Hodgepodge

I have many random thoughts in my head right now, and I figure, why not put them in my blog.
First, yesterday when I was walking to therapy, I went past the Days Inn on Pugh Street and an Allegheny Power vehicle was there. That doesn't sound like much. However, the vehicle happened to be an SUV of some sort. It just seemed a little strange to me that the power company would be driving a rather nice SUV. Of couse, they do make loads of money, so they can afford a vehicle that gets less than 20 miles per gallon. I guess it just kind of irked me a little.

Another thing that's annoying me is the president's reinforced campaign to ban gay marriage in the country. First of all, is that really the most pressing issue to come to a conclusion on? I was reading Lou Dobbs commentary on CNN.com this morning, and he brings up many other more important things that should be tackled first. Some examples: the war in Iraq (more on that in a bit), immigration, poverty, and that's all I can think of at the moment. I just don't understand why it's such a big deal to let gays get married. I know I'm a bit biased in this argument, so take it with a grain of salt. The main argument for amending the Constitution is that marriage is a sacred institution and thus should only be allowed for couples that have a different gender. If marriage is so sacred, why do 50% of marriages end in divorce? Hell, most celebrities have five-minute marriages (can we say J-Lo?). I just don't see the point of saying that some couples that are devoted to each other shouldn't be allowed to get married. If you all want to see a great clip from the Daily Show where Jon Stewart skewers the Republican argument against gay marriage, google the key words "daily show" and "gay marriage." I found that debate frustrating, yet enjoyable.

Back to the war in Iraq: Apparently one of the main terrorist plotters was bombed today. I can't say that I'm sad that he died. However, even with this event, there seems to be no resolution as to how this war will end, if it ever does. (I'm still not entirely convinced that it will ever be done.) And I know that Republicans will tout this event happening even more than usual because it's a mid-term election year. Yes, it's one good thing that happened in the war. That doesn't make up for having no exit strategy at all. I just have this feeling that Republicans are going to stay in power just by riding the coattails of this killing. I sound very cynical, but I wouldn't be surprised if that happened. And I wouldn't be surprised if Bush's approval rating climbed a bit in the next few days. But, what can I do? I did my part in voting in the last presidential election (not that it did any good), so I have the right to complain about the direction this country is headed in.

A few other tidbits:

- For those of you in grad school, or those that have been in grad school at some moment, take a look at the comic in Karen's LJ (link in sidebar). It's hilarious because it's true.

- One week from tomorrow I find out whether the faculty like me enough to keep me in the program. That's basically what the candidacy exam measures. It's just a hurdle that they're forcing the grad students to jump over. Frankly, I'm sick of it. Plus, it's not like I'm going to use much of the information that I had to spit out during the exam. I think that's the most frustrating part. However, I am confident that they'll let me stick around, if for no other reason than that I'm very persistent.

- I've figured that stud is the poker game of choice for me. The last seven card stud night I won, and the one this week I was second. That's usually better than I do in Hold 'Em.

- I've also found myself thinking more like a researcher lately. I've been motivated to do work, more so than I have been in several years. That I attribute to feeling like I'm going to stick around. For the past year and a half, I've been in a limbo state, unsure of if I'd be staying in the department. I've also been thinking more about getting papers published, which seems to be the surest sign that I'm becoming a scientist. Right now, I have several things on my plate. One paper is on sea level rise projections, which I'm likely to be third author on. The second paper is dealing with my masters work, which Ray has been encouraging me to do. The third paper is still in its infancy, though. I'm calculating mixed layer depth along the east coast, and I think given the right angle, I could get a paper out of that as well.

- The last thing I'll mention is that I'm going home next weekend! It's been about three months since I've been home, and longer than that since I've taken a break from work, so I'm thrilled to be getting away.

Alrighty, I think I've exhausted all the random thoughts in my head. Hopefully this will allow me to sleep better tonight than I have in quite some time.