Yes, I know I need to update about how things are going here in Nashville now that I've moved here :) The short version: quite well, thank you :) I'll send out new contact info soon.
Today has been the first really clear day since I got here and it is GORGEOUS!!!! I'm going outside after I write this :)

Anyway, last night I went to see trance/electronica DJ extraordinaire, TIESTO (myspace for a music sample). Man I had a great time!! :)
Got there about 10:30 (happened upon some pretty rock star parking!), went through the will call line, then on into City Hall - totally a warehouse space - by the time a couple of hours went by, it was so hot and steamy and the floor was wet and gross, but who really cares? We were getting pounded by the bass beats and dancing our a$$es off! :)
Tiesto showed his prowess at getting a crowd going and keeping it going but not letting people get too worn out - takin' it down just a tad, then ramping it back up, I like that...

Met some nice people, got some good tips on where else to go out... A kind soul brought me some water... He offered it to me, I looked at it a bit skeptically and took it, but tested the cap - it was unadulterated :) :) Yay!! No GHB for the Dancing Astrophysicist!!!

Stayed out til 3:30 a.m. ;)

To the boys I dance with:

I love to dance, with a partner and without a partner. When partner-less, I often will groove in a snake-y manner and I'm sure it looks cool and yes you want to dance with me.

However, despite the fact that I dance in, one may say, a suggestive manner by myself, that does not necessarily mean I wish to dance that way with YOU.
Sure, I will dance that way with certain boys, but on the first dance? I am NOT going to undulate for you especially if I'm not feelin' that connection AND if I've never seen you before in my life. Blues dancing (kinda grindy but in a patterned way) is rather personal and I don't wish my personal space invaded like that...

AND - really, the B.O.? NOT ATTRACTIVE, does not make me want to dance with you again. You may be working hard trying to make the lady you're dancing with look good, but geez, many other boys work harder, sweat harder and have far less stinkiness than you. Get some good deodorant, not just anti-perspirant.

Thanks,
The Dancing Astrophysicist

In my last post, I asked if people could figure out who, out of 14 people I reference in my papers, is a girl. Thanks to all for participating!

( Answers Below )
So that is that I guess!

I noticed something when I was looking up all the names of the people I'm sending these reprints to...

My co-authors, I know all of them (well, a couple I've never met face-to-face but my advisor has :) ).
The people who will be interested in the work and whom I'm sending reprints, I don't know any of them. My advisor has told me the names of some, but usually, all I have to go on is the reference section of a paper. Said reference section only has initials for first (and middle) names.
It seems I have assumed every one of my references is a guy!
In thinking about people AdvisorDoug has actually told me the first names for, they're pretty much all guys (especially for this series of papers).
However, I found out that there are girls!! I was always surprised when I found a girl.

I'm a bit distraught by this. I'm a girl, why do I think all my references are guys?
I guess I'm just as affected by stereotyping as anyone else... :(

So, let's take a poll!! I already knew two of them but the rest I did not.
Poll #936513 References
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 6

Which ones are girls (so yes, there is more than one)?

I'll reveal the names in a later post... Or maybe in the comments. I'll see.

I'm in Hawai'i!!!!

Currently, I'm up on Mauna Kea at the 9,200 ft. base camp-like-thingy called Hale Pohaku.

But before that I was on a 4 day tour all the way around the Big Island. I'll report in installments (with pictures!) :)

Everything is going great, Hawai'i is more amazing than I imagined. It's no wonder people come here again and again or end up moving here after a visit :)

People have just been so nice and conversational... What a great place. Now I know several places I want to explore more when I come back ;)

The Dancing Astrophysicist is sunburnded :( Alas!!! Woe is me!!
Ehh, it's not too bad but I don't care to carry my backpack...

This NEW ICON captures the spirit of Sunday - the original is here (from vintage_ads of course).

I got up at 11:30 after having gone to bed only at 5:30 (but that's another story ;) ) because my friend BootyShakinSteve called and said he was going to the lake. YAY!! The lake!! So we spent a few hours up on the lake - we went to Cocktail Bay (lots of partying and music!), I got to drive the boat and of course, there was lounging in the water. I'd never been to Lake Lanier.

Up in Minnesota, there aren't many dammed lakes but here in Georgia, that's pretty much all there is. LAME. Lakes here are rather silty and there are lots of sandbars and things just below the water surface. Apparently, on the charts for Lake Lanier, they have sites of old graveyards that got flooded - there are whole towns down there, cars too. Crazy.
Although there is over 1000 miles of lakeshore and there is a lot of water, I prefer a Minnesota lake - cool, clear, not man-made...
Meh. Whatever.

That was really quite good.

The GSU peeps all went out to have steak tonight. stargaz3r had heard that if you're going to Calgary, you NEED to have steak because Alberta has the most awesomest cows for meaty eating goodness. Then, when I got here on Friday, I was hanging out with people and one of the guys said that The Metropolitan was one of THE places to go in Calgary for steak but we didn't go then cuz none of us were feeling steaky.

BUT we GSUers decided that tonight was the night!! Participating in steakiness were Ellyn, Kevin, Wes, Jay, and myself :)
After my long day of listening to some good talks, some bad talks and some mediocre talks, we all decided to head down there. It is a very modern and swanky place - sleek even. The wait staff (of both genders) was excellent eye candy ;)

New York Strip, medium well (I don't like red centers anymore), asparagus and smoked gruyere mashers - oh, so very very good. Not much fat (it was easily cut off), seasoned so well, cooked perfectly, juicy... We all were really very happy with our choices.

BUT THEN! We decided that we need to have some desserts! We figured we'd split a couple but couldn't decide so we ended up getting 4 of them ;)
Wild Saskatoon Berry White Chocolate Creme Brulee
Lemon Meringue Cheesecake
Met Apple Pie (a la mode)
Chocolate Souffle (with ice cream)
Oh god. That souffle... Amazing! It was so rich and gooey and yummy. The vanilla ice cream was perfect with it. The pie - cinnamon-y with flakey crust and that ice cream was great too. Creme brulee can get a little much after a bit - I have to share it it seems. The cheesecake was good, but not my type.
So we had those four desserts going round and round the table :) It was SO GOOD!!!

And I'm not even way too full :)

Wonderful.

No booty shakin tonight, but tomorrow is the big party!! :D Yay!! I get to sleep and maybe sleep in a little bit!

Yo folks! What is up??

I'm in lovely Calgary, Alberta, Canada :) There is much to say and describe, but I'll first get this one up...

Last night I went booty shakin!! Woooo! First, I went with a group of astronomers to Ilyxor to check it out for the possible Wednesday-night-party venue (it is going to be). Then a couple of them said they were going over to The Whiskey for a DJ named Felix da Housecat. Apparently Felix is this rather famous house DJ. Well, at first I was thinking I should go to bed, but then I figured you only live once ;)

The four of us (Alyson, Keivan, and Subu) walked the block or so to the venue - the bouncers told us that Felix canceled because he got stuck in customs with barbiturates. They tried to get us to believe it but we got it out of them. Whatever. Felix wasn't on when we got there, another guy was - he was cool too. So Felix came out and mixed some good bass-thumpin' music. I danced and danced... However, my back was hurting a little because I'd been walking and standing a bunch and then when I dance I tend to be very wiggly so the back gets a workout :)
A guy bought me a water cuz he'd stepped on me while dancing (a couple of times even). He ended up giving me his card too and said I danced like an angel ;) Guys... Ah well, I already have too many guys ;)

I didn't get back to the hotel til 2:45 a.m. where I promptly passed out :) And then I got up about 7:00 for to get ready for the start of the AAS meeting at 8:15.

Tonight, people were asking me if I knew of anything going on - I don't - but then said we should all do something. I tried begging off as my eyes are rather tired, but that didn't work ;) And hell, I'll sleep when I'm dead! Although, I haven't heard anything from any of them so I don't know what's going on after all. Maybe when I go back to the hotel (that doesn't have free internet despite the exorbitant nightly rate) I'll have a message for me... We'll see.

I do quite like going out and doing things now. You'd almost never know I used to be VERY very shy and still to this day will not let my opinion be all that known in certain parts of my life, but I'm working on that. That group said that they wouldn't want to go out without me cuz I'm fun and that is just really really nice.

So a friend of mine (frameshot) asked me if I'd like to go to a party with him tonight - he thought that I would really like some of the people this lady had gathered as friends. Honestly, at first I was rather hesitant because sometimes at parties, I can really not have a good time. But I've changed a bit and it sounded like fun - frameshot would not lead me astray :)

Turns out this party was thrown by a woman named Eva who happens to be, among other things, a clothing designer and artist, creator of "Martini Girl"

first an art series and now clothes. Well, she still does art, but yeah, clothes too. Her house is in Grant Park and is amazingly fabulous. Colors on the walls, lovely decor - like the vintage 20s wood pieces in her house - damn!

Most people there were older than me, but there also were a few that weren't. At first I hung out with an architect and an interior designer and they introduced me to some others. Then the models she's used for her clothing started coming around - beautiful people to be sure. A couple of those models seemed a little moody, but for the most part, they were having a great time - it seems she looks for a vivaciousness to her models. I also talked with the metal sculptor who did the "Spica" thingy on the Freedom Parkway walk (for those of you Atlanta folk). There were a good number of photographers there too (I suppose that fits with her profession).

Parties outside of school are really fascinating. I mean, really, many parties I've attended have involved school friends - we already knew each other. Although I suppose I've been to parties with dancing friends too, but again, many of us already knew each other. This particular party was one of the first where I knew one person - the person who invited me. But I've gotten farther and farther out of my shell (heck, one of the gals there said I really was a party gal!) and also, many people are in the same boat - they don't know many people or perhaps they notice that there is a new person and make sure to introduce themselves. I had people, right away, tell me their names and chat with me a bit. So maybe it's not all so bad :) But I've loosened up a lot too :)

As the night progressed, the music got cooler and I got down to BOOTY SHAKIN'!!! I thought it was some great dance-y techno - I'm sure you'd hate it stargaz3r ;p Of course, I was the only one at first, but others came eventually.

At one point, Eva (our hostess with the mostest) said that she would really like me be part of a photo shoot for her!! She liked my look. What?? She started talking with one of her stylists about the make-up and stuff (she's going for dramatic eyes right now and apparently she wants red lipstick for me). She said, "You just leave it to me, me and my stylist, trust us - you will look so beautiful." Dude, whatever she wants to do, she's welcome to it! One of the guys said to me, "If Eva says it's going to happen, it's going to happen!" So this will surely be interesting!! I'm excited, a little bit wary that it will happen, but still, excited at such a prospect :)

As the night was winding down, we got to hear The Vagabonds play a few songs - very cool - they played off of the 2nd floor balcony of the house :)
I left and was teased a little for shakin' my groove thing all the way out the door :) But really, who's complaining ;)

So, I met some people who may become friends to hang out with when I can and I might get a bit of modeling O.o - who knew?? :) I certainly end up meeting some interesting people!!!

Today turned out to be rather busy!

I thought I was going to be observing with the Astronomy Club all night tonight but the weather certainly didn't cooperate :(
With observing fallen through, I was planning on a party and then possibly booty-shakin' at Fever.

One of the booty-shakin' Steves asked if I wanted to join him and some friends at the Oakhurst Wine Crawl (he did preface it by saying he knew I didn't imbibe much). It was from 4 to 6 and I didn't have plans til at least 8:30 :) So I went and drank wine at various business establishments in the Oakhurst neighborhood. AND I got to ride the FurBus!!! Wheee!!! The rain put a little bit of a damper on the whole thing but it was all good fun :)

Before I went to the party (one of two I was invited to tonight), I found that booty-shakin' had been moved from Fever to eleven50. Okay, that was fine, but then I found that only the first 100 people were going to get in for cheaper than the normal $20; cheaper being 15 bucks. Damn. Too rich for this grad student's blood!! So ixnay on the clubbing.

I went to the house party and found that the DJ I danced to at one Halloween party was playing there and people were willing to dance so it was all good :) I had a wonderful time!! However, I think that the fact that I had worn myself out earlier in the week (and got a bit sick) and that I went out last night (for another post) and that I went to that wine crawl all added up to make me more tired faster than ever before :( Damn. I couldn't dance the whole night!!! I had to actually sit down more than once! Wild. Nevertheless, a fun time was had by all!! Hopefully I can get ahold of some pictures they took...

So I have two very fine options for entertainment on Sunday evening. However, I do not know which one to partake of!! With both events, the last time they came to town, I swore I would see them the next time they came. They of course have to be here on the same night...

First, the Bellydance Superstars. They've come through town a couple of times before... And I likes the bellydancing :) I likes watching the pretty girls undulate.
Hmmmm, they are aggravating me though - to get to most anything on their site, you have to be a member. LAME!!!
Tickets are $25 - more expensive than the ballet I saw recently, but then again, I got a half-price ticket that time ;)
Location: The Variety Playhouse
Time: 8 p.m.

Second, the Asylum Street Spankers . They come through town every few months or so but I got to see them last time they were here and had a wonderful time! The stage was full of people having a grand old time making music. They're raucous and bawdy and liberal and not afraid to address anything in their songs (the finale last time was the gal singing about having sex and how she wanted to do it more). Various instruments: guitars, mandolin, upright bass, bongos, drums, a washboard, a cowbell, banjo, trumpet... The line-up changes rather often too.
Tickets are 12 bucks in advance ($15 at the door).
Location: Smith's Olde Bar
Time: 8 p.m. (they play early shows and will be done by midnight - another band will come on later)

The other thing is who can I get to go with me? Or shall I go by myself as I have often done before? I know I will know people if I go see the ASS ;) but I'll just see a show with BSS. I suppose I should ask prospective companions ;)

So, my dilemma - do I see the rare, more expensive thing I've never seen before or the more common, cheaper thing I've already seen but maybe not in the current configuration?
Comments?

TheDancingAstrophysicist strikes again!! An evening of fun and revelry but alas, no debauchery ;)

First, there was the very very fine Thai food of Little Bangkok - some of the best in town and really quite cheap. I went there with David, Steve, Steve, Denny and Tommy (those last two showed up a bit late...) :) They must all still be on good behavior because I haven't really been subjected to any crude boy jokes :)

Then one of the Steves left us and we were five - we headed to Blind Willie's for some BLUES. Oh it was great fun - there was a tiny bit of dancing room so David and I negotiated our swing dancing to maximize the space - always an interesting challenge dancing there... The odd thing was that until we would get out there dancing, no one would want to be up there in front of everybody, but then people just started flocking!! It was like, "Oh, I can dance to this??? I need to go get in the way of the spinny girl." Damn :( Ah well. When the drunk girls celebrating a 22nd birthday showed up and invaded my space, I totally started bumping them on purpose - I had to defend my territory you know...

Didn't get home til 3 a.m. and it was great :)

I have made my sixth and final allowed icon - perhaps I'll change one of them one of these days. But not now. This is the back of this awesome dress I now own :) Here is a full picture of said dress. I suppose a picture of the front wouldn't be bad either...

noangelshere and I went and did some Cardio/Core Ball aerobics today - ugh am I going to be so very very sore. I was feeling the day after the day after soreness today from Tuesday's stuff and now I'm thinking that tomorrow is going to be bad as I can feel the soreness developing already in my abs and obliques. It was so much fun though :)

Irritation this week comes from the usual source - the lab-coordinator-that-does-a-crappy-job. As it turns out I am TAing again this semester after being told I wouldn't be (due to my advanced grad student-ness). I wasn't asked either. I was just put in there. I didn't even know in time for the TA meeting where (for once) some pertinent things were discussed. There need to be some major scheduling changes and the status quo is just being maintained when it has been repeatedly shown the status quo is NOT what should be maintained. So aggravating.
But my 7 lab students seem to be quite awesome and we'll have fun (I'm going to try to bring in some music to make the room not so stifling to conversation as often happens in such small classes). Also the very nice ellynkath and fermi (who are in the same year as me) have agreed to teach a couple of labs to let me off the hook every now and again :) Thanks!!

And this evening I, along with the lovely ladies ellynkath and noangelshere, went out to Taqueria del Sol and had girly conversation :) It was good. And now I'm stuffed :)