hi

nothing is new. I work a lot and study a lot. I go out sometimes when i'm not tired or busy. The appeal of talking about myself in a public forum has gone away, but i DO feel like saying this:

Friendships are worthwhile relationships! They take time, effort, good timing and a little luck. They aren't always pretty and you will be hurt and slighted by them and maybe even bored by them at times but life would be so unsatisfying without them. There can be such things as lifelong friendships. Maintain those friendships! Things that are worthwhile are worth fighting for, y'know? Not all are worth it, i get it, but the good ones are. Like a good pair of jeans, the ones that fit right. You don't abandon them when they fray a little.

anyways, I hate seeing/feeling things slip away.

On an aside: I'm the worst arguer ever. Argue with me and you're the instant winner. Seriously. I'm horrible.

Courtesy of the Yukon provincial government:

"Typically, a defensive bear will stop attacking once it thinks you are no longer a threat. When the attack stops, remain still. Wait for the bear to leave. If you start moving before the bear is gone, it may resume the attack. If an attack is prolonged or the bear starts eating you, it is no longer being defensive. You must now fight back with all you've got! Your life depends on it."

OR THE BEAR STARTS EATING YOU?!?!?!!?!?!?!?!? CAN YOU EVEN IMAGINE THAT?!?!!?!?

As most of you dudes know, Steams and I had an encounter with a black bear on our last camping trip (we were in the tent, the bear walked by so close that we could hear it breathing and then wandered off. We waited until it left, got out and screamed, and then laid petrified for the rest of the night). Now I read everything in regards to bears, leading me to this article: Canoeist stabs bear story

Check out the links. They'll scare you back to two wednesdays before last.

I have a few things that I'm really good at:
1. making peanut butter chocolate chip cookies
2. avoiding conflict
3. keeping secrets
4. pipetting small volumes
5. contracting diseases

I currently have strept throat. WELLL... I have strept throat and I'm recovering from an allergic reaction to penicillin. I've never had an allergic reaction to anything. For those who have yet to experience one, this is what happens, give or take anaphalactic shock, throat closing and death:
1. the skin under your eyes becomes red. Your eyelids swell.
2. all of the water in your body is withdrawn from your exterior surfaces, cactus-style. Your face shrinks 10x. It also itches.
3. You get hives and a rash on your back. It is very very itchy, but only in that one square centimetre where your fingers will not reach.

Despite my ailments, Stein and I ventured out to the Cookstown (?) Outlet mall today. Standard shopping trip... various wares to be boughten, browsing by lazy day Sunday shoppers, mysterious substance in air causing shoppers to cough and sputter, immediate evactuation, mall shut down. 0 Jack Bauers were sighted.

NEWS

1. Andy Sargent is coming next weekend (Jan. 27-31) AND therefore we're celebrating lippincott-style. On Saturday, the 28th. With you, our friends. Bring the appropriate wares.

2. The episode of ER that will be aired on Feb. 2 is about ALS, the disease of which I make a living working on. Ummmm, watch it? Maybe we can have a conversation about it? Actually FUNNY THAT I BROUGHT THAT UP: I do really want to talk about work sometime (not now, but soon)... I don't usually write about work because people yawn/roll their eyes when it comes up plus I've always disliked to hated my previous jobs. BUT now I don't care what you fuck faces think because I love what I'm doing and I'm excited and so I'm going to subject you guys to (potentially) long descriptions of the (potentially) boring [to you not me] details of my day to day existence!!! AND i'm only going to use run-on sentences and brackets and exclamation marks because that's how the thoughts flow through my brain when i'm excited!!!!!!!!!!!!

hey, you know when you're excited about one thing and then you think about something else that you're really excited about (ex. trip to eastern europe) and then all that energy synergizes to become an a-bomb of giddiness and euphoria? BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM.

I wrote a really lame entry about very mundane things. Here's a summary:

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"i hate the rain because:

1. my pants drag and get wet
2. my wet pants leak into my shoes and make my socks wet
3. i hate socks
4. i hate wet socks the most. They are the worst."

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"Sometimes when I stretch I say "stretch" really quietly and I don't notice that I do it."

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Don't let this happen to you.

as per an email forwarded by andy mac:

ok

so, i don't really enjoy running around announcing my impending birthday, mostly because i'm not one to normally flaunt shameless self-promotion. but i am DEFINITELY the kind of person that enjoys a good party.

therefore, i believe as many people as possible should venture to the Dance Cave on saturday January 14th for beers and trouble-making excellence.

it's not like i expect any of you to rsvp or whatever, but if you have questions, feel free to send me an email and i'll be happy to explain the price of applicable beverages such as Labbat 50.

the plan will be to show up at the Dance Cave sometime after 11pm, and to drink till whenever the force us to leave.

if you want to swing by our place at 65 Crawford St. during the day, that's cool too.

anyway, i look forward to seeing as many of you as possible, and feel free to forward this to whomever you think should come.

so yeah, come, drink beers, dance, whatever.

peace out.

-brad cale

www.flickr.com More of Massausages' photos

Trip pictures. If you're muchos desirousus to see pictures of me in a bikini, move along friend as you will be sorely disappointed. I understand that a lot of these pictures don't mean anything to people without the explanation... but I'm too lazy to go into great detail right now. See me at the Lip if you would like the family slideshow-esque treatment. I hiked, kayacked, snorkled, went to Pearl Harbor, went on the ship where WWII ended (USS Missouri), climbed in the crater of an inactive volcano, spent a day in San Francisco and got a $700 travel voucher to fly anywhere with United Airlines for free. It was superb.

also: I was on the island where Jurassic Park was filmed

In regards to working all weekend:

A wise man once said,"UgggggggggmmmphnnnnnnnNNNNNnggggGGGgggg".

I HAVE A NEW JOB

I went for an interview today at the Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases. I was kind of nervous because I've never gone for an "official" interview before, having coasted through life up until this point. It turns out that I worried needlessly because 2 minutes into the interview I was offered the job. I'll be working on ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) in transgenic mice, which is acres more exciting than carbonic anhydrase. The best thing, however, is that this job doesn't interfere with my travel plans.... !!!!!!!!!!!!

ALSO... today I bought a new pair of jeans that was marked down from $180 to $50 AND a new sweater that was marked down from $80 to $20!!!!!!!!!!!

ALSO... i'm reading 'In Cold Blood' by Truman Capote and it's great!!!!!!!!!!!

I'M HAVING A FANTASTIC DAY

I've been working nonstop for the past few weeks. At night. On weekends. Early in the morning sometimes. Well this is where the line ends, my friends. The last fingernail has been clipped, the last potato chip has been eaten, the last shoe has been tied! I sit before you as a force de resistance against all night marking sessions and early morning prep reviews! Mutiny!!! Vive la hooooooooooooray!

too bad i can't mutiny against my guilty conscience. My parents made a comment the other night about how, despite changing jobs, my work hours are the same (all the time). So what.

but who cares. I'm already sick of talking about work. ok.

Speaking of my parents, my mom thinks that any time I mention a male name that boy attached to the name is my new boyfriend. For a long time she was convinced that I had a boyfriend and that I just wasn't telling her.

ok now i'll list some things that i like:
- wrapping my hands around a mug of hot water. I also like drinking hot water.
- Jamieson Vitamin C 'Tangy Orange' pills. One might say that they are the adult equivalent of flintsone vitamins.
- everything about christmas
- globes, especially if they are topographical. I also like maps.

I went to part of jess's lecture yesterday. I learned that there is this bacteria called Radio.... something. The literal translation of its name is "Radiation Party". Biology humor at its most subtle.

Jess had this dream that wayne gretzky was trying to impress everyone by surfing. No one was impressed because he was really bad and then his pants fell down. Ask her about it sometime.