I realize it’s Wednesday, well just barely. It is 1:57, but finals season has hit and I completely forgot to update on Monday. Luckily, I haven’t had a lot of actual exams. Just presentations, however those take time to prepare so it’s about an even exchange. But I’m almost done with my first term in my Master’s program! Pretty successfully too. Happy with the friends I’ve made in both classes, I know at the very least I’ll be seeing two of them pretty often – especially since they’re labs are just down the hall from me. I have 1 exam next wednesday, and a final presentation (5-8 min long) in two weeks. Then freedom! Hopefully I’ll get the internship I applied for in Ann Arbor, otherwise I’ll be at Wayne State doing research, which wouldn’t be bad. More time to work on my research/thesis.

So this past week I’ve had a ton of annoying run-ins with people driving and using cell phones. During semi-rush hour traffic, it’s kind of unsettling to see 4 people in a row texting, or in some way messing with their touch screen phones (I can only assume they were texting, since that’s that motion they were using). followed by another 2 people talking on the phone, and visibly going slower because of it. There was a HUGE gap between the first car on the cell phone, and the one in front of it. I wont’ say I’m not guilty of texting and driving or talking and driving, but I try to text only when I’m stopped (or have Alex text for me). Talking on the phone I feel is a lesser offense, since at LEAST you can keep your eyes on the road. And I know some people can text without looking, but most phones these days are the QWERTY keyboards, and espeically touch screen ones, you generally need to look at it to type with any type of speed (or use two hands).  Either way, don’t text and drive. Especially on the freeway. On a side-but-still-semi-related-note, there was this girl driving at Wayne State in front of me and was very preoccupied with her hair and how she looked. So much so, that for two consecutive lights, she didn’t go when it turned green. Now usually I’m pretty patient, because not everyone has a 0.2 reaction time to the lights, but it was one of the only times I’ve ever used my horn, because she just sat there looking in the mirror and fixing her hair. Please tell me, who could be so important that you need to impress them from inside your car that you couldn’t fix your hair and makeup when you got to your destination. Plus it was windy, so you’re just going to have to do it all over again when you walk from your car to where you’re going. Either way, really annoying. I was like seriously? You’re not going cause you’re doing your hair. Who the hell is even looking at you? Certainly not me.

Also this link is pretty hilarious to me:

A friend of mine goes to Brown and she has a chemistry class with Emma Watson. She said one day Emma answered a question correctly and someone in the back shouted, “TEN POINTS FOR GRYFFINDOR!” She wasn’t happy.

Now I have to say, I understand that she wouldn’t be happy and why. Given all the grief I’ve gotten for being named Elmer, I can imagine it’d be annoying. Granted most of the teasing was in elementary school, but persisted in middle school and even a little bit in high school. But as I grew I became used to it, learned to ignore it, and even take it in stride. Now the jokes and puns come few and far between, and usually when they do I take it in good humour. Even play along sometimes. It’s when it’s continually repeated that I begin to get annoyed because I just think, “Are they really still going on about this? Is it really that funny?” It’s a name. Now with her, she’s been a part of a pretty high-profile movie series for 10 years. I’m sure she realizes things like this are going to happen, but come on. While it may not have been remarkably clever, it is pretty funny. If this happened daily, I’m sure she’d have every right to be unhappy or even angry but so far it seems like an isolated incident – or even the first. I’d say she should be mildly annoyed, but hell if I was in her position, I’d find this funny.

Anyways, that’s all I got for now. Still trying hard to get twice a week updates. Until then, take care of yourselves my interweb sailors.

-Elmer