The day after.

It's the day after christmas. I am at work. I am a graduate student which means it's not so much work as slave labor, but scientific slave labor which is questionable. I would like to be performing some in situ intestinal perfusion studies on my C57/BL6 mENT-1 (-/-) mice but I have not yet obtained suitable permissions. Read as: I am a lowly grad student and this is Christmas Break, chump. Get in line.

I keep wondering if I post this, who will see it. Will anyone see it? Does it matter? We are all seriously over-booked as it is with our friends' blogs and web pages, things we feel inspired or just obligated to read, perhaps. But I appreciate being able to see whats on my friend's minds. This is my attempt at that.


It seems far too easy to publish something online, as evidenced by the barrage and deluge of pure horse shit that is the internet. 15 years ago the internet was going to bring the world closer together, shrink the distance between people and re-create communication. I believe it hasnt changed anything--for the better. I believe communication is worse than ever because now everyone can send messages instantly. Once, because of the amount of effort required to do it, only determined people communicated. Thus, maybe 80% of people were eliminated from public view. Now, with the ease of online publishing and emailing and text messaging and instant messaging, any lazy dumbass can write to anyone else at any time and the whole world gets to see it. The number of people who are communicating in truly embarassing manners has sky-rocketed. Accessibility has killed intellectuality. The internet has only made it easier to have access to crap and publish crap and spend your money. Which I suppose brings people closer together with retailers and hackers and homeland security.


Its the day after christmas and I am the only grad student in my little office. I like it that way, really. Its quiet and gives me ample solitude for my own crappy internet publishing habit. A habit which might sound a lot like ranting and raving about the idiotic masses of the USA, occasionally. For that I apologize and hope you might at least get a chuckle now and then.


All bitterness and impatience aside, I am a lucky sonofabitch. Literally and figuratively. I should have probably killed myself doing some crazy stunt or other at least 30 times by now, but here I am: all digits and bones intact (mostly) and only a little worse for wear. I am fortunate for the people I call family and had a terrific time celebrating them this past month. Some of my very best friends have had babies recently (someone has to do it) and some are fortunate enough to get the best physical attributes of their parents (Hank Baird's ears come to mind, here, and I am sure Owen Gerking will be a Chick Magnet). I only can imagine the talent and intelligence as well as passion for Seahawk's football as well will be among their virtues.


So here is to the upcoming year, 2007, and training for my first Ironman, coming up in June in Coeur D' Alene, Idaho, which could be the most difficult thing I ever do. (Here is to run-on sentences.)Here is to starting my thesis work regarding the involvement of human equilibrative nucleoside transporters in the treatment of pancreatic cancer with a nucleoside analog, Gemcitibine and to the year of finishing my cumulative exams. Here is to going to hawaii to run an unbelievably difficult marathon over a volcano a month after Ironman and my second wedding anniversary. Here is to my amazing, patient wife for putting up with me for 2 years of marriage and 2 years of pre-marriage before that. Here is to the Seahawks dismal finish to the 2006 regular season that almost turned spectacular until 36 seconds left against arguably the best team in the NFL. Here is to riding for hours in the rain of the northwest, which seems to have become somewhat pissed-off at us all this year. Here is to loved ones, human and furry, with us in spirit, to friends I wish I could see every day and the brown trout I would rather be stalking.


Here is to starting a new blog, and hoping someone reads it occasionally.

If you do, drop a note. Give us something to write about.


Time to go swimming.