The Science Museum of Minnesota is really awesome, too. They have a SPIFFY bunch of calculus exhibits. I tell you, if calculus were presented to me this way in college I would have enjoyed it better. Also, I tested enzymes in the cell lab… enzymes FROM MY SALIVA! Also saw The Science of Star Wars, which needs to come to the SLSC because it’s fun. I like the videos of the different creative people talking about how they made George Lucas’s outlandish visions for the film a reality. However, seeing how creative they had to be for the original films vs. the way that creativity lagged in the prequels was depressing. Now I want to watch the original Star Wars films back to back. The way they got the sound effects was especially fun.

At the bottom of the museum (you enter at the top) is the outdoor learning area, a great place with sand and water exhibits and a mini golf course. I want water exhibits now. They appeal to my inner five year old.

Anyway, fantastic museum, fantastic workshop, and don’t even get me started on how fantastic the food is.

I’ll post pictures when I get back to STL. A cold is ruining my life and I need to take some meds and sleep so I can be refreshed for tomorrow!

I’m going on a business trip tomorrow and I’m about halfway packed. There’s all kinds of little things I need to get done around the house today, but I also have some kind of summer cold. My guinea pig showed major signs of tooth overgrowth earlier this week and I was very stressed. Thankfully, he has stopped drooling and his weight fluctuates up and down in a small way (+/- 30 grams or so). I truly think the Lord heard my prayers about the little guy.

Well, back to work. Cleaning and packing is tough. For now, I’ll stick with breakfast and tea with lots of honey to make my throat feel better.

May no one forget the stories you held, the lessons taught, the jokes cracked. May no one forget the “Sunday, Sunday, SUNDAYS.” May we never forget the visitors educated and entertained within your walls.

Goodbye, broken black cabinet. You were used till the very end. Thank you for keeping the Plastic supplies out of Debbie’s reach.

Goodbye, cluttered counter full of stuff. I will miss you most of all as I pine for a new prep space.

Goodbye, jury rigged creations of Walt. You (milk jug wire and microphone holster, respectively) served your purposes well, as the engineer mind that made you would want. All this with simple materials.

Goodbye, periodic table. I got choked up when I saw you lying broken on the floor, no longer able to intrigue and delight. You will be replaced on a wall elsewhere, but you won’t be replaced in my heart.

May 100,000 visitors a year never forget the great world within the bright yellow walls.

Goodbye, Amazing Science Demonstration area. Center Stage awaits us.

Walking and taking the bus relax me a lot. In the car, I turn from a nice, bubbly person to an angry, f-bomb dropping driver. It’s awful. On the bus, I do not care about the other cars on the road. I can sit and think, listen to music, and just decompress from the day. I can think and pray or I can talk to the people I see regularly (one of the volunteers at my work takes my bus pretty regularly, so we always have to chat!).

When I’m walking, sometimes I listen to music and just let my thoughts roll by. Other times I unplug the iPod and pay attention to the world around me. I remember one recent day I was attracted by smells. Summer has a lot of smells. The smell of a distant barbecue. The smell of fresh cut grass. The smell of water. The smell of mud. The smell of heat. The smell of summer plants and flowers. There are just a lot of smells when I walk. Some smells aren’t so awesome, like the smell of asphalt, the smell of exhaust, or the smell of sewers. But most smells in my neighborhood are quite pleasant.

Walking also gives me a chance to see the neighborhood. Here’s this person and their dog, another person with their dog. There’s that huge tabby cat. There’s the siamese cat that I want to hug. Here’s the cat that tries to follow me into the apartment. Here are the neighbors who play music on the porch. Here’s my fourth grade teacher, who walks the same path every morning before the big Catholic church bells ring and she goes off to service. There’s a bird hunting for a yummy worm after a rain. There’s a bird strutting on tree branches, singing a song. There are two squirrels running about. Here’s a bunny I scared out of the bushes. There is so much happening in a neighborhood. It’s like neighborhood ecology.

Walking also makes me feel safe. I live down the street from some shadier apartments and a liquor store. But seeing the people who live around, looking them in the eye, makes me feel safe. Like we’re all part of this neighborhood ecology. I’m sure the old man walking home with the grocery bag hates riffraff and rowdy kids as much as me. We’re all in this together, wanting a peaceful neighborhood. It makes me feel like part of something bigger.

Reading also lets me unplug. I read a lot. Sure, I spend time online reading blogs and writing blogs and such, but reading books is awesome. I have four checked out from the library (maybe five… don’t think I returned the risotto book yet). I find that TV just eats my time away and I get nothing from the experience. Books give me ideas and hope and images, even dreams of what I can write next.

I know that I will need to unplug from the chaos throughout this week. I’m going to take the bus even on my hectic days because I will need the built-in time to relax. Sure, I’ll still have to drive and run errands, but at least at the end of a work day I have time to sit back and realize everything will work out just fine. I’ll have time to turn that stress into prayer.

Next week is a big week at work. My boss helped me scale down the task a bit so I’m less stressed about it. The new show will be amazing, I just know it. I finished the last big round of training before we’ll start and it’s good to see other people excited about it. But the show will not coincide with the move. This makes me feel a lot better, as I’ve been planning the move.

However, someone did take one of the show supplies… I really hate thieves at work. Now I have to lock everything up because of an adult who can’t behave like one. I wish we could just fire and prosecute people like this. It needs to happen.

Anyway, life is good. I really had a chance to think about a lot of things on my walk back to the apartment and… life is good.

Then yesterday afternoon I thought to check my temperature and it turns out I had a fever, making me contagious. Sorry about that. I’d advise people not to touch anything in my cubicle for awhile.

So these last couple days I’ve taken some nice, long, hot baths. Why? Because if I stay in until the water is a frigid 85 degrees or so, I can lower my fever mechanically. Also, the hot water at first calms my aching muscles. Also, I just like bubble baths. I was crashing together plate boundaries of bubbles and making magical bubble mountains that were quickly destroyed by a whole lot of coastal erosion. Bubble baths were actually invented for nerds.

You might be wondering why I am posting at 3am. Well, it’s because my fever came back (now a nice, round 100 degrees!) and for some reason I don’t quite understand, I’m wide awake. I find that if I can’t work because of plague, it’s better not to fight the insomnia. Instead, I’m just going to try and deal with it. I will try to rest some more when the ibuprofen starts doing its work.

I was hoping to help out with a church event and to get some other things accomplished this Easter weekend. Pray that my fever breaks before Saturday! I also have a root canal Monday, and it will have to be postponed if the fever continues. Ugh. Maybe I should just postpone it anyway. I’m going to call and let them know about my plague.

There’s a charter school coming to STL in the next few years I’m keeping an eye on. It is on the horizon but probably not a good fit for me, at least for a few more years. But I’m going to check it out. If God wants it, it will happen anyway. All I know is that my eye is drawn to it like a shiny object in the distance.

Today Atlantis took off. I was glad. Nothing brings together the SLSC staff like a shuttle launch. Word got around and before long staff from many departments were watching the action as it was projected on the wall. It was a good feeling. Like maybe we can step away from the problems and difficulties and just be a family or something.

I also had a rockin awesome splat show this morning. Really fun high school kids. They were really enthusiastic and funny. I was also majorly hyped up on my caffeine. Between those factors was a fabulous show.

Alright, here’s tomorrow’s bento:

Top: Roasted veggies with balsamic butter sauce, spaghetti noodles. Bottom: Mozzarella and tomato salad, peaches. My biggest fear is that the peach juice is going to try to intermingle with the salad, and that simply won’t do. There’s a layer of Press and Seal Wrap trying to keep this from taking place.

Tomorrow’s bento:

Top: 5 little tomatoes, cheez-its, applesauce. Bottom: Orange chicken, sugar snap peas, brown and wild rice. There will also be an 85% dark chocolate demitasse from Godiva in the lid.

Yay!

The weather is on a roller coaster around here and I feel like I’m on an emotional roller coaster right along with it. I wish we could just transition from winter to spring, but this is St. Louis. I’m learning and accepting some things about life right now and it’s a little roller coaster. Also, the dramallama is still up to her old tricks at work. Thankfully I got to talk to Scott, who is extremely reassuring and helpful (and reading this right now, so THANK YOU, SCOTT! YOU ARE FABULOUS!). Friends are great.

Opening late at work. Got shoveled out of parking spot and made it here with only a minimal amount of sliding.

5 staff members called off. Only 5. I’ve got 4-5 left. Susan apologized about 8 times on the message. No need.
No one is here. It’s too quiet.

But it’s still Friday, it’s still payday, I’ve still got my pigtail braids, my hazelnut coffee, and my Mardi Gras beads.

It will be an awesome day!

Driving in the snow is not much fun. Why do people think snow is a license to speed and run red lights? Idiots.

With tonight’s snowfall, tomorrow at work could be interesting. I’m hoping it’ll be a relatively easy day. I’m trying to cobble together some last-minute Mardi Gras-ish plans. It’d be fun. I just don’t know how many people will be interested. This weekend has potential to be a fun, social weekend!

Lush increased their prices. Perfect motivation for me to make my own bath bombs and stop shopping so much there. I have about 24 pounds of baking soda so I should be able to make lots of good bath bombs! I’m getting my fragrance list together for people at work.

Anyway, this has been a rather disjointed post. I’m hoping to post something more coherent this weekend. Like some music reviews or something. I’ll think about it.