Glucuronidation makes me ill

So today at work/lab/SPEP/paying-to-work-for-free......... I spent most of my day playing with pee. Fun, I know! And not even my own pee, other people’s pee. Some of whose kidneys are pretty much shot based on the fact that they clearly are leaking like a sieve. The good ol’ ‘is it pee or is it blood? game. Anyways, the project itself is actually pretty cool. As many of you know, Benzo’s are primarily metabolized by glucuronidation and excreted in the urine. For those of you that don’t know.... you probably won’t find this interesting. Anyways, so today I was running positive benzo samples on the GC to see if there were better results if the samples were hydrolyzed before testing. To de-gluc... or un-gluc... them I guess. But the hydrolyzed enzyme smelt about a hundred times worse than the samples themselves. I think something being stinker than rancid pee is not so much of a good time.... I’m going to go drink some pepto now....

The Art of rambling.... or babbling.... or whatever you’d like to call it.

Well, my stay in Winterpeg is nearing its close with only 6 more full days of work. In my last 4 weeks away I’ve developed a skill I thought I would share with you all. And that is the skill of the babble, or the ramble, or whatever name you would like to call it. Mind you, I had this skill before... but this last internship have definatly honed those skills into a well oiled machine! For this blog’s sake, we’ll call it rambling (moreso I’ll call it rambling and you’ll read it as rambling.... in the actual word form...as well as the verb form. My case in point #1, when you ramble... never stop to think about what your writing. Just merrily go along with the thoughts in your head that you probably shouldn’t be saying out loud (or written down in this case) and also probably don’t make much sense at all. ...Unless you read it really, really fast... I find that usually helps.

As you proceed through the ramble it is also a good idea to get off topic once or twice. This will engage the reader in a little quirky tidbit of information that they normally would not care to know. Profs seem to be quite good at this. Some teachers as well (Lance, I’m talking to you here buddy!) Perhaps they get some sort of course or class in rambling.... but I doubt it. It is a good thought though. Anyways, large words are also ok to be used in rambling. I guess small words would have to be used... So in summary, any size of word can be used. And if you do the rambling correctly some odd phrases or words just might spill out. For instance, I was writing a paper today on validating a drug screening procedure for serum sample (fun, I know.) and towards the middle of my “Results” section I found myself pondering for a word to replace the one I was thinking of. Normally I would be looking for words to substitute “good” or “valid”... something of that nature. But this time I was trying to find a word to use in the place of propensity... I ended up just leaving it in there because it was the only thing to make sense to me at the time... but you get my point there. Sometimes odd phrases and words are the only thing you can write, so never stop to try and think of another one... just write it down... it’s rambing... it’s not supposed to make alot of sense!

Now, I know I said that you shouldn’t read back through the rambling writings... but you should check for spelling. Spelling is usually the culprit in “ramblings gone wrong”. Mainly due to the fact that ramblings are stitched together very loosely and don’t often make sense to begin with, so if you spell something wrong, it makes even less sense. And less sense is not good sense.... in this sense. Along with spelling, proper punctuation is a good idea. It doesn’t have to be a proper sentence structure, but the reader needs to know when to take a break. Infact, your rambling could be just one giant sentence, but as long as you add some commas in there, everything will be ok. Another option is the flagrant use of periods... indicating a continued idea path but yet long enough to create a pause... see what I mean........ this could go on for a while.... it works quite well....I have to say I quite enjoy e-mails like this...... especially this one in particular..... but we won’t get into that at this time..... :)

So, my friends... there you have it. The keys to the success in the world of rambling... all the things you never knew you needed to know, but probably didn’t need to know anyway.

** I thought you would enjoy this little diddy of a tune.... for bagpipes I believe.... but still... goodtimes.... I'm sure 1785 was a good year for bagpipe composers.....

THIS IS YOUR NEW FAVORITE BAND

I know I’ve said this many, many, many, many, many times in the past..... But if you haven’t heard of them yet, you must, I repeat, absolutely MUST listen to Thrice’s “Vheissu”. I have to say they are my most favorite band ever..... and if you’ve seen my CD collection, you know that this is one colossal statement.


I’ve been back on my “all the Thrice all the time” listening kick again.... which occurs once every few months.... usually coinciding with a good mood or epiphany of sorts. (see below for epiphany) I may just be a big music dork, or dorkess... if you will... but I think that music can be inspirational... just like art, and poetry and all that good shit. (I never claimed to be good at explaining things... good shit is a valid statement.) I also happen to find this album to be incredibly inspiring.... so if you are in an inspired mood, or want to be in one... maybe you should listen to it.


And it’s not just the music that makes this album good.... albeit the music is phenomenal... the band is a decent group of human beings as well. My interests in this blog topic lead me back to the Thrice website http://www.thrice.net/ .... which I have neglected for so long.... but it was worth the trip. My case in point is has two parts: 1) The concept of their new album(s) that you can read about on the news page.... personally... I find it inspired. And even if you don’t think it inspires you, I think the fact that a group of individuals are working so hard to create something magical for their listeners should. Also, that “Alchemy” section that you have to bypass to get into thrice.net, that is a whole hell of alot of work that they didn’t have to do, but did... cause they are awesome... 2) The rambling section.... I always like a good ramble... and to ramble myself as well. If you read a bit you see that these guys are actual people... and not just people but cool people... that talk about “flying dogs and flying turds” or which superpower they would want..... it is almost “Stuber-esqe” in a way.... (I think the phrase will catch on....)

A bit more perspective...

So my last blog would have led you to believe that I was a changed Brendawg.... but of course things never last for too long and before I knew it I was back to the complaining and bitching about Winterpeg once again. Mainly my complaining had to do with a pretty shitty 4 day work week... primarily due to the fact that Easter weekend was such a good time. Well, and odd time, no... I guess a good time, a great time even.... it was a time nonetheless! It was great to be back in Saskatoon.... I definatly have learned to appreciate where I live and those people who I consider friends... life just isn’t the name without them.
Life is infact quite balls without.
While in Saskatoon for the weekend I had a great epiphany about life that I was going to share with the interweb people.... but then after coming back to Winterpeg it fell by the wayside... and never did see the glorious lights of publication.... how absolutely dreadful. However, now that I’m backed by caffeine and warm weather I think it is time to let this epiphany out into the world for all to hear! Plus, my cold is almost gone so I’m not as much of a space cadet as I have been for the past week.........

Ok, this one involves you as well... you have to put some effort into this bitch too in order to make shit happen. I know that is asking alot of your already overbooked schedule..... but if your reading MY blog how busy is your schedule? Really? That’s right, no excuses there!

Back to my ever fantastic epiphany! Where was I now....... ahh, yes. Think back.....way back..... for you old fogies out there....(yes, fogies)..... Back to the time when you were still too naive to know better.... You there? Around eleventeen or so.... When you actually had “BFF’s” and did silly fortunes to find out about the boy you liked (how nicely that relates to my avid readers!)

Here is the tough part.... negate everything right now except for that eleventeen year old person. At that age.... how did you picture your life now? All the crazy ideas of all the cool things you wanted to do or be or have.......... the “ideal” life that you had for yourself at that age. Come on now.... think about it! We all had that, I can tell you that number one on my list was not being in Yorkton.... but that’s my list....... time to make your list! You don’t have to do an actual list of you don’t want.... but just a mental list of all those things that made you so happy when you thought about the future and how wonderful it was going to be. Sure, we were naive but still....

So now this is the second part of my epiphany..... the “Compare and Contrast” section. From then until now alot of things have changed! So comparing your ideal life at eleventeen and your life now....at first glance it seems a bit pitiful how they compare doesn’t it? Well at least mine does. But here comes the amazing part! At eleventeen did I ever think I was going to be a 23 year old professional with an excellent career path ahead of me? Well, no.... but I did want a motorcycle. Did I think I was going to have half sleeve tattoos? I hoped as such, but I never saw it happening.... and now I do... which is a nice surprise. I did, however, want to play the drums. So now that I think about it... what I have made of myself is so much more than I ever imagined.... and when I first compared the two it seemed so dismal! Basically what it boils down to is those few little changes, or hobbies, or talents that I never got around to..... As my life went on I forgot about those small things that seemed so important when I was younger. So now that we are all happy with how our lives have turned out.... just by thinking of the situation in a different light.... now is when it can get even better!

The bottom line to this epiphany is a challenge. Pick a few of those small things that you wanted as an adolescent, and do them. Sure, it might be hard to learn a new skill, or you don’t have the time, or it’ll look silly because your an old fogie....but that’s why they call it a challenge. You can even pick some easy ones if you want.... but there definatly has to be the important ones in there too.

So now that you’ve got your task at hand..... And you’ve read through all of this babbling shit, you might as well do it! I’ll even give you the whole summer. A whole goddamn summer to fit a few simple things in and amongst your “demanding” schedule.....what could it hurt?

So there you go my bizatch’s, go and spread the word of brendawg like the mutherfuckin plague! And also, feel free to comment on what you wanted to be.... and how stupid my posts are..... whatever tickles your fancy.





(Yes, I had a mullet..... that’s why they are back in fashion now.... because I’m awsome.)

Retrospect and Redirection

It is true what they say “hind-sight is 50/50”. Those “they” sure are smart, and get credit for many wondrous sayings. I should really start up a group like that... we couldn’t be “they” as they have already taken that name. We could be “them” but I think “them” is also taken by an offshoot of “they”.... I’ll think on that and get back to you.

Anyways, back to my point of retrospect being flawless. If you haven’t noticed (but I’m sure you have) I’ve been quite the miserable cunt as of late (and not in the yeast infection kind of way). I’ve wrote my share of useless blogs complaining of Winterpeg-this and Yuckton-that, but all in all useless still. Now, I could have just deleted those entries, leaving only those that reflect the grandiosity that is “brendawg”, but it is a much more prominent statement to leave them in....imposing their shame. I, like most, have been guilty of getting so wrapped up in their own lives that nothing else matters.

Now, there are those who relish in suffering, they whine and moan about all that is wrong with their lives, health, relationships, etc etc, until just the sound of their own whining and moaning is a sort of satisfaction. We all know those (or have been those) who have had pleasure in the fact that no one else can possibly have an existence as wretched as theirs. Sure, it may have not gone to that far of an extent, but it was there nonetheless. This is where the “one-upping” a friend/colleague/family member about how much worse your life is compared to theirs comes into play. It almost makes it seem as though merely existing is a chore for these people, yet they continue to do so, just so that they can complain about that too. This remarkable fact was dually inspired by 1) Dostoevsky’s “Notes from the Underground” – which you should be reading/have read and also 2) http://songs-about-ghosts.blogspot.com Lance has got this lessen cased already. Which is why next you’ll click on the link and see exactly what I’m talking about!

So that is one aspect of the issue, but there is another, and that is the shear ignorance to the fact that there millions of other people on this Earth. While being balled-up in one’s own existence and agonizing over our petty issues we are indirectly negating the fact that there is a world outside of your own head. There is an entire globe of people that don’t know who you are and more importantly, don’t care. In the realistic view, I don’t really matter, you, also, don’t really matter. So then what does matter? I don’t think I’m in any way qualified to answer that one for anyone but myself.

I’m not saying that everyone should spend every moment agonizing over the everyone else rather then themselves and give to the “good cause” all that you have, don’t get me wrong here! But I do believe that there is a happy medium in which I can live my life being content with what I have, yet still have goals and motivation to better my life in the future, all the while being conscious of my effect on others. Just as I can still go out with my friends on a Tuesday evening and have a few drinks, or even a few too many, but still make time for charity. I guess what I am trying to relate is the fact that one can still have the same life they already have, no grand changes have to be made in order to find a feeling of contentment. Taking a few steps back and re-evaluating one’s perception and focusing on a clearer outlook may be all that is necessary.

As for me, I only had to read back a few lines to see the gross ineptness of my previous focus. Personally, I wouldn’t want to be friends with a girl that miserable, let alone be that girl. As us pharmacy kids would say, that was balls.

Major balls.

So to end this mystical journey through the human psyche and the state of existence, I’ll leave you with a quote from someone brilliant (although I have no idea who said it, but I’m quoting it anyway) and a picture stolen from the interweb.


“Be the change you want to see in the world.”

Boring times ............

As you might have been able to tell, I am quite bored here in Winterpeg. I’ve been trying different things in order to pass the time more quickly, here is what I’ve come up with:
going to bed at 9:30
jogging
cleaning my already cleaned room
studying
getting coffee from the furthest Starbucks I know of
blogging more often than anyone cares to read
having full conversations with people via texting
calling my mom every night for no reason
buying a puppy

If you have any suggestions, please relay them to me, hopefully I won’t go insane before the next four weeks are over. And if anyone is actually reading this, you’ll probably go insane from the incessant nattering of my uneventful life.

Dear Stuber:

I told you I would write a blog entry just for you, so here it is.

Hi Mike, How are you? I hear that its pretty balls in Saskatoon right now, Its pretty ok here. How is your internship going? It quite sucks that you have to work with bitchface's friend, really, who could be friends with that? Anyways, my internship is going good. There are much more cute boys to look at here than there was at my last placement.... mainly because there was none at my last placement. They aren't as cute as you or Lance though.... but can anyone else reach that level of perfection?

I might be getting a puppy soon, so that's pretty exciting... the details aren't really worked out yet... but I might be coming to Saskatoon during Easter.. too bad Easter wasn't on a Tuesday, then we could go to Lydias. I'm sure we could still go to Lydias but that wouldn't be the same as a Tuesday at Lydias... kinda like a Tuesday with Maurie, but I never read that book and probably spelt it wrong anyway. What are you doing for Easter? Have you decorated any eggs? Please note that I was going to insert a joke about lesbians there, but wasn't too sure if it was highly inappropriate or not. I'm sure that it was, but that you would have enjoyed it anyway... but it is the thought that counts right? I bet whoever made up that saying never got any nice shit from anyone. Personally I think it's not the thought that counts but the number of karats. LOL, damn I'm funny sometimes.... but only to myself.

Anyways, I must retire now, I took more than the recommended dosage of Unisom in attempts to 1) get over the time change and 2) go to bed early. I never want to have to change my clock, that's for suckers and the homeless. But the homeless don't have watches so its just for suckers. (That was also another tasteless joke, but I thought you would enjoy it).

Anyways, have a wonderful evening...
Regards,
brendawg.


P.S.
Here are some pictures I thought you might enjoy, you can make captions for them if you so wish to do so.

Dunnn dunnnnn duhhhhhhhh!

Well tomorrow is the big day, the first day of the last internship of the rest of my life. Or at least that's what I'm going to think of it as.... it puts a cheery little lining around the impeding doom of being in Winterpeg doesn't it? I thought so.

I was going to post some amazing videos that would be good for a laugh or two, however, as most of you know I am compu-illiterate, so perhaps tomorrow I can figure this shit out.

I'm re-reading my most favorite book of all time for the 4th time, Dostoyevsky's "Notes from the Underground". If you haven't read it I suggest you do, if your like minded you'll truly appreciate it. Now obviously I am nothing close to being a literature major.... I barely have a grasp on the English language itself let alone being able to delve into the intricacies of a world renown novel.... but I'll try just for shits and giggles...

To me, this novel studies the multiple layers of one's psyche. How we lie to ourselves, yet we know we are doing so.... how we see ourselves as one way but no one else sees us in that light at all.... the way we do things out of spite yet it is only detrimental to ourselves.... the want to fit in with the crowd yet the satisfaction in thinking your unique...... that sort of thing...

I really don't do it justice, but then again I don't do justice to much.... maybe you should just read the goddamn book like I said in the first place.

It especially rings true for me at this time because stuck in Winterpeg I feel very dejected from my life, which could be taken as both a positive and a negative. Positively is the more accurate critique of my life that I can attain my being away from it. It gives me a more objective view... like I am a third person watching my life pass me by... in such a way that I can learn from it. Although, this gets old after a while because I critique my life constantly whether I am in it or not. As Dostoyevsky put it, I have "the disease... [of] excessive consciousness". I will spare you the rant that he included in explaining it, because of course, you will or will have already read the book. Another positive of being dejected from my life is the 'work on brendawg' time that I have. There is nothing but time to do all of the character building and meditating and such. But again, it is more of a negative because there is only so much a person can do for themselves. I find being around those who are genuinely passionate about anything can do more for my personal sense of self. And that's where the negatives come in full force! The being away from friends and family but most importantly friends whom I consider family is the worst part. I could care less that Winterpeg is the ugliest city second only to Toronto if my friends and family were here. I think its that sense of 'community' that makes a place feel like home. Saskatoon definitely feels like home to me, Yuckton, not so much. Sure, my mom and sisters are there, but that's really the only thing I go there for. Whereas in Saskatoon there is so many things I enjoy doing, like going to Lydias, hanging out on campus (because I'm a huge dork), going to Maguires... or anywhere with the pharmacy kids, hanging out at the Bob's (shout out to the Bobs!), and of course all my friends that pretend to like me, I thoroughly appreciate it.

Anyways, that's enough life talk for tonight, I'm going to keep reading my favorite book.

Type A is for Afternoon

During my afternoon of impersonating a Type A’er... organizing and labeling and such... goodtimes... Anyways, I stumbled across some videos in my unorganized heap and thought I would share them with the world. For all you pharmacy kids out there (as well as pharmacy kid affiliates) you’ll find this highly enjoyable:

First Up: The Ray Joubert Song created by the Macker herself!

Part One:



Part Two:



Secondly a little action by “The band!” My apologies go out to the Taylor fans out there, myself included, unfortunately being on the opposite sides of the stage you can’t see his guitar stylings...

Wonderwall:



Desperado: