i'm having a difficult time working today...

drew and i have been planning a little "vacation" now for almost a year. a bunch of our friends get together every fourth of july week/weekend and go to lake verrett, in pierre part, louisiana. people bring boats and skis and whatever else and we just generally have a grand old time doing a lot of nothing. being the poor, broke students that we are, we have both been saving change (literally, pennies, nickles, dimes, and quarters) for about a year now to finance this trip. although i have definately been excited, i have also been really anxious because i didn't know who was going to take care of the cells i have been passaging all this time...

well, as of yesterday i have someone to do it- and someone competent who won't contaminate everything... and now i am so exciting that i am finding it very very very hard to work!!!! we are leaving tuesday, july 1st after lunch and will be there until sunday, july 6th. yay!!!

even while i was riding my bike this morning it was all i could think about....

the only catch is tha i won't be able to ride while i am gone... AND... as soon as we get back i fly out to indianapolis for a conference at which i will be presenting my master's research! so i am also pretty nrevous about that... *sigh*...

i will never, ever, ever again work out my legs super hard one morning and then ride my bike 20 miles the next. never ever ever ever again.

oh! and i think i found a nice ride to do in alabama. my aunt and i are going to ride the 41 mile ride, since neither of us thinks we are really ready to do a century yet... to see the ride, go here.

that's all i have for today. i gotta go stretch my legs again. never again, i tell you....

***edit***

okay, i have something to blog about now.

right now i live with a good friend of mine in a house that she owns. i split all the costs with her, right down the middle, so my rent is $445 and i pay another $150 or so in various utilities, etc. She is an awesome housemate... we are both neatfreaks and get along very well. the only problem is the commute. we live outside of baton rouge. about 30 or 40 miles outside of baton rouge. i drive a jeep and i am a graduate student on a very fixed and meager income...

so here's the deal- two of my fellow graduate students- both responsible, adult guys that i know very well- are looking for a third roommate. rent is exhorbitantly expensive here, especially around campus, but a three bedroom apt or house split 3 ways is actually pretty affordable. and i would only have to fill up my jeep once every week and a half to two weeks. right now i spend almost $200 a month in gas.... moving in with the two guys would help me out financially SOOOO much.... and one of them has a dog, so jake would have a friend again (my current housemmate has a dog)... i also rarely get to do things with my friends, since my roomie right now runs in pretty much the same circle- i have to go home to take care of jake, and by the time i get there, it's way too expensive to make another trip there and back all in the same day!

the thing is, my current roomie sort of depends on my half of the house note... BUT her boyfriend is supposed to move in with us in july/august. the rent would be split 3 ways then, except now she wants to charge me extra in rent to help with having the driveway extended. and i don't know WHEN her boyfriend plans to move in.... so i feel so guilty telling her i want to move in with other people closer to town... i think i could move in with the guys in august, once my roomie's boyfriend moves in, but... i just don't know! and i don't want to jeopardize our friendship over this!!!

anyone have any advice whatsoever?