I am reminded...

[happychemist]

...of the long ten-hour car trips my family would take together to Maryland to visit our relatives there. "Close to You" by The Carpenters came on the radio and I was reminded of my parents' love for soft rock.

Imagine my eight-year-old brother and I (a very mature nine years old) singing along...:p

Anyhow, I gave a seminar to my department on Friday. I went out my mind with nerves in preparing, and I was almost positive I was going to burn someone's eye out with the laser pointer with stray gesturing, but after about five minutes, I achieved "lecture" zen and stayed relatively all right.

It went surprisingly well and I really can't talk about it without feeling a little embarrassed; my mental picture of how it went never quite accurately reflects how it *really* went. Anyhow, it's cool because my friends and colleagues know what I've been working on, and people enjoyed it, and I think that in time I will admit that I enjoyed it and benefited from the experience.

Today was extremely lazy. I didn't get up until noon and I spent this afternoon/evening/night reading wendybarron's Every Arrear of Civility...well done, Wendy!

But as I didn't get up until noon, kit is now 1:30 am and I can't fall asleep quite yet...methinks it's time to hammer out the rest of chapter 3 of Emma Experiments...

Comments

[mklutz]

Congratulations on surviving! I always shake maddly -- my whole body and my voice -- even if mentally, I'm not nervous.

[happychemist.livejournal.com]

I'll agree with that assessment completely; I think the times that I get up and find myself trembling without warning or at least a "warmup" tremble are the scariest.

[mklutz]

Definitly. Humans are weird... >_>

The Carpenters!

[the-marchioness.livejournal.com]

We used to listen to them on road trips as well. I remember we used to think the lyrics were, "I've got a chicken to ride." Nobody ever thought it made much sense, but that's what we all agreed the words were. Then, years later, I discovered it was, "I've got a ticket to ride." Well, that made much more sense! :)

Re: The Carpenters!

[happychemist.livejournal.com]

Hehehehe! I'll never be able to hear that song without thinking about that.

For me, it used to be the Pledge of Allegiance. Instead of "and to the republic for which it stands" it came out "and to the republic of witches' dance"

Re: The Carpenters!

[the-marchioness.livejournal.com]

I used to say witches too! That's what comes of being taught how to say the Pledge of Allegiance before one could read and without really being taught the meaning of the pledge, only how to say it. When I finally say the words, it was another one of those epiphany moments of Ohhhhh. ;P

[adventurat.livejournal.com]

Yay for you with the lecture zen; I'm sure it went every bit as well as you think it did.
I went to California with my parents for spring break 1977 - the song "Blue Bayou" by Linda Ronstadt will forever and always remind me of that road trip. :-)

And hey, we have the same layout (but in different colours)! Whee!

[happychemist.livejournal.com]

Whee indeed! Road trip songs really are the best!

My dad liked...

[alysonl.livejournal.com]

...old country music. I think I can sing along with every Johnny Cash song, and Eddie Arnold and Marty Robbins. We had a whole box of 8-tracks that we shuffled between the van and the boat of 50s country. I had no idea at the time that every family didn't know the same songs!

Congrats on the seminar. *go you*

Re: My dad liked...

[happychemist.livejournal.com]

Thanks. Hahaha! Yeah, I wasn't completely aware most kids didn't know Carpenters until I was in a store one day and unwittingly began singing along. My friends all turned me and looked at me like I'd grown antlers.

Back then, I was insecure enough to stop and not want to sing anymore in my life.

Given what I know now, I think I would have kept on singing :p

[worldmaker-13.livejournal.com]

Congrats on getting into the zen lecture zone. It's great you were able to relay what you know and everything. :-)

And hey! I know the Carpenters as well. I think my dad was the big fan versus my mom ;-D

[happychemist.livejournal.com]

Thanks :)