I thought I had nothing to write about

Some random tidbits for you.

My 4-week molecular biology course is going well. Did I tell you I was taking one? Yeah. I need to get over my DNA phobia. It was all voodoo magic as far as I was concerned. Now it’s not so scary. I’m about halfway through and I’m anxious for the coming weeks when we get to the stuff I’m terrified of. I fear what I do not understand.

I’ve made a new friend in my class. She’s a grad student from Europe and just here to take the class (her lab collaborates with a lab here, blah, blah, boring story – point is, she’s here). She’s nice. And loud. Kind of a reverse version of what many Americans do – thinking that a foreigner will understand them better if they talk louder. She *really* wants to go to the Mall of America before she heads back to Europe in 2 weeks and I’ve offered to drive. The only time she can go is this weekend and we’re supposed to get a respectable amount of snow. The weather forecasting around these parts is not known for its accuracy, so we’ll see. I’ve got a $100 from Rent.com burning a hole in my pocket.

Last weekend I successfully registered my car here in MN. My new plates start with UZN and it makes me think of “oozin’” every time. Blech. I have to get a MN drivers license, too. Of course there’s only one place in town that will do this for me, and it keeps bank hours. I really don’t see why it would be so hard to stay open past 4:15 or (gasp!) be open for a while on the weekends. I also have to take a written driving test. They call it a “knowledge” test. Not that I’m afraid I won’t pass it, but it’s just one more hoop I’m not in the mood to jump through. I’ve got 2 weeks to get over it.

I don’t like my electric stove. Gas is definitely the better way to go. Write that down. Commit it to memory.

I am annoyed with my forced air heat. Not with the heat part, but with the forced air part. My body craves humidity (before you get all advicey on me – I did purchase a humidifier, but it’s not enough and I can’t carry it around with me all day). Being shocked every time I head for a light switch stopped being cute a month ago. Granted – it’s still cool to actually see the blue spark jump between my fingertips and the screw – but it doesn’t happen often enough to balance out my aggravation.

My hometown newspaper has been pissing me off for over a month. For now we have an uneasy truce depending on whether or not they follow through on their conciliatory offer. They are officially on notice.

To end on a high note – I did have dinner with my new friend and her husband. He’s fun and nice as well. We had a good time shooting the shit, laughing, and showering their dogs with affection. It was nice to get my pet fix. I’m looking forward to hanging out with them again soon. They’re good shits.

Down right balmy

Before moving to Minnesota, I had pretty much thought that all temperatures below freezing felt the same – cold. I couldn’t tell the difference between 32 degrees and 20 degrees or 10 degrees. They all felt the same.

The past couple of weeks, as you’re all aware, it’s been wicked cold.

And then, this morning, as I walked to the bus, I noticed that my face wasn’t stinging, and my nose and lungs didn’t hurt when I took a breath.

It was about 20 degrees and I felt…. warm. Subzero windchills really make one appreciate double digits. I’m sure eventually I would have felt cold, but it would have taken whole *minutes* instead of mere seconds.

This is why you see “crazy” people from the Midwest walking around in shorts when it’s 40 degrees out – because to them it’s a freakin’ scorcher. I get that now.