I can haz burthdai kaek!

In honor of my 20th birthday, Spencer invented a cake for me!



It's two layers of brownie...



With Cool Whip filling...



And a pumpkin/cream cheese/cool whip frosting.



I told Spencer if he didn't give me at least a little smile, I would start calling him emo boy and rigging his comp to play Fall Out Boy and Nine Inch Nails. Maybe some Dashboard Confessional. It seems to have worked, at least a little.

The cake is really quite good, though after the Chinese food we had for dinner, I'm afraid I can't eat as much of it as I'd like. The chicken chow mein was nice too. An evening for commendable cuisine!

Actually, today would have been a lot better if I didn't have a physics test tomorrow to worry about. Gah. Calc tomorrow is cancelled (the prof, a 30 year old single guy, skipped out yesterday to start his break), so I'll be able to spend all of tomorrow morning doing some last minute review for the test. I've also got an exam in logic, but we get a notecard for it, and it wouldn't be hard anyway.

But tomorrow, after the physics test is done... I get to go home! Mom's coming up tomorrow, doig lunch and grocery shopping with Spence while I'm suffering the torments of academia. But as soon as the test's over, I'm biking home, tossing my stuff in the car, and we're taking off. And I will not even think about physics for a week.

(Except to read the next chapter of the text. And fret over the test. And wake up, startled, from dreams about calculating the torque that the world's elephants exert on the earth, while helping Superchicken and the Third Doctor save the world. I'm not kidding. My subconscious is a weird place.)

And, because I was taking pictures, (and it is my birthday, after all), here's me:







And, in Spencer-style dramatic pose:



It was a fun day. food was good, and I got some cards and a certificate for a used book store from Spence (just what I'd asked for). Hee.

But now, back to productive stuff. Like...packing. Or homework. Man, can it be holiday yet?

Breakin' the law, breakin' the law...

Also, because I'm weird, and sitting here at my computer at half past midnight, reading the California Penal Code.

What?

It's kinda cool.

Here, just to prove it to you, is the best one I've found so far:

596.5.  It shall be a misdemeanor for any owner or manager of an
elephant to engage in abusive behavior towards the elephant, which
behavior shall include the discipline of the elephant by any of the
following methods:
 (a) Deprivation of food, water, or rest.
 (b) Use of electricity.
 (c) Physical punishment resulting in damage, scarring, or breakage
of skin.
 (d) Insertion of any instrument into any bodily orifice.
 (e) Use of martingales.
 (f) Use of block and tackle.

Also:

597h.  It shall be unlawful for any person to tie or attach or
fasten any live animal to any machine or device propelled by any
power for the purpose of causing such animal to be pursued by a dog
or dogs.
 Any person violating any of the provisions of this section shall
be guilty of a misdemeanor.

Plus:

652.  (a) It shall be an infraction for any person to perform or
offer to perform body piercing upon a person under the age of 18
years, unless the body piercing is performed in the presence of, or
as directed by a notarized writing by, the person's parent or
guardian.
 (b) This section does not apply to the body piercing of an
emancipated minor.
 (c) As used in this section, "body piercing" means the creation of
an opening in the body of a human being for the purpose of inserting
jewelry or other decoration, including, but not limited to, the
piercing of a lip, tongue, nose, or eyebrow. "Body piercing" does not
include the piercing of an ear.
 (d) Neither the minor upon whom the body piercing was performed,
nor the parent or guardian of that minor, nor any other minor is
liable for punishment under this section.

I think it's kinda funny that they don't count ear piercing a s a body piercing. Huh. Cultural norms, I tell ya...

And hey, did you know that:

(b) Any person guilty of a second conviction of any offense
specified in subdivision (c), where the victim has not attained 13
years of age, shall, upon parole, undergo medroxyprogesterone acetate
treatment or its chemical equivalent, in addition to any other
punishment prescribed for that offense or any other provision of law.

 (c) This section shall apply to the following offenses:
 (1) Subdivision (c) or (d) of Section 286.
 (2) Paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 288.
 (3) Subdivision (c) or (d) of Section 288a.
 (4) Subdivision (a) or (j) of Section 289.

That is, we can chemically castrate sex offenders in the state of California. I totally did not know that.

Still, I like the one about elephants best.

And on that note, everyone have a nice Veteran's Day!

You can't always get what you want,

...But if you try sometimes, you might find you get what you need

I have decided that what college really is is one heavily protracted lesson in the fine art/science of kitchen utensil substitution.

No ladle? Use a one-cup measurer.

Bowls all in the dishwasher (again!)? Tupperware holds your morning's bowl of cereal just as well. (Though, with the different dimensions of the containers, you have to be more careful about your milk-cereal ratio.

And that cereal gets eaten just as well whether you're using a teaspoon or a dinner spoon.

Forks pretty much fail, as far as cereal eating goes, but only for me, since Spencer doesn't have the whole milk problem to complicate the issue.

And bah, who really needs spatulas or tongs? There, forks totally work.

A dearth of mixing bowls can be tricky to work around (especially when all of your normal bowls are, as above, in the dishwasher) but again tupperware will do in a pinch. Or just a pot/saucepan.

Saucers serve perfectly well as spoon rests.

At the same time, I have some rather specialized items lurking in the recesses of my cabinets. My beloved Pampered Chef chopper, a heavy duty black Dutch Oven, two whisks (don't ask), an AGA baker's paddle, and several plastic pitchers.

But. Anyway.

Back to school tomorrow. *Teddy envies those lucky ducks who get both tomorrow and Tuesday off* We had a proofs test on Friday that was, while not as bad as the first one, still not very nice. And then our next calc exam is Wednesday, so I need to study for that. We're doing center of mass of multivariable functions. And...stuff. Triple integrals. And so forth.

Soooo, I should probably get started on some of that. Or look at the NEW EXTRA hw assignment the proofs teacher put up EVEN THOUGH WE JUST HAD AN EXAM THAT HE WASN'T EVEN THERE FOR.

Ahem. Right. Hope everyone had a nice weekend. Ta ta.

Under this national rain cloud, I'm getting soaked to the skin

Except that I have my trusty brolly. (No, that's not what mine really looks like. More's the pity.)

It's just poured here the last couple of days. It's been kinda fun; I've gotten to try our my new water-proof, early birthday shoes, which have been massively awesome. (Hey, I can like, walk around outside without soaking my feet in the process! Neat!) It also gave me a good excuse (not that I really needed one) to make spicy peanut veggie soup on Halloween.



Otherwise, it's pretty much just back to your regularly scheduled school week here. I have a Proofs test on Friday, a calc test next Wednesday, and Physics and Logic tests the Friday after that (which is, incidentally, the last day before Thanksgiving break. I think they're trying to make us really grateful.)

Oh and hey, the election's tomorrow! That's kinda nice. If only so it'll be over with and I'll (maybe!) not have to hear any more about it from Spencer. Oi. Right-wing conspiracies this, paranoid website posters that. Almost makes me want to vote for McCain just to see how apoplectic I could make him. Hmm... *ponders*

*It should, at this point, be noted that google has a disappointing selection of images to go with the word "apoplectic". Though it did come up with one of a naked Katy Manning cuddled up to a Dalek. So...there you go then. I think.*

And to finish up this post, some more of what everyone needs: rapping Luther. No, really. I think that the ELCA should get permission to run this on commercials or something.