Down with the St Lunatics...

It's been a while since I've posted anything. Part of that was due to a visit from my sister in law Meredith and her boyfriend James a couple of weeks ago. They were between school sessions and were able to come out for 9 days. As part of their visit, we decided to take a mini-vacation trip out to Saint Louis and hang with the "St. Lunatics", as Nelly would put it. We went on a best of tour of the city. First, we went to Forest Park to go to the zoo. The weather was perfect for the animals to be up and active. We got to pet the stingrays, see the hippos swim and the big cats play. My favorite part of the zoo, however, was the chimpanzee environment. As usual, the entertainment came more from the animals outside of the enclosure than the ones on the inside. As we were standing there, 3 of the "locals" from the countryside strolled on up. One guy needed some dental work and the other was wearing some bib overalls. One of the chimps had gotten hold of a piece of junk mail and was tearing it up into small pieces. I made a comment about him "not liking the news" and the guy in the bib overalls blamed it on Obama raising taxes, (unfortunately, I can't do this justice...it took all I had not to laugh at this dude).
After the zoo, we had lunch at the Boathouse and went for a rowboat ride afterwards. After a quick nap, we hit a street art festival to see our friend Linda and have dinner with her and her new boyfriend at the Schafly bottleworks.

The next day we went to the Cahokia Indian mounds state park. They were holding the international atl atl competition. The atl atl is a spear throwing device. We got to try one out and I learned that Moriah has a great arm. After some more sightseeing, we headed over to The Loop for lunch at Blueberry Hill (a St. Louis institution..you need to go if you're ever in town) and ice cream floats for dessert at Fitz's. The only thing that could bring down such a great weekend was Buckeye football, as they laid a total egg during the USC game. Needless to say, I was glad to be out of town for that game.

After returning to Columbus, Meredith and James stayed for about a week. It was great to be able to hang out with them for a prolonged period of time. It made me wish that we could see Moriah's family more often. Unfortunately, the distance and the commitments of life make it hard. After I finish the PhD, maybe we can find a way to close the distance a little bit.

As always, it took a few days to get back to normal after having house guests (even though Meredith and James were perfect guests). The last couple of weeks have been pretty status quo. Fall quarter started at OSU and with all of the undergrads back, things are nosiy and crowded. Hopefully, things will quiet down pretty soon (and the undergrads will learn that you can be hit by a car...a guy can always dream). But with fall quarter comes home football games. Moriah and I went to the OSU-Illini game this Saturday. It wasn't quite a torrential downpour, but it did rain a lot in the first half. Even with our rain gear we got pretty soaked. In the end, the Buckeyes played well so we didn't mind the rain. It ended up being a pretty good time. Today we went to see The Goods at the dollar theater. I thought it was pretty funny, but it is raunchy. Overall, it has been a good weekend and hopefully we are charged up for the week ahead.

"I am disappointed by your commitment to your work"

This is my quote of the week, provided by my current labmate and future eminent eye researcher, Kanika. Kanika was stating her displeasure with my presence in the lab Friday. Basically, after my morning workout, my back started to hurt. It got bad enough that walking was a major chore, so I tried to get some work done at home. Eventually, I decided that I had to make my way into work. I walked into the lab looking like a hunched over old man. Kanika could not believe that I actually came into work in my state of limited mobility. When she asked why I came in, I told her that I had to get some work done. Basically, Kanika evidently feels that I am too commited to my work...or maybe she meant that I should be commited because of my work.

Wow...the electronic age

After a long period of futile resistance, I have given into the world of "electronic web logging". First, I should post on official disclaimer: this blog will most likely be of no redeeming value to humanity or society as any person, sane or insane, would recognize at any point in time. In all likelihood, you will be dumber for having read a single word on this page. If you are willing to risk the inevitable brain damage from semi-regular exposure to the random thoughts that pop into my head, I would recommend that your health insurance premiums are up-to-date. It would also be advisable to wear eye protection and a helmet to prevent the self-inflicted eye gauging and head trauma that is likely to occur. That being said, I can in no way be held responsible and/or liable for the empty feeling that you get after reading any entry on this blog. You made a decision to waste a few minutes of your lifespan on my thoughts, so deal with it.

That being said, I really don't know what I will blog about, but it will most likely involve things that I find funny, strange, interesting or frustrating. Moreover, I don't know if this will be a regular occurance. More than likely, it will be an interesting distraction for me and my family and friends from our daily lives. The name of the blog comes from something I said to a friend this week while having a rough day from the ups and downs of grad school. The exact quote was "I sometimes think that the slippery slopes of insanity are getting steeper everyday." Mostly, I just thought it sounds cool (and to the best of my knowledge, it is not plagarized...which is always a bonus). A better way to look at the name may be as my friend posted on my facebook page: "You are one hilarious, philosophical a-hole!" I think that his observation is most likely on point.

Regardless, welcome to my little corner of the internet. Remember, you have been sufficently warned of the potential side effects that may occur.