Cells

Here are some of the immunofluorescent pictures I took over the summer. I used an inverted microscope and oil immersion to take these. I spent two weeks taking over 300 pictures of cells with Spot Advanced softwareand then another 3 weeks analyzing them through Photoshop. On top of that, each colored picture is actually composed of three separate images, in red, blue, and green that are laid upon each other. In the image, red is the membrane of the macrophage cell, blue is the nucleus, and the green spots are bacteria that have been engulfed by the macrophage. This blue image to the left is just one of the pictures that makes up the full colored one.

PoTAYtoe, PoTATtoe

Just pulled these homegrown potatoes tonight. The little buds mysteriously appeared in the garden at the beginning of summer. Eventually they grew stalks that reached four feet and bloomed small white flowers. The potatoes grew in the dirt, right at the surface. Cleaned em, boiled em, and then mixed em into a delicious potato salad!

TB in the level 3

So I've worked in the cell culture room before, but it really wasn't big a deal. But today I worked with living, breathing, killing M. tuberculosis. A level 3 biohazard. Dangerous stuff! First we gathered all the materials we would need to bring into the level 3 lab. After donning respiratory masks, lab coats, and shoe booties, with waiver signed, and boss's fingerprints we were finally granted access into the room.

Now usually just having the bunsen burner on makes me nervous (esp. after Loryn set her lab bench on fire). But then on top of that I was handling all these test tubes that containing something I knew could hurt me. My hands were sweating profusely, which didn't help when I needed to put on new gloves everytime I left the hood. Taking as many precautions as I could, I definitely made my mask so tight it hurt. But I didn't want any bacteria getting in! They gave me a TB test when I started, and I have to take another when I leave to make sure I didn't catch anything. Doesn't inspire much confidence. haha.

Four hours later we were finished with our protocol and had to dispose of everything in red biohazard bags to be decontaminated later. My boss gave me some chocolates at lunch. And then I finished off the day taking some immunofluorescent pics of bacteria upatken by macrophages while listening to Girl Talk. All in all, today was pretty exciting!

McNees

On my family history...As many as three ways of spelling have been found in one document...If it is spelled without the "E" then it would be Scotch. The Irish way of spelling would have an "E" on the end, for as the Irish would say "No one but a Scotchman could be so tight that he would not waste enough lead of a pencil to add the "E"."

Song of the Week

On My Way -Billy Boy on Poison

I found this song randomly under the free songs on iTunes. When I heard it, I thought oh man, this would be perfect for a Gossip Girl commercial. Then I looked up the music video on YouTube, and I found out it already is. Oops :)

License Plate Birdhouse

Just finished my second birdhouse! Like my first one, the inspiration came from the same trip to Cambria two years ago. I saw a similar-looking birdhouse, and thought I could make that! So I bought the license plate at an antique shop; I think it was $7.99. It was the most colorful one, and has this cool-looking cracked surface. It's actually reflective as well. Building the barn house took so long that I never got around to making the license plate house that summer, but decided to give it another go this time around.

My biggest initial challenge was cutting the wood--it was too thick for me to use a hand-saw. I decided a bench saw (which I have) would be the easiest tool to use, however my mom thought it was too dangerous for me to use, having not had any previous experience with it. I watched YouTube videos on how to use it, but she still didn't approve. So I went to Karlie's after practice and her dad showed me how to use a bench saw and we cut all the wood using his. We then used two different drill bits to add the entrance hole to the wood and the license plate. I took home all my pieces to assemble myself.

So basically the house has a wood frame that is covered by a license plate. The wood is all nailed together and screws hold on the license plate. I used an electric drill to add the hole for the golf tee perch. The roof is made of metal with a wine cork for a chimney. Without the roof and chimney, the house measures 6 inches tall, and 5 inches wide.

Now all I need are the birds! Sassy looks like she's ready for them too!

Plant of the Day: A Pineapple

I decided to start featuring some of my garden highlights. I will start with one most people are really surprised to see. It's a pineapple! This one is still pretty small, about the size of a fist, with black, green, and red coloring on the body. When it's ripe, it should be be about 6 times this size, and will appear more yellow and brown. These homegrown ones will not grow as large as those sold in supermarkets, but I find them to be much sweeter.

Growing the pineapple: So originally, we had bought a pineapple at the store and then cut off the top as normal. That top was then placed in a shallow dish of water for a few days before being transferred to a pot of dirt placed in direct sunlight. More and more of the green spokes (they're much thicker and sharper than what I would consider a 'leaf') grew out of the top. About two years later, a small pineapple began to show and then grew bigger and bigger. I would say in all, it takes about three years from start to finish, but it is well worth the wait!

Solar Cooker

The solar cooker is pretty much done! For the most part I followed the instructions on this webpage. I made a few modifications, such as using a removable glass top instead of an oven bag, and I went ahead and used black-painted metal for the drip pan. That metal can get very hot very quickly. Here's what the cooker looks like when I place it in the sun:

As of now, the raised reflective piece is merely proped against a rock. It tends to blow closed at the slightest wind, so I usually just let it fold all the way down. Should I really want to get more heat, I may try using a coat hanger wire to hold it up in place. It is used to reflect the suns rays into the box.

And without the lid and glass on: the cooker is a box in a box, both wrapped in tin foil. There is some newspaper insulation between the two boxes. The bottom is a sheet of metal painted black resting on a few pieces of cardboard.


The space is actually pretty big. I've tried using an old thermometer with it and the highest I've seen it get is 225 degrees F. I'm hoping to buy a new thermometer that might actually be accurate. That would be the first purchase for this project!

I tried bringing the cooker to practice and making brownies for the two hours that we played. As there wasn't enough time to preheat the cooker, the brownies were not finished by the end. I cooked them a little more later. It's hard to tell the affects the solar cooker had. In the end, the brownies still may not have been cooked thoroughly, but that could be due to my horrible cooking skills (Loryn can attest that I have trouble even making plain pasta) or to the way the cooker cooks. From what I've seen, it seems to be more of a mix between an oven and a crock pot, so the brownies may actually just be more moist than I've ever had. I will have to sacrifice for the good of science, and continue experimenting with the brownies.

My Birdhouse

Ahah! I finally found a picture of my birdhouse! I made it two summers (2007) ago with my dad. Every summer we'd go on vacation up the coast to Cambria, stopping in Santa Barbara, Solvang, Morrow Bay, and Pismo Beach. Along the way I would see all these sweet barns and fields of cows. In Cambria, there are all these really quaint shops, many of which sell birdhouses. I thought they were so cool and wanted to get one, but they were a little pricey. Being the stubborn mule that I am, I decreed that I would make my own! I'm not sure I ever thought it would actually happen. But sure enough, when we came home I got out my graph paper and started drawing blueprints and this was the result:
For the most part, everything is made of wood, except for the metal roof. I painted everything myself. Oh, and a chimney was added too, but the picture was taken before the remodel.

Solar Cooker Update

The solar cooker is coming along really well. I completely finished the outer box. Foiled the inner box and now just have to fit and glue that into the larger one. The instructions call for newspaper to go between the two boxes on the bottom, but mentions nothing about the sides. Seems like there should be some there to act as insulating walls. I'll have to do more research into this.

I've only run into one snafu so far, which was when the glue was unwilling to come out of the tube. I spent some time trying to unplug it with a paperclip before I realized I could just switch tops with another tube I had. I have still not had to spend any money on the cooker, but I am starting to run short on my glue supplies. Hopefully I'll make it though.

Also, the instructions call for a plastic oven bag to make up part of the lid. I'm going to try to use glass I have from an old picture frame instead. Benefits: don't have to buy the plastic oven bag, don't have to go to the store, its actually supposed to be 10% better in efficiency. Disadvantage: I have to design my own way to incorporate the glass into the lid. But I'm up for the challenge!

I really want to get back to my garden as well. Everytime I go over during the day though, there are wasps all over the flowers. I usually just leave them alone and say I'll come back later, but then I have to go to work, so I have yet to plant anything new. I really want to get some lettuce, onion, and cucumber seeds in the ground soon. I tried pre-soaking them, because for some reason I thought that would help them sprout. They have yet to show any change in appearance, so I've giving up on the soaking.

That is it for now. Trying to finish up the cooker in the next couple days. Then start testing it. Once that project is completed, I think I might begin construction on a second birdhouse. I have to start putting pics up cause my last one was amazing (not to toot my own horn, but toot toot!)

The Garden Corner

Spent a lot of today in the garden. Pulled up a ton of weeds. A TON. Accidentally grabbed one of my flowering plants, so I had to relocate that. Also prepared some hanging beds. Started soaking some lettuce, cucumber, and onion seeds in water. Not sure if that'll do anything. I think its either gonna help the seeds sprout way better, or I think it's going to kill them, so we'll see. With dinner we had some onion that's been growing a long time. Also, I have a pineapple growing! I can't wait until it's ready!

Tomorrow I'm gonna try to build this solar cooker. I'm super excited. I wanted to do it last summer, but didn't have the time. I'm pretty sure I already have all the supplies in my garage. If it gets totally finished tomorrow, I'm gonna use it to cook ribs mmm...

Hopefully I can buy a cordy thing soon so that I can post pics.

Song of the Week

So I hadn't posted for months, so a lot of songs went unmentioned. Here are some of my recent favorites:

Rosa Parks -Outcast
Bounce -Timbaland "Bounce, like your ass has the hiccups" "Hold up. Hell naw. Like Britney Spears I wear no draws." amazing. also, lots of panting.
Cleveland Shake -Girl Talk
Come Around -M.I.A. really good
Electric Feel -MGMT
All These Things I've Done -The Killers I really like "I've got soul, but I'm not a soldier"
Ain't No Rest for the Wicked -Cage the Elephant
Take Me Out -Franz Ferdinand
I Turn My Camera On -Spoon

Blast from the Past

Wrote the following letter in 10th grade, which was supposed to be sent 4 years later. I got it last week. I cannot believe some of the things I wrote. [ ] designates my current thoughts.

Dear Sarah Skye McNees,

It sounds funny to say this, but this letter is from you. I am writing this in June of 2005 for Mr. Burr's AP World History class. I should be reading this is 2009. Being a sophomore right now, I have some plans for what I want to do in the future. According to my game plan, I should be in UCLA [UCSD], my second year. I hope I am still working out [HA]. At the moment, the gym with the rock-climbing wall looks fun. Now, I'm thinking my future career will be as an epidemiologist [still true]. I hope I've made some friends [the best!]. Could be hard because I was planning to be living at home to save money for medical school [yeah right].

I have accomplished a lot this year. As a sophomore, I took two AP classes. In addition, I played Varsity soccer and ran Varsity track. In soccer, I was named defensive MVP and second team all-league. The team placed second in city. Track didn't work out as well. The last four weeks in a row I have re-pulled my hamstring. I had to drop out of the league championships because of fear of greater injury. I'm also trying to watch out for my future in soccer. I just quit Tianna's U16 Blue team for Richard Simm's U16 White team. My current thoughts are that I will not pursue team sports in college, but if I have, good for me!

This year was mostly easy, just some trouble in my AP World History class. My highest grade is in my AP Chemistry class. I've come to be friends with a lot of people, especially nerds. They study a lot and are really smart, but not losers [hahahaha, this is probably my favorite line of the letter. definitely talking about Divya here]. I chat with many of the people on the track team. One tragic event this year was grandpa Max's death. I missed school and we flew to Hawaii for his funeral. I wept a lot. It was the first real funeral I've ever been to. Before, I was too young to understand what was going on. Like I said before, my highlights were in my soccer, also having been captain of the team I quit. Plus, I learned how to solve a Rubix's cube [wish I still did] and knit.

The busyness in my life has really picked up, which is weird because I've finished my AP testing. I have a research paper for one of my AP classes, a couple class presentations, photo projects, and letters to people, including two more to myself. I am worried because I have to raise the grade I have in AP World History from 87.88% to at least 90. Incredibly, I just became aware that my grade in AP Chem is 100%. When I found out, I was shocked and asked the teacher if it was a mistake. I knew it would be an A, but never that high. It is from all the extra credit I did during the year. It must suck for you because I don't think professors give E.C. in college. In a way, some of the work is a little fun to have. I like making specific plans and timetables. Also, it makes me more productive and I can see results immediately[I sound like an idiot]. The only problem is that I have no time for things I want to do for myself, like watch TV or talk to friends.

I have a couple goals for the upcoming summer. I hope to learn how to surf again [worst idea ever!]. Not knowing how to surf when I am so close to the beach seems like it should be a crime [definitely dont think this anymore]. I also want to do karate. It just looks like fun. I am relying on my friends Divya Subrahmanyam and Pearl Ko to accompany me for these goals. A previous goal that I've now dismissed is to complete a triathlon which consists of a 2.3 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and running a marathon, called the Ironman [I don't know what I was thinking when I made this a goal].

Hopefully it's not the case anymore, but mom doesn't let me watch TV during the week, but I watch a lot on the weekends. When I'm reading this, technology will be so different. IPods, TVs, and computers will all probably be combined into one small, handheld device [the iPhone]. I know it doesn't sound too much like something I would do, but I hope I'm not partying too much (ha, ha) [definitely not something I would do]. Remember, schoolwork comes first [HA]. I was hoping to start a scrapbook soon and put memories of big events in it. If I start soon, my first entry will be from our Easter vacation to Las Vegas. Next, it will be the trip we are taking to Sweden to play soccer. I am really looking forward to it. I'm supposed to be playing attacking center midfield. I hope to met people from all over the world. I've heard everybody comes up to the Americans because we're the only ones whose shirts say soccer instead of football [was approached by no one]. I am trying to make 100 red, white, and blue bracelets out of string to pass out to some of the players I meet and become better friends with [maybe made 30, didn't give any out]. I've enclosed one to help you remember the good ol' times [where'd the d go?]. Hope you've enjoyed this letter.

From,
Sarah Skye McNees

Father's Day

I'm really only writing this for myself, in hopes that in the end it helps.

So this is my first Father's Day without him.

I've been wearily anticipating this day for the last 3 months. Off the top of my head, I knew that Father's Day this year was June 21st, and that last year it was the 15th. Last year it was a pretty big day for me. It marked the beginning of the end.

I had been home just a month before for Mother's Day and Deep Blu Something, and things didn't seem too bad.

But in that month things changed. I had already planned out my summer--stay in San Diego, have fun with my friends, play Safari. And then out of the blue, I got an email from my mom. It pretty much told me that I needed to come home for the summer. It wasn't like a 'you should consider.' It didn't specifically say it, but it read more like, 'this may be your last chance.' I had no idea what I would be going home to. In a way, I always suspected the worst, but at the same time denied it the best I could. I pretty much spent everyday for the two weeks leading up to and through finals crying. Makes studying relatively difficult.

June 13th. Huge end of the year party at Duffy's house. I didn't know it at the time, but I pretty much tried to drink away my problems. From what I can remember, I just kept taking shot after shot because none of them were doing anything. Then at some point I was crying on someone's shoulder. And from what I'm told, when I started puking and they tried to put me in a car, I fought back. I was shocked to hear this. Had to make an apology call after that.

June 14th. Woke up early so I could walk back to my apartment to shower before going to DUDE. When I got out of the shower, Loryn called me. I had 3 missed calls from my mom, with 3 angry messages. She was supposed to be coming to watch my game, and after a whole week of asking, I still hadn't told her where it would be, and she was already supposed to have left. Fed up, she had gone through my old cell phone records and found Loryn's number in it. I didn't know my mom was an ex-spy. I finally make it to DUDE, the hangover was horrible. And then my mom shows up pissed. She proceeds to sit on the sideline of my field and reads the newspaper while I play. We go to lunch afterwards. I feel so sick I can't eat. I'm so sad I can't help but cry at the table. Moving out sucked. The drive home sucked.

Walking through the front doors of my house was shocking. The last month had caused a dramatic change in his appearance. Two years ago, he was overweight, big belly, 225 lbs. Now he was maybe 120 lbs. Maybe. At 5'11" There was no fat--only small muscle outlines and bones. It was horrifying. I was scared to give him a hug. Scared that I would hurt him. It would only get worse in the next month.

June 15th. Father's Day. When I got up my mom asked me what I had gotten him for a present. I obviously did not want to be home. I said my presence was his present. She told me to go to the deli down the street and get him a few of the mini chocolate eclairs. I stopped by Barnes and Noble and picked up a Sudoku booklet as well. One of the biggest regrets of my life. I hate myself for that day. I was so selfish. A day meant to be thanking, after 18 years of, well, of everything. This is how I repaid him? This is how I spent my last Father's Day? I will never forgive myself. And of course, he had a bite of the eclair out of politeness, but my mom and I would have to finish the rest. He didn't like it because the chemo had affected his taste buds. And later I would have to finish the Sudokus. He was so tired all the time, he was only able to complete a few.

And that marked the beginning of the end.

Thinking back on today, I guess the name "Father's Day," the idea of the day, was far worse than the day itself. This Sunday wasn't actually that eventful. Three months led up quite the anti-climax.

But anyway, here's to my dad.

R.I.P
Ron McNees
7.17.08
I love you.
And I miss you.

1st Week Home

So, I'm really bored right now. I feel super sick so I'm not up for much more than just sitting here. But I must say, this is absolutely my favorite chair in the world. It's a brown Lay-z-Boy. It's so soft, and large, and perfect. Reclines back, feet up. The world's best! Got it for my dad, and mom doesn't sit on it, so really it's MY chair. I probably spend 80% of my time in it these days. Yup.

As much as I was dreading heading back to LA, the summer is going far better than expected. Left San Diego Saturday at 11 (was supposed to be 10) and passed 2 accidents. But the wait wasn't that long, so they must have been recent. I got home and no joke had 20 minutes to unpack my entire San Diego life all by myself so that I could pick up 3 girls and drive to Long Beach for my first The LAW practice. I was so nervous, my hands were shaking. Didn't help that I hadn't had time to eat either.

Practice was fun. I wasn't sure what kind of turnout we'd have and didn't know what people expected so we just scrimmaged for most of the time. Turns out people would rather do drills. I was pretty surprised, but happy to comply. Sunday I was a little more ready with a couple planned drills. Some UCLA girls came out and caught on very quickly, so that was great. I definitely think this weekend will go even better. Especially now that we've developed a sort of game plan for the summer, and an idea of what we want to run.

Saturday night, Jane came over. I BBQed. First time doing it by myself. I think I was probably most proud that I immediately remembered to turn on the propane. Sad that my dad never got to teach me how to. When he was out there, I'd only go out to check how long until dinner was ready. My cousin Dave had to show me how to use the grill, and then the Swedes used it too, but I was banned from going outside. But yeah, the dinner turned out great! That was probably more real cooking than I'd done the entire year in San Diego. After dinner we decided to have a little fun. And boy do I love playing board games! I used to play Connect 4 everyday after school. On the other hand, I can't even remember the last time I won Pretty Pretty Princess :(

Sunday night I went to Balls' house in Downtown. Let's just say I haven't been there in years, and it's not the type of place you want to drive around lost in. Before I left, my mom reminded me to be careful there, she said "You're definitely not in La Jolla anymore." So first, I got off the freeway and went the wrong way. Thank cod the streets are numbered, so I knew to turn around. Then, I just couldn't find the right apartment. I couldn't tell what block it was on, and I didn't want to park to far away. I might have circled 3 times before I found it. But this wasn't just circling one block. The streets are ONE-WAY! So I would have to circle all 5 blocks. A couple times I definitely almost turned into oncoming traffic. Yikes. Finally I figured out where I wanted to go. Now it was only a matter of parking. Fast forward, it got to the point where I was thinking 8th time's a charm. Finally I found a spot and parallel-parked. Brenda would have been proud. I mean, it was like 2 spaces, but it was on the left side of the road! But by the time I got out of the car I had completely forgotten where the apartment was. Definitely started walking the wrong way.

Later that night, the Lakers were celebrating their victory, and we decided to venture to a bar. Holy smokes! The streets of Downtown LA were out of control! EVERYONE was in purple and yellow. Riot police were everywhere. People were all over the streets. Cars could barely get by. At one stoplight a white convertible pulled up and 12 people just climbed onto it and started jumping. If that had been me driving, I would've peed in my pants right there. Trash cans were on fire. Dumpsters were in the streets. Horns honking continuously. I was scurred. Bars/restaurants were closed, so we headed back to the apartment. We swung by our cars to make sure they were still in one piece. One guy who had left earlier had had his window smashed and some stuff stolen. My car was luckily still in one piece. Stayed 3 hours extra to wait out the riots. When I left, some guy was getting arrested outside the apartment.

Over the week, I've just been job applicationing. Learning that I'm going to have to be a lot less picky. Hopefully I'll find something by the end of next week. Even though I was hoping to already have worked this whole week.

Oh, and last night Karlie and I biked to pick-up in Venice Beach. I forgot how much I dislike the sand. No speed. No hops. Only got like halfway of the 6in vertical I normally have. Got a migrane on the way back. Puked 3 times last night. Still not feeling great. But at least I have a reason to spend more time in my favorite chair!

Quotes

"That's how people learn things--from it being shouted to them from other tables." -my mom, recommending the Kir Royale

"hoot, hoot" -Giant Owls

"Two little mice fell in a bucket of cream. The first mouse quickly gave up and drowned. The second mouse, wouldn't quit. He struggled so hard that eventually he churned that cream into butter and crawled out." -Catch me if you Can

"I just wanted to let you know how much I love you. How so very proud of you I am. You have become so independent." -some of my dad's last words

"Often times there's a way to solve a problem. You just have to think of what that is." -thats real helpful mom.

Twitter

First myspace, then facebook, now twitter. Twitter just doesn't make sense. First off, all you post is your status. Well, I can already do that on facebook. Way to invent something that already exists! Except in this case it's worse--posting is even more frequent, which translates to less interesting. Seriously, do I really need to know every time a person finishes another page of his or her paper? Just call me when you're done so we can go out. Do I really want to know where you're going to eat. All I'm gonna think is why wasn't I invited?! It's cool that you can follow celebs, but a lot are on facebook too. And not to be overly skeptical, but what are the chances that it's actually them posting and not some hired team or whatever? I'm gonna say pretty slim.

Twitter is definitely geared for people with iPhones or Blackberrys because if you're actually doing something worth mentioning, you're probably not doing it sitting at the computer. And not just any phone can take pics and upload them to the internet just like that*snap of fingers.* Wow, way to rub it in that I can't afford a super cool phone because I'm trying to pay for college!

By far the most exciting thing on Twitter was when I thought I could get FML updates. But since it only allows 140 characters to be posted at a time, the beginning of the antidote shows up and then I have to follow a link to the best part of the story. I end up caring less about FML and am thinking more WTF, this is so annoying. Thanks for ruining the only I was excited about.

Really now, can we please just leave the tweeting to the birds.

Song of the Week

Every week I end up with a different song that I pretty much have on repeat 24-7. This week it is undoubtedly Asher Roth's "I Love College." I'm not gonna lie, for the longest time I thought it was Eminem. Guess all white rappers sounds the same. Oh well, I still like it, I mean who doesn't love drinking, college, and women?

In case you're wondering, past songs include:
Right Round by Flo Rida
The Seed by The Roots
Fire by Joe Budden Theres some hoes in this house!
Poker Face by Lady Gaga It's rumored she wrote two of the songs on Britney's last album. Too bad they won't tell us which ones.
Sex on Fire by Kings of Leon
Pony by Far, a remix of Genuine. both are good, but Far's far better
When I Grow Up by the Pussycat Dolls I don't care what you think, they definitely say boobies! Also, check out the video, there is a great boob pump at the end. If you didn't know, it's my go-to dance move.

Where was I?

So I've pretty much spent one day trying to learn an entire quarter's worth material, for each of my finals. Makes me wonder what I've been doing the last 10 weeks. I don't think I drank so much that I blacked out entire months. Then again, I don't have any other explanations so its possible. Note to self: For next time, maybe two days will be better.

Finals Week

It's amazing how finals week throws everyone out of whack. It's the one time, that happens three times a year if you're on the quarter, two if the semester, where people become the polar opposite of their normal self. The calm turn restless. The party-ers turn hermit.

In these times I often push aside my own studies to observe the habits of others. The following are some of the observations I have made on the species Homo Studious:
1. Species' niche appears to be chair and desk, which is the primary occupied site most of the day and night. Such niches seem to occupy bedrooms, living rooms, and libraries.
2. Occasionally species will transfer by slumbered movement to a long cushioned object--either bed or couch--for which a couple hours of rest are spent. Often species is awakened by abnormal and constant beeping. A deep groaning protrudes, followed by a slapping motion towards the source of the beeping upon which the noise subsides for five minutes before beginning again. The same ritual may be repeated for up to half an hour, and in unusual cases even longer. Overall, diurnal and nocturnal behaviors are exhibited.
3. Species' diet diverges into two groups. Half appear to withhold from eating entirely, relying on merely a couple snacks for the entire day. On the other hand, some eat profusely, relying on high-calorie, low-nutritional meals. Common prey include cereal, Flaming Hot Cheetos, M&Ms, Trail Mix--virtually anything prepackaged or microwavable. One commonality between both feeding groups is the consumption of caffeinated liquids, which include coffee and its derivatives, Coke and other sodas, as well as tea.
4. Interactions between individual members is limited. While one individual is surrounded by many others of the same kind, little direct contact actually takes place. It appears that in this period mating ceases. The little contact that does occur is often restricted to questions and scribblings, accompanied by looks of panic, increased heart rate, and small beads of sweat.
5. Species appear to reach maturity at different rates--as denoted by elation, cheering, and return to normal behavior. It can take anywhere from three to ten days for maturation to be reached.

I, on the other hand could be found under the title Homo Distractous. I have managed to do everything BUT study, including
1. Getting caught up on all the episodes of my favorite television series--Gossip Girl, 90210, Grey's Anatomy, and Desperate Housewives. I've also decided that this week is far better than the other 51 out of the year to start on new series.
2. Emailing all the relatives with updates on my life.
3. Refreshing my gmail every minute.
4. Gchatting with anyone and everyone online.
5. Checking my facebook.
6. Checking my twitter.
7. Starting this blog.
8. Balancing my checkbook.
9. Sleeping at least nine hours at night, and two hour naps everday.
10. Internet stalking people I've met once--both through facebook and Google searches.
11. Looking through ultimate photo albums that date back more than five years.
12. Harassing/wrestling my roommate.

You name it and I've probably done it! Well, everything except study that is.