new thesis

So, I am now on thesis topic number 4. The first one fell through because the grant fell through and it was to expensive to do otherwise. The second fell through because of Katrina, the new sedimentologists lab would have been finished by dec so i could do isotope analysis, but now the lab might not be done till summer and the isotopes i want to measure do not have a long enough half life, and its to expensive to do otherwise. The third thesis topic, well i really liked it but Charlotte did not, so :(... But now i think i finally have a topic that both she and i like, and it will not be expensive. I think she really likes this one because she mentioned having a draft of the prospectus done by January.

So, what is this new topic you might ask... well i would be taking cores in the Pearl River marsh (border of Ms and La) looking for a fault. There are numerous faults in the area but there is one that some have mapped vertically while others have mapped it horizontally... so i will be using foraminifera and sediment analysis to find it. Then once i find it, I will compair the foraminifera from the lower block to the upper block to see how they have responded to the slip. And this is usefull to charlotte who wants to do a long term study of the marsh, need to know where the fault is before placing sediment traps out and SET's out. So finally!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So now it is time to read....lots and lots of reading... i already have a pile about a foot high. There are lots of stuff of faults and forams, but there is almost nothing on the Pearl River marsh, so finding some history/anything will be a huge ordeal... Oh well, it should be fun, i do like looking stuff up, its easy and can be done while watching tv or doing something else...

so woo hoo finally!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

gobble gobble

so turkey day was good. It was supposed to be john's thanksgiving, he was gonna cook for me and his parents (they came down from Virginia), but of course I am incapable of keeping my nose out of things, so I ended up doing a good bit of the cooking, which I like to do anyway so it was great. Dinner consisted of turkey, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese (the baked kind not from a box), green bean casserole, yams with colored marshmallows on top :), cranberries from a can, and a pumpkin pie. (Amanda if you would like I can give you mashed potato lessons for next turkey day :)).

I meet johns parents and his grandmother, so that was good. Apparently they liked me, or so john said, cause his dad spoke highly of me. Its funny meeting someone's parents, it really helps you to understand a person much better. Its funny kids either turn out to be just like their parents (like john and his dad) or the antithesis of their parents (like Amanda and her republican mom). I don't know, I guess I am a mix, in some ways I am just like my mother and in other ways I am the antithesis. Oh well.

so its back to school for me, no more running away until xmas. So its time to work on my prospectus, seeing as how the entire thing looks to be changing again :) and to start collecting data and figuring stuff out for the talk I am giving at the Mississippi academy of science meeting in Feb.

Happy Turkey Day!!!

Happy turkey day everybody, my your elastic waistbands hold up :)...

Part I

so i just got back from john's. The trip was good. We argued a little bit, but i think it had to do with me being stressed out and the fact that he was getting sick, so neither of us was really in a great place. But after we got that out of our system things went much better. Since he was getting sick and was tired, basically all we did was hang out and sleep/wach movies, which was great!!! Just curled up in his arms on his couch (aka the floor), there is nothing better!! However, now i think i am getting sick :(, but oh well... i can deal :). Ohh we also went to the movies, saw Jarhead, and of course Harry Potter, :). . . and of course Harry Potter was great, and Jarhead was much more amusing than I thought it was going to be, it actually is quite good. John had already seen it, so it didnt bother him to much that i kept asking questions :). . . anyway, so class today and then back to John :)... I wish i didnt have to come back, but oh well gotta go to class :).... so well thats about it, not much else has gone on...

marsh marsh marsh marsh

so today was another adventure out in the marsh. This time we (charlotte, Moojoon, becky roman and I) took the boat out to cruse around the Pearl River and wonder into the Pearl River marsh. So it started off a little rocky, as i was standing next to the boat launch guiding charlotte in backing up the boat, my left foot (only the left thankfully) was attacked by fireants. There are atleast 5 bites (one between the toes), and my foot is huge and swollen and red and hurts like hell!!!!!!!!! So, we then get in the boat and get on our way. About 10min down the Pearl the boat just stops. So, charlotte and i mess around with wires, then i discover that the fuel line has come undone. So i bring out the duct tape and reattach the fuel line (charlotte doesnt take duct tape as part of her field gear so she was happy i never go out without it:)). We get the boat started again and it runs for a few minutes and then it dies again :(. so we mess with this and that and no luck. so there was a southern wind and we were heading nort and this boat has a fabric cover that can be set at any angle, so we used that sort of as a sale and paddled back to the dock. we called merrit one of the tecs and he meet us there, played with the boat for a while, and we figured out that b/c of the gas line coming unconnected a bunch of air got in the fuel line and the pump used to prime the gas line was not strong enough to get rid of the air bubble. so merrit siphoned (sp?) the line ended up taking a couple mouthfulls/faces of gas and got it going again. So we were back on our way into the marsh :). so after all of these things, stuff went well. Saw a gator, bald eagle, fiddler crab. Got really really muddy, had to army craw a bit to get my legs unstuck, got great samples and a bit of a sunburn. So in the end it was a great time :)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!mmmm i love getting muddy :)

Whats going on.....

well things are starting to lighten up -- but i think that is mainly because i will be running away from mississippi for a little while. Ive been going out into the marsh alot lately which always aids in increasing my sanity. Most people hate the "marsh smell" but it is quite comforting and makes me happy, and then playing in the mud is always great. Charlotte gives me a hard time (kidding of course) because i always seem to pick the muddier path :). anyway so charlotte is going out of town for a few days this week, so i am running away to see john in tampa, it will be good to get away from all of this... and i miss john madley so being there will make me much happier. So while he is at work on thurs and friday i can get school stuff done, and then sat/sun ill help clean up the apartment because his parents are coming down for turkey day. So then ill come back to mississippi sun, and then drive back down for turkey day. If only i didnt have to go to class mon/tues before turkey day -- it would make it so much easier. oh well... so for two weeks there will be sanity :) and right now that is needed more than anything!! So well thats whats going on

drowning :(

ok, so i feel as if im drowning... everything is just piling up... so i have moved into a new apartmetn, slightly furnished, but i still have alot to buy -- such as a sweater or jacket (its getting cold), i just ordered dishes, i had to spend 3 hours in wallyworld the other day because i needed to buy sissors. my insurance company screwed me, and i havent heard from FEMA -- its just a big waiting game, so i have no idea if i am going to be getting any money from them or not:(.... so i have all this stuff to buy -- just for normal every day life -- im not talking anything fancey now... and i have to buy it on my normal pay which itself just barley covers my bills -- and with gas prices the way they are, that cuts into my food money, so how the hell am i supposed to buy any of the stuff i need, and its too late in the semester for a student loan, i can get one next semester but what am i to do till then... i just dont know!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

then, charlotte tells me she wants me to present something at MAS (mississippi academy of science), and what she wants me to present has nothing to do with my thesis. she tells me this the day before the abstract is due, luckely she says she doesnt mind paying the late fee (only 10 dollars). now she wants me to give a talk about how katrina has affected the marsh... the meeting is in febuary -- totally duable, but i have to write this bloody abstract with no data, ive looked at images and seen the marsh first hand -- but that is about it! So luckely i have my BS, so hopefully i can make something out of nothing!!! and not sound like a complete moron at the same time!!!!!!!!!!!

Then i have to write this stupid prospectus, everything that i come up with that i like, charlotte shoots down:(... i need to start sampling, but for what purpose i dont, know.... hopefully we will agree on something soon.

i am also tired of mississippi, i am tired of being asked "how did your place do", and "what are you gonna do", and "do you need anything"... my place is no more, i dont know what i am gonna do, and i need money -- in large amounts!!!!!!!!!!!! -- ive calculated its gonna cost me about $2000 to replace most of my field gear, and thats assuming i can find some stuff on sale or used or just not replace all of it... and this is stuff i use pretty regularly :(...I am tired of driving past destroyed buildings on my way to and from school every day... im tired of the electricity and phones at school being on and off again because of repairs, i am tired of whenever i need something i have to go to wallworld -- where i loose 3 hours of my life because walmart is only open to 7 and everyone else is there as well trying to buy the same things you are -- but there are only 3 left and 50 of you need them, i am tired of people asking me "are you all right?", i am tired of being told that "you are loosing weight" -- who the fuck cares!!!!!!!!!! that is the least of my worries, i am tired of not being able to sleep, i am tired of being here alone, i am i am TIRED!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Right now all i want to do is run away to Tampa and be with john... I am happy there, there are no problems, no worries, and none of the above crap to deal with, i can read and write while he is at work and be with him when hes not... honestly that is the only place i want to be right now ---- I am so much happier with him near!!!!

NOOOO!!!

Ok, so I have been putting off reading the newest Harry potter book because I knew it would suck me in and that I wouldn't do the real reading (school stuff) that I have to do. But... Thursday I wasn't feeling well so I stayed home, so I read a little bit... Mostly slept. .. and then between last night and tonight I finished the book... Well I haven't been sleeping well anyway so might as well occupy my mind... and all I can say is

I REFUSE TO BELIEVE THAT DUMBLEDORE IS DEAD!!
he will be coming back to life --

Guavaween 2005

I would have posted these earlier, but the pics were just sent to me... Halloween at Guavaween. Steve (the pimp), John (the decapitated butler), I (the slutty maid, or well slightly slutty, my behind wasnt hanging out -- so not officially slutty)... anyway here are some of my fav pics. Mind you steve and john are the only ones i know, everyone else well... no clue... here are just some of the pics, there are many many more, and i am gonna put them up on my webshots pg in the next couple of days... anyway enjoy -- feel free to laugh and please comment...:)

oh and here is a good website with some more guavaween pics on it -- there are some great costumes :)

Sorry:(

Hey -- i apologize for anyone who actually reads this on a regular basis, but i am sort of playing with the layout of this thing... so if you try to read this and stuff is not coming up properly or what not, its just me playing with the way it looks... also, once ive had something up for a while, if there are any problems (like you can read the text on the particular background) let me know, and i will see what i can do :)... in other words, i have alot of writing to do and i need something to procrastinate with that i can stop and start... so playing with the way my blog looks is a great solution !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Oh and steve... do i know you???... just curiosity killing the cat :)

fat ass

So apparently i am "waisting away" or at least that is what JoAnne one of the secretaries told me. Apparently it appears that i have lost a bit of weight because she is like the 3rd person to basically tell me that i look like i have lost weight. And then they ask me how i am doing it... ok how is one supposed to answer that question. If you ask me i have if anything gained weight. I havent been to the gym or been eating properly since i evacuated, and the normal test for determining if i have gained wait (trying on different pairs of jeans to see which ones fit and which ones dont) doesnt apply anymore since those jeans no longer are in my possession (stupid katrina). Eating out for almost every meal is a great way to pack on a few pounds... so if anything i need to hit the gym and start eating healthy. So my answer for the "how have you lost weight" question has been, stress lots and lots of stress. It sounds like a good answer to me:).