The Palit Plan

Those of you who are close to me know that in many ways my family's motto seems to be "the plan is to have no plan." This perpetual gray area, if you will, has become the norm for the four of us and naturally lends itself to a lifestyle in which spontaneity is anything but just that -- rather, it is to be expected. For years I have battled with this last-minute, haphazard planning (if you can call it planning), but I now believe I have reached a point in my life where I recognize the futility in fighting it and have finally embraced it.

That said, I booked my airline tickets to India last night. I will be leaving DTW on Christmas Eve, returning January 9th (staying for 2 weeks), and I couldn't be more excited. The one catch is, however, that I'll be making this trek for the first time in 11 years...alone. My sister is already abroad and in typical Palit fashion, my parents just sprung on me that they will be jetting off to the subcontinent on the 12th. November 12th. That leaves me as the only one of four immediate Palit family members in the U.S. for Thanksgiving and sans the necessary immunizations and an Indian Visa I need with less than 2 months to go. However, if I've learned anything from the aforementioned "Palit Plan," it is to never underestimate. Although I tend to be a black and white, type "A" traveler, my Mom and Dad are true jet-setters and would never put me in a remotely dangerous situation. Believe me, these people wear safety goggles when they change light bulbs. But, that doesn't mean I'm not slightly anxious and intimidated at the thought of getting around Mumbai Airport at 3:30 am, hauling my luggage to the Domestic Terminal for my flight into Calcutta. I mean, this is same person who was thrilled not even a year ago when I rode a public bus in Chicago and almost peed my pants with excitement every time we rode the Metro in NYC this past September. Oy.

In the end, I'm slightly nervous about the long flight times and being by myself but I'm bursting with excitement at the thought of seeing my family again, experiencing Bombay, and perhaps becoming a little more travel savvy. Hmm...I guess this isn't a bad segue into my European Adventure planned for Summer 2005. *wink.

Drive-by post

Okay, Halloween pics coming soon (I promise!) and thank goodness tomorrow is Friday! Sure, I'm getting ahead of myself, but I plan on relaxing in a big, bad way this weekend.

Maybe heading out tonight to start the weekend a little early. *wink.

xoxox

This weekend was equally fun and exhausting. The Halloween party was a success (I think!) and I hope that everyone had a good time. Josh and I decorated the apartment so as to achieve maximum spookiness and I think the goodies that I made were cute and fun. I was happy to see that everyone at least put effort into their costumes and seemed to have fun dressing up - heck, I can't believe someone (besides myself) actually proposed that we go to the Brown Jug around 12:30...in costume...to keep the party going! It must have been pretty funny to see a hodge podge of costumed college and grad school kids walking down South U a week shy of Halloween. I'll definitely post my pictures tomorrow.

Now that the party is over, it's time to get serious about my secondary applications. I plan on devoting any and all free time this week to essay-a-writin' and biographical information-a-fillin'. I'm hoping to have all of them completed and mailed out by this Friday so that I can enjoy my weekend fully. I'm not quite sure what my plans are for Halloween weekend - I'm flirting with the idea of going home so that I can pass out candy to the kiddies, but I'd also like to go out around Ann Arbor. We'll see; I'll let you know the plan post-hump this week.

In other news, I've somehow managed to drop my cell phone enough times and at such high speeds that I have completed disintegrated the LCD screen. The phone itself still works, but I just can't see who, if anybody, I'm calling. As far as outgoing calls, I'm probably only going to be able to dial Josh and my parents because I know where they are located on my speed dial (3 and 5, respectively). Oy. I don't know if I can afford to spring for a new phone right now, but I might not have any other choice. Technology stinks.

The plan tonight is to make a warm dinner and maybe head to Starbucks for coffee and applications. Somewhere in there, I'm planning on stopping by Carrie's to drop off her birthday present since today is her birthday. Yay! Have a good night :)

Happy 22nd Birthday, Carrie!

xoxox

Quote of the day:

(from yesterday, 10/21)

My co-worker, Brad: "After reading your email, I couldn't help but think, 'Gosh, could there possibly be a cuter Halloween party invitation?'"

Yay! :D

I almost forgot! Here's a Halloween joke I made up...all by myself!

* * * * * * * *

Q: Knock Knock!

A: Who's there?

Q: Ivan!

A: Ivan who?

Q: I-vant to suck your blood!

Haha! See? I told you I'm naturally spooky :)

xoxox

Over the hump

Well...the good news is that we've officially entered the second half of the week. The bad news is that I haven't started construction on my Halloween costume yet. Yikes! At least it's comforting to know that I'm not that far behind some of my party guests who have actually come to ME for their costume ideas. I guess I should be flattered - I am, afterall, *naturally spooky* as Josh and I agreed today. I mean, I have a late September birthday (I WAS due in mid-October), I love Halloween very, very much, I have a sweet tooth, and I do a pretty good vampire impression. *sigh* I love this time of year - muhuwahahaha! (expect a few more of those this season).

Today was a good day for me. Work went by pretty quickly, I had a fun sushi/lunch date with Carrie, and I got some good dental school news when I callled home. I don't want to get too ahead of myself, but I have two interviews and am pretty excited. I'll keep you posted as to the outcomes. Also expect to hear about the soon forthcoming hassle of finding an affordable suit that fits. All in all, this is an exciting time for me :)

I guess that's it for now. Somehow my evenings always fly by and it's suddenly 12:30 and I don't end up getting to bed until close to 2. The plan now is to put away my laundry and hit the hay early. If all goes according to plan, I'll be up working on my secondaries tomorrow morning before work...or compiling a list of spooooky songs for the party soundtrack.

Sweet dreams.

xoxox

Boo!

Don't be scared -- it's just me and I am in full Halloween mode.

My Halloween party is just 4 days away and I'm cooking up plenty of ideas so that it's the spookiest one in town! I wish I could borrow various lab equipment from work and run with the whole "mad scientist" theme (green, bubbling punch served in beakers and flasks!), but that is unfortunately impossible - and probably an OSHA violation too. Oh well - I'll just have to make do with the bags full of Halloween decorations I borrowed from my Mom and Dad. I actually had to leave a heads-up note for Julia on the white board this morning letting her know that I've got a skeleton in the closet -- literally -- so that she didn't get scared out of her wits when she went to hang up her jacket. Haha. I laughed about that all day today.

Anyhow, please RSVP to me if you're planning on coming and if I accidentally forgot to invite you, please send me an email and join the fun on Saturday. The more the merrier :)

xoxox

New Blog Address

Because I am an irresponsible schmuck sometimes, I completely forgot that UM Computing Services are yanking the rug out from underneath my feet at noon today. Oops! That means no more UM email (although you can continue to email me at spalit@umich.edu - it will be forwarded) and no more weblog IFS space. I am planning on switching the ol' blog over to a different site still run by blogger and am hoping that I can have the url:

http://youareyoung.blogspot.com

Give that a try in your web navigator and/or I'll try to post back when I figure this out.

xoxox

Today is one of those "nobody likes me, everybody hates me" kind of days. Again. Hopefully some sangria with friends at Dom's after work will help lift my spirits.

The plan for this weekend is to head back home to GR. Tomorrow is my Daddy's birthday and although I won't be in town until Saturday morning, I'm hoping to celebrate with my parents then. I would also like to get a little bit of work done on my Halloween costume now that I've officially decided what I'm going to be (no...it's a secret). I wouldn't mind getting some Krispy Kreme at some point this weekend either. Damn this city with no Krispy Kreme.

Anyhow, have a wonderful weekend if you don't hear from me soon.

xoxox

p.s. - Unbelievable.

Here are two cute pics from our adventure in Royal Oak this weekend:





Shadi, Mary, me, Carrie

Monday, Monday

I used to work with a guy named Alan Monday and it was simply irresistible to sing that Mamas and Papas favorite to him at the beginning of every week.

Anyhoo...what's new? It's Monday once again. I swear the weekend is just long enough to tease me a little and then spit me back out into the working week. *sigh* Well, at least Monday Monday is over. My weekend was pretty good - Shadi came into town from NY and although I didn't get to spend as much time with her as I would have liked, it was still fun to see her. I watched the debate on Friday night and hung out with Carrie, Libby, Mary, Shadi, Josh, and Steve afterward. Saturday I got my oil changed, walked the pups at the Humane Society, fell asleep during a great Michigan game (oops! I didn't sleep well Friday night!) and stayed the night at Mary Money's house in Royal Oak. We went out briefly in R.O. but I think it had been a long day for the girls since they had gone to the game so we called it an early night. I'll definitely have to go back and check out the scene sometime; it seemed pretty cool.

Sunday I spent waaaaaay too much time (and money!) at WalMart. I try not to shop there because I completely disagree with their corporate practices but it's also the most feasible shopping on my budget. Uggggh. I must stop shopping there because I'd rather pay a little more to a store that doesn't discriminate. In the afternoon, Josh and I went up to Burns Park and threw around the football and played a little one-on-one basketball. Of course I am ZERO competition to "White Chocolate" on the court, but it was so much fun to be a little active. We've both become more sedentary than we would like to be and it was nice to enjoy the beautiful fall weather, even though my spiral is not what it used to be. Let's just say that my pipetting and throwing arm is sore like nobody's business today. Ouch.

I guess that's it. I might try to catch Spiderman 2 at the cheap movies tonight. Okay, why am I trying to play it cool? I'm GEEKED for the movie and am actually flirting with the idea of being Spiderman for Halloween. But that's for me to know and for you to find out...at my Halloween-y party! Details to be announced soon. Muhuwahahaha!

xoxox

At a loss for floss

Oh, life's little daily ironies.

Today was the perfect day to grab a veggie hot dog (or two) from the corner vendor on my lunch break. Unfortunately, as do many soy "meat" products, veggie hot dogs often have a thready consistency and after two of said hot dogs, I felt like I had an entire meal stuck between my teeth. I walked back to work, grabbed my toothbrush and paste for my usual after-lunch cleaning, and proceeded to vigorously and thoroughly brush my teeth.

After brushing for what had to have been more than 3 minutes, I could still feel soy hot dog between my teeth. I sat down at my bench to run an experiment but the feeling of food stuck in my teeth was killing me, so I decided to ask my co-worker Brad for some floss. I asked him specifically because Brad not only practices good oral hygiene but is also a licensed dentist. Much to my surprise, he said that he didn't have any because he flosses at home at night. It was then that I realized the comedy of the situation - I, being a prospective dental student with good oral hygiene myself, was in need of floss. My co-worker, a dentist, didn't have any, nor did anyone in our lab, which just happens to be located in the University of Michigan School of Dentistry. Just my luck.

Eventually, Brad found a rogue box of floss in some "supply closet" somewhere (he was unusually sketchy about this) and saved the day. But from now on, you'd better believe that mini sample box of floss is staying on my person at all times.

Today is National Depression Screening Day and this is National Depression Screening Week. For more information about this serious medical condition, click here.

Of Mice and Me

These past few weeks, I've quite literally come face to face with animal experimentation in science. I didn't see much of it the first few months I was working in labs but for some reason, mice bred for experimentation and I have recently seemed to cross paths numerous times. Obviously, this troubles me quite a bit. I've been a vegetarian for 3 years now - a lifestyle change I made deliberately out of concern for animal rights - and any confrontation with or knowledge of animal cruelty deeply saddens and upsets me.

I know the argument is that the research being conducted on these animals could potentially save millions of human lives someday, but isn't it sad and bizarre that the emphasis is solely on human lives? Can anyone honestly say that mice bred without immune systems, implanted with tumors, crammed in a cage, and then later killed are living cruelty-free lives? I'm not challenging the significant scientific advancements that have come with the "aid" of animal research, but rather a society that doesn't seem to respect or even consider the lives of any other creatures as valuable as its own. I find it hard to believe that a society as technologically and scientifically advanced as ours must continue to rely on animals for experimentation.

I've struggled recently with the hypocrisy of my working in research while supposedly championing animal rights. However, I have no long term commitment to research beyond this year and I know in my heart that I have a life-long commitment to the respect of and fight for animal lives.

Wow. I can't believe I've become a serious blogger slacker yet again. Oops.

I had a nice weekend which I will tell you about even though it's already Tuesday. Friday night I just hung out at home, made myself dinner, read the newspaper, and watched Jurassic Park (during which Josh of course fell asleep and we had to end the movie early - what's the point of watching a movie I've seen a billion times alone against the backdrop of his snoring?).

Saturday morning I made blueberry muffins for breakfast and went down to the Farmer's Market in search of some fresh flowers and pumpkin donuts. All I really got was a pint of raspberries and the disappointment of realizing that the $20.00 bill I took out of the ATM on Thursday had been spent at some point. I spent the rest of the afternoon helping Josh and his housemates prepare for their "We Have a Nice Backyard So We May As Well Use It" party which was a huge success. Their backyard and porch are perfect for hosting and a grill/cook-out and impromptu bonfire sealed the deal. Also, all of Josh's roommates are graduate students which makes a world of difference at a party: instead of all Top 40 hits, the music list included such favorites as "Almost Cut My Hair" and "Love In An Elevator"; I actually saw (on more than one occasion) party guests offering to help clean up, grill, or even defray the cost of food and drinks. Huh? People actually brought their own food, too - (in addition to standard cook-out fare provided by Josh and his roomies!) and I'm not just talking some pretzels and a mixed drink in a pop bottle, but some marinated chicken, tempeh, pasta salad, asparagus, and even an excessively large catfish filet for the grill. Crazy. Perhaps being witness to all of this extra courtesy and considerateness means that I've now graduated from parties - and a phase of life - offering up little more than Natty Light and whatever you can find to munch on in some stranger's cupboards. Who knows?

Sunday was pretty busy and started with my first day of volunteering at the Huron Valley Humane Society. I am now an official Dog Walker! :) Even though my only dog walking experience has been following around our 9 pound turd of a pet at home (I say this affectionately, Mom!), I think I'll eventually get used to being dragged around by 40-90 pound dogs. At any rate, those pups are so happy to just get out of their cramped cages for 10 minutes that they don't care if it's a fancy walk or just standing in the sunshine. This should be a fun experience. I also did my laundry, grocery shopping, and wardrobe switch to winter attire on Sunday. I won't lie that it wasn't heartbreaking to fold and put away dozens of cute dresses and skirts that didn't even see the outside of my closet this summer, but here's hoping I'm vacationing somewhere exciting next summer.

That's about it. Veep debate tonight at 9 and early to bed. *yawn* Have a good one.

xoxox

p.s. - Did I forget to mention that Shadi the Hottie is coming into A-squared this weekend? I must've done something right to get to see her twice in 5 weeks. I should have some fun stories and pictures about our shenanigans next week. Yay!