Procrastination is not my favorite thing to do, but Thanksgiving +family reunion+ crazy cat = paper due in less than 24 hours with no end in site + really crappy grant writing.
Thanksgiving was fun. I missed having Karen around. My mother-in-law now has lots of embarrassing stories about my family. Why is it that my family can be totally normal every other holiday but really weird when one of the most critical and big-mouthed people on earth is present? Well, I better get back to writing my paper.

If it wasn't for the football on TV I would not know what day it is today. Matt woke me up at 4AM when he left to get in line for the Wii system (he got it). Thomas O'Mally then proceeded to make sure I didn't get back to sleep. I went into work at 8:30 and didn't stop working for a single minute until 2:30. I then left in a dazed state to the gym. I apoligize if anyone saw me there, I was without my contacts and VERY tired, so I wasn't ignoring you, I just didn't see you:)
I tried out the new Wii, and I don't totally suck at it. I don't see me signing my life over to playing it, but it isn't totally evil either. Plus, anything that gets Matt moving it a positive thing!
We are heading to North Dakota on Wednesday. We are going to stay with Joan Larson on Wednesday night and then head to Jamestown on Thursday. I have a term paper to write during the break, so I will most likely be doing that on Sunday. Hopefully Dr. Rice's grading will get a little nicer, as he is the second toughest grader I have ever encountered. I am not a virologist, nor to I aspire to become one. He knows this, and yet he is the most nit picky person out there. He should be happy that I know the different between positive and negative stranded viruses and care about if they are double stranded or single standed RNA or DNA bugs! Ok, enough ranting. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.

I managed to survive my Bacterial Genetics take home exam last weekend. We don't have our grades back, but I don't think I totally bombed it. That is a welcome change from how I normally feel about my performance in that class.
Things in the lab are coming along slowly. I hate waiting for someone else to do stuff that I could be doing faster. I know that I don't have lots of practice doing cloning, but I know that I am able to work WAY more hours than the people currently doing it. I just wish I could step over people's feelings and GET WORKING! Right now I am doing a western blot from an experiment I thought up. I just love how we move into a new cell line without doing essential tests, such as dose responses, and just assume everything will work out!
My dad survived another round of checkups. I am always relieved when things go well. It is hard to believe it has been over ten years since he had all those problems. I am grateful every day that he is still alive and grumpy.
Well, I better pay attention to what I am doing here. I am working alone, which isn't the best idea, but the only way anything will get done. I forsee LOTS of working alone in the future, as the rest of my "group" doesn't want to come in on weekends.