Yesterday was marked by the attack of the Christmas Bee. I frequently find myself humming Christmas carols to myself, but for some reason I started buzzing them last night. I didn't even notice until Dianna brought it to my attention. And, of course, I was then bound by the laws of physics to sing every carol I know as if I were a giant Christmas Bee. Dianna didn't approve. I don't think she likes Christmas. But that's OK, because the Christmas Bee will still buzz Christmas carols to her every day.

On a completely unrelated note, I want a Sidekick so badly I can taste it.

My affinity to this lab is starting to creep me out. Doug will appreciate this story the most, so I hope he's reading.

A few minutes ago (it's about 7:20pm now), I was putting a few CDs into the lab stereo so that I wouldn't kill myself from boredom while waiting for a gel to destain. As I was doing so, the PI, James Berger, walked by, looked over my shoulder, and said, "Hey, Autechre. Cool."

I almost fainted.

I was sitting in Smart Alec's, eating a delicious tofu/avocado sandwich with garlic fries when I happened to look out the window. Guess who walked by (presumably on her way to a class)? If I didn't already know she had left Tacoma, I probably would have keeled over from shock.

Maybe I should get extensive plastic surgery so that she won't recognize me?

Today was exhausting. Dianna and I went shopping for the new apartment, and while we're now the proud owners of two tall bookcases (even though the Ikea website denies this particular model even exists), a vacuum cleaner, and a toaster, I'm beat. If only the Channing Way apt. hadn't been so small, I would have been able to keep my kitchen table instead of selling it to Michele's brother. Tomorrow holds the promise of tattooing excitement for Dianna, after which we'll both meet a potential roommate.

I just realized that this entry is filled to the brim with responsibility. When did I become so efficient and business-like? I think I'll go do something impulsive. Like start another load of laundry.

Anyone that would like to see the sciency things I do up at the LBL Advanced Light Source can watch me tonight via a live video feed.

Beamline 8.3.1 video server (IE has some problems with it, but Mozilla eats the feed up like it was candy).

Sorry, there's no sexy one-on-one live science chat. But feel free to touch yourself at any time. I'll be up there from around 10pm to 8am.

Is it normal for a rental application to ask for all the details necessary to not only check a bank account, but also to make changes to that account? Dianna and I looked at a nice place over the weekend, but the guy wants my full name, SSN, bank address, bank account #, DOB, and mother's maiden name on the application. Which makes me a little worried, because I've transferred large sums of money from one account to another using only my SSN, bank account number, and mother's maiden name. I'm sure the owner means well, but I'm not in the habit of handing the keys to the vault over to strangers. I really don't want to anger the guy by suggesting he's a thief, though, because not only is this a nice possible housing option, but I think the guy could tear me in half like the hundreds of shredded phone books that litter his dwelling.

I received a note on my door yesterday from Brian informing me that he was going to be moving out on January 31st. He included a reimbursement for my January rent, so I'm assuming that means if he goes, I have to go. It makes sense, because if the landlord starts seeing checks from someone not on the lease, he's going to realize that rent control has run out and will raise the rent sky-high. So, after the decision to postpone move, I'm pulling up stakes after all.

I've found a few places that look quite nice. They're going to be a little expensive at first ($800+), but they are fine with couples, and Dianna will probably be joining me in a few months. So what will be financially painful at first will soon become $400-450 rent. If I find/take any pictures of the places, I'll post them for you image-hungry monsters to peruse.

By the way, the above picture is from a 1980s Infocom text-adventure game. It's an amazingly detailed and rich story. They just don't make them like they used to. Thank the stars for #oldwarez.