Gettin' Ink

I just found out that one of my friends got her fifth tattoo the other day, and if you've read my other posts you'll know that I want to get a tattoo some day too. The only reason I haven't gotten one yet is:

A) I don't have that kind of money right now, being an unemployed college student and all.

B) (Ok, so it's not really an "only reason", it's more like a long list, but whatever) I'm pretty sure my parents would kill me if I did right now.

C) I kind of have this thing about needles. Especially ones that vibrate really fast and pierce my skin hundreds of times.

D) And finally, I'm not really sure of what I want tattooed, or even where.

I know very well that tattoos are "permanent" and that I should htink about what I want and how it will look when I'm 80. But I also know that tattoos can be removed with lasers, so if I end up hating it when I'm 80 I can undo it. I've been thinking about it a lot lately and I think I might have some sort of idea of what I want. Three words: Bubble. Chamber. Track.

A bubble chamber is a vessel filled with a superheated transparent liquid (most often liquid hydrogen) used to detect electrically charged particles moving through it. I warned you earlier that this blog will end up being a nerd fest. :-) Physics is what I love, especially partivle physics. And if you're supposed to get a tattoo of what you love than this makes sense, right? Plus, it's just lines, which shouldn't be too hard/painful, right? Really, I was inspired by this fourth photo, which I think is on someone's arm, but I'm not sure. I was thinking of getting this on my calf, but I can't decide on which one to get.

The first picture is very simple, just a few lines, nothing too complicated. The second picture has a few more lines, and I really like the circles. I'm pretty sure the tattoo is/is very similar too the third picture I have up here. It's very intricate with lots of lines and curves.

What do you guys think?

Countdown

I move back into the dorms next week. Seven more days. One more week & then I'm officially back in Boston. Only five more days until we leave. It's a 16 hour drive. Ew. I'm not excited for that, but it will be worth it. I'll be back in Boston. Back where I belong. Back where I feel like I belong. Don't get me wrong, I love Waukegan (despite it's many flaws), & I'm completely in love with Chicago, but there's just something about Boston. I can't explain it, but being there just feels right. And being here, in Kentucky, just feels wrong. Very wrong. I don't belong here. I don't want to be here. I don't like it here.

965 miles, 5 days, & a 16 hour drive are all that stand between me & Beantown. I can't wait to get back to college.

I realize this doesn't really make any sense, but I'm just really anxious to get back.

1000 Things, Part 2

I haven't really been motivated to write anything this week. Nothing really has happened, so I'll just resort back to my 1000 Things list. That's pretty much why I decided to post it in the first place, as a back up. Just so there's not several weeks of silence. It's all for you guys :-)

051. Get banned from a store

052. Pretend I'm blind in the mall

053. Learn Ebonics

054. Have my socks knocked off

055. Fill a briefcase with money

056. Find the soundtrack to my life

057. Create a new breakfast cereal

058. Visit every continent

059. Spend the night in a castle

060. Fill a room with playpen balls

061. Attend a physics seminar

062. Buy my own telescope

063. Discover a new star

064. View a meteor shower

065. View a solar eclipse

066. Use a big word inappropriately in a conversation

067. Go to McDonald's without pants

068. Have a conversation with myself on the bus/train

069. Start my own micronation

070. Be in a TV audience

071. Climb to the top of the Eiffel Tower

072. Buy something disgustingly extravagant for myself

073. Have a wonderful day in the neighborhood

074. Buy something for sale on TV

075. Learn to speak Korean

076. Learn to speak Italian

077. Learn to speak Romanian

078. Learn to speak Dutch

079. Learn to speak Hebrew

080. Learn to speak Swedish

081. Learn to speak Latin

082. Learn to speak Greek

083. Have a conversation in French & understand it

084. Attend an Olympic Games

085. Watch the launch of a space shuttle/rocket

086. Send a message in a bottle

087. Visit the Senate & House of Representatives

088. See how Congress really works

089. Learn to ballroom dance

090. Have a picnic in Central Park

091. Sit on a jury

092. Ride the Trans-Siberian Express across Asia

093. Watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in person

094. Stay at a youth hostel

095. Attend a stargazing party

096. Experience weightlessness

097. Learn to SCUBA dive

098. Stand on the edge of the Grand Canyon

099. Contemplate a work of art in the Louvre

100. Visit all 50 states

All in the Family

It's been a busy couple of days for me here, there were a few family functions I had to go to. Well, I went willingly (enough), but still...

Yesterday my Mom & Dad & I went to my Aunt Helen's for lunch with some other family members. She's not really my aunt, but she's my Dad's aunt. I think. She might be his great-aunt. I don't really know. I get confused about his side of the family. There's too many people to remember. But anyway, that was fun. Nothing too special. Just a lot of talking, my parents bragging about me (because I'm something to brag about :-D), and telling everyone how school is going.

Today was my brother's graduation for boot camp. He was stationed in Fort Knox, the one with the big gold depository, and that's about an hour & a half away. It took us almost three hours to get there. We were about half an hour out when my parents realized we forgot the letter they sent us with a map of the base. They thought it was the invitation & that it was required to get in, so we had to turn around. Turns out we didn't need the letter and we almost missed the entire ceremony because of it. Meh. I don't really approve of my brother's lifestyle choice anyway. Haha, fancy someone like me saying something like that! Yeah, I'm not a big fan of the military, especially since, in my opinion, he only joined the Army because he likes to shoot things.

I really just don't like guns. Period. I found an old pistol on my Dad's night stand the other day and I freaked out. My Mom said it didn't work & that it wasn't even loaded, so she started to wave it around like an idiot. Turns out it was loaded, and & only one barrel doesn't work. OMG. I could have been shot by my own mother. Yeah, I wasn't too happy about that.

1000 Things

For the past couple of months I've been trying to write a list of 1000 things I would like to do before I die, a "bucket list" if you will. No, I was not inspired by the movie, starring Jack Nicholson & Morgan Freeman. I haven't even seen that movie. It actually all started a few years ago, when I was a Junior in High School. My friend Kathy & I had each made a list of things we wanted to do, mostly nonsensical things, like "take over the world", "become a pop star", "build a house out of chocolate." Anyway, I got a new Moleskine a couple months ago & decided to start over with a new, more realistic list. The original was about 130 items, but I decided to be a little daring & shoot for 1000, which is a task that deserves to be on the list itself. After three months I'm at 465, & I've decided to share it with you. Also so I can have a digital copy. Just in case. I'm not going to put all 465 items on here now, but I'll try to put 50 or so every week or just randomly. Feel free to tell me how stupid some things are. Feel free to suggest new things. Just feel free to say anything.

001. Go on a roadtrip

002. Hug a tree

003. Learn to ride a horse

004. Visit CERN

005. Get glasses

006. Learn to fence

007. Go to Canada

008. Find a dollar in my pocket

009. Collect $1000 in change

010. Solve a murder mystery

011. Attend a SciFi convention

012. Learn to fly a plane

013. Eat french toast in France

014. Get a theme song for myself

015. Build a giant snow castle

016. Start a rumor about myself

017. Learn to read lips

018. Do a crazy hippie dance in a park

019. Start a chain letter

020. Run for an elected office

021. Adopt a small child

022. Get my ears pierced

023. Throw myself a surprise party

024. Attend a rave

025. Write a book

026. Get a tattoo

027. Find Waldo

028. Meet a Sherpa

029. Join the Peace Corps

030. Get an awesome nickname

031. Spend a month in Europe

032. Declare myself "King of the Penguins"

033. Receive an obnoxiously large balloon for my birthday

034. Thump a Bible

035. Get a posse

036. Pet a llama

037. Find my evil twin

038. Get lost in the woods

039. Work on a particle accelerator

040. Attend the Glastonbury Festival

041. Go to a circus

042. Meet a Nazi

043. Legally change my name

044. Build a better mouse trap

045. Join a protest

046. Be an extra in a film

047. Learn calligraphy

048. Start a cult

049. Be interesting enough to have a blog

050. Start & maintain a blog for at least one year

Well, there you have it. The first 50 items on my list. One of the reasons I started this blog is to get myself out there & show people who I am, & what better way to get to know someone than to discover their dreams & aspirations, no matter how trivial.