The Lazy blogger

Because I am feeling lazy and yet neglectful, I am filling out this form my friend Tabatha posted on facebook about getting to know people. I realized my blog is school heavy, so I thought this would be a nice little get to know Allie sheet.
1. What time did you get up this morning? 12ish
2. How do you like your steak? Medium; I hunger for the blood of innocent animals.
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 1.
4. What is your favorite TV show? Futurama, Bleach, Kekkaishi, The Conan O'Brien Show.
5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? Somewhere full of trees.
6. What did you have for breakfast? I've ate breakfast all day today...technically, an avocado and Mexican cheese omelette.
7. What is your favorite cuisine? Mexican
8. What foods do you dislike? Pickles. They are pure evil.
9. Favorite Place to Eat? Eh, it changes, but right now it is the little Mexican restaurant that opened next to the bar in Kelseyville. Carnitas = <3
10. Favorite dressing? Ranch or poppyseed.
11. What kind of vehicle do you drive? 07 civic ex. How I love it.
12. What are your favorite clothes? As I got dressed for a Mormon wedding today, I realized all of my shirts show off my boobs or are in some way inappropriate. This made it difficult to get dressed. Anyway, I like clothes that are a little off beat--either punky or hippie ish. And boob centric, apparently. No wonder I had so many guy friends in high school.
13. Where would you visit if you had the chance? France, Greece, Spain, Tokyo--everywhere.
14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full? Depends on how cynical I feel that day.
15. Where would you want to retire? Somewhere with lots of cats.
16. Favorite time of day? Sunset and when the stars come out.
17. Where were you born? Ukiah, California.
18. What is your favorite sport to watch? Curling, because it is not a sport.
19. Who do you think will not tag you back? I'm not on facebook!
20. Person you expect to tag you back first? I'm still not on facebook.
21. Who are you most curious about their responses to this? Not on facebook.
22. Bird watcher? I watch my cat kill birds. Because I hate them.
23. Are you a morning person or a night person? Night.
24. Pets? Cat and some fish (they live at separate houses).
25. Any new and exciting news that you'd like to share? I got straight A's. I have new fish friends. Good times, good times.
26. What did you want to be when you were little? A cat doctor (NOT a veterinarian), a princess, a volcanologist. Practical things.
27. What is your best childhood memory? Meeting my best friend in the lunch line and bottle feeding my kitten.
28. Are you a cat or dog person? Cat, if it wasn't obvious.
29. Are you married? No.
30. Always wear your seat belt? Yes, because my car screams at me if I don't.
31. Been in a car accident? I haven't.
32. Any pet peeves? When people don't press the clear button when they are done using the microwave. People who say ASAP as "A sap."
33. Favorite pizza topping? Pineapple.
34. Favorite Flower? Orchids.
35. Favorite ice cream? Cookies n cream
36. Favorite fast food restaurant? Tacobell
37. How many times did you fail your driver's test? Once...I don't like to talk about it.
38. From whom did you get your last email? Gosh, who e-mails anymore with facebook?
39. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? Chanel, Manolo Blahnik, Christian Louboutin.
40. Do anything spontaneous lately? I randomly ran into my friends at a gas station. I don't think this counts as spontaneous, but whatever.
41. Like your job? Being a student sucks mostly.
42. Broccoli? YES.
43. What was your favorite vacation? Mmm, the one I took with my mom to Monterey after she had her surgery.
44. Last person you went out to dinner with? Mom.
45. What are you listening to right now? Final Fantasy 14 battle music.
46. What is your favorite color? Pink
47. How many tattoos do you have? 2
48. Coffee drinker? When I drive somewhere in the morning.
49. How many children do you have? 0. Thank. God.
50. What are your plans for today? Went to friend's wedding, watched a movie, now sleepy time.

GFAJ-1 and Capella

This is Mono Lake. It lies in the middle of a barren expanse of desert near the California-Nevada border. It has a salinity that shifts back and forth between two and three times higher than the average salinity of the ocean. The primary life that exists in this extreme environment is brine shrimp and alkali flies; migratory birds also frequent the lake, providing a vital resting stop on their trip down south.

This lake has become one of the most important bodies of water in the world because of something that is nanometers in size that breaks one of the key rules of life on Earth. Until now, as we understood it, life was thought to center around six key elements: hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, sulfur and phosphorous. A bacteria discovered in oxygen absent mud, named GFAJ-1, was found to use arsenic, which is chemically similar to phosphorus, in the backbone of it's DNA rather than phosphorous. Arsenic is poisonous to life because of its ability to mimic phosphorous leads to disruption of metabolic pathways.

I know--this is very sciencey. But this bacteria has just changed our definition of life. Take a moment to appreciate this by thinking about everything you know about math, such as two plus two equals four, and try to convince yourself that there will ever be a time when it doesn't.

I know, right? Kinda mind boggling. This little bacteria is breaking all the rules...those rules may never have existed in the first place. GFAJ-1 has taught us that life outside our planet may be different from us in ways we can't even conceive of yet. This microbe just opened the door to the very real possibility of life on another world.

In honor of GFAJ-1 and all the knowledge its discovery has bestowed upon us, I have written a brief story. I'll probably do more with it in the future, but right now I'm too busy panicking about finals to focus on too much.

Capella

The lights of the planet faded into the distance as the rocket climb higher and higher into the deep. The haze of the atmosphere began to dissolve and it too faded to blackness. Before Capella's eyes lay the boundless elegance of the universe. Stars twinkled like smiles thousands of light years away, as though they were welcoming back home.

She pressed her face closer to the viewing window of their craft, hoping that if she got close enough to the wonders of the outside she would understand them, be able to shape them with her hands. "We are passing your constellation, Capella," Einath called to her from the pilot's chair.

She cocked her head to see past him. In the distance she could see the golden glow Auriga the Charioteer. "I believe you are the northern most one?" he said, gesturing to the most brilliant in the system. "Yes," she said, smiling. "And you are the southern."

Many minutes passed as they both gazed at the stars they had been named for; how appropriate it seemed now as they rushed past them at speeds only light ever exceeded that they were picked for this voyage. Eventually, the glow of their stars was consumed by the darkness and new ones took their place in front of their eyes: Taurus, Orion, Monoceros, Hydra and finally came Libra, the scales--the place they had been sent to.

In the distance loomed a massive glowing red orb named Gliese 581. The red dwarf was only two thirds the mass of her home star and was significantly dimmer, but it was a marvel to her. Little flair jumped off its surface and twirled in the air like dancers before drifting back to the surface. "We are here," Einath said as the craft slung shot past the star and head toward a large, blue planet. "Gliese 581g."

"They are so similar, aren't they?" Capella pondered. "More so than we had even hoped. What do you think it is like down there?" She had to restrain herself from pressing her nose to the glass.

"The same as the pictures," Einath said dryly.

"Of course," she answered, perhaps a little sharper than she had intended. "But what do you think it's like? Do you think it will feel like home?"

"No."

"That's it? Just plain 'No'? I swear sometimes you can be so dull."

Einath considered this for a moment, "I wasn't aware I was expected to elaborate on my answer."

She sighed. "That is how conversation works. I talk then you talk and then I comment on what you said and so on."

She was met with silence.

"You are hopeless."

He sighed. "I do hate to interrupt your philosophical ponderings about the planet we're about to land on, but I would appreciate a few minutes of silence as I try to land this multi-billion dollar space craft without killing all of us."

This literally ends where I started falling asleep last night, I hope you enjoyed it and, like I said before, I'll probably work more on it in the coming weeks.

Holly Jolly Insanity

It's that lovely time of year again. Inside your house, your family is gathered around the TV for Rudolph and his bioluminescent nose. The radio insists on playing a hideously outdated or, even worse, a horrible "updated" christmas song about sleighs and bells and baby animals until you have to turn it off for fear of vomitting due to cuteness or before you develop diabetes. Stores have "the hottest gifts" for that "special someone" at "super low prices." Your credit card company has to hire extra goons for those post season collection calls--remember, every time you exceed your limit and then are forced to take out another credit card, that band dressed like pirates from TV writes a song about your credit score (I like to imagine they do anyway. The song I play in my head drowns out the sound of my finanaces' death rattle).

Thanksgiving passed just like any other one before it at my house--lots of small children running like mad things, crying (thankfully from an actual baby this time rather than a metaphoric one), too much eating, and my eventual energy crash as soon as all the sharks--I mean, the rest of my family--went home as soon as they had deavoured every last morsel of flesh that clung to the carcass in our kitchen that was at one point in time called "turkey." The only holiday I actually wanted to celebrate was Black Friday; not because I care about buying people presents, but because I wanted to buy ME a present. But, unfortunately, poor people are not allowed to shop (death rattle). Besides, who actually wants to get Lion Kinged at Wall-Mart just to get some toys which will likely give your children lead poisioning?

Hauntingly similar, no?

Consumerism is frightening during December and the end of Novemeber. Everyone loses their minds when they see those big "SALE" signs. Something about getting bargains brings out the base instincts of people. Suddenly, we are all starving and that sale is a big, juicy steak at a "reasonable" price.

I think it is best to remember in these crazy times that the best gifts you get during the holidays are free or home made.

Everyone already knows what to get you anyway (Well, your guy friends do anyway). I have heard it's appropriate for every single holiday.