A Bet Gone Really Wrong.

Many, if not all of you are aware of my peanut allergy. Many of you are also aware of my aversion to peanuts and any peanut containing concoction. Well, I have recently learned the history of how peanuts have come to be a food item. It began long ago as a bet. Centuries ago, there was a tribe of people that lived in a region where peanuts would grow wild. One day, one of the children of this tribe bet another child that he would not eat a peanut. You see, long before this, the peanut was periodically eaten when there was nothing else to eat, but when a chieftain ate one and died, they were seen as the devil's food. (they are grown beneath the ground anyways) So, a bet to eat a peanut was quite the bet. Well, this child decided to take his friend up on the bet, ate one, and did not die. So, this practice of eating peanuts became a show of strength and the lack of fear. Those with a peanut allergy would die, those without it would survive. From that point it became more and more extravagant, having to grind up the peanut and eat the paste, or mixing it with other equally deadly foods. Later when explorers saw this, they tasted the peanuts, and peanut butter, and due to the fact that they were delirious from their adventures so far, they recognized it for the protein it contained and convince themselves that it actually tasted good, and from there it was all history. So the next time you sit down to eat anything containing peanuts, remember that you are eating the devils food that is only food because of a bet gone wrong!

One more barrier passed!!

So, I recently found out that I passed my fifth cumulative exam. As a graduate student in chemistry at Texas A&M, you are required to pass 5 cumulative exams. These exams are given the second saturday of each month, and there are test from each division of chemistry. (organic, inorganic, analytical, physical, biological, and sometimes nuclear) You have your choice of which to take, and so you can look them over, and take one of them. Granted, once you are there looking at the tests, you have to take one. Generally, people will take the one from the division that they are in, but it is not required by any means.

Well, the professors write them, and hence have to grade them, so it tends to take a long time to get results back from a cume, but just the other week, I found out that I have passed my fifth. You are allowed to take 15, and you have to finish by the time you have been able to take 20. Yeah, kinda strange, but that is how it works. Well, due to the fact that I was gone one semester, I had until February to pass five. I passed my fourth in september, but the cumes from Oct. and Nov. where just not my cup of tea, or perhaps they were cups of tea, and I just prefer hot chocolate, I am not quite sure. But alas, the cume from December was a good one, and perfectly suited for someone from my research group. Needless to say, I Aced it like a mad fiend! It was a good feeling to not only be done, but to finish it out with a good solid A.

Since we got back from our christmas vacation though, it seems as if we haven't stopped. The few nights we don't have anything going on already, we plan nights with friends. While in the end this means that we don't really have any free nights these days, we are sure having alot of fun. In fact, the other day, the Moores came over and we had a rematch game of squabble seen it. It is one of the many versions of the poplular game Seen It. Yeah, the movie game. This one is basically guys vs. girls, or as the box states, Chick Flicks vs. Guy Picks. The first time we played it was a couple of weeks ago, and the guys won. And in the rematch, we won yet again. Plus to top it all off, we won by shouting out The Princess Bride before the girls could get it. (nice work Paul) Needless to say, we have been having a blast.

I have also started a new D&D gaming session with a few people I know from school. In fact, there are two guys that I know from chemistry, and then their significant others. Sadly one lives in San Antonio, so she can not often come to play, but the rest of us have alot of fun. I hope it continues to be as fun as it is now. We stopped playing for some time because it was no longer fun, but hey, people change, and your life changes. It can't be helped, and even if it could be helped, I am not sure I would want it to.

Rachelle has also picked up quite the project. You see, there are quite a number of dancing groups here on campus, and so they decided to get together, and do their own little 'So You Think You Can Dance' competition. Granted it is just each group showing off their own style, and then doing one of the other styles also. Well, Jackie, one of the older students in our lab is in a group that does traditional mexican dances. They happened to draw ballroom out of the hat, so Jackie asked Rachelle is she would choreograph a number for them, so she is. She worked with them on Sunday and will work with them more tonight and thursday night, and then the competition is on Friday. She has had alot of fun putting the number together, and I had some fun with this fun little program called audacity. It is a freeware music editing program that I found, ans so far I really like it. I took the song that Rachelle is using (Short Skirt, Long Jacket by Cake) and cut it down to about 2 minutes, and slowed it down by about 10% or so. It was alot of fun doing it, and plus it is now perfect for the number. I hope the routine works out like Rachelle wants it to.

Well, there is much more I could talk about, but I am out of time, so until I post again, I hope you all have a freakin awesome January (and February as will if it comes to that)