Shocking but true - lavaland is still kicking everyones ass

are we really that surprised? Ricardipus must be picking the linemates of her her picks, as he's holding perfectly parallel just below.  Bob & GertyZ are slowing down, as am I. I guess we actually have to do things other than follow all the hockey stats, eh? That is a joke.  I shouldn't be too sad, I'm sitting at 10 points for this 2 game week.  Lets see if the player updates next week play havoc with anyones teams. I know they totes nailed me last time.

Better late than Never - Hockey Pool Week9

It appears as Lavaland is holding on to her lead with no worries about any of us catching up. She's steady as she goes, no matter what Gerty-Z tries, she can't manage to catch up. Though she is managing to kick all of our buts on a semi - regular basis. Chall, Lavaland and myself all tied for second highest point catch last week.  Thomas is holding steady at the rear and Cath, Ricardipus and Bob are holding together in the middle, though with Cath desparately trying to get into the front lead with the rest of us. A sneak peak ahead suggests that GertyZ might finally overtake lavaland with Chall getting ahead of me...Damn You Two.  And damn those PV changes!

here's the data for all you nerds :)

Hockey update TBA

I think I'm doing the update this week. But I'm never punctual with these things. Blame it on the marking hell I"m in currently.  It'll be done, just maybe tomorrow.....

Hockey update TBA

sorry, it was a late start to the day so the hockey update will be late. probably late PST. sorry :)

For ScienceGirl

Its a virtual baby shower! Woohoo! Our very own ScienceGirl is going to become a mom to a little girl. I'm so excited to have another person to talk to about poop. Yep, new parents talk alot about poop. Since monkey is already 3 and we're still talking about it, I figure it goes on for long time.

I try to not give advice to new parents, because I really hated hearing about all the things I should do. However, there are some things I wish some one did say to me so here's what I wish someone told me:

• Go shopping. Happy mommy makes a happy baby. I was sick of my maternity clothes by the time I gave birth, but obviously did not fit into my regular clothes. I strongly believe that no one should be trying to lose in 2 months, what took 9 months to build (that tummy that housed and cared for your little bundle of joy is not going to disappear overnight - Nor should it!). I bought cheap transition clothes that let me feel like I was wearing clothes that fit me and I looked good in. Happy mommy makes a happy baby.
• It is OK to want to throw your baby out the window. For some reason everyone thinks you're supposed to want to be with the baby all the freaking time and that suddenly you're this amazingly patient person that doesn't mind having their life run by a baby. Its frustrating and its OK to be frustrated. The problem become if you actually throw the baby out.
• It is OK to put yourself first. Happy mommy make a happy baby.
• It is OK not to breastfeed. I breastfed for > year and LOVED it, but I realize that some woman can not / do not want to be attached that way. Its OK. Do what is best for you. Happy Mommy makes a happy baby.

You might be noticing a theme here, Happy Mommy = Happy Baby. I encourage you to do what makes you happy, both mentally and physically. There is so much pressure on woman these days to be the perfect mom, to do this for your baby because OMG if you don't you're ruining their life. In my short time as a mom, I've realized that when I'm not mentally or physically happy its the jumping off point for monkey to be unhappy. So yeah, maybe monkey is going to be in daycare for one more hour so that I can get a mental break, but I will be a better mom because of that break.

I wish you so much happiness and health. Congratulations!

Marking Purgatory

I am marking again. I need a break, so perhaps maybe you do as well? Well if you're at all geeky you'll appreciate this. I did.

And you would be??

I have been wondering about who my readers are for the last week or two, so the relaunching of the who are you? meme at DM's place is kinda fortuitous. I think I am a science blog, so I'm considering myself tagged. I do science, but I tend to focus more on the monkey than anything else...

So who are you? Why do you read? Great to meet you!

The BBC Book Meme

I'm a little late to the party, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE books. I do not get to read many anymore, but I would read novels all day if I could. I've taken this from ScienceWoman, she had a BBC book list and then a real book list

BBC Book List

Apparently the BBC reckons most people will have only read 6 of the 100 books here.
Instructions:
1) Look at the list and put an 'x' after those you have read. (I'll bold)
2) Add a '+' to the ones you LOVE.
3) Star (*) those you plan on reading.

My list is below the fold.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen+
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling*
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien++++++
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck 29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Berniere
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Miln
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery +++++
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood++++
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett -+
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte's Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad (had to read this for english 101, hated it)
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl ++
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo.

I've only read 19, gosh I totally would've thought I would be higher up

OK, here the second list from the BBC big read website.

1. The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien
2. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
3. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman
4. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling
6. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
7. Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne
8. Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell
9. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis
10. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë
11. Catch-22, Joseph Heller
12. Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë
13. Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks
14. Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier
15. The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger
16. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
17. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
18. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
19. Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres
20. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
21. Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
22. Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, JK Rowling
23. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling
24. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling
25. The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien
26. Tess Of The D'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy
27. Middlemarch, George Eliot
28. A Prayer For Owen Meany, John Irving
29. The Grapes Of Wrath, John Steinbeck
30. Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
31. The Story Of Tracy Beaker, Jacqueline Wilson
32. One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Gabriel García Márquez
33. The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett
34. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
35. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
36. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
37. A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute
38. Persuasion, Jane Austen
39. Dune, Frank Herbert
40. Emma, Jane Austen
41. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery+
42. Watership Down, Richard Adams
43. The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
44. The Count Of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
45. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
46. Animal Farm, George Orwell
47. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
48. Far From The Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy
49. Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian
50. The Shell Seekers, Rosamunde Pilcher
51. The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett+
52. Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck
53. The Stand, Stephen King
54. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
55. A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth
56. The BFG, Roald Dahl
57. Swallows And Amazons, Arthur Ransome
58. Black Beauty, Anna Sewell
59. Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer
60. Crime And Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
61. Noughts And Crosses, Malorie Blackman
62. Memoirs Of A Geisha, Arthur Golden
63. A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
64. The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCollough
65. Mort, Terry Pratchett
66. The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton
67. The Magus, John Fowles
68. Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
69. Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett
70. Lord Of The Flies, William Golding
71. Perfume, Patrick Süskind
72. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Robert Tressell
73. Night Watch, Terry Pratchett
74. Matilda, Roald Dahl
75. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding
76. The Secret History, Donna Tartt
77. The Woman In White, Wilkie Collins
78. Ulysses, James Joyce
79. Bleak House, Charles Dickens
80. Double Act, Jacqueline Wilson
81. The Twits, Roald Dahl
82. I Capture The Castle, Dodie Smith
83. Holes, Louis Sachar
84. Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake
85. The God Of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
86. Vicky Angel, Jacqueline Wilson
87. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
88. Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons
89. Magician, Raymond E Feist
90. On The Road, Jack Kerouac
91. The Godfather, Mario Puzo
92. The Clan Of The Cave Bear, Jean M Auel
93. The Colour Of Magic, Terry Pratchett
94. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
95. Katherine, Anya Seton
96. Kane And Abel, Jeffrey Archer
97. Love In The Time Of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez
98. Girls In Love, Jacqueline Wilson
99. The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot
100. Midnight's Children, Salman Rushdie

11, Not bad.

The answers are...drumroll....

Well I guess you need to know the questions first don't you? Actually you probably need to know why I'm answering five questions. Well it all started out (for me) from Cath@VWXYnot. I thought it was cool way to get to know a blogger, so figured I would play along. If you want to play along, the rules will be posted after.

Here are the Questions and Answers:

1) You changed labs recently. Any regrets?
Hell no!!! Do I miss some of the folks I worked with? Totally. I do not miss the drama, lack of direction, or the infighting. What I am most sad about is that amazing FPD#1, who pushed me to leave does not keep in touch. FPD#2 does and I'm so glad for it as she's really cool. I sometimes wonder why she was so adamant that the best thing for me was to go, but then doesn't keep in touch. Oh well, it was the best thing for me and that is what matters.

2) When Monkey is old enough, will you show him the posts you've written about him? (Some of them are just so adorable!)
Good question. I really don't know. I do want him to know how much I love him and what a true monkey he is / was, but how would I show him some posts and not others? I still have to explain the MIL kerfuffle and I am sure there will be future posts bitching about his dad. Oh and yah, my language is not always young person appropriate. I am pretty sure that I will share all these experiences with him, I'm just pretty sure that they would have some serious editing/revisionism in them.

3) Describe your perfect weekend?
Ooh that is hard. Hmm, let me think for a moment.

A perfect weekend would be sunny, monkey would be not sick and would be well behaved and most importantly the mister would be home. We would not have to go to any family functions or have to run a million and one errands. We would be able to chill, go to the aquarium and have fun hanging out together has a family. Of course there would be gourmet food and excellent wine every night!

4) What you would be doing if you hadn't gone into science?
I think I would be working in the financial industry, probably doing PR/Marketing of some sort. I was first going to say that I would be working in the healthcare field but I think that would've led me back to science.

5) Can not be posted or answered as it may reveal too much information!!
Actually I think most of you have figured out what HomeCity is but just in case, I'm not answering this one :)


Now it's your turn! Do you want to be interviewed?

If you do - here are the rules:

1. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me" AND leave your email address (or blog link) in the comment!
2. I will respond by emailing you (or commenting on your blog with) five questions. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions. (If you don't have a blog, I can post your answers here).
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Meme time

It Sunday Night and I really would like to write a thoughtful blog on all of the million themes going through my mind. I have literally written about 7 posts in my head just as I'm falling asleep, on my way to work, on my way home, while I'm cooking, even in the shower. But what do I do when I finally get a chance to blog, I bitch about the mister using my towel! Haha.
Now that I once again have a chance to blog, instead of writing those amazing posts, I'm going to do that random meme that has been going around. Its not my fault really, I have midterms to mark combined with a sick boy - my brain is working on reserve power.
I was tagged by Amanda, and will attempt to tag someone that has not yet been tagged, as well as trying to move beyond the sciencey blogs that I usually read. You should all know that rules but if you don't:

The Rules

1. Link to the person who tagged you. -
   
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write 6 random things about yourself.
4. Tag 6 people at the end of your post and link to them.
5. Let each person you have tagged know by leaving a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry has posted.

I grew up wanting to be a housewife. I know funny because I could never be a housewife. I would go bat shit crazy, and am way to stubborn and independent to be a happy housewife. But for a long time, I thought I would be happy staying home and having babies. It makes me laugh thinking about. I don't think Mr.SM even knows that. He'll have a chuckle tonight :)

I have perfect vision in my right eye but my left eye has astigmatism and poor peripheral vision. As you can imagine this makes staring down a stereoscope very painful. Yes I know I can use my glasses while looking down a scope but I have yet to adapt to that.

I sometimes wonder what life would like be if. As in what if I never met Mr.SM, if I went away to prestigous university for my undergrad, if if if..

My best friend died at the beginning of my second year in university. I have always been happy I stayed home and had that extra year with him.

I still reach for the phone to call my him when good or bad things happen. When I met Mr.SM, found out I was pregnant, gave birth, grandfather died etc.

I have no living grandparents. Just grandparents -in-law.

Who to tag? Who to tag? I tag: Am I a woman scientist?, PhizzleDizzle, ScienceMama, Mel@onein36million, R.E.S.EA.R.C.H.E.R.S and last but not least lets see if sciencewoman will play!

Yeah, I GOT bragging rights!

Thats right, I was awarded Bragging Rights from Cath. I'm sharing them with Dr.J over at R.E.S.E.A.C.H.E.R.S, who was commenting about those smug tories.
Like any true hockey fan that lives outside of Toronto, I despise the Toronto Maple Leafs. The only way I would ever ever cheer for them, is if they were the only Canadian team left in the playoffs. Even that would be hard. But just so y'all know, I wasn't hating on Chall for loving the leafs. I can't blame someone for loving the leafs anymore than I could hate on someone for being a conservative. I don't necessarily get you for choosing to be conservative, but I wouldn't hate you. It was that she slammed my beloved Detroit Red Wings. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE LOVE LOVE don't ever jump off the bandwagon no matter how much they annoy the crap out me LOVE my home team. I just also LOVE Brendon Shanahan and Steve Y.
Apparently her dig at the wings was a misunderstanding, and I think we're friend now. Or am I wrong Chall?

Woot Woot!!!

I am excited on a number of fronts:

1. The boy is healthy again. He's eating, climbing and bouncing off the walls as per his usual self. Most importantly he is sleeping at night!
2. Canada has 13 medals! 1 more than I predicted and we haven't even had all the kayaking & canoing finals. Go Canada Go!
   
3. I was nominated for a weblog award! I totally didn't expect this and am honored that Amanda thought of me.

I would like to think I am a considerate blogger, so I am passing this award on. Here are the rules:

1. Put the logo on your blog.
2. Add a link to the person who awarded you.
3. Nominate at least seven other blogs.
4. Add links to those blogs on your blog.
5. Leave a message for your nominee on their blog.

Who to nominate? This is the hard part as there are so many awesome blogs out there, some which have already been nominated by others, candid engineer, madhatter, VWXYNot. Here we go:

• IsisTheScientist for making me think of things I normally wouldn't, and for making me laugh when she blogs about things I do think about.
• Dr.Jekyll and Mrs.Hyde for giving me hope in science.
• EcoGeoFemme for blogging about how to get it done. She is taking the bull by the horns.
• I have to nominate the bean mom for both introducing me to these awesome science blogs AND for being a wicked scientist and mother
• AcmeGirl for talking about the challenges of being a mom AND a graduate student in the biological sciences - it can be done!
• Now on with some of those mommy blogs that just make me hoot:
• Mel for being a great listener and for some excellent coping tricks. Yeah happiness journals
• HerBadMother for her complete and utter honesty about motherhood and her excellent take on feminist issues.
• Tania at ChickyChickyBaby, who I wished lived in my neck of the woods instead of hers.

Lame Music Meme

I don't usually do these meme's but since I've hounded Mad Hatter AND VWXYNot about their choices, how anyone could call Bon Jovi or Byran Adams Summer of '69 lame is beyond my comprehension. Also, technically I've been tagged as I did have an ipod within six feet of me. Here is my lamest music:

Karma Chameleon - Culture Club*
Walk Like an Egyptian - The Bangles*
Don't Worry be happy - Bobby McFerrin
I'll make love to you - Boyz II Men
1999 - Prince**

I could not bring myself to put anything by George Michael on the List because I LOVE him (I soo could make him go straight) though I know so many people (including Mr.SM) that would've had him at the top of the list

* Yes lame but SO AWESOME for getting me pumped up at the "I am exhausted and could not run another km" point of my run (power walks now).
**1999 is only lame because we really can't party like its 1999 unless we (I) want to admit to trying to relive our (my) CraZy youth

Who do I tag? Anyone who thinks any of the above is NOT lame :)

More bits and bobs

A lady scientist led me to stirrup queen's comment marathon, and I think its great! I've made a diligent effort to list on the blogs I read, but admit to not delurking from many of them. This will force me to introduce myself to a whole cast of bloggers and in the process hopefully I will get to know few more of you. I will give myself till after the 28th to start though, as I really should not be adding to my procrastination enabling tool box.

******
I was at the park the other day when a friends son starting hitting the monkey. Monkey gets beat up on a regular basis by my niece, and I don't interfere because I want monkey to learn to interact with his peer group. However at the same time if he was hitting another kid, I would stop him to teach him that it is not appropriate behaviour. Why is it okay for me to interfere when he's being bad but yet not to want other moms to correct their kids? How do you find the balance between correcting behaviour and encouraging them to stand up for themselves??

******
Yet another depressing report about women leaving science, this time leaving industry for a variety of reasons, including lack of life / work balance and a macho culture. I heard about this article from a yahoo story sent to me by Mr. SM. He read the article and thought, my wife has been making this point to me all year, wow she was right and they are finally listening. I love Mr. SM for being all optimistic for thinking hey they're listening and doing something about it. But thats not how I read the article. I think some companies are recognizing the challenges and embracing policies the address the concerns, but what stuck out the most to me was that major companies were not looking at the root of the problem and trying to establish HR policies that would enable highly intelligent, well-trained women to not have to choose between family and work, but were instead lobbying the US congress to enable more foreign males / females to come in. I will say more foreign trained women will also be coming, but both genders will be making significant sacrifices to come to a "better country". They will be leaving husbands/wives, children and extended support system to come to the US (and / or Canada as I am sure we are facing similar challenges) with the hopes of gaining citizenship. I have seen the emotional toll its has taken on these individuals and its not right. Here in Canada, there have been numerous studies done in the Filipino community examining the challenges faced by the women who left there homeland (and children) to care for anothers' family. I am sure these challenges and repercussions are felt regardless of skill level. Work - Life balance is a gender neutral issue, my own PI is failing amazingly at balancing after meeting a women, falling in love and having a child. Its great because he recognizes why I'm struggling but it sucks because why do we expect such crazy long hours?