Musings on my neverending quest for sugar

Woh

Since when was I able to do a bracket? Or BO3-mohawks around the hockey circle?

O.O

Maybe I don't suck at footwork as much as I thought I did! :D

posted by sugarfiend @ 5:49 PM 0 comments

*snerk*

Sometimes I feel like I'm harboring a lot of anger and resentment.

Either that, or I have a particular taste for schadenfreude.

Heh. I wonder if that's wrong....

But if that's wrong, then I don't wanna be right. :)

posted by sugarfiend @ 8:08 AM 0 comments

Post-Olympic happenings

So yeah, the ladies LP is over (and for those on the East Coast, the NBC broadcast is starting now so I won't say anything about that at the moment) and I realized I hadn't said anything about the competition yet, LOL!

Yaaaaaay Jeff for winning the bronze! I was hoping that he would've skated better in the SP, but he came back strong for the LP and didn't back down on those pesky triple axels! You showed 'em who was boss!

Ooh ooh, and congrats to Evan Lysacek for having the skate of a lifetime. He was completely devastated after his disastrous SP, and was sick as a dog the day after, but he came back and skated a blinder the next day. He didn't medal, but I hope he's mucho proud of his performance.

:( for Johnny Weir. I was watching live on CCTV and going, "What the hell is he DOING? Not AGAIN!!" Eventually he'll learn not to make up stuff mid-program or skip jumping passes. Eventually....plus all of these articles about his ridiculous spending habits don't quite make me respect him any more. Meh.

On another note, yaaaaaay Matt Savoie! I was afraid that the Olympic moment would totally overwhelm him, but I was left going, "You SO didn't!" when he landed his second triple axel. Again! (First time was Nationals, LOL...)

Cheers for Tanith and Ben getting the silver in ice dance! A few months ago, they weren't even sure if they were going to be there, but then a lovely poster on FSU (a lawyer) worked pro bono to get her citizenship, as well as Maxim Zavozin's, through at the last minute. Job well done!

And I've gotten yet another insanely crazy idea, and it looks like it's actually going to happen: I'm going to Worlds next month in Calgary! It would have been more helpful if I had decided this earlier, so the flights would've been better, but meh. I'll have all spring break to work on my thesis and study for tests, so I won't feel too bad about skipping classes to go. :P Plus, it's my senior year and it's about high time I had a rockin' spring break. Even if it involves figure skating. Or rather, especially if it involved figure skating.

I'm planning to attend the men's LP (of course!), the ladies SP and LP, and the free dance. I would have loved to go to all of the events, but missing three labs is too much, even for me. I'm lucky that all of my lab days are during the first half of the week, and not interspersed. I knew there had to be a reason for all of the lab day changes that took place the first week of the semester. :) (There's always a reason for everything, I say.)

I'm so excited! This is going to be my first competition, so hopefully my heart can take it, LOL. The morning of the men's SP, I was literally hyperventilating in class. (The caffeine and sugar probably didn't help much.) It was quite hilarious - I was half-listening, half-taking-notes, half-working on a drawing for a biological illustration internship, and half-freaking out of my mind. I wasn't too nervous for any of the other disciplines, probably because my body had taken enough stress for the week and I didn't have enough energy for it anymore. :P

posted by sugarfiend @ 5:30 PM 0 comments

Olympic happenings....

Michelle withdrew. :( I am sadness.

Shen & Zhao skated relatively well, even if they're in 5th so far. But Zhao didn't seem to mess up his Achilles any further and Shen looked ecstatic to be there, so yeah. :) It's so good to see them back.

Men's SP start order is already up. Jeff is in the first group (as well as Daisuke and Plushy HAH!) which starts at 10AM PST. I will be in class during that time, which obviously means I won't be able to watch it live on my computer. This is probably for the sake of my health, LOL.

But on the topic of watching the Olympics live: I sooo <3 Chinese TV (CCTV5 to be exact) and the internet, and the fact that the two come together so beautifully in the form of PPLive. Plus, they're showing more sports and more athletes than NBC would ever dream of showing. And their commentators don't talk during programs. :) Glory hallelujah.

By now NBC would be on the 20th broadcast of Michelle's press conference and her withdrawal, but no, CCTV5 is showing luge. :P

posted by sugarfiend @ 9:13 AM 0 comments

My hypothetical PETA letter

After getting yet another mailing from PETA claiming that animal experimentation is the devil incarnate, I felt like writing a letter to PETA asking them to stop their mailings and tell them how offended I am by their accusations.

And then I read this and decided that it was probably better to throw away their mailing and keep their silly nickel.

But if I were to give a plea on the behalf of biologists everywhere to a non-extremist member of PETA, it would go something like this:

What is wrong about PETA and their agenda is that they assume that everyone doing research is heartless and has no respect for animals. That is completely and wholly untrue. I can't speak for the food and cosmetic industry, but everyone (and I do mean everyone) that I've worked with in labs using animals has felt regret that what they do involves the taking of lives. We try our best to minimize their pain and suffering, and there are serious ramifications if we don't.

We are biologists because we are fascinated by the phenomenon of life and want to know about how it works. I always feel guilty about having to kill animals for dissection and yet enjoy the process of dissecting them, because I had to destroy life to see how it works. However, that's the reality of working to uncover the truth about life itself - in order to study it, you have to destroy it.

And after reading that article, I am extremely saddened that those extremists target university research labs, since those have been the places I've seen great respect for animal life. If those jerks want to target someone, they might as well go after the dairy, meat, and poultry industry, cause even researchers know that they mistreat animals bred for food. Don't go after the people searching for truth, dammit.

posted by sugarfiend @ 8:32 PM 0 comments