25 May 2002 - 09:57

It's in my head, but it's not on-line... it's from his first album, Duct Tape Aesthetic, which we seem to have misplaced some how. It's been missing for several months, and I really miss it. Wheel says he'll ask Grant for another copy someday. Maybe I should ask. I'm kind of shy around him though. I want him to play at the wedding...

I thought I'd be writing more about my internship, but when we go out on the boat it takes up so much time that I don't have a chance to write anything, and when we don't, I don't properly remember what I meant to say about it.

This past week it was very windy, and we only went out twice for part days. I worked merely full time instead of over, sitting in the lab, labeling slides, reading & keywording journal articles for Endnote, entering data sheets into FoxPro, labeling blood tubes for upcoming captures, trying to do Photo IDs. It was calm and gave me a lot of thinking to do. The dolphin research lab is very well run. Everything is all neat and organized and caught up, even though there aren't a ton of people who work there. It's a big contrast to OCEP. It's one of the most organized places I've ever worked, so far as I can tell right now.

We went out briefly yesterday, and it was beautiful. We followed some dolphins around, but they never separated.

Last night was New College graduation. Wheel graduated. He's a graduate. He's so cool. I love New College graduation. We don't wear stupid expensive robes. All the graduates dress up differently. Last night there were some very pretty dresses and robes and bouncy antennae and brightly dyed hair, and someone had a poodle skirt, and someone wore full diving gear (including tank and flippers... no bc though). Wheel out did himself in an extravagance of color, from his Hawaiian print mismatched converse to the red and purple feathers in his hat. And he wore the hawaiian shirt I made him! Awww.

And the ceremony doesn't take too long, that's another good thing. Plus we had an entertaining speaker this year (Cornell West, w00t). Then after the ceremony everyone mills around and there's enough food for everyone to have a lot. I can see why alumns come back for it, beyond seeing their friends. I've become very fond of it as a yearly tradition.

Of course, the highlight of milling around and seeing returned alumns and friends' parents and new grads is... seeing professors. Maybe it's just me. But of course, the highlight of seeing professors is seeing Gillian. I've missed her these past two weeks. It's strange... I became interested in dolphins because I loved someone (Turquoise), and I ended up loving the idea of dolphins, and I got to know Gillian because of that, and now I love her. Hmm. I'm not sure that came out right. But seeing her at graduation always makes me especially happy, and it makes me especially happy that she said she thought I could finish grad school in three years even though she would normally discourage anyone from trying it, and even though I'm behind on my work for her. She really believes in me.

Three years? Are you crazy? Well, yeah... the program at St. Andrews University, where Dr. Starr works, is a three year program (although there's no shame in taking four, it's discouraged... sort of like taking five at New College). You talk to your advisor before you get there, and you have your thesis proposal in within three months. The only general classes are taken the first year. Hot damn. I could get my PhD at the age of 24. The thought thrills. Dr. Starr has been very friendly and encouraging, and I do think he would make a good advisor, and a good advisor for me. The biggest problem with St. Andrews is financial. Since it's overseas, I can't count on any financial aid, and it's $15,000/year. Which is $15,000 a year more than I have. Maybe I can get a fullbright.

Maybe after I get my doctorate I can come back and work with Gillian. She said something to that effect once.

Wheel is so cool. He did a ton of packing and storing yesterday, before graduating. And his family is really nice, although we didn't get to see much of them. The party last night was...confused. people wandered around and looked for each other without ever really settling down. Even us having party food didn't attract a stable group of people. Palm Court was really dimly lit, and the people checking wrist bands weren't our cops, so they didn't recognize us as students. I was exhausted and went to sleep early. No one drank very much, which normally I would approve of, but we've got all this liquor that we don't want to store. I sure as hell am not gonna drink it.

Packing/moving is so stressful. I keep finding items that represents things I meant to do and haven't. A bag of clothes I need to mend. Books I haven't read. My cache of letters reminds me that I haven't been writting letters lately, nor keeping in great touch with my friends. Unused art supplies. Unstudied languages. Cookbooks I haven't been cooking from, a contact juggling ball I haven't been using, polymer clay I haven't been sculpting, random scraps of stuff I always figured I'd do something with. Tarot cards. Darts.

Of cours there's plenty of stuff that I have been doing, and that provides its own problems. I just warped my loom (with green chenille, the counterpart to the red), so I don't want to put it in storage, but there's truly no room for it in b-dorm. Maybe I can weave the whole warp over the weekend.

Ah, sweet irony. I've just been invited to go garage saleing. Heh. Heh. And I'm going. More later...