astra_nomer: (Default)
I just moved offices (a scant six weeks before I leave, but whatever) and they have a little coffee area up here. There's a sign posted on how to make coffee, not too unusual. One of the lines there is says something about "the red LED," which has sparked a whole pencilled-in discussion, in a various handwritings:

-Is it actually an LED or a just a red light?
-take a spectrum
-write a proposal to build a spectrograph
-need coffee to write the proposal!

all of which I just find hilarious.
astra_nomer: (kids)
So there we were, all loaded up in the car when I realized I'd locked my keys inside the house. By some conspiracy of fate, all the entries into the house were locked, too. Even the windows were all locked shut.

However, I discovered that Son the Younger can slip his arm through the mailslot and reach around to unlock the door knob. Huzzah! Everyone got to school/work on time.

I firmly told StY to only use his powers for good and not evil.

Milestone

Apr. 30th, 2011 07:07 am
astra_nomer: (Default)
My 7-1/2 6-1/2 year old Prius hit the 100,000 mark on Wednesday, while taking the kids to the dentist.

My kids were completely mystified as to why I was making a big deal out of it. Then again, perhaps you are, too.
astra_nomer: (Default)
The Institute I work at is on the campus of a University, and on Fridays I have been walking all the way across the street to sit in on a seminar.

Today, there was a sign on the door to the building saying,

"If you find the token under the cup, you win $150!
-the 1st year grad students"

Upon entering the lobby, I found that the floor was covered with hundreds of red plastic cups each with a few inches of water in it. Fortunately, someone had already gone through and cleared a pathway through them so I could make my way to the corridor... where even more red plastic cups covered the floor.

I'm highly amused. And betting that the token doesn't even exist.

white hair

Mar. 24th, 2011 11:04 am
astra_nomer: (geekchic)
I repainted Son the Elder's room last weekend, and accidentally got some paint in my hair. It's mostly gone now, but nobody seems to have noticed it at all. This may mean:

1) I have too much hair for such a small amount of paint to be noticeable,
2) I have so many white hairs now that any additional white is unremarkable, or
3) People are unobservant.

I wonder if it's time to do something drastic to my hair...
astra_nomer: (Default)
So, I registered for this Symposium at MIT about women in science & engineering, and I've recently decided I can't go. Anybody out there interested in going in my place? Or at least purchasing my ticket for "Truth Values: One Girl’s Romp through MIT’s Math Maze"?

The symposium is March 28-29, the show is Monday March 28. I would totally love to go, but I can't afford the time for travel.

ETA: Ticket for the show is taken. If I don't hear back from anyone soon about the symposium, I just get the refund-$15.
astra_nomer: (Default)
Son the Younger turned 7 on Sunday. Happy birthday, StY!

Friday festivities )

Birthday Party )

the rest of Sunday )

In conclusion )
astra_nomer: (Default)
One of my uncles in Korea just sent me a friend request on Facebook. For some reason, seeing Facebook in Korean makes me giggle.

Jumpy Astra Warning )

King me

Feb. 2nd, 2011 07:34 pm
astra_nomer: (Default)
I have an offer from Wild West University.

Now I actually have to decide!
astra_nomer: (Default)
Sometime Wednesday night, we lost power. Just as DH was coming home after his 4-hour commute, actually. We sent the kids to Son the Elder's friends' house Thursday morning, figuring we were all without power, so what difference did it make anyway. They came back home for lunch, since we had the gas stove, plus we got our fireplace going to generate some heat. By evening, we managed to get the thermostat up to 63 degrees!

Power came back on in the middle of the night last night, but the friends were still without power, and school was still out, so they have been hanging out in our warm and internet-capable house all day watching the kids for us while DH and I retreated to our respective offices, because staying at home all day with the kids two days in a row was enough for me, at least.

Really, this has been an opportunity for us to pay back these friends for hosting us in their house for several days last winter when we lost power but they didn't.

Snow Day

Jan. 18th, 2011 11:14 am
astra_nomer: (Default)
Today has been declared a snow day by the county. After chipping 1/4" of ice off my car, I'm glad they decided to do that. The main road are fine, but the neighborhood streets are pretty treacherous.

Dropped the kids off at their schools' day care programs, which thankfully run on snow days. So now I can work from home in peace, in theory.

I suppose now is as good a time as any to post about how the job search is going.

Read more... )

AAS Seattle

Jan. 9th, 2011 12:20 pm
astra_nomer: (Default)
Heading to the airport soon to go to the AAS Meeting in Seattle.
I have a couple of nibbles on the job market front, and will be schmoozing like crazy.
I'm desperately hoping that it's allergies I'm suffering from, and not a cold.
I'm feeling woefully unprepared for this meeting, but maybe that's because I put everything off until the last minute.
astra_nomer: (Default)
Last night, I was putting Son the Younger to bed, and I leaned him to give him a kiss. Usually, he ducks and hides under the covers when I do so. This time, he grabbed me around the neck and hugged me tightly to him, and wouldn't let go for a long time, and just kept saying "I love you, mommy" over and over again. It nearly brought me to tears.

I have been traveling way too much lately. I just got back from one trip on Friday, and will be heading out on another trip the Monday after Thanksgiving. At least for Thanksgiving we'll be traveling as a family. I'm exhausted and crabby and keep yelling at everyone. I just need to keep telling myself that all this travel will be good for my career in the long run, even though it really sucks right now.

I want to delegate to someone else the task of telling my mom that this Christmas, I'm not going any trips, guilt trips included. That I'm just going to stay home and sleep and spend time with my husband and kids and try to recover some sanity. Somehow, I don't see that happening, though.
astra_nomer: (kids)
When we last left our heros, Son the Elder had caught strep throat from Son the Younger. Over the weekend StE developed a cough, and Sunday evening he suddenly wilted and spiked a fever.

So far, he has missed 6 days of school. Mind you, he's still been on the antibiotics all this time for the strep. The rest of us have managed to stay healthy, though StY keeps asking to have his temperature taken, as if he wants to get sick again.

Today, StE suddenly had a spring in his step and an alertness in his eyes that had been missing since the weekend. So here's hoping that we are all through sickness in the house. Especially since my parents, my brother, and my in-laws will all be visiting us this weekend.

Sick kids

Nov. 4th, 2010 04:03 pm
astra_nomer: (kids)
Last week, DS2 came down with strep throat. While I was away, of course, to maximize the inconvenience.

Yesterday, DS1 woke up feeling under the weather. Unsurprisingly, it's strep, again.

Can't afford to get sick right now! I ought to run out and get my flu shot, although that won't work against strep...
astra_nomer: (Default)
Between September and December, I will have flown to:

Sweden
California
France
Arizona
Wyoming
Chicago

and I will likely fly to Seattle in January, for that matter. Purposes for trips include

conferences
colloquia
job interviews

I'm starting to get awfully tired of planes and airports.

Paris!

Oct. 27th, 2010 05:05 pm
astra_nomer: (Default)
I'm having a wonderful time here in Paris. I have decided that I could eat crêpes for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day and not get tired of them. Come to think of it, that's exactly what I did today. Of course, it helps that there are a seemingly endless variety of fillings for them.

There's apparently a big strike planned for tomorrow. I guess the strike was on hiatus for a few days for school holidays or something. There was some debate as to whether the students would barricade the doors and prevent the conference from happening, or whether they'd sleep in and miss the chance to do so. My bet is that they'll barricade the doors, but only after the conference has started, and we will be all trapped inside rather than outside. Whatever, it's all kind of surreal, and makes me want to burst out into, "Do You Hear The People Sing."

Found a nice pedestrian walkway to go running on, which is good because it's still dark out at 8am and I dislike having to dodge traffic in the dark. Keeping up with the running is good, because then I can justify having a pain au chocolat during the coffee break. Yum.

Pauvre moi

Oct. 24th, 2010 03:33 pm
astra_nomer: (Default)
Made it to Paris successfully, despite jet lag and threats of strikes. I didn't see signs of striking anywhere, except as warnings of delays on the metro, but found that the metro ran just fine for me, but now I feel like I've just jinxed myself.

I encountered cold weather and a film crew, just as I did in Pasadena.

I also encountered too many delicious buttery pastries. Good thing I brought my running shoes, so that when I am up way too early in my jet lagged state I can go running. Along the Seine River. In freaking Paris.

(My attempt at convincing [livejournal.com profile] unclenomer that I am suffering here is utterly failing, isn't it.)
astra_nomer: (action shot)
I just ran in a 2-mile Fun Run at work today. How I did )

Read more... )

I'm thinking of trying to up my current running routine. I'm wondering if 2.5 miles 3x a week, plus a weekend run of 4 miles is reasonable. Anybody have any good resources for this sort of thing? I'm not looking to train for anything in particular, just wanting to stay in shape.

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