staining and staining and staining (thighs galore)

 woke up hella early today to get to work in time for a possible human specimen. turns out we didn't get it. but it's alright, it allowed me to do the extra experiment i had aside for me. it was staining some thigh. some of them hams. them gams. thicc af swine legs.

i'm happy i got r to help me in lab. i would not tell her this in fear that may think it is insulting but she is in many ways very similar to myself. actually, she's like me but without my emotional mess. our attitudes mesh very well in our approaches to work and in our priorities of said work. i think we could build prototypes that work (but may be ugly) in record time. our only problem is that we also have a penchant for enjoying the better parts of life. this leads us to getting side tracked pretty easily by delicious food, conversation, and taylor swift. but other than that i think we get shit done. and get it done well. so the fact that she's been helping me with this gams staining has been a mini blessing. i can ask for this or that and we just work, no clashing of egos or getting butt hurt about differing ideas. all this to say that the experiment went well and i feel i can rely on the data because i also trust in the team. 

also, i've been crocheting a little chicken these last few days. i think i understand why people like doing things like crocheting. because of the high level of concentration needed, one needs to push all other thoughts away. a semi-blank mind. whenever intrusive thoughts would come in, i would end up making a mistake and then i'd have to start all over. so then one starts to focus on not thinking about anything. nothing except for where you are in the pattern. i didn't think about how lonely i was, or how lovelorn i am, or how unproductive i feel. i was just one with the yarn. once i was done for the day, i felt refreshed. i guess crocheting is a sort of semi-meditation. very cool. so thanks r for getting me into it!

in the afternoon before we were done for the full day i was having a conversation with my boss when he just plain asked me "are you dating anyone?" i was taken aback. what?! apparently he thinks there is someone he knows that may be a match for me? what?!!! his daughter has a friend and the previous matchmaking they did worked wonderful. so...am i interested?! WHAT?! 

he even showed me a picture of the person. she looks normal. which is good. but!!! in the little description that he had, it said that she is a "jesus lover". yeah...that's a no for me dawg. 

on the other hand!! how hilarious would it be to go on a semi-blind date with someone my boss set me up? it's almost worth it. almost....almost. for shits and giggles? i told him i would think about it.

after work we were able to all leave together and in a surprise move e offered me a ride home. on the ride home we talked about work, and random stuff and then we talked about how i was craving some ice cream, "maybe if i go out tonight we can go get some". i of course said yes too fast because i didn't want to miss the opportunity for a ride to ice cream. 

the moment i got home and sat on the couch i heard a text coming in from the coat rack, i had left my phone on my jacket pocket. "dv has got a ton of energy. want to go play fetch?" again, how in the world could i refuse. we went to a nearby park and the trees were beautiful. they were bare but for the tips bathed in the last flames of the sun. it was awesome. the enormous sky and the colors of the dying sun playing with the trees and their shadows. dv was definitely hyper. when i first saw him we both got really excited and played around like a couple of puppies. he is just a wonderful dude though. i can play rough but he knows his boundaries and he knows how to play. he matches your energy and just makes a world onto himself full of happiness and candy probably. once we were in the grass e lets him off the leash and fires off an orange ball. e knew there was an uneasiness to dv. she sensed it in him. a small spark of disobedience. but she continued with her throw, hoping that it wasn't as bad and that he'd just go for the ball. and he did, for 3 seconds. a fucking squirrel a thousand miles away got his attention and he just sprinted like a cheetah towards it. unfortunately since it was so far it looked like he was just running towards the street. holy smokes was that scary. dv ultimately chased the stupid ass squirrel up a tree and e was able to get to him, grab him, and put his leash back on. he lost fetch privileges. 

"do you mind hanging out for a little while here just sitting down?" e asked. 

my normal life is a hole devoid of activities so hell yes i would like to hang out a little longer. i admired the trees and the landscape for a while. the sun kept getting lower but i was in a very nice place. we talked about different things, a little of life and of course i brought up the whole boss setting me up thing. "you should go for it!" i told her about the whole jesus thing "you should still go for it. if it doesn't work, it doesn't work, but at least you tried it". i was like "hmmm..maybe. just for shits and giggles maybe". i also tried talking about the upcoming hinge dates but those didn't seem to garner any interest from her. at most i got a "hm" in agreement when telling her how the date went and how it can be awkward at times. we did talk about the awkwardness of both parties in an app that's specifically designed for dating. like we both are here for a date and it can put some pressure on the whole thing. she talked how i shouldn't let that bother me because that's also the same thing with normal dating. when she met her husband they were not friends at all first, he just asked her out. so it was about dating right away. it was the 4 hour coffee date where she felt comfortable with him that she realized she liked him. so maybe i should approach it the same. 

we went back into the car and she asked if i wanted to get something to eat. we drove around for a while to get to the restaurant and ordered take out then went to a nearby parking lot to eat our food. the conversation once again turned to our lives and our work and thinking about graduation and jobs afterwards. she's thinking of applying to start-up companies. she is in a rush to leave lab and graduate by december, she said she's tired of being there. i don't feel that way. i could do may with not problem. especially since even with all the work i'm doing i don't see myself publishing any time soon. i also want to get the most i can out of this opportunity. the freedom that this gives us is something i'm not ready to give up yet and go back to the tied handcuffs of the corporate world. i am looking forward to getting a job later, but i'm not in a rush to get there. probably because i've been there already and i know what that can be like. after our meal we were driving back when she suddenly asked me "want to go for a drive?". i was glad to be doing something with someone outside of my house so i was really happy. we kept driving aimlessly and talking about different stuff. we did a little reminiscing, some good times, some tough times. it was a nice time. every once in a while dv would pop his head and try to lick my ear or my face, and i would in turn give him pets or scratches. at some point dv started to look sleepy and it was time to go home. "time for dv to get home, he wants to be home, he wants to play with q!" e said sing songey as we turned around to drive back.

once home i played a little with dv on the walk back from the parking lot. that's a great dog. i think i would even take up jogging if i had a dog like that. back in my apartment i thought about calling the fam but it was a little late (it was after 11 their time) and so i just watched youtube videos until i decided to write this little thing. 

time to sleep, perchance to dream, no more.

thoughts:

damn hams drive me crazy. i envision those things awake or asleep. i gotta collect that data fast.