Science as art

The true beauty of our world, through a microscope lens.
All photos were taken by my lab partner and I in our second year plant science lab. I'm studying for the lab exam and I felt like sharing.

Diatoms:

Nitella: (no, not Nutella)

Spirogyra:

Ulva: an edible sea lettuce

Volvox:

Ulothrix:

Holler!

Here are some stats:
HP7 countdown: 10 days! Will we get midnight tickets?! 
B-day countdown: 18 days!
Tossing clothes in the hamper, hits to misses: 2:31
Number of times my fish make me laugh (they're really cute): min. 2/day
Chances of this organic chemistry midterm being easy: 1:10
Chances of me passing it: approx. 1:20
How late am I going to be for the bus if I don't stop blogging now? Probably around 2.25 minutes...

SONG OF THE DAY: Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) by The Beatles

Things that made me laugh this week

1) Conversation with my (12 year old) brother:
Me: hey
Brother: hi
Me: what's up?
B: homework
B: i have to write a story about a guy in the crypts killing the guy in the bloods 
B: you?

2) Received text
Fr: Val
How many ways can you bend your elbow?

3) Received text
Fr: Brittany
1/3: Hey, can you or caity do a spider check down the stairs tonight before you go to bed cause there was a huge outdoor spider down there 
2/3: last night and I don't want to be surprised by it when i come home from work at midnight! Thanks sooooooo much, see u
3/3: later
Fr: Brittany
And I don't say huge lightly, it was at least 2 inches long and really black and I don't think a bug has ever scared me so much before

4) Britt (and Steph's) fear of spiders pt. 2 on facebook:
Brittany hates spiders!!!
- Steph: i know britt, same here! i'll be up for a while if you have another encounter!
- B: caity just had to kill one for me, behind my bed! i mean how dare it come into my bedroom! (hahahahah) and it wasn't little either!

5) and my favourite thing ever:
Marcel the Shell 

Song of the day: White Orchid by The White Stripes 

Part two: Awesome things about Pittsburgh, PA

As I mentioned in the previous post (see below), I was in Pittsburgh on the weekend. Here are a few things that made my trip enjoyable:
1) Compliments: Apparently, the people in Pittsburgh like my style. I had numerous people tell me that they liked my glasses/ scarf. It made me feel cool.

The aforementioned scarf.

2) The Phantom of the Attic: A very cool comic book store that my brother discovered where I found my boyfriend a super awesome Scott Pilgrim t-shirt (which I plan on stealing plenty of times).

Aforementioned super awesome t-shirt.

3) Cracker Barrel: Chicken fried chicken = SO DELICIOUS.

My meal - the corn + sweet baby carrots + mashed potatoes

4) Good shopping: I got a whole bunch of stuff that I generally can't find in Canada, and for the most part it's a bit cheaper. Some American stores I enjoy: Delia's, Bath & Body Works, Forever 21, PacSun, etc. There are lots of good deals (e.g. I got a Ralph Lauren polo shirt for $40!). I bought cool t-shirts, a scarf, hand cream, candles, and did I mention a Ralph Lauren shirt?!

Similar to mine, different colour.

5) Scenery: There are a lot of really nice old buildings, beautiful wild life, and a pretty skyline. If I could have stayed longer, I'm sure I would have came to love and discover so much more of the city. Hopefully I can visit again soon!

I think I'm just a sucker for rivers and night shots. 

SONG OF THE DAY: Maps by Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Part one: Things learned about Pittsburgh, PA

This weekend I traveled to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for my brother's hockey tournament. These are some things I observed:
1) Steelers Nation: The Pittsburgers (Pittsburgians?) love the Steelers. LOVE THEM. We happened to stumble into a mall on a football Sunday when they were playing, and at least 30% of people (basically anyone who wasn't a tourist) was wearing a Steelers jersey. This percentage includes small children.

 It kinda looked like this.

2) The Penguins?: The sports fans love their football, but hockey? Not so much apparently. Amidst the slew of Steelers fans, I think I saw one person wearing a Pens t-shirt. Sam, who loves the penguins dearly, went around trying to find a Fleury jersey, to no avail. They had mounds of NFL paraphernalia, but when it comes to hockey, maybe it's not such a big deal.

 On the other hand, I have much love for Sid the Kid.

3) OMG HILLS!: Every street we drove on was on a hill. EVERY ONE. Maybe downtown Pittsburgh was a bit more plateaued, but I think we all had a few moments when we were scared for our lives.

 And sometimes even worse.

4) Getting lost: If you pissed someone off in Pittsburgh, and they told you to "get lost!", I think it'd be pretty easy. Okay, yes, that was lame, but kinda true. There were so many roads/ highways with construction and detours, but mix that in with the semi-mountainous terrain and a bunch of narrow streets and you have yourself a Pittsburgh driving tour. Number of times we got lost: >5. To give you an estimate of how bad it was: we wanted to go to Cracker Barrel for dinner, it turned out it was actually only 10 minutes away from where we were. We were driving around for an hour and a half.

 And our faces looked like this!

5) City of schools: There are a lot of universities in Pittsburgh. I think I counted 5. I don't know if they're all affiliated to one main school or what, but it just seemed that there were a lot of education buildings in a small area.

Simply one picture.

UP NEXT: Part two: Awesome things about Pittsburgh, PA

Flash updates

Midterm season is upon us. 3 completed, 2 to go. So I have minimal time to talk to anyone, let alone blog. These are my flash updates, like flash floods, but without the danger.

1. I had the best weekend ever!
2. I have been listening to The Suburbs by Arcade Fire on repeat for the past four days. It's already made it into my favourite albums ever.
3. No matter what kind of eggs I try to make, they always turn out looking like scrambled. I like them over easy, but it's impossible for me to cook eggs without them getting stuck/ burnt/ breaking in pieces.
4. Today I walked into a girls bathroom to blow my nose and there was a painter guy in there. He yelled at me and said I have to leave because they're doing construction. Apparently there was a sign on the door but maybe they should make a better one, because I saw nothing.
5. I can't wait until reading week, when I plan on actually reading (nothing school related though).
6. Two days until Pittsburgh!

SONG OF THE DAY: City With No Children by Arcade Fire

B-Day Shout Outs

After taking a break from drawing a biological photo for a lab, I wanted to wish my sister Sam a very happy 17th birthday. Hope your day was great even if I wasn't there to make it awesome.

 
"Vowel change, I remember when our voices used to sound the same
Now we just translate"

SONG OF THE DAY: The Kids Don't Stand A Chance by Vampire Weekend