New Year

Well, it's a new year, huh? Hopefully the start of it isn't really indicative of how the rest will proceed, seeing as I spent New Year's Eve incredibly sick and somewhat incoherent. On the upside, I kind of feel like my life is going SOMEWHERE, so that's a plus.

Anyhoo, I've never really gone in for the whole resolutions thing. If I don't have the willpower to start something during the rest of the year, chances are that I'm not gonna get around to doing it now, either. However, I do want to change some things.

First, I need to seriously get on the Ritalin. After the fiasco that is my attempts at applying to graduate programs, I realize now that I really need to do something about my ADD problem. So, as soon as I get around to it, I'll call my doctor and figure out what I need to do to get a new prescription. I'm afraid that I'll probably need to get re-diagnosed, since I haven't actually taken ritalin since I was in high school.

Secondly, I want to seriously get into running. I'm not talking about the usual couple of miles 2 times a week, I want to start a hardcore training program. My goal is to start doing 8-10 mile runs by this summer. Why, you ask? Because I can.

Lastly, I WILL finish applying to grad schools.  I will put real effort into it, and I will care about the results.  Actually, I can't guarantee anything about the last one.  Part of my problem is that I'm awfully apathetic about these things.  Yeah, I am getting kind of sick of working as a tech, but at the same time, my life isn't that bad now.  I'm now making enough money to support myself, and sometimes I even get to buy video games, even though I rarely have enough time to play them.  Anyway, I'll do what I need to, and if I don't get in anywhere that I want I'm not going to cry or anything, but it would be nice if it worked out.

Next, I may do a year in review or something for 2008.

UGH

I know it has no impact on his ability to give an invocation, but seriously, Rick Warren, REALLY?



Note that towards the beginning he stopped himself from saying "Christian" marriage in reference to all valid marriages. Let's face it, he is a bigot, and apparently, has absolutely no idea what Supreme Courts are for. Good to know that minority groups should all be subjected to oppression by the majority and that the Courts should have no ability to overturn unconstitutional laws. I think that it's a travesty that a secular right should be legislated by religious views.

Also 2% of the population is gay? Really? Maybe that's the portion brave enough to speak out on a survey, but I'm pretty sure that any reliable study shows that the proportion is quite a bit larger than that.

I'm so sick of the religious right's fear-mongering. I'm also getting sick of Christianity's overreaching impact on politics, but that's a whole other rant.

I basically want to be Elle Woods

I think that my application essay should be a video, like this one

Music videos!

I'm completely in love with this song:
The Fear video


Also, since I'm on the topic of music videos, I just thought I'd share my favorite ever:


Björk was SO GOOD in her heyday.

Jon Stewart is my hero

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Mike Huckabee Pt. 2

Barack Obama Interview
John McCain Interview

Sarah Palin Video
Funny Election Video

That's the type of argument we need.  Huckabee ended up sounding quite ridiculous and defensive by the end.

Testing, testing, 1 2 3...

So, I took the GRE yesterday.  I was FREAKED OUT, since according to the test preparation book I used, I was doomed to miss 1/3 of the questions.  Also, I was working like a madman last week since I started at my new lab (I'll get to that later) so I had practically NO TIME to prepare.

Luckily, the test wasn't nearly as bad as I expected.  I kind of bombed the math section (well, I didn't finish it and I had to guess on a few questions) but I felt pretty good about the verbal.  I think that my main problem is that I just don't do mental math very quickly, probably because my ADD doesn't permit me to have a very structured thought pattern.  Also, I've used a calculator for pretty much everything besides simple addition since high school, so I was kind of doomed from the start.

Anyway, I got my verbal and quantitative scores right away.  I got a 670 on verbal and a 720 on quantitative (1390 cumulative).  Oddly enough, when I looked up percentile rankings, my verbal is actually MUCH higher than my math.  It corresponds to a 95th percentile ranking, while my quantitative was only equivalent to about 75.  To get above 90th percentile, apparently you have to get pretty much a perfect score on the quantitative.

Normally, these scores would be great.  One thing that I do worry about slightly is that I'm really trying to compensate for my GPA.  While these do go a short way to do that, I'm going to have to have stellar recommendations and very good applications.  I'm not going to be able to go to any top-tier schools most likely, but I think I was doomed to that when I decided not to show up to biochem.

This brings me to a bit of introspection.  I think that I have ridiculously high expectations of myself.  In my mind, if I studied for another month, I could easily get a perfect score on quantitative and possibly improve my verbal.  Because I don't fail very often unless I totally deserve it, it's really hard for me to handle scores that are merely "acceptable."  However, I think that I'm just going to have to get over myself and deal with it, since I need to be focusing on applications and I don't even know if my new scores would get to schools before application deadlines anyway.

And now the really important question.  Where do I apply?  Obviously, my best bet is a state school.  My sister Jennifer suggests Big 10 schools, and I think that I could handle that.  One of my obvious concerns is that the school needs to be in a pretty liberal, metropolitan area, since a)I'm used to Chicago and may go crazy in a small college town, and b) I need to go somewhere I feel comfortable as a gay man.  As several people have pointed out to me (not just Jennifer, who I think has slightly suspect motivations) Columbus has a sizable gay population and would be a good place, as far as the Midwest goes.  I'm actually giving Ohio State pretty serious thought, and it would be pretty cool to have a family member in the area.  (Especially one who is a professor.)  Another possibility would be picking a school based on where I want to live.  Obviously, it would be pretty cool to go to California.  My sister Elizabeth seems to think that I actually have a fighting chance of getting into CalTech.  I seriously doubt that, but it would be pretty cool if I could.  I mean, there's no harm in trying, right?

So now, my current course is to round up some recommendation letters (luckily, I now have two professors that have had me both in the classroom and in the lab) and take a serious look at programs and prospective labs to see what I'm really interested.  I most likely want to stick to some sort of genetics or cell biology, although there are some aspects of ecology and microbiology that really interest me.

Wish me luck, I guess.  Hopefully by this time next year, I'll be in a PhD program, working my ass off.

And Then You Kissed Me, Part II

Haha, this post title is a funny one.

Anyway, this lil' quiz was on Stin's blog, and I decided to post it, since I am tipsy and incredibly bored, and lord knows I don't do anything actually original in my life.

However, in true U of C spirit, I have to tear apart the concept of the test before I submit myself to it.  Obviously, the answers to each question turn out to be sufficiently vague that the subject of the test can interpret it any way he/she wants.  They can look at the title, lyrics, or the tone of the song and choose whatever meaning they want.  It's just like a psychic reading in that manner.

Also, how high school are half of these questions?  I'm just sayin' 

1.  If someone says "Is this okay?" you say:

Poe - Wild [So no, I am not okay.  I am angry, and I’m bitter, and I’m going to get my revenge.  THEN I’ll be okay.]

2.  How would you describe yourself:

Sufjan Stevens - A winner needs a wand [Oh dear, phallic references ALREADY?]

3.  What do you like in a girl/guy?

The Faint - Symptom Finger [It’s about unhealthy body images promoted by the media, so...yeah, that’s about right]

4.  How do you feel today?

Apparat - Cerro Largo [It’s an instrumental track with a serene melody but an insistent, anxious undercurrent, so that actually kind of works.]

What is your life's purpose?

Final Fantasy I - Battle Scene [What can I say, I’m a fighter, lol.  Either that, or my life’s purpose is to play video games.]

6.  What is your motto?

Of Montreal - Your Magic is Working [I guess I give up too much for my lovers.  Yeah, once again, it kind of works.]

7.  What do your friends think of you?

The Pipettes - It Hurts to See You Dance so Well [Unfortunately, i think I’m the person writing the song, desperate and alone. Sigh.]

8.  What do you think of your parents?

Bear Vs. Shark - Antwan [Um, the song is incomprehensible and the lyrics make no sense, so I think this one doesn’t quite work]

9.  What do you think about very often?

Avril Lavigne - I Can Do Better [Shallow, but yeah, I can see that.]

10.  What is 2+2?

  The Appleseed Cast - Strings [whatever]

11.  What do you think of your best friend?

  The Weepies - World Spins Madly On [Lol, this is how I feel about life and friendship in general]

12.  What do you think of the person you like?

  Jem - Missing You [Oh dear, apparently the person I like is dead, or at least gone from my life in some form or another.  Seeing as I don’t have a current crush or anything, I guess it’s applicable]

13.  What is your life story?

  Abba - Dancing Queen [YESSSSS!!!!!!!  That’s all I have to say.]

14.  What do you want to be when you grow up?  Broken Social Scene - Guilty Cubicles  [I have such lofty aspirations.]

15.  What do you think of when you see the person you like?  Enon - Starcastic [I don’t actually know the song, but knowing Enon, it probably works.]

16.  What will you dance to at your wedding?  Beck - Soul Suckin’ Jerk [HAHAHAHAHA]

17.  What will they play at your funeral?  Mogwai - Summer [Um, okay, whatever.]

18.  What is your hobby/interest?

  Cloud Cult - Please Remain Calm [Apparently, being a spazz.  Yep.]

19.  What is your biggest fear?

  Be Your Own Pet - Adventurer [Yeah, this test totally knows me.]

20.  What is your biggest secret?

  The Shins - Fighting in a Sack [Whatev]

21.  What do you think of your friends?

  Sia - Judge Me [Unfortunately, I think it’s true.  I’m kind of obsessive about how I present myself sometimes]

22.  What song would you play during your first time having sex?  Portishead - Undenied [Guess I’m not denied NOW, huh?  Also, portishead = awesome sex music, so I approve]

23.  What will you post this as?

  The Cardigans - And then you kissed me, part II

My favorite answer is most definitely #13.