Hello all/liverjounal. It feels quite long since I have written to you.
I am a very busy guy, and I do these things:
1. Conservation Genetics. I am an intern at the Nature Museum in Lincoln Park. We are working on re-establishing a couple populations of endangered/threatened midwestern butterfly. My work in particular is in population genetics. We test populations for heterozygosity (read: diversity), to make sure that after release into the wild they are 'healthy' so-to-speak, i.e. not inbreeding, but growing and maintaining genetic diversity. Genetic diversity is necessary to provide them the raw material for adaptation and survival, should they require it.
I also have been helping around the lab and with education. This means feeding and taking care of all sorts of critters (mostly bugs), and helping out the volunteer staff with animal demonstrations/presentations.
2. Sling Coffee. I have a coffee job, which seems essential at the moment to make ends meet. I work at this god-awful place, Transitions Bookplace. It is a self-help, new age bookstore filled with feel-goodery for yuppies with too much money and no meaning in their lives. It is very entertaining. We serve Intelligentsia, which tends to be tasty. Most days I spend watching the people in the Qi-Gong Healing Circle put on their Magic Invisible Qi Helmets or listen to Ambient Adult Spiritual Compilations #1,#2 and often #3, sometimes featuring arcane chanting.
3. Teach English. I (on a volunteer basis) teach English once a week at Christopher House. Christopher House provides full family services, after school programs, adult and youth ESL, day care, etc. on a sliding scale, specializing in underprivileged families. In December, I am leading a workshop in English phonetics to the teaching staff. My class is composed of mostly Spanish speakers, one Portuguese speaker, one Chinese speaker and one Arabic speaker. When I explain nuances of grammar, I like to use analogs in native languages, and as such, I can often be found 5-way interpreting/translating between all of these.
4. Teach Arabic. I have one tutelee in beginner's spoken Arabic Monday afternoons. Not much else to say about that.
5. Meet-Ups!. I am a member of the Chicago area Arabic Language and Culture Meet Up group. We get together and chat in Arabic/English about whatever at a hookah place. I found them on Meetup.
6. Bicycle. My bicycle (Huffy road bike) is my main mode of transportation throughout the city. I had a semi-bad accident my first month here, now I've pretty much passed the hazing test and can be seen burning rubber all over town. My 'commute' to the museum every day is about 8 mi (4 mi each way).
7. Logan Square. Finally, I reside along a lovely tree-lined boulevard (Kedzie Blvd.) in Logan Square on Chicago's northwest side. I live with 3 craigslisters, a cat (Fiesta!), two chihuahuas, a gecko, a tarantula, and currently lots of Halloween decorations. My rent is the low low price of $425/mo (my friends on the south side pay less, of course). I don't go out very often as I am being rather frugal, but I can be seen on occasion sipping whiskey a number of places around town.
Also, I'm still looking for quality science work. That's fine. In the meanwhile I got a job slinging coffee. And I'm looking for some more jobs/volunteer opportunities. I'm thinking about maybe branching into non-profit stuff. At least here opportunities abound.
But speaking of jobs, an art gallery wants an assistant who knows their way around Photoshop and is generally good at typing, spelling and grammer .
Come on - really? You can't do that. You can't incorrectly spell grammar and then insist on spelling in the same phrase. I guess that's why they need an assistant who's good with those things.
Last night I had a dream that static cling in my laundry generated such a charge, that when I pulled two pieces of clothing apart I got thrown across a room.
So, I saw the new Transformers movie today. I found it to be a pretty decent action movie, but definitely lacking in story and overall writing (compared to the original animated movie). There are some terrible philosophizing lines about the nature of humanity that Optimus Prime narrates towards the end that kinda ruin the otherwise goodness of the film. I really can't stand when that happens (the philosophizing at the end of Stranger Than Fiction kinda gave me a bad taste in my mouth, say).
The original animated movie is still a pretty awesome movie - just from strict aesthetics as well as personal nostalgia. I would actually like to see a new animated movie. But perhaps the Japanese have already made one? (I believe the transformers are alive and well in Japan.)
The effects were really amazing. However, I felt that the Transformers themselves lacked personal development. This movie was all about "people" I guess, and the human characters - whereas the traditional Transformers series focuses on the personalities and stories of both the human and the robotic characters.
in America? ~80/6-pack monthlies, only with prescription.
I don't remember how much shipping was. But I did wait about 2 weeks for them to arrive, and it still wouldn't have cost as much because I ordered a whole bunch.
So this week I quit my job because I hate my boss. Surprise surprise..
The bigger surprise:
He went batty and accused me of stealing money and sent the cops to my house. Not to be egotistical, but since I was the last person who worked there with any sort of skills and did not really pass on necessary film working skills to the new manager - I kinda screwed him over. So he's probably mad at me. Or he will be once the business turns to shit.
After materializing a deposit receipt from the bank, it seems all has been quelled.
But umm......
Anyway, I need a new job. I swear I'm qualified for many different sorts of things. I also don't steal money. I have, however, stolen candy once or twice.
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