Just Another Day At the Office...

Last week our lab hosted several guests...three from Colorado and one from Harvard. Of course, we decided to show them a little Southern hospitality and planned what we called the "Redneck Picnic". So last Wednesday after lunch, we locked the doors of the lab and headed over to the lake. My boss brought his boat and another co-worker pulled out the waverunners, we stopped along the way for a vat of BBQ and baked beans, and somehow a mini keg showed up. Did I mention that a couple of people brought guitars, banjos, and a fiddle...oh yes, my friend...this was gonna be good times had by all. So here we have it, co-workers in bathing suits running around the lake drinking beer and bloated off too much BBQ and cheesecake...nows the time to drag people behind the boat on the knee board. At this point I'm the lookout...watching to alert the boat driver of whether or not we've lost our 3rd member in the water. First up...the bossman from Colorado...he is catching on quickly, smiling huge and swallowing buckets full of lake water. Suddenly out of nowhere he goes flying off of the board. We turn around to get him and he is laughing hysterically...apparently, the water had ripped his pants off...oh yes, scientists naked...on a work function...why does this stuff always happen. So I am doing my bit on the boat and now its my turn to get out and play...as I'm getting out of the boat...POP...hmmm...that was my bikini top coming undone...and who is on the boat with me to "help"...that's right my boss. Next thing I know my straps are being tied together with fishing line...however, tying my straps together has made this little piece of fabric twice as tight and now I can officially rest my chin on my breasts...hmmm...not optimal (did I mention this is a work function?!). So here I am tied together with fishing line and racing around the lake on the SeaDoo...after scaring the crap out of our undergrad (she was my passenger) we settled in to eat dessert and listen to a bluegrass concert. It seemed like all the craziness had ended until the end of the journey when I realized that I would require help getting out of my suit. So I quiety aproach our lab manager for help...when she screams (and I mean screams) out to my boss..."Hey, can you come over here and cut Kelly out of her bra?". So here he comes with a huge knife and laughing the whole time. Well, somehow I managed to not expose myself and the next morning my boss greeted me in my office with a "Good morning! You gone bikini shopping yet?"...well, maybe one day he'll forget.

I'll continue to put up some pics from Hawaii...for your enjoyment and mine...my goodness that place was gorgeous! I'll just keeping dreaming about it and looking at these pics till I get to go back. The first is Cory and I on a secluded beach on the Southern half of the island. The second is a pic of our journey through the Waimea Canyon (the Grand Canyon of the Pacific)...unbelievable.

Yes, I'm a Slacker!

Alright, alright...I'm writing a new entry. Sorry Allyson to leave you hanging so long...as much as you gripe about the blog you get so whiny when I get lazy about it...so prepare yourself for another one of my "novellas". :) (Above are some more pictures from my trips to San Francisco and Kauai.)

It has been forever, and I must say it will be hard to think of everything that has happened since the beginning of April. On the work front things are good...I finally got a paper published this May and am currently working on two more. However, my co-worker is out on "man-ternity" leave at the moment so I'm doing my project, his project, and managing three undergrads...so I spend WAY too much time in the lab. I will taking some serious time off when Jason returns from learning how to change diapers. I also got a lead last week about moving into an industry job...I don't think anything will come of it at this point but the significant pay raise would be a strong draw towards the door. It's especially attractive since Cory and I have been busy house shopping for the last couple of months. Somehow we always wonder into the REALLY nice neighborhoods...imagine that. But seriously, what do these people do for a living???!!! We have 4 college degrees between the two of us and I doubt we'll be able to afford any of these houses at any point in our lives...incredible. Although, honestly I don't think I'd want to have to clean that much house...well, unless Amy would move back in with me...she is the domestic godness.

Yesterday, after I got off of work, Cory and I headed to Lewisville, to his parents' house, to hang out and watch the fireworks at the town square. Although, Peaches...I must admit I'm a little jealous to hear about you being in D.C. for the 4th. My college boyfriend and I went down to the Mall in D.C. one year for the full day of festivities and I must admit it was absolutely incredible...well, except for the 3 hour wait to get back on the subway and the worst smelling port-o-potties in all of history.

Then there was San Francisco...incredible! I was the only American in the crowd that I hung out with for most of the week...so it was a bit surreal to have two Irish girls pick on my accent all week...WHAT? ...However, I do now have a great appreciation of European politics and culture as well as extensive exposure to reactions to the French elections. It is always good to get a little culture into a country girl from Virginia once in a while. I was present for the annual Bay to Breakers Race in SF. This run is notorious for its strange costumes and excessive nudity...and it certainly lived up to its reputation. It's one thing to see ugly fat guys naked on the secluded beaches of Hawaii and a whole nother offense to see them running down the street in the middle of a huge city for 12 miles (are you imagining the sweat...just wanted to help you appreciate the full experience :) ). On a more pleasant note, the food in SF was to die for...my traveling companion Camille (she is a postdoc here at Carolina from France) introduced me to many a wonderful French cafe in the city. If you ever find yourself in Union Square I highly suggest making a stop at Cafe Mason for an order of cheese blintzes with fruit. I did have a full day and half to explore the city before I presented on Sunday. I walked the entire city and left no stone unturned. My favorite was the dock full of seals at Pier 39. I took a boat tour of the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz and saw the Picasso exhibit at the SF Museum of Modern Art. Once again I put my digital camera to work and took almost 500 pictures.

Another bright piece of news to report...I had mentioned Cory's friend Mike who is battling cancer and had another surgery last month to remove a spot on his liver and to examine an odd spot in his pelvis. They were both cancerous, but surgeons at Duke successfully removed both growths and as of today he is cancer free. Considering he had stage 4 colon cancer this is truly miraculous. He will be having another round of preventative chemo which will begin shortly, so please keep praying for his continued health.

We were up in Wilkesboro to see Cory's family at Father's Day and the Benny's vineyard is coming along nicely. They will be opening a temporary site for wine tastings shortly that will be a good distance from the actual vineyard until they can get the construction finished at the family's land. We are eagerly awaiting our first taste.

We did make it to Virginia a few weeks ago and most of the discussion focused on my brother's impending purchase of his corvette. If only he could decide what color he wanted then maybe we could make some progress. hehe We finally set a date in August to head to Manhattan...we'll get to see Ginger and Cory's friend Tim.

Well, hopefully I'll make the time to write more often so it won't be so scattered...but considering my lifestyle these days...scattered is probably what you will get.