What is Friendship?

As I grow older, I realize that I understand more and more what true friendship is. See, when you're in high school, you want people to think you're cool and like you and think you're cute. Then when you go to college you see the people who thought they were the greatest things to walk the face of the earth become average, or less than average. You see yourself as a different person, you come out of a shell and explore more, make new friends, and have new adventures.
Through all of that it seems like very few friends actually stay by your side.
I had a bad relationship in my past, and we shouldn't have been together, but for whatever reason I stayed in that bad relationship even though this person cheated on me repeatedly, and I finally said enough is enough when I found out that he was sleeping with one of my bridesmaids (which they denied of course) even though my "investigative snooping" on his computer found a rather inappropriate conversation about things they did together via IM (which occurred 2 weeks before the wedding). I thought this bridesmaid to be one of my best friends, and I really felt like I got stabbed in the back by her. It was awful, I think the heartbreak of someone who I thought to be a best friend doing that to me hurt more than him doing that to me. Long story short on that, friendships were ended but I feel in our older wiser years wer are starting to rebuild this friendship. She's still with him, so they must have been meant for each other, I just think that that wasn't the best way going about it, and I think that I should have broken up with him when I went to college. But we cannot change the past. I'm glad in the end that I did break up with him, because I met someone who means the world to me and that I'm madly in love with. It's awful, but I never felt with the other person what I do feel with my boyfriend (of almost 4 years now!). I still get butterflies sometimes.
Amongst other friendships lost, was one that still stings a bit today and I still struggle to figure out why. We were great friends and then this person moved back home and apparently didn't care to be a friend anymore. I was a friend when it was convienient.
I haven't been the best friend either. I forget to call, I don't keep in touch enough, I can be a big turd. But I do remember birthdays whenever possible, and I love my true friends a lot. I think something is to be said for true friendships. I don't have very many, but the ones I do have mean a lot to me. I'm glad that I do have a few true friends. I (at times) wish I had a few more, but I'm just exhausted right now from trying to be friends with some people. A friendship is a 50/50 split and requires effort from both parties, and I for one am tired of emailing and calling people only to not get so much as a Happy Birthday from them. Oh well.

Anyhow, enough rambling. I'm off to the gym- I'm on a diet and I'm working out. Hopefully I won't be a fatty forever!

~D.

Could it be the missing link?

Greetings earthlings,

Scientists are now claiming they have found the missing link, a 47 million year old primate so named Darwinius masillae. The exhibit for this particular fossil is at the Museum of Natural History in NYC. Interestingly, it's not something new, but is just hitting the news now because of it's public unveiling. It was actually discovered in 1983 by some fossil hunters near Frankfurt, Germany. This means they have been studying it for 26 years!

For someone such as myself who is a scientist and firmly stands by evolution, this is quite interesting. Pictures of this particular fossil indicate the presence of a tail, much the same as a primate, with opposable thumbs and apparently because there's no penis bone (yes the penis bone), it's a girl.

I'm interested in reading and seeing what people have to say about this fossil. I would love love love to go to the Museum of Natural History and see this fossil myself! It is just an amazing thing in the world of evolution and is either truly the link scientists have sought out for years, or it's all a big hoax (let's hope it's not the latter).

I have been one busy gal, considering how long it's been since I posted last! I am teaching this summer, bioethics starting in two weeks and microbiology lecture starting in the middle of July. I'm really happy to be gaining experience teaching at a collegiate level and I'm also loving working at a university in the summer- so quiet and peaceful!

I finally got an Ipod touch, a gadget I've been wanting for a while. It's amazing. I am in love with it, I swear. It is seriously one of the coolest toys I have ever owned! I love my Wii too, but I can't throw that in my purse, ha ha.

Let's see... I'm reading Deadlock by Iris Johansen, and so far it's okay. Just okay, because it's kind of written in a simplistic style, the storyline is someone falling short of expectations, and I get tired of the "romantic" storylines always written into women's books. I'm only about 100 pages in, and if I have to read the words "sexual tension" one more time, I'm going to throw the book across the room. I have slowly been working on "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin but I'm just not digging it like so many people do. Maybe it's because I just haven't sat down and really gotten into reading it. We are going to do a bookstore stop tomorrow (we love going to the bookstore- Barnes and Noble, love it) so more books are in my future.

That's about all for now. Have a good one, enjoy the sunshine!

~d.