Grant's Womb

It is an absolute relief to write this blog entry today. Not necessarily because writing in my blog is so cathartic, but because writing in my blog is not writing about the mitochondrial permeability transition pore, or "mPTP" for you ignorant, ignoramouses (insert deep, echo-y hallway laugh here). As weak of a segue as that may have been, let me introduce you to my new friend, "Grant". Grant is one of those tiny people who appear frail, but when pushed, can leave a shark bite in a shark. Sounds like an asshole? Well, lately Grant has been just that. Never happy, always taciturn, and inconsistently cantankerous. But the more we get to know each other, the more we get along. I'm not going to say we don't have our fights (partly because he has kept me from my good friend, "Beer"), but by September 5th, he should be (ahem...WILL BE) mature enough to live on his own, and then I can get back to spending more time with Beer. Simply put, I am but a temporary womb for Grant, providing him with nutrients, time, encouragement, and occasional anecdotes to remind him of the little parasite that he his: the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Service Award, a.k.a., the "NRSA".

Yes, I should be working on my NRSA grant right now. But I've got 30 minutes until I meet with my advisor about my "Specific Aims" page, so what better window do I have to procrastinate and feed my soul to the binary universe. Since my last post, I have repeated an entire set of experiments in four days (which, of course, consumed a weekend), I spent quality time with my girlfriend's parents visiting from Tennessee, which included a four-day stint near Crater Lake, I chased down my ex-dog that ran away in southeast Portland while on a move with my "Ex" from Sioux Falls to San Francisco (yes, that is a little odd, but "Petey" was found), I am scheduled to "volunteer" this weekend at the 2006 Portland International Beer Fest (yes, I get to hang out with Beer briefly. And his friends), I have been sweating like hell under a magnifying glass, courtesy of the world's automobile addiction, my aunt from Dallas, TX flies into Portland today with Lance Armstrong (yes, also a little odd), there is a farewell outing tonight for Matt (*see earlier post...or don't), who is leaving tomorrow for a month-long neuroscience ed-you-kashon in Wood's Hole, MA...

And I've been working on my F*&%-n' grant. Except for right now. Yes, it's a busy time for Dustin. And that won't likely change anytime soon, as Grant is sure to overstay his welcome as my brother arrives for a 10-day Pacific Northwest sojourn on August 8th. But my brother's visit will provide a nice intermission from all the writing, especially our planned camping trip with about 8 other friends. Alas, to live busy is to be alive. "Wow, that's so deep, Dustin; so profound! Ghandi couldn't have said it better. You should really spend more time writing with such elegant words, especially about science."

Thanks, Grant.

...asshole.