I make lists in my sleep

A couple labmates and I went out for lunch yesterday. It was surprisingly fun and even funnier when I wonder what the PI must be thinking when the group of us went trooping by him without so much as a by-your-leave. In our defense, it was lunch time and we are allowed to take time for lunch.

The place at Price Center does a very good tikka masala chicken. Wendy thought the bright color of the sauce (it was...red orange) was frightening. I thought it was funny that she didn't like peas.
(They are peas. Don't most people get pickier with things such as broccoli or brussel sprouts that have a strong, distinct taste?)

Even the entire cup of pearl tea that I drank wasn't enough to keep me awake, however, when I was updating my lab notebook. There were a lot of gel images and protocols to put in. Kate got me one of those fountain pens that have single-use tubes of ink I can just stick in, so I won't have to wrestle with a ink bottle and possibly get ink everywhere. I've gone through two tubes of ink already since May. That is, no matter how you look at it, a lot of writing. I hope my in situs work at some point, so at least I'll have something to show for all that scribbling besides the scribbling. (Mmm fluorescent images.)

There was a bonfire-bonding event for international students yesterday, so that the bus I usually took was overfull and a third of the students, along with me, had to wait for the next bus. Naturally they only left one guide with the entire group, and naturally the third left was left without a guide. The poor kids were without a clue where La Jolla Shores beach was. I couldn't tell them either because the beach was an entire stretch, and I have no idea which part of it they were aiming for (also the guide was horrible at giving directions, so this entire thing was like witnessing a train wreck). Naturally the group ended up getting off at the wrong stop, thanks to a combination of the bad directions from the guide, bad directions from an over-enthusiastic, well-meaning man on the bus who was trying to help, and the general chaos created when a group of students who just arrived in SD who do not speak English very well needed to navigate the public transit. There was nothing I could do to help because for the same reasons mentioned above, I couldn't figure out where they were going, either. It was only three stops after all the students got off, when I saw the sign for the bonfire stuck to the bushes next to the bus stop, did I realize that oh, okay, here was where the bonfire was supposed to be.

At least a slightly smarter girl had recorded the phone number of their guide, and they were, technically, still on La Jolla Shores beach (somewhat further north than they'd want to be, but technically the same beach). I want to help them so much, but given the entire mess, there was no hope for it.

It's an orientation process of sorts, I suppose. Welcome to the US, guys.

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I've already considered the neighbors option for Zen. Unfortunately, unless I want to ask Deborah, for downstairs, to sit in my apartment all day, from 7am to 8pm, waiting for the package, it'll just involve more paperwork trying to explain that yes, I know the nice lady is from apartment 3, not 5, and that the address on the box says 5, not 3, but I gave her permission so stop leaving nice but useless little notes on my door already.
All my other options at this point involve contacting HP again (because changing the receiving address apparently needs to go back HP, not Fedex) and more paperwork. Given my general experience with paperwork and bureaucracy in general...I'll just figure something out on my own. It seems less painful for everyone involved.

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Qual: am trying to fit everything in 6 pages. Am failing. Will probably end up cutting out a bunch of stuff at some point so my total page count will fall under 15. (Who the heck counts work cited page toward total page count, anyway?)
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I have chocolate. I am prepared.