl what he/she is doing for the rest of the afternoon.

src="http://www.bbspot.com/Images/News_Features/2003/01/os_quiz/debian.jpg" width="300" height="90"
border="0" alt="You are Debian Linux. People have difficulty getting to know you. Once you finally open your shell they're apt to love you.">
Which OS are You?

I think I'm very easy to get to know, but hey, I'm happy with the result. You should take the quiz; the multiple choice answers cracked me up several times. I mean, what's a "sausage of power"? :D Really, someone tell me. I'm afraid to Google it. Via Marcoe.

I have a hat, but I have no head. :-(

This post at Laurie's combined with my penchant for 80s young adult fiction got me thinking...what with all the vintage-mania going on, t-shirts with images of Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield like this: