Short Update

Well, it's been a while since I've updated. Again, it's been a very busy few weeks - I went to Moscow, got an accordion from a favorite professor, took a few exams, had a very eventful Thanksgiving break, wrote 50,000 words . . .

It's been a long month. I'm not particularly pleased with the NaNo, though near the end it started turning into something that has actual potential. I'm more eager to work on last year's - as in, actually finish it, polish it up, and give it to people to seriously read. A few people are reading it and seem to really enjoy it, which is always quite affirming.

Another thing of note: I am no longer dating ze dutchman. It was a very difficult decision to make, but right now I need to be able to focus on school and not worry about other stresses - it was getting to the point where I was so stressed I was having problems eating. School stress will not change so this was the only thing that could, as regrettable as it is. I'm hoping that, at some point when both of us are a little more stable, we can try again. He's really one of my best friends.

This is going to stay a short, not very amusing update post because I have a final on Friday (the first cardiovascular module final, blech) and need to reread a few papers on drugs that alter metabolism in cardiac cells. I'm pretty wiped from working all break and pounding 15,000 words out in the span of a few days to finish the NaNo. I've got a few projects I'm working on that I'll mention next post - hopefully they're something that will interest people, as I imagine it'll be more fun if others participate as well.

-SqueezeBox

Minor Delays and Spidercake

There was supposed to be a post coming up last week, but I had a big exam and then the flu, so it didn't happen. Priority was given to lying in bed feeling sick and miserable. I'm feeling better now, for the most part.

The day before Halloween was the pharmacy school's Halloween party, and I entered the dessert contest with this delightful gem:

Oh yes, that's a spidercake. Not shown are the innards that ooze out when the body is cut. It's very simple to make and hilarious to watch people eat, because they have this look of abject horror when the guts come pouring out.
Make four round cakes, two large and two small. Cut the middle out of one of the big ones and fill it with green jello. Frost over the top, put the second big cake on, then frost over both. If you're feeling particularly morbid, you can do the same with the small cake and have a spider leaking brains and visceral organs.
I used licorice for the legs and found some gummy eyeballs that worked out nicely.
The spidercake won the contest, but the prize was a big bowl of candy. I probably spent more on the ingredients . . .

In other quick news, I won a free Dell Netbook from Shopko . . . it's much nicer than I expected, and has better specs than expected. I'm pretty pleased, as this means I can keep my electrical hazard of a power cord belonging to the Toshiba safely strung up on my desk and not risk electrocuting myself/classmates during lecture. The netbook is also named Tartarus.

Also! It's November and thus time for NaNoWriMo. I was going to do a historically accurate analysis of the social mores of opera (following a castrati, composer, nobleman financier, soprano, and stage hand - and I promise it wouldn't be boring), but I really don't have the time this year to make sure it is, well, historically accurate. Instead I'm doing a fairly random urban fantasy that involves whales and a surprising number of nosebleeds. It's much easier to just spit out, and I think the opera story really deserves to be done properly.

There may be another accordion video coming up this weekend, but I have to work tomorrow and study for a positively delightful exam over medications for high cholesterol and ischemia that I'll be taking on Thursday . . . in all probability, it won't happen.

- Squeezebox