Billie Jean is not my lover

Billie Jean is a plant.   See the blue arrow pointing to the green thing?

That's her.

I spend a lot of time in the yard killing things (weeding).

I bought Billie Jean because I wanted to grow something.

And grow and flourish she did.  

Until a deer ate her.  I feel really sad.  Like for real sad.  

Bambi is my new favorite movie.

Today is the day after my birthday

Today is the day after my birthday.

I have poison ivy.

I guess it's better to have an ailment that's the result of being outside versus an ailment that's the result of just being old.

And, it's not an atomic bomb.

Today is my birthday

Today is my birthday.

I share this day with bombing of Nagasaki, in 1945.

It's not fun when your brain or life explodes around birthday time.

An atomic bombing helps keep it all in perspective.

Remembering What Happened

I was sad to hear that a colleague of my boss recently resigned his job at The New Yorker.  His name is Jonah Lehrer.  He's written a number of pieces but is best known for his two books "How We Decide" and "Imagine."

Actually, it's likely that now he'll best be known for his resignation from the New Yorker as the act stemmed from an admission that Bob Dylan quotes used in his book didn't have a source.

I met this guy.  I also handed him a condom that had a hand written note from my boss on the packaging - (my boss could not attend Jonah's book event but I was going so boss made me the messenger).

It's sad.  Really really sad.  And you also have to wonder how something like this could happen.  My boss just published a book on Dishonesty and some the thoughts he put forth in his book help me better understand what might have gone on.

I'm in the midst of reading a book called "The Night of the Gun" by David Carr.  Carr is now at the New York Times but spent a good chunk of his life on crack, cocaine, in jail, etc.  In an attempt to write a memoir Carr has to do some investigating and reporting on his own life because he was too fucked up to remember most of it.

At the suggestion of a friend I started another memoir called "Let's Pretend This Never Happened."

Both memoirs included prefaces about being as close to the truth as possible.  They pointed to the fallibility of our own memories and interpretations.  There is no intent to not tell the truth but that might happen anyway.

Perhaps this standard operating procedure in a post James Fry world?

I think how one remembers something is just as important as what actually happened.  A lot of my friends use online chat and they're able to dig into chat history and reference something that was "said" by another.  I'm not sure if that's better or worse than trying to piece together or replay a conversation.

Perhaps I need a disclaimer on my blog.

Story-athon

I entered a competitive story-telling competition put together by The Monti.

The theme was roommates.  Too many good stories not to share.

The took place at Motorco.  It was sold out.  

I got on stage and talked to a room full of strangers about masturbation.  Or thinking my roommate was masturbating when she was actually just using an electric toothbrush.

I was very happy with how it went.  I didn't win or anything (but I wasn't dead last).  All the judges were female.  I don't think that helped.

Doing this sort of thing is the Jamie I know.

If she doesn't scare you no evil thing will

There were a lot of things in the Olympic Opening Ceremony I did not expect.

The woman who brought terror to my nightmares for years was one of those things.

I am legitimately scared of this woman.  I'm hiding under the bed shaking.

I live in a house

And when it rains I collect it

Using any and all containers I can find

I feel like a hippie

Second Languages

One is not a translation of the other.
Crossfitglish and swimglish

I'm changing up my fitness plan. More swimming. Some tradeoffs.

Cross Fit = Alway bruised

Swimming = Always smell a little like chlorine

I live in a house

And I wonder what the neighbors think

I live in a house

And I weed at night

I live in a house

And I made dinner in it without burning it down

Doodling

There are big idea. And then there are enormous ones.

Before

After

Skiing in June

I'm in Colorado for an academic conference.  I have no idea what to expect.  There's a pre-conference hike I decide to join.  I'm a total unknown in this world but my boss is not so I decided to wear my uniform.  

I'm not so good at the small talk with this crowd.  I'm trying to figure out the industry pick up lines.  I talk to a few people about their research.  As they explain I'm doing everything I can do track it and figure how to best put it in colloquial terms.

Any articulation of those colloquial terms doesn't seem to go over very well during these conversations.  I'm not trying to oversimplify, overgeneralize or drop nuances.  I am thinking about how to make this accessible.

I remind myself that in any industry people sometimes don't realized they're only talking to themselves.

The hike was lovely.  I saw snow and pretended I was skiing on it.

My first academic conference. Might want to think about blending next time I'm in Hudson News buying some reading material

Things I like: Spontaneous Parades, Prosecco, Surfing and numbers that start with 646 and 917

Engaged. To the pool.

This is the smartest device ever.  Counts laps.

Oh book, how I would like to leave you the hotel drawers I am about to visit.

Working Lunch

Good swim, despite the clumsy finish.

Yay it's black and white.
I love my fans.

Green Machine

I thought about going on the juice diet for a few hours.
Then I decided to just eat more fruits and vegetables.
Then I decided to try this just to fully convince myself that the juice diet was not for me.

Much to my surprise it wasn't nasty.  It was actually OK.  Maybe that's just a function of my expectations.

I'm still not going on the juice diet though.

SUV Family Outing

The Edges of 15-501

Burning Question

And here's my answer

Rebecca

Ready, set, dough

I like to eat.  I like Triathlons.  I like the Dough Man (a relay triathlon where every leg starts off with eating).   

I'm not sure exactly what I ate this year because I dipped most of it in water and then swallowed.  I think it was fried green tomatoes and I know there was a bun.  The eating was followed by 2 miles of running.  No puking, though the feeling was right there (you get disqualified if you vomit).

Here's the team

Yes, those are rabbit pelts we're wearing as capes.  I'm not sure I'm ready to talk about it.

Why I Might Not Be A Good Social Scientist: Reason #5

After being a participant in a colleague's study:

"So I was in the bore me out of my mind condition, right?"

World Peace

If I were in a beauty pageant and asked what would make the world a better place I would skip right past world peace and answer "quantitative reasoning."

While that might not be the "it" answer on the beauty pageant circuit "quantitative reasoning" is definitely one of the things that would make the world a less stupid place.

I was contacted to speak about how I used quantitative reasoning when I worked in advertising.  Most of my examples focused on the maddening lack of statistical reasoning or the exploitation of it in the industry.

But when it comes to me thinking about business issues it's all reasonable, of course.

Ready, Set, Ramble

Ramblin' Rose triathlon.  My starter triathlon for the season. I need a triathlon to get me geared up (training) for the season. This one does the job. 



You know when you're going kind of slow on your bike you think "Maybe I have a flat/under-inflated tire?" That's what I was thinking when I was dragging the bike up a hill. And then I realized I actually did have a flat tire. A crew tried to help (twice) but I was without spare tube so I decided I would just run with the bike (there was no way I wasn't finishing). I'm not sure how far I ran when a volunteer offered me her bike. It was incredibly kind of her and once I was convinced she was serious about it we "traded" and I was off. 


So my bike time was abysmal and my run time eh because I'm not a great runner and I had already been running but I was very pleased with the swim time (17 percentile overall) and most importantly I'm all jazzed up about the rest of the season and that's the point. 


Full coverage can we found at W-JLF.

The original falling silhouette

I'm glad I knew this was a Hitchcock film.  Otherwise I really would have thought it was more ridiculous than I already did.  Still, about two hours into it I went to the theater lobby and Googled "vertigo Hitchcock running time."  It just went on and on and on and on and I had early morning plans for Sunday.

Signed copies posted on e-Bay. Let the bidding begin.

Placement in the magazine is the same as Glamour's "Do and Don't" section.  

I still can't do a pull up.

But I can do this

You had me at blanching and shocking

And now for Part Two of The Birthday Extravaganza.

It started off with a cooking class.  There were a few stations featuring different ingredients and recipes.  The Chef described each of them.

She got to the station with green beans.  She used the terms "blanching" and "shocking."

That settled it, I would be making the green bean dish.



After the cooking class we headed over to Durham Central Park and enjoyed the following activities

There was a near collision during the Blind Scavenger Hunt.
Fortunately those of us blindfolded had no idea.

After the hunt I put my blindfold in my purse.  

Of course I forgot it was there and pulled it out at an inopportune time.

Birthday Punch

Our lab put together a pre-birthday party, birthday party and post birthday party for our boss.

Why not celebrate your birthday three times?

The parties were all built around winnings from a charity auction.  

The Pre Party "The Punch" Report

The Pre-Birthday party featured two prizes

#1
Three singing self-proclaimed hot guys 

#2 One punching an MBA in the face (seriously).

In order to build the anticipation for the punch we had the three hot guys sing "Eye of the Tiger."  It was terrible in that good funny kind of way.

I don't think I've ever seen a real physical fight in person.  If I ever do witness one I kind of hope it's over me.  I mean, if you have to see that happen you might as well feel involved somehow.

The "bid" for the punch was not easy.  Our theory was the MBA who was getting punched was bidding on himself.  I had been anticipating this weird moment for quite some time.  

About a half hour before the party I started to feel really anxious about it.  I am definitely one of those "don't look" type people when things get really bloody or violent on screen (though sometimes I force myself to buck up and watch).  

This was just a punch but it was going to happen right in front of me.  I had every opportunity to "not look" but this whole situation was just too intriguing.  The MBA was doing this voluntarily.  My boss interviewed him before and after.  It was for charity.  It was going to happen whether or not I watched it.  I recognize this is just the type of thinking that has led to all sorts of human tragedy but there I was thinking it anyway.

The punched happened.  I flinched but looked.  

And then I laughed (laughter seems to be my default emotional response so I don't really know what that means).

And then it was over.   But the party wasn't.  This was the pre-brithday party.  We were just getting started.

Bat Woman

"There will be no workouts at Cross Fit Durham (CFD) this Sunday"

Sunday morning Cross Fit with Coach Paul is as close as I'll ever come to church (now that I think about it, I was actually at CFD this past Easter and Christmas).

So what in the hell was I going to do now?

Drive to Holly Springs, of course.

It was worth every $4.25 gallon of gas.

Coach Paul made some smart remark about how much I enjoy getting horizontal vertical.
His remark led to this fantastic picture.

It's all about balance.

I want to do another shot at CFD that shows faces and has a bunch of us upside down with our shoe color in rainbow order.  I have seen pretty much every color shoe so far.  I would like to own a rainbow set of sneakers.

"Give me one of everything I need an ID to buy"

We had a Secret Santa at work (yes, in April).  I got a young intern.  What can I get for this kid that he can't get himself?

I decided to find out.

I went to a corner store and said "Give me one of everything I need an ID to buy"

The gift also included cigarettes, cigars, chew, liquor & lottery tickets.

All wrapped in deceptively themed boxes & paper tied up with purple ribbons.

I was very underwhelmed by the magazine.  No articles.

A broken golf club makes a great pool stick

The Lab goes golfing.  This is this first redemption of one of many items from the charity auction.

I bid on two beginner golf lesson (boss paid) thinking it was something folks at the lab might not do on their own but would enjoy given the opportunity.

And that's exactly how it panned out.

Even the part where a co-worker broke my driver was funny.  The ball went nowhere.  The head of the club went flying.  I was stunned when it happened.  I didn't realize these things were breakable.  They are.  They are also fixable, fortunately.

The instructors told us that collared shirts and khaki pants were preferred.  I planned on stopping home and changing before the lesson but was held up.  So I arrived in a collared sweater and tank top.  It was just too hot for the sweater.

So, I golfed in a tank top.  An excellent or terrible choice, depending on your perspective.

I'm really good at picking up men

Protocol

I ran experiments for the better part of the afternoon.

People come in to the lab and we have them do tasks.

I work from a script I quickly memorized.

It felt kind of cold and robotic.  

But then I embraced the role and found it relaxing.  

And my lab-mates complimented my demeanor.

I really want a white coat now.

I chose death over diarrhea

Let's say I have colon cancer.  Here are my options.

Surgery A
Chance cured without complication 80%
Cured with colostomy 1%
Cured with chronic diarrhea 1%
Cured with intermittent bowel obstruction 1%
Cured with wound infection 1%
No cure (death) 16%

Surgery B
Chance cured without complication 80%
No cure (death) 20%

Without any time for consideration, I chose Surgery B.  Death over Diarrhea.

"Why?" the speaker at the Medical Decision Making talk I was attending asked the few of us who selected Surgery B.

For whatever reason when I thought about me having colon cancer I imagine I'm old.
Not that I know anything about age incidence and colon cancer.
And of course my children are financially independent and my life insurance and estate will be my parting gifts.

A bunch of stuff might be medically wrong with me at that age anyway.

And while it sounds dark, death is a certainty at some point.

If I die in surgery B I won't care.  I'm dead.  I can't care.

Both surgeries come with a possibility of survival and a possibility of death.  More chance I get cured than not.  I also have a notion that because something highly unlikely medically already happened to me I've paid my dues.  I understand this isn't an accurate notion at all.  But I have it nonetheless.

Something about Surgery B seems braver to me.   I've not really thought much about old lady Jamie but I would like to think she's brave.  Then again, I think about life with the aforementioned complications.  I would probably find humor in them because, well, I would have to.

As the speaker continues to talk I wonder if I'm kidding myself.

Would I really prefer death over diarrhea?