Because I haven't done this in a looong time, I figured I'd start with random thoughts.
1. Earbuds really are a godsend in the office. I am blasting Wilco in my ears, trying to drown out the droning of some webinar about cell culturing. It's distracting me from my important work (oh wait, so is blogging)
2. I missed my alter ego, I will enjoy blogging again. Even if its short and sweet.
3. Does anyone else feel the urge to dance while listening to their iPOD? Even if it's in public? I do!
4. I'm back on the bike. Watch out!
Posted by Lady Jane Scarlett ::
12:52 PM ::
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24 June 2009
Summer Salads
It's been awhile since I've been out to blog. I know that my
one follower has been chomping at the beef jerky bit for updates.
Well, my thesis has been written and turned in to my committee members. It is 204 pages of love's labor. The culmination of 10 years' study and soon to be collecting dust at a library near you.
We have a cute herb garden on our balcony. Photos to come soon!
It is H-O-T outside, but I don't let stupid things like heat stroke deter me from enjoying my running or bicycling. I'm recovered, mostly, from an unfortunate attack of tendonitis and can't wait to really start training in July.
The motorcycle is in working condition, which I have come to realize is a relative term for something that's 26 years old. It turns on, it doesn't fall apart during a ride and it's peppy as all get out. What else can one ask for in a bike?
The hot weather means its salad season. Yay for cooking as little as possible! Monday was homemade pizza with lots of veggies. Last night was a greek/orzo pasta salad and tonight I'll be making
Dragon's Lemon/Herb potato salad. This weekend may be the inaugural batch of gazpacho. (yum)
Here's my greek/orzo pasta salad:
1/2 bag spinach, chopped
Some black olives, chopped finely
1/4 red onion, chopped finely
Some feta cheese, chopped
1 1/2-2 cups orzo pasta
Olive oil, sea salt, fresh cracked pepper, balsamic vinegar
Directions:
1. Add the spinach, olives, cheese and onion in a bowl. Mix in some olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper.
2. Cook the pasta. Drain, let cool.
3. Add the pasta to the other ingredients. Throw in some more olive oil and vinegar for good measure.
4. Toss all the goodness together and enjoy!
Super easy, can be made vegan by substituting hard tofu for feta.
Note bene! Both recipes call for balsamic vinegar. Balsamic vinegar is one of those things that a chef should not skimp on. You don't use too much of it, so it should be packed with deliciousness. Go to a deli or
fine foods store and find yourself some good, sweet, syrup-like balsamic. You taste buds will love you for it.
Posted by Lady Jane Scarlett ::
12:28 PM ::
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06 May 2009
FSM invades your joint
Funny title huh? If you don't know what FSM is by now, check out the pastafarianism here.
I made what I think is my best slide picture ever. EVER! (seriously, it's awesome!) Check it out below! It's a cross-sectional representation of the cartilage/bone interface. The squiggly lines are collagen, the circles are chondrocytes (aka cartilage cells)
But now that I'm looking at it again, it does look like little FSMs are all over.
{sigh} Maybe one of my committee members will get a kick out of making similar interpretation.
Behold!
Posted by Lady Jane Scarlett ::
2:36 PM ::
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03 May 2009
My very first follower!
I'm so excited! I has a follower! It feels like it's Secret Santa season and I'm all excited. (wait, I already mentioned this)
Welcome to spring everyone! The apple blossoms are in bloom and they are my absolute favorite aroma. During my run, I ran past about 5-6 trees all in a cluster and I stopped to just inhale deeply their luscious, pungent, sharp aroma. In fact, I think that I'm going to bicycle past it on my way home just so I can smell them again. How wonderful!
On the by and by, I slaughtered over 12,000 calories in April. twelve freakin' THOUSAND! Take THAT mischievous remnants of cheesecake. muahahahahaha!!
:) LJS
Posted by Lady Jane Scarlett ::
7:22 PM ::
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29 April 2009
Snails Pace
I'm at 78.2 miles this month, with two more runs left. Oh yes. I am getting there, slowly and surely!
Yesterday's run was good. I started off on the hilly part of the 5 mile loop. Why haven't I thought to get rid of the hard part early on when I have more energy? My legs are...sore and tight and unhappy. But bicycling into work today seemed to help a bit.
About this whole Twitter thing. I admit that I've been following Hyperion and Ryan Adams on Twitter. (Hyperion, this is really a compliment to you. You're in the same company as Ryan Adams!) Am I going to Twitter? Uh. No. Probably not, I mean. First of all, it seems crack-a-licious fun to be micro-blogging and I'd be doing it like every two minutes. Which would a) feed my scattered tendencies and b) seriously diminish whatever vestige of productivity I have going on. But it does seem fun.
And, the motorcycles are OUT and working. I am awaiting new handlebars so I can promptly drop the bike and bend a new set. {sigh} REI is having a sale on lightweight camping gear, so I may trek over there and see what they have in preparation for the "Esmonde-White Tour of America" to take place this summer.
OK. Time to finish Chapter 3. Chow!
Posted by Lady Jane Scarlett ::
8:38 AM ::
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28 April 2009
A new land distance record?
In order to avoid the wrath of Hyperion's "wit", I decided that I will just write a "bit" a day. Wait. I'm sure I can haiku this sentiment...
Hypey's biting wit
I avoid because I care
Thus I write a bit
Heh.
Anyhoo. I am loving my outdoor performance gear sunglasses. They are fashionable, lightweight and make me look so darn cute! And, I registered for the Dexter-Ann Arbor half marathon! It will (alas) be my only spring race. But, I do have a budget and I do have summer plans that I must save up for.
This month, so far, I have run 73 miles. This is very close to my record of 78.4 miles in July 2006. I am psyched because I have three more running days left in April and I know that I will make a new record this month. I wasn't even trying to break my distance record. Yay for this new moderate-consistent plan! I am enjoying a longer run mid-week, it makes the Sunday long run feel a bit more within reach.
Posted by Lady Jane Scarlett ::
10:31 AM ::
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02 April 2009
On Target
March was a good running month for me! I met my weekly goals for the whole month, 4 days a week and my mileage goals.
My grand total of 62 miles was muchly improved over February.
But, old demons are starting to rear their ugly head. Things like a tight hamstring, tight quads are making me sore. I am hoping that, now I am bicycling to school again, my muscles will start to feel better.
It does look like I will be able to meet my mileage goals. But I fear that my funds are too low to support registering for all of the races I wanted to run in this spring. I need a new pair of OUTDOOR PERFORMANCE GEAR sunglasses, which are a bit pricey. And, I can't have both the sunglasses and four race registrations...I'm too fiscally responsible for that sort of thing.
So...I'm still keeping Cleveland and Dexter-Ann Arbor, the Road Ends is up in the air but the Martian 10K is out.
Posted by Lady Jane Scarlett ::
8:37 AM ::
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21 March 2009
That first burst of spring
Warm weather is coming my way, in fits and spurts. The first of the crocus flowers and the daffodils are greeting us and I too feel like I am making my way out of the cold and the haze. If slowly and with trepidation.
My running is going well! The 4x/week program is good and I'm slowing creeping back up the mileage. Now I complain. Whyyyyy? Because it's my blog and I'll whine if I want to...
anyhoo....
My right hamstring feels like a rubber band, after being left out in the dead of winter, that is now being stretched to its limit. It feels tight and crackly and I almost screamed in yoga class today getting into a downward-facing dog. That posture used to be one of my favorites, now it is painful!? One harbinger of old age, I understand, is that my body will start to complain and whine and sometimes just break down (a la the "hamstring incident" of 2008).
But, I also know that giving up is also a sign of aging. So, I'll be stretching more often. Spending more time doin' those yoga poses that make my muscles ache.
Momentous moments have occurred, and I feel settled for now. If not slightly overwhelmed because I just (I think) offered to write a grant application ON TOP OF my thesis served with a side plate of post-doc job application. Oh yes, I did just say THESIS.
I'm writing up baby. YEAH!!
:) LJSLabels: Running, Thesis, training
Posted by Lady Jane Scarlett ::
12:40 PM ::
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12 March 2009
I'm training
"Let's face it, most of us are scoffers. But moments before zero hour, it did not pay to take chances." -Ralphie
It is time to train. It is time to deny, push, and push some more. I have set some hard goals for the spring! Four races in three months, maybe two half-marathons. From April 'til June, I'll be lacing up in the wee hours of the morning and hitting the road in a test of my will and my physical self. The long runs are getting longer.
Some quick changes here in the Den: I changed the "photos" links to all of the races I plan to run. And I'll be posting more about my training, mostly to keep up my energy. I need all the help I can give myself...so I can beat myself. Existential huh?
So this year, I have made peace with my 4 runs/week training schedule. I just can't push myself to do 5. So, I am trying a variation on the moderate-consistent plan (see Episode 76) in which I have less days to run, but I run longer during those runs. I think it'll be good.
:) LJS
Posted by Lady Jane Scarlett ::
11:05 AM ::
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11 February 2009
A new series
I've heard many stupid things relating to the economy lately. Things like bonuses, posh retreats and what-haves for bankers bailed out by our previous administration. Kudos to Obama for putting the smackdown on bonuses, BTW.
So I'm starting a new series called "Stop Whining". It's a populist-style rant for all the well-heeled people who think that these economic times mean things like buying a $2000 dress instead of a $5000 dress, less vacationing in Aspen, no private jets and driving themselves around. Basically, people who don't know what it feels like to be on the cusp of losing everything.
Ironically, I've heard the MOST bitching from these sorts of people. Mostly in the New York Times. Both entertaining and infuriating.
Segment 1: Gee, how can I possibly live on 500k a year? And, the Consumerist responds.Labels: Stop Whining
Posted by Lady Jane Scarlett ::
9:13 AM ::
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09 February 2009
Scientific Malaise
For some reason, I'm feeling really rotten today. To paraphrase Jimmy Carter, a feeling of malaise has washed over me.
Instead of sleeping it off, genius me is here at work instead because I want to go for a run later this afternoon. And I'd feel bad if I did stay at home and felt well enough to go out for a run. So I figured I'd suffer for the cause and at least be a warm body. A warm body that wants to pass out over my laptop and take a nice long snooze.
I'm taking this opportunity to catch up on reading journal articles. I have about 20 journals that I like to cruise through. On rare occasions, I find very good articles. Most of them time, I'm neither impressed or disappointed. Then, I find articles that makes me want to go kick some butt.
Take this one for example:
"Application of multi-factorial design of experiments to successfully optimize immunoassays for robust measurements of therapeutic proteins"
So DOE is a fancy way of saying "planning our experiments beforehand so we know we'll get good results". Standard fare, IMHO. So why do they get to publish THAT? It'll be practical,sure. But it does not advance scientific knowledge when someone says "I did the scientific method". I saw alot of presentations like this at Photonics West-stuff that's either 20 years old or presented LAST year at the same conference (same slides, almost same order=new presentation! Who knew?)Pretty disappointing, actually.
Full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.
Posted by Lady Jane Scarlett ::
7:12 AM ::
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22 January 2009
Vet, an old pro
I hope that someone reminds me to pay my taxes and properly vet staff members before I run for Senate.
kthks
Posted by Lady Jane Scarlett ::
2:46 PM ::
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