C8 H10 N4 O2

Do you ever find yourself tired, cranky, and easily disturbed? Oh, wait that's every day.

Kidding.

At work, the majority of us drink coffee. In fact, when it was announced that that the coffee maker would be staying until the end of the year while everything else would be packed up applause and cheers actually broke out in the room. That goes to show that they have their priorities straight. The coffee at work has affectionately been called "Crack Coffee", by two of us anyway.

Not only does crack coffee help with the recent transition of falling back but it also assists in jolting ones senses and getting over the part of the day that drags on forever. Recently, I have experienced Rockstar. Rockstar is an energy drink with a total of 80mg of caffeine per serving (160mg total) This isn't that much more than a cup of coffee. However, there is a noticeable difference in the amount of energy one has with drinking coffee and drinking Rockstar. (it could also be the placebo effect which I'm not ruling out either) The only hang-up I have about Rockstar is the taste.

It's bad. Especially the first time. After awhile you can get used to it. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Blog Anniversary

It dawned on me that I missed my 1 year blog anniversary. It was back in September, the 24th to be exact. Maybe this next year I can spit out more posts. For now, you can check out the pictures from Chihuly's glass work at the Children's Museum.

A festivus for the rest of us

The TPCC Young Adults rounded up for a fall bonfire last weekend. We even got some wiffleball in! There was a great mixture of new and old friends and a nice way to welcome the fall season.

The next day a few of us headed out to the Irish Fest to pay homage to the Emerald Isle. I enjoyed sitting back and listening to the entertainment. I have decided that Friday is the best night to go. There is more excitement in the air and the dancing/singing is more festive. Still, we had a good time.

Irish Fest gang

Mother Superior reciting her Irish toast. (The guy in the black t-shirt ended up winning the grand prize-all expense paid trip to Ireland) Next year all of us are going to enter the contest and give our best Irish toast. The hard part will be picking a someone to go to the Motherland with when one of us wins!

Barra MacNeil's

This family of six is a pretty amazing group. Kyle, Lucy, Sheumas, Stewart, Boyd and Ryan belted out some great songs. Definitely check out their website (I wouldn't mine owning their 20th Ann. CD)

I've been sick this week. All thanks to a chum of a co-worker I have. I went out and bought a vaporizer and Benadryl and for some reason chocolate squares. I've been camping out in my room watching NCIS and House episodes. My nightstand is currently filled with a combination of OTC drugs, Vick's VapoRub, tissues, crackers, water, Gatorade, etc. (I really want a cup of chicken noodle soup from Panera) I drag myself out of bed in the morning and go to work and set up camp again at night. I look forward to when I can breathe easy and not look like 5 miles of bad road. I do however have a hot "smelly cat" voice when I sing.

Animal mating behaviors and environmental factors

I'm at work yesterday and I get in the elevator to go to the cafeteria for breakfast. Two patients get on (a man and a woman) and they are debating/discussing when menopause begins. The man looks at me and asks for a definition of menopause. I tell him and he starts talking to the woman again. We get off the elevator, the woman hurries out of the hospital and the man continues the conversation with me. (did I mention I was on my way to breakfast?) He asks me if I think that men go through menopause and while I didn't take a firm stance on the issue I did mention that there have been some studies/reports where it has been suggested that men experience something similar to menopause. He just about loses it and went on a tangent about estrogen and testosterone and sexual attraction and talked about the menstrual cycle and peacocks fanning their feathers and environmental factors. All of this was going down in front of the elevators in the hospital. I was patient and professional and listened and inserting a "that's interesting" or "mmhmm" nodding my head and secretly hoping that my pager or phone would go off so I could make an exit. Finally he takes a breath and I excuse myself and chuckle down the hallway at what just transpired. I couldn't believe that I just had a conversation (however one-sided it was) about menopause and animal mating behaviors.

When I return to the lab there is an animal inside. Upon closer inspection and questioning I find out that it is a sugar glider. My manager had brought it in from home. I get along well with critters. I like to watch them and check them out before I handle them. However sugar gliders I quickly found out, glide through the air and will jump at you and land on you. I thought that I had stood far enough away from it that it wouldn't jump but I was mistaken. It jumped and landed on me and I tensed up so fast and must have had the deer in the headlights look because the entire lab erupted into laughter. I'm glad that I was able to provide some comic relief for everyone.

Have I mentioned that I love being an aunt? Because I do!

My nieces and nephews make my world go round. Their laughs are contagious and their personalities are as different as each snowflake. I love spending time with them, rocking out songs, telling jokes and watching them grow up.

to harass or treat roughly with or as continual biting or tearing with the teeth*

I worry. A lot. About things that I can't even control just because it gives me something to do. For example, lately I have an ongoing inner dialogue of conversations that have yet to occur. Yes, it is good to think before you speak, but even I think this is overkill. Right now... I am worrying about work this week. I will be the lead person in the lab during a period of heavy activity. I already have everything set-up for tomorrow (of course) but I am worrying about mistakes and screw-ups that may or may not happen. I am worried that someone is going to want me to do a shipment and I won't be able to do it. I'm worried that the crap is going to hit the fan and I'll be the one that everyone looks to for an explanation. I'm worried about not being prepared enough to handle the volume of work in a short time frame. I worry because I think that if I don't then it seems like I don't care about my work. Maybe that is just what I perceive as what others think of me. (I should have taken that Behavioral Psych course in college)

* This is the first definition of worry listed in Webster's. Interesting.
** I plan on coming back to this and completing my thoughts/discussion; I'm just overwhelmed now and I drank too much sweet tea while typing this post.