What have I been up to on this first day of the final two weeks of the semester you ask? One word: daydreaming........to the extreme. My focus did not come back to school with me, and I took minimal notes in all of my classes today. Sadly, the notes I did manage to force out of my rebellious hand were random fragments of words usually meaning nothing to me. I downright gave up in physics this morning and you folks are lucky enough to read the resultant focus of my mind. The following was created at approximately 9:10 this morning:
As I sit here late, but physically present in this room,
I can't help but to feel smothered by feelings of doom.
Why you ask?
Physics is the impossible task.
I should be studying, listening, thinking, reading...
Oh, but such painful thoughts make me feel as though I'm bleeding.
He stands up there babbling about speed and waves and propagation.
I sit here and wonder about my strength of duration.
Densities, velocity, projections, power, and frequencies elude me,
He could calculate the acceleration of my waves of hatred for this subject, but the point I do not see.
Powerful, frequent waves of apathy are my raging storm,
No doubt the ensuing flood will chase me back to the dorm.
My mind is wandering,
but Lord knows I'm still pondering.
For those calculations, I do not care.
Can he tell me who in his right mind would write such a book? Would he dare?
What prize is there in pretending to calculate the powers of the universe?
Can we not simply marvel at the beauty of creation's perfection? Or would that be a curse?
......So if that doesn't scream lack of motivation, let me state my feelings in layman's terms: I am severely lacking in the motivation department!
But in the meantime, I have experienced and thoroughly enjoyed a few non-studying related events. Friday I found myself in Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, NE for the 297th consecutive sellout to watch the Huskers gloriously defeat Colorado. In the words of my die-hard Husker father, "Revenge is sweet!" It was an incredibly enjoyable date with my dad made all the more sweeter by a 57-yard game saving field goal in the last two minutes of the game. Perhaps a sign of the soon to return glory days for the Huskers and the red-clan faithful fans?
I spent my last day at home decorating for Christmas. I managed to get myself in charge of putting up the tree and making it absolutely exquisite. My brothers and dad were content to watch me labor over the project as they screamed nonsense at the football players on TV. My mom made "helpful" comments from time to time as she went on an absurd cleaning spree, all the while hating on my piano (no words) Christmas music. We have this thing at my house where we color-coordinate our Christmas tree. This year I used teal and blue lights that are currently two hours away sparkling off of white garland and silver and blue and white bulbs and crystal icicles. Not to brag or anything, but it looks particularly lovely! :)
And yesterday I came back to school early and preceded to spend the majority of my afternoon and evening serving as an ambassador for the Vespers ceremony. The ceremony was beautifully carried out, well worth my time in attendance. I believe this was a common consensus as both shows were fully booked with reservations. Unfortunately, as an ambassador, I found myself in charge of checking people in at the doors. It served to be quite the stressful task as paper reservations are not nearly as reliable as tickets. Let's just say I let quite a few stragglers in. But hey, who really has the heart to turn down Christmas spirit hopefuls? The performance was worth the effort a few of those folks had to make in standing to view it.
Enough rambling however. It is crunch time, and my daydreaming this morning did me no good in the catch-up department. I have 7 tests to be preparing for in these next 12 days. Bring on the exhaustion.......
Monday, December 1, 2008
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Thanksgiving break - the much needed refresher!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING, everyone!!
It has been quite some time since I have taken a few minutes out of my life to document the insignificant details for you. And, since my last post, I have accomplished...well....hardly anything. Truth be told, staying up until 4 a.m. for homework ruined me. That night, along with sleep, I lost what little motivation I was hoarding. Since turning in that paper, I have accomplished close to nothing of scholarly significance. In place of my motivation, I have acquired somewhat of an apathetic (or perhaps drudgery is a better word) attitude towards anything having to do with my Fall 2008 semester classes. Despite having a relatively non-busy week, I am currently 4 chapters of reading behind in cell and molecular biology, I managed to lose my physics notebook and thus haven't taken notes for an entire week, and I actually subconsciously gave myself permission to shut my brain off during organic chemistry lectures because the reactions of the week just seemed like way too much to handle. But did I just sit around doing nothing all week? No, of course not. No, instead of making it easy on myself and catching up on work for my classes, I daintily pretended I could have a grand old time, and thus read Stephanie Meyer's Twilight and updated my IPOD. I found the book alright, but not nearly as good as all the hype warrants it to be. And, the music? Well, it did make my drive home on Tuesday rather enjoyable.... I'm now banking on the hope that this marvelous Thanksgiving break will put some fire back in my brain so that I can trudge through the last two weeks of the semester in a scholarly manner.
Thanksgiving break thus far has been a wonderfully refreshing event. I had a grand 'ol time on my drive home Tuesday afternoon, singing the entire way. In fact, I think I sang myself to exhaustion. I fell asleep on my bedroom floor at 7:00 and ended up officially curling up in my bed at 8:30 and not waking from my peaceful slumber until 10:00 on Wednesday. That was worth about two entire nights of sleep at the Mount! Yesterday I went shopping and got a new phone to replace my malfunctioning razor. My mom made me homemade mashed potatoes for supper, and I spent the evening at a family friends' house, reminiscing and watching a movie with some of my best and longest-lasting friends.
Currently, I am a bit uncomfortable, as I stuffed in a bit too much of my Thanksgiving feast. Here in my hometown of Elgin, NE, Thanksgiving doesn't mean a home-cooked meal with family, but a trip to town for a homemade parish meal at the St. Boniface Parish Thanksgiving Bazaar. This year marks the 84th annual bazaar. People come from all over and stand in line sometimes for as long as an hour just to eat the scrumptious food. It's great for all of the outsiders, but for families like mine who are members of the parish, Thanksgiving means working at the bazaar and seeing very little of each other. It is a day-long event as there is more food to go along with bingo and a raffle during the evening, followed of course by clean-up. In any case, all the work and sharing that goes into the day is something to marvel at. I guess I have an entire parish family to be thankful for on Thanksgiving day! And I must be off now to go pick up my little brother from his shift of working at the games for kids.
Happy Turkey Day. Don't forget to count your blessings and eat too much food! :)
It has been quite some time since I have taken a few minutes out of my life to document the insignificant details for you. And, since my last post, I have accomplished...well....hardly anything. Truth be told, staying up until 4 a.m. for homework ruined me. That night, along with sleep, I lost what little motivation I was hoarding. Since turning in that paper, I have accomplished close to nothing of scholarly significance. In place of my motivation, I have acquired somewhat of an apathetic (or perhaps drudgery is a better word) attitude towards anything having to do with my Fall 2008 semester classes. Despite having a relatively non-busy week, I am currently 4 chapters of reading behind in cell and molecular biology, I managed to lose my physics notebook and thus haven't taken notes for an entire week, and I actually subconsciously gave myself permission to shut my brain off during organic chemistry lectures because the reactions of the week just seemed like way too much to handle. But did I just sit around doing nothing all week? No, of course not. No, instead of making it easy on myself and catching up on work for my classes, I daintily pretended I could have a grand old time, and thus read Stephanie Meyer's Twilight and updated my IPOD. I found the book alright, but not nearly as good as all the hype warrants it to be. And, the music? Well, it did make my drive home on Tuesday rather enjoyable.... I'm now banking on the hope that this marvelous Thanksgiving break will put some fire back in my brain so that I can trudge through the last two weeks of the semester in a scholarly manner.
Thanksgiving break thus far has been a wonderfully refreshing event. I had a grand 'ol time on my drive home Tuesday afternoon, singing the entire way. In fact, I think I sang myself to exhaustion. I fell asleep on my bedroom floor at 7:00 and ended up officially curling up in my bed at 8:30 and not waking from my peaceful slumber until 10:00 on Wednesday. That was worth about two entire nights of sleep at the Mount! Yesterday I went shopping and got a new phone to replace my malfunctioning razor. My mom made me homemade mashed potatoes for supper, and I spent the evening at a family friends' house, reminiscing and watching a movie with some of my best and longest-lasting friends.
Currently, I am a bit uncomfortable, as I stuffed in a bit too much of my Thanksgiving feast. Here in my hometown of Elgin, NE, Thanksgiving doesn't mean a home-cooked meal with family, but a trip to town for a homemade parish meal at the St. Boniface Parish Thanksgiving Bazaar. This year marks the 84th annual bazaar. People come from all over and stand in line sometimes for as long as an hour just to eat the scrumptious food. It's great for all of the outsiders, but for families like mine who are members of the parish, Thanksgiving means working at the bazaar and seeing very little of each other. It is a day-long event as there is more food to go along with bingo and a raffle during the evening, followed of course by clean-up. In any case, all the work and sharing that goes into the day is something to marvel at. I guess I have an entire parish family to be thankful for on Thanksgiving day! And I must be off now to go pick up my little brother from his shift of working at the games for kids.
Happy Turkey Day. Don't forget to count your blessings and eat too much food! :)
Friday, November 14, 2008
To sleep or Not to sleep...
Hello All! Yet another week of the semester has past, and I am living to tell the tale - even if my "living" is rather zombie-like this morning. After giving serious thought to the matter, and even jumping in the water for a test-run, I've discovered this week more than ever, the pure bliss of having a bedtime... or rather the pain of lacking one. As a young, energetic child, I threw the customary tantrums a time or two when the fun-annihilating bedtime rolled around. Now that I have acquired years of irreplaceable wisdom, however, I realize the stupidity of whining about that wonderful gift of required rest. Allow me to explain.
You see, on my course schedule this fall there has been this column inhabited by a so-called "research" class - a class consuming 3.0 credit hours of my life, I might add. A quiet class, it seemed to be for the first 3 months of this semester as I daintily gave not so much as a strawberry seed to it's whisper of a demand to receive attention. That is until Monday, November 10, the day I discovered a peculiar marking taking up more than its fair share of space in my planner. The marking, appearing rather smug and ominous said simply, "research paper rough draft due." .......uh-oh......And so the story of the week I completed a 3 credit course research paper in a week's time takes shape.
What I had so blissfully avoided for 3 months came back to release its fury on me. To fight the storm, I put aside thoughts of studying for all other classes this week and proceeded to immerse myself in the ever-confusing, problematic analysis of Class II Giardia Fructose-1, 6 biphosphate, that is, the chosen enzyme as a drug target for killing the little devil of a parasite causing giardiasis, a form of diarrhea. The outcome of such an intense endeavor proved to be a lack of sleep, a couple of significantly lower homework grades in organic chemistry, initiation of auto-retreat of focus to thoughts of days of recess and snowpant-clad, carefree snow angle making during cell and molecular biology to save my brain from incomprehensible knowledge, AND a complete exploit of every pebble of motivation I have. It was like a microeconomics screenplay of diminishing returns coming to life. As the week wore on, I spent more and more time looking up song lyrics, randomly checking facebook updates, eating (it was out of control), and staring blankly at my computer screen. The week culminated in completion of the 19 page (20 with the title page), 1.5 line-spaced, 12-font paper at 4:00 a.m. this morning, Friday, November, 2008, a.k.a. the due date.
So, task complete, I weakly collapsed on my bed at 4:10 a.m. and preceded to dream of a parasite, portrayed as a very ugly, scary looking man, chasing me. The details are a bit hazy, but I recall it being frightfully dark. I sought the help of a couple of friends, who also happened to be up at at odd hours of the morning, crying frantically something about killing the enzyme. Sadly, I don't think they saved me, as I woke up 3 short hours after so gratefully drifting off to sleep to my alarm, creepily coordinated with a scream in my dream.
And so, my 8:00 class was torturous. I made a valiant effort at reading and note-taking in physics to save me from drifting off to sleep, and I listened through a fog to the organic chemistry review for our test on Monday. I think I was caught up in some sort of second-wind at 11:00, that I'm banking will keep me alive and thriving until 2:00 when my classes are complete for the week and I can take a nap, which sounds heavenly right now.
Three cheers for procrastination. Enjoy sleep while you can, and if you chose to skip bed-time, know that you are not alone. :)
You see, on my course schedule this fall there has been this column inhabited by a so-called "research" class - a class consuming 3.0 credit hours of my life, I might add. A quiet class, it seemed to be for the first 3 months of this semester as I daintily gave not so much as a strawberry seed to it's whisper of a demand to receive attention. That is until Monday, November 10, the day I discovered a peculiar marking taking up more than its fair share of space in my planner. The marking, appearing rather smug and ominous said simply, "research paper rough draft due." .......uh-oh......And so the story of the week I completed a 3 credit course research paper in a week's time takes shape.
What I had so blissfully avoided for 3 months came back to release its fury on me. To fight the storm, I put aside thoughts of studying for all other classes this week and proceeded to immerse myself in the ever-confusing, problematic analysis of Class II Giardia Fructose-1, 6 biphosphate, that is, the chosen enzyme as a drug target for killing the little devil of a parasite causing giardiasis, a form of diarrhea. The outcome of such an intense endeavor proved to be a lack of sleep, a couple of significantly lower homework grades in organic chemistry, initiation of auto-retreat of focus to thoughts of days of recess and snowpant-clad, carefree snow angle making during cell and molecular biology to save my brain from incomprehensible knowledge, AND a complete exploit of every pebble of motivation I have. It was like a microeconomics screenplay of diminishing returns coming to life. As the week wore on, I spent more and more time looking up song lyrics, randomly checking facebook updates, eating (it was out of control), and staring blankly at my computer screen. The week culminated in completion of the 19 page (20 with the title page), 1.5 line-spaced, 12-font paper at 4:00 a.m. this morning, Friday, November, 2008, a.k.a. the due date.
So, task complete, I weakly collapsed on my bed at 4:10 a.m. and preceded to dream of a parasite, portrayed as a very ugly, scary looking man, chasing me. The details are a bit hazy, but I recall it being frightfully dark. I sought the help of a couple of friends, who also happened to be up at at odd hours of the morning, crying frantically something about killing the enzyme. Sadly, I don't think they saved me, as I woke up 3 short hours after so gratefully drifting off to sleep to my alarm, creepily coordinated with a scream in my dream.
And so, my 8:00 class was torturous. I made a valiant effort at reading and note-taking in physics to save me from drifting off to sleep, and I listened through a fog to the organic chemistry review for our test on Monday. I think I was caught up in some sort of second-wind at 11:00, that I'm banking will keep me alive and thriving until 2:00 when my classes are complete for the week and I can take a nap, which sounds heavenly right now.
Three cheers for procrastination. Enjoy sleep while you can, and if you chose to skip bed-time, know that you are not alone. :)
Friday, November 7, 2008
It's soo cold!
Well...a week into November, less than 48 hours after I daintily spent 3 days wandering around campus comfortably and joyfully in shorts and a t-shirt, naively thinking that perhaps we would just skip winter and go straight back to summer, I am sitting here completely chilled to the bone. I normally wake up to see the sunrise outside my window. This morning I woke up to see winter waving frantically in my face. And, as if the light blanket of snow thought I couldn't see it outside of my fourth floor window, it's friend, Ice Wind, made some noise to go with it. Ice Wind is not my friend! I literally gasped when I stepped outside the door this morning to trudge to Physics class - winter is not coming quietly. In fact, I think the cold blast of wind in my face and the slippery sidewalk was a very rude arrival....like someone screaming in the library.
On with my life narrative, however. We played in the first round of the GPAC volleyball tournament last night. It was the first time in 8 years that MMC has been in the tournament. Annnd.... we .....lost. :( So, our season is over. Despite the greatly elevated amount of free time that I now have stretching out before me, it is rather sad to be done. For starters, we lost in 3 sets, and played okay, but not great. And secondly, a couple of the seniors on the team also happen to be some of my best friends, so I will miss them terribly. And, finally, if I am accepted into graduate school, I may be forever done with collegiate sports. My body would probably be incredibly grateful for that, but my heart is rather sad. It is kind of a surreal feeling right now, to be done. I don't think it will fully set in until after a few days of not practicing. As for now, the slow acceptance leaves me in a mellow/contemplative/sad mood, so the evil Ice Wind, though harsh, seems kind of fitting for the day. I should mention though, that this season marks the best for MMC volleyball in 9 years. We finished 14-21, doubling our number of wins from one year ago.
And despite the wind, cold, and ending of volleyball, life is surely moving on. This weekend lays claim to the Blue and Gold Days festivities. It kicks off this afternoon at 3:30 for the Honors Convocation. I will be honored, along with all of the other MMC scholarship recipients. I also have to ambassador at the ceremony (yay black, old lady suit......note the sarcasm :P). Post ceremony I have a couple of hours to lounge in comfy clothes before donning my suit for the second time in one day as I have to ambassador at the fall play tonight as well. I'm planning on staying to watch the show once my job is complete. Andy Hendrickson, the theatre director here always puts together shows well worth seeing! Tomorrow my mom is driving up to visit me and has planned a shopping date with me in Sioux Falls. Homework or not, family just seems more important. And Sunday, the suit comes out yet again....It's like rebelling against hanging in the corner of my closet or something and DEMANDING usage this week. (haha...) Sunday morning is the ambassador commissioning mass where I shall stand in front of the congregation and pledge my allegiance to the school and service...or something like that.
And I'm off and running again. I have to get some lecture notes printed off and make a couple of phone calls before class. Busy, busy, busy......oh Thanksgiving break, where are you? :)
On with my life narrative, however. We played in the first round of the GPAC volleyball tournament last night. It was the first time in 8 years that MMC has been in the tournament. Annnd.... we .....lost. :( So, our season is over. Despite the greatly elevated amount of free time that I now have stretching out before me, it is rather sad to be done. For starters, we lost in 3 sets, and played okay, but not great. And secondly, a couple of the seniors on the team also happen to be some of my best friends, so I will miss them terribly. And, finally, if I am accepted into graduate school, I may be forever done with collegiate sports. My body would probably be incredibly grateful for that, but my heart is rather sad. It is kind of a surreal feeling right now, to be done. I don't think it will fully set in until after a few days of not practicing. As for now, the slow acceptance leaves me in a mellow/contemplative/sad mood, so the evil Ice Wind, though harsh, seems kind of fitting for the day. I should mention though, that this season marks the best for MMC volleyball in 9 years. We finished 14-21, doubling our number of wins from one year ago.
And despite the wind, cold, and ending of volleyball, life is surely moving on. This weekend lays claim to the Blue and Gold Days festivities. It kicks off this afternoon at 3:30 for the Honors Convocation. I will be honored, along with all of the other MMC scholarship recipients. I also have to ambassador at the ceremony (yay black, old lady suit......note the sarcasm :P). Post ceremony I have a couple of hours to lounge in comfy clothes before donning my suit for the second time in one day as I have to ambassador at the fall play tonight as well. I'm planning on staying to watch the show once my job is complete. Andy Hendrickson, the theatre director here always puts together shows well worth seeing! Tomorrow my mom is driving up to visit me and has planned a shopping date with me in Sioux Falls. Homework or not, family just seems more important. And Sunday, the suit comes out yet again....It's like rebelling against hanging in the corner of my closet or something and DEMANDING usage this week. (haha...) Sunday morning is the ambassador commissioning mass where I shall stand in front of the congregation and pledge my allegiance to the school and service...or something like that.
And I'm off and running again. I have to get some lecture notes printed off and make a couple of phone calls before class. Busy, busy, busy......oh Thanksgiving break, where are you? :)
Friday, October 31, 2008
The Joys of Deciding NOT to Study
YAY Friday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D
I simply love Friday afternoons when it doesn't really matter if I waste a few hours of my life doing nothing homework related. It's been quite the week once again, and a little less than 30 minutes ago, it culminated in an organic chemistry test that I am sufficiently relieved to be done with.
BUT, before that test, I pulled a crazy, utterly exciting move (haha...so maybe it wasn't THAT wild). Last night, when the need to study was desperately calling my name, I shut the door in the face of that voice and instead drove the 1 hour and 45 min trip home to Elgin, NE to watch my little brother play in the high school football playoffs. His team won by a sufficiently cushioned margin, and they looked great! I was pumped to make the trip. I didn't call my mom to let her know I was coming, so my arrival was a complete surprise for everyone at home. I hadn't been home since early August, before volleyball and school even started (volleyball every weekend really puts a dent in my time to travel home), so to be there, even for a very brief visit was extremely refreshing. I slept in my own bedroom in the bed I've called my own since I was about 5 years old, and woke up at 6 a.m. to make it back to Yankton in time for my Organic Chemistry test this morning. Though my studying was limited, I think the test went pretty well, and if I could redo last night, I would make the same decision!
Test complete, I am starting to feel rather exhausted, though. It doesn't help matters to walk around and be scared out of my wits by Halloween fanatics dressed up in monster apparel for their classes. And the sugar-saturated goodies around every corner aren't doing much for my fatigued state either; I simply can't resist eating such sweet tasting parcels when they're sitting in the Cyber or outside of the President's office beckoning to be eaten.
Plan for the rest of the day: Avoid over consumption of sugar. Finish my hour of work study. Eat. Go to the Moderator meeting. Attend my last class of the week (WOOHOO!). Pack my volleyball bag. Take a brief nap, and hit the road for Dordt College for one heck of a match-up....and then of course be ready to do it all over again as we leave at 7:45 a.m. for Fremont tomorrow to play Midland in our last regular season game!
Happy Halloween!!
I simply love Friday afternoons when it doesn't really matter if I waste a few hours of my life doing nothing homework related. It's been quite the week once again, and a little less than 30 minutes ago, it culminated in an organic chemistry test that I am sufficiently relieved to be done with.
BUT, before that test, I pulled a crazy, utterly exciting move (haha...so maybe it wasn't THAT wild). Last night, when the need to study was desperately calling my name, I shut the door in the face of that voice and instead drove the 1 hour and 45 min trip home to Elgin, NE to watch my little brother play in the high school football playoffs. His team won by a sufficiently cushioned margin, and they looked great! I was pumped to make the trip. I didn't call my mom to let her know I was coming, so my arrival was a complete surprise for everyone at home. I hadn't been home since early August, before volleyball and school even started (volleyball every weekend really puts a dent in my time to travel home), so to be there, even for a very brief visit was extremely refreshing. I slept in my own bedroom in the bed I've called my own since I was about 5 years old, and woke up at 6 a.m. to make it back to Yankton in time for my Organic Chemistry test this morning. Though my studying was limited, I think the test went pretty well, and if I could redo last night, I would make the same decision!
Test complete, I am starting to feel rather exhausted, though. It doesn't help matters to walk around and be scared out of my wits by Halloween fanatics dressed up in monster apparel for their classes. And the sugar-saturated goodies around every corner aren't doing much for my fatigued state either; I simply can't resist eating such sweet tasting parcels when they're sitting in the Cyber or outside of the President's office beckoning to be eaten.
Plan for the rest of the day: Avoid over consumption of sugar. Finish my hour of work study. Eat. Go to the Moderator meeting. Attend my last class of the week (WOOHOO!). Pack my volleyball bag. Take a brief nap, and hit the road for Dordt College for one heck of a match-up....and then of course be ready to do it all over again as we leave at 7:45 a.m. for Fremont tomorrow to play Midland in our last regular season game!
Happy Halloween!!
Monday, October 27, 2008
That Time of Year
So another week has passed since my last post and because the past couple of weeks have just seemed to run together, I had to refer to my previous post to catch myself up on my own life before I could inform all of you. :) I know, pathetic.
Last week consisted of a whole lot of homework and shivering and volleyball. This is the time of year that things start to seem very monotonous and sometimes quite pointless actually. Homework piles up more than usual. I'd like to blame this on professors deciding to make us squirm, but I think it's equally likely (at least in my case) that the growing mound of textbooks to read, papers to write, and tests to study for is due to a lack of motivation. My attention span simply begins to wan with the shorter days, and thinking about doing organic daily assignments or sitting through another 8a.m. microeconomics lecture makes me cringe. So what to do? Stock up on 5 calorie packs of crystal light wild strawberry drink mix (with caffeine :)) take a few deep breaths, adopt a mind over matter philosophy, and plug away. I might be needing a bit more caffeine than usual this week as I just realized this morning that my 13 page summer research paper, the one I have yet to start or really even give serious thought to, ummm, well, I'm going to have to start thinking and thinking quickly because it's due in 2 weeks - 2 weeks full of other classes that surely will not show me any pity for my procrastination.
As if I don't already feel pressed for time, I spent nearly the entire weekend on the road. Saturday we had a volleyball game in York, NE, a 3 hour bus ride. We were victorious in 3 sets, thank goodness, so the 6 hours on the bus were at least not in vain. Sunday did not offer me the ever-eluding time to sleep in either. I was up at 7 so that I could go to church before leaving for another 3 hour bus trip, this time with the Bio-Chem Club, destination: the bodies in motion exhibit in Watertown. The old building housing the exhibit proved to be sufficiently chilly and haunted-house-ish. The full body plastination figures of real humans were completely fascinating. It's so weird to think outside the box and really contemplate the intricacies of the anatomy and physiology of the human body and very surreal to actually see such excellent models of that anatomy. As fascinating as it was though, I also found it to be quite disturbing. You see, these chopped up/sectioned views of these real human bodies had to be created by someone, and the whole time I was there I could not shove that knowledge from my brain. As if it wasn't cold enough in that creepy building, the thought of chopping up someone's face into sections literally chilled me to the bone. Overall, it was a good experience, but the 3 hour bus ride on Sunday, what is usually my quiet homework day, kind of tainted the experience for me and left me wondering where my weekend went.
On a positive note, we had an AGAPE meeting last night. AGAPE is a women's spiritual group here at MMC that meets on certain Sunday nights. Last night's gathering was a "share your favorite Christian song" festivity. It was very refreshing to lay on the floor and simply allow the powerful lyrics to cloud my brain. Music can speak volumes, and it was a great re-focus hour for me before the start of another busy week.
This week is a big one for volleyball. We play our last 3 regular season games, all on the road and all conference matches. The adrenaline will be pumping and come Saturday, I'm predicting a state of mental and physical exhaustion, all very satisfying sleepiness though of course. :)
Though it is still sufficiently chilly in Yankton, the rain has stopped and the sun is again shining. And so the beat goes on... :)
Last week consisted of a whole lot of homework and shivering and volleyball. This is the time of year that things start to seem very monotonous and sometimes quite pointless actually. Homework piles up more than usual. I'd like to blame this on professors deciding to make us squirm, but I think it's equally likely (at least in my case) that the growing mound of textbooks to read, papers to write, and tests to study for is due to a lack of motivation. My attention span simply begins to wan with the shorter days, and thinking about doing organic daily assignments or sitting through another 8a.m. microeconomics lecture makes me cringe. So what to do? Stock up on 5 calorie packs of crystal light wild strawberry drink mix (with caffeine :)) take a few deep breaths, adopt a mind over matter philosophy, and plug away. I might be needing a bit more caffeine than usual this week as I just realized this morning that my 13 page summer research paper, the one I have yet to start or really even give serious thought to, ummm, well, I'm going to have to start thinking and thinking quickly because it's due in 2 weeks - 2 weeks full of other classes that surely will not show me any pity for my procrastination.
As if I don't already feel pressed for time, I spent nearly the entire weekend on the road. Saturday we had a volleyball game in York, NE, a 3 hour bus ride. We were victorious in 3 sets, thank goodness, so the 6 hours on the bus were at least not in vain. Sunday did not offer me the ever-eluding time to sleep in either. I was up at 7 so that I could go to church before leaving for another 3 hour bus trip, this time with the Bio-Chem Club, destination: the bodies in motion exhibit in Watertown. The old building housing the exhibit proved to be sufficiently chilly and haunted-house-ish. The full body plastination figures of real humans were completely fascinating. It's so weird to think outside the box and really contemplate the intricacies of the anatomy and physiology of the human body and very surreal to actually see such excellent models of that anatomy. As fascinating as it was though, I also found it to be quite disturbing. You see, these chopped up/sectioned views of these real human bodies had to be created by someone, and the whole time I was there I could not shove that knowledge from my brain. As if it wasn't cold enough in that creepy building, the thought of chopping up someone's face into sections literally chilled me to the bone. Overall, it was a good experience, but the 3 hour bus ride on Sunday, what is usually my quiet homework day, kind of tainted the experience for me and left me wondering where my weekend went.
On a positive note, we had an AGAPE meeting last night. AGAPE is a women's spiritual group here at MMC that meets on certain Sunday nights. Last night's gathering was a "share your favorite Christian song" festivity. It was very refreshing to lay on the floor and simply allow the powerful lyrics to cloud my brain. Music can speak volumes, and it was a great re-focus hour for me before the start of another busy week.
This week is a big one for volleyball. We play our last 3 regular season games, all on the road and all conference matches. The adrenaline will be pumping and come Saturday, I'm predicting a state of mental and physical exhaustion, all very satisfying sleepiness though of course. :)
Though it is still sufficiently chilly in Yankton, the rain has stopped and the sun is again shining. And so the beat goes on... :)
Monday, October 20, 2008
PCAT torture
Happy Monday Afternoon everyone!!!
Hi. So My insanely busy/stressful week is over and what I thought would be a week with a little breathing room is not looking to shape up to be any such thing. Let's just say my enthusiastic "Yay, Monday afternoon" greeting has quite a bit more spunk to it than I am actually feeling right now.
BUT, I do have to admit that having the PCAT behind me is a ginormous load off of my back!!! I ended up leaving to drive the 30-ish miles to Vermillion on Saturday morning a full hour and 15 minutes before the test was scheduled to start. You may think I'm crazy, but hey, I was nervous, didn't know where the building was located, and was having nightmares of bizarre obstacles stopping me from getting there on time. Luck would have it that I had little trouble finding the location of my prison for the torturous hours of that fateful morning. I made a friend with a fellow paranoid test-taker whose jitters steered him to a ridiculously early arrival as well. At 8:30 a.m., I found myself in a room with only eight other test takers. After the exceedingly boring and formal reading of warnings threatening us not to disclose information or cheat lest we were seeking imprisonment, the clock started ticking. Sub-test #1: Write an essay proposing a solution to a problem....a full blown essay with reliable support for my proposition in 30 minutes! Shoot, if my nerves weren't already shot, the realization that the test started with the time-pressured essay threw me for one heck of a loop. I was naively assuming that both essays would conclude the test. (ahhhhhh) But anyway, I wasted the first couple of minutes having a spaz attack and then proceeded to propose a solution that in hindsight appears completely and utterly absurd. Granted, I can write, but I'm a bit lacking in world-problem solving skills. I did survive that first essay writing frenzy, and the second that timer went off, Ms. Proctor lady, without looking up from her very unstressful reading and without any emotion or pity for us suffering souls, said very bluntly, "turn to test 2 and begin." WHOA! Like not even a minute to take a breather. I was expecting instructions or a simple comment to lighten the mood...anything but an IMMEDIATE ticking clock. But, with no other option, I plunged into the world of verbal analysis which of course included oodles of words I had no idea even existed. What's the point of knowing them when no one in their right minds speaks them anyway? When the stupid timer beeped again, I had to shift my mind to biology knowledge. I spent that 30 minutes wracking my brains trying to recall bits and pieces of anatomy lectures that I had long since shoved to the corners of my brain. And when the buzzer nearly scared me out of my chair, it was reset before I had time to blink to pressure me through a chemistry section that stressed every cell of chemistry knowledge I have inside me....and even some that I'm pretty sure I made up (I have not had the second semester of organic chemistry yet....).
And then....... praise the Lord, a break!! Ten glorious minutes to use the restroom and walk and breathe. I left the room and wandered around the rectangular building, aimlessly taking laps. The 10 minute break ended much too rapidly and I found myself tripping through a shaky solution to a second global problem in essay number two. I should note at this point that I had successfully dulled four #2 pencils. With writing down, it was on to reading comprehension. Now granted, I LOVE to read. I voluntarily read all of the time. I chose to get lost in novels rather than television regularly. But they pose the most horridly boring anecdotes and factual articles in those stupid tests and then ask questions that I swear make you second guess everything you just read. I was sick of testing at this point and spend precious seconds debating which of the four theme choices was actually accurate or if the test takers even gave me a correct option. I beat that rude timer though and mustered every ounce of thinking power I had left to begin the final test: quantitative analysis - no calculators allowed, mind you. I utilized skills I relearned by tutoring middle school kids at the library this summer. I was shocked at how years of geometry, trigonometry, and calculus could diminish my knowledge of how to solve fraction, logarithmic, and multiplication and long division problems by hand. I will admit that I blindly guessed on a calculus question or two (My brain discarded that information 4 years ago after I took it as a senior in high school). I nearly ran out of time and just took wild (we're talking look at the answer sheet and pick my favorite letter) guesses for a couple of questions that required too much computation and time for my exhausted brain cells to handle.
And when that terrible timer went off this time.....FREEDOM!!! Four hours after that test began, it was finally over. I grabbed my bag and booked it out of there. It will be six long weeks of waiting before my scores are mailed to me, but I'm hoping in the meantime, that the stress was worth it and I'll be able to put my PCAT study book away in a closet for good (or possibly sell it to any brave soul who decides to take the test :)). I drove straight back to Yankton and without even returning to my room, went to the gym and got dressed for our afternoon volleyball game. We won the game, but as if a testament to the stress of the day, it took us 5 painful sets of point-for-point competition to do it. Wanting nothing better than to sleep and not think about anything after the game, I instead spent some time with my mom and then got ready for the fall formal. I danced away the evening and had a blast doing it....it was a great ending to a very long stressful day.
And that brings me to Monday afternoon, I am behind in all of my classes because I spent last week studying for the PCAT, so I am playing catch up hardcore right now. As Dr. Wu, my Organic chemistry professor, wisely says, "Falling behind is Death!" I am on the verge of "death"...
Have a great week!
Hi. So My insanely busy/stressful week is over and what I thought would be a week with a little breathing room is not looking to shape up to be any such thing. Let's just say my enthusiastic "Yay, Monday afternoon" greeting has quite a bit more spunk to it than I am actually feeling right now.
BUT, I do have to admit that having the PCAT behind me is a ginormous load off of my back!!! I ended up leaving to drive the 30-ish miles to Vermillion on Saturday morning a full hour and 15 minutes before the test was scheduled to start. You may think I'm crazy, but hey, I was nervous, didn't know where the building was located, and was having nightmares of bizarre obstacles stopping me from getting there on time. Luck would have it that I had little trouble finding the location of my prison for the torturous hours of that fateful morning. I made a friend with a fellow paranoid test-taker whose jitters steered him to a ridiculously early arrival as well. At 8:30 a.m., I found myself in a room with only eight other test takers. After the exceedingly boring and formal reading of warnings threatening us not to disclose information or cheat lest we were seeking imprisonment, the clock started ticking. Sub-test #1: Write an essay proposing a solution to a problem....a full blown essay with reliable support for my proposition in 30 minutes! Shoot, if my nerves weren't already shot, the realization that the test started with the time-pressured essay threw me for one heck of a loop. I was naively assuming that both essays would conclude the test. (ahhhhhh) But anyway, I wasted the first couple of minutes having a spaz attack and then proceeded to propose a solution that in hindsight appears completely and utterly absurd. Granted, I can write, but I'm a bit lacking in world-problem solving skills. I did survive that first essay writing frenzy, and the second that timer went off, Ms. Proctor lady, without looking up from her very unstressful reading and without any emotion or pity for us suffering souls, said very bluntly, "turn to test 2 and begin." WHOA! Like not even a minute to take a breather. I was expecting instructions or a simple comment to lighten the mood...anything but an IMMEDIATE ticking clock. But, with no other option, I plunged into the world of verbal analysis which of course included oodles of words I had no idea even existed. What's the point of knowing them when no one in their right minds speaks them anyway? When the stupid timer beeped again, I had to shift my mind to biology knowledge. I spent that 30 minutes wracking my brains trying to recall bits and pieces of anatomy lectures that I had long since shoved to the corners of my brain. And when the buzzer nearly scared me out of my chair, it was reset before I had time to blink to pressure me through a chemistry section that stressed every cell of chemistry knowledge I have inside me....and even some that I'm pretty sure I made up (I have not had the second semester of organic chemistry yet....).
And then....... praise the Lord, a break!! Ten glorious minutes to use the restroom and walk and breathe. I left the room and wandered around the rectangular building, aimlessly taking laps. The 10 minute break ended much too rapidly and I found myself tripping through a shaky solution to a second global problem in essay number two. I should note at this point that I had successfully dulled four #2 pencils. With writing down, it was on to reading comprehension. Now granted, I LOVE to read. I voluntarily read all of the time. I chose to get lost in novels rather than television regularly. But they pose the most horridly boring anecdotes and factual articles in those stupid tests and then ask questions that I swear make you second guess everything you just read. I was sick of testing at this point and spend precious seconds debating which of the four theme choices was actually accurate or if the test takers even gave me a correct option. I beat that rude timer though and mustered every ounce of thinking power I had left to begin the final test: quantitative analysis - no calculators allowed, mind you. I utilized skills I relearned by tutoring middle school kids at the library this summer. I was shocked at how years of geometry, trigonometry, and calculus could diminish my knowledge of how to solve fraction, logarithmic, and multiplication and long division problems by hand. I will admit that I blindly guessed on a calculus question or two (My brain discarded that information 4 years ago after I took it as a senior in high school). I nearly ran out of time and just took wild (we're talking look at the answer sheet and pick my favorite letter) guesses for a couple of questions that required too much computation and time for my exhausted brain cells to handle.
And when that terrible timer went off this time.....FREEDOM!!! Four hours after that test began, it was finally over. I grabbed my bag and booked it out of there. It will be six long weeks of waiting before my scores are mailed to me, but I'm hoping in the meantime, that the stress was worth it and I'll be able to put my PCAT study book away in a closet for good (or possibly sell it to any brave soul who decides to take the test :)). I drove straight back to Yankton and without even returning to my room, went to the gym and got dressed for our afternoon volleyball game. We won the game, but as if a testament to the stress of the day, it took us 5 painful sets of point-for-point competition to do it. Wanting nothing better than to sleep and not think about anything after the game, I instead spent some time with my mom and then got ready for the fall formal. I danced away the evening and had a blast doing it....it was a great ending to a very long stressful day.
And that brings me to Monday afternoon, I am behind in all of my classes because I spent last week studying for the PCAT, so I am playing catch up hardcore right now. As Dr. Wu, my Organic chemistry professor, wisely says, "Falling behind is Death!" I am on the verge of "death"...
Have a great week!
Monday, October 13, 2008
I Need More Time!!
Hello Again all!!
Well it has been quite some time since I last spilled my life story online. Summer is over and midterm week is already here. So much has happened since my last post of the summer, so it's hard to know where to even begin.
As I write this, I am enjoying a day off from classes. MMC classes were cancelled today to celebrate Native American Day. Woohoo!!!!!! Sadly, though, I am not enjoying my "free" time as much as I had initially hoped. I am currently sitting in the micro lab preparing media tubes for one of Dr. McRoy's labs. You see, I somehow managed to acquire myself this new lab work study position in addition to my normal position as a tutor in the learning center. I received an email from him last night asking me to get a few things ready, and I had no idea when I came in at 9:00 this morning that I would still be here 3 hours later. This is exactly where science and I do not get along. I am entirely too impatient to sit around waiting for such things as an autoclave to sterilize things. Though I wasn't required to get the entire list of things done today, I decided it would be a good idea to do it all and be done with it....bad idea, Kelly. I have never wanted to leave the lab so badly as at this moment. Once I finish my final autoclaving, I am off to run a few errands before volleyball practice at 4.
Volleyball is a whole bright, rollarcoaster ride of a topic that I will spend some time on in a future post, guaranteed. For the sake of time right now, I'll just let you know we are 11-14 - a very respectable season thus far and the most wins MMC's coach of 8 years, Tracey Grotenhuis, has ever had. It has been a very enjoyable and busy season up unitl now and it is winding down faster than I have time to register.....
But, what's really weighing on my mind and on my time is PCAT (pharmacy collage admission test) studying. I take the exam in Vermillion at 8:30 a.m. this coming Saturday....a.k.a. 5 days from now. AHHHHHHHH. I feel so very unprepared. I'm trying to spend all the time I can studying, but also can't focus for long. Honestly, how do you cram everything you've ever learned in school into your brain for the sake of one test? It's overwhelming and stressful. On top of regular class homework and studies, volleyball practices and games, and meetings and college in general, I have very limited time. This could possibly be the most stressful week of my life. So...on that note, I must be off to finish up this smelly (literally) lab work and hit the books. I'll catch you up later on my life and the test. Saturday, October 18th at 1:30 p.m. will be a huge releif!!! Have a great week!
Well it has been quite some time since I last spilled my life story online. Summer is over and midterm week is already here. So much has happened since my last post of the summer, so it's hard to know where to even begin.
As I write this, I am enjoying a day off from classes. MMC classes were cancelled today to celebrate Native American Day. Woohoo!!!!!! Sadly, though, I am not enjoying my "free" time as much as I had initially hoped. I am currently sitting in the micro lab preparing media tubes for one of Dr. McRoy's labs. You see, I somehow managed to acquire myself this new lab work study position in addition to my normal position as a tutor in the learning center. I received an email from him last night asking me to get a few things ready, and I had no idea when I came in at 9:00 this morning that I would still be here 3 hours later. This is exactly where science and I do not get along. I am entirely too impatient to sit around waiting for such things as an autoclave to sterilize things. Though I wasn't required to get the entire list of things done today, I decided it would be a good idea to do it all and be done with it....bad idea, Kelly. I have never wanted to leave the lab so badly as at this moment. Once I finish my final autoclaving, I am off to run a few errands before volleyball practice at 4.
Volleyball is a whole bright, rollarcoaster ride of a topic that I will spend some time on in a future post, guaranteed. For the sake of time right now, I'll just let you know we are 11-14 - a very respectable season thus far and the most wins MMC's coach of 8 years, Tracey Grotenhuis, has ever had. It has been a very enjoyable and busy season up unitl now and it is winding down faster than I have time to register.....
But, what's really weighing on my mind and on my time is PCAT (pharmacy collage admission test) studying. I take the exam in Vermillion at 8:30 a.m. this coming Saturday....a.k.a. 5 days from now. AHHHHHHHH. I feel so very unprepared. I'm trying to spend all the time I can studying, but also can't focus for long. Honestly, how do you cram everything you've ever learned in school into your brain for the sake of one test? It's overwhelming and stressful. On top of regular class homework and studies, volleyball practices and games, and meetings and college in general, I have very limited time. This could possibly be the most stressful week of my life. So...on that note, I must be off to finish up this smelly (literally) lab work and hit the books. I'll catch you up later on my life and the test. Saturday, October 18th at 1:30 p.m. will be a huge releif!!! Have a great week!
Friday, August 22, 2008
Relaxing Away Relaxation Days
Good morning everyone! The day has finally arrived! The new freshmen are packed up and unloading their lives into their new homes. I woke up this morning at 8:00 and headed down to the cafeteria at 8:30 for breakfast to find campus already buzzing with activity. The orientation leaders, who I've witnessed working very hard and planning fun and exciting events all week, were swarming around anxiously waiting to greet the young, nervous souls. Though it will be a busy weekend for all of you freshmen, it will surely be fun as well!
Because I play volleyball, I could not be an orientation leader. But, this weekend is a big one for my teammates and I as well. Tomorrow morning at 11:00 is our season kick-off. We are hosting a triangular with Waldorf and DSU. Varsity will play at both 11:00 and 3:00 and JV won't be left out as we play at 3:00. All 25 members of the team have survived the first two weeks of practice. The soreness is wearing away and the rustiness of the summer months has been cleared. We have all been working hard, sweating away gallons of water from our bodies, and I think we're ready to play. It's always a bit nerve-racking for me to step back on the court for the first time without a clue as to where my team stands in relation to opponents. It would be fantastic to start the season off 2-0, and we've been working for it and together believe it is possible! So fans out there, come on down and watch the show!
As I'm writing this, I'm debating how I want to spend all my free time today. Now that two-a-days are done, I have the time to relax, and it's almost a bit overwhelming because I have so much free time to occupy. :) Yesterday morning I drove to Hartington, NE to get my official 21-year-old license. Woohoo! My birthday isn't actually until Sunday, so let me explain for non-Nebraska residents. In good ole NE, our licenses expire on our 21st birthdays, so the state issues new ones up to 10 days prior to your actual birthday. I was pretty pumped about my morning adventure for two reasons: 1) I made it to Hartington without getting lost and then only drove around for about 3 minutes before randomly and luckily stumbling upon the courthouse's whereabouts and 2) I look decent in my picture and mastered that stupid little touch screen signing machine. Once back in Yankton safe and sound, I edited the last of the papers I needed to read as the student editor for Scholastica, an undergraduate research journal of MMC students' papers. Call me what you will, but I actually enjoy editing (maybe a grammar cop? :)). Having enjoyably occupied myself all morning, I decided to make the afternoon just as exciting. I went with a friend and fellow volleyball player, Kate Carda, to her grandma's house here in Yankton to play a rousing card game of hand and foot. I had never even heard of the game, but it turned out to be relatively easy to catch on to and wasn't too challenging but did require strategy. I came in second and was fairly pleased with myself for catching on so quickly. Kate's grandma is an absolute sweetheart! Though getting up there in age, she gets around incredibly well, and I was shocked to learn she even has a three wheeler bike thing. She told the cutest stories and definitely held her own at cards. I really enjoyed visiting with her and was sad to leave when practice time rolled around. I survived practice, though I was far from impressed with my play last night, and came back to my room where I spent a few random hours chatting and wandering and then settled on my futon where I finished Nicholas Sparks' At First Sight. It was a great book and incredibly sad at the end, so I was literally crying on my futon for about 2o minutes before bed (don't judge me, I get really into my books!). That being said, yesterday was a great day. It would be wonderful if all days could be so carefree, but I think my goal for today leans more toward productivity. Right now I'm debating whether to attempt a start on my research paper over my summer research or some studying and application completing for grad school. Icky, I know.
I'm working on enjoying these last days of this week as much as possible. My birthday week is going to be off-the-wall crazy. All the returning students move back in on Sunday - I'm super excited to see my friends again! Classes start on Monday - ugh. I need to dig my motivation back up from somewhere. Tuesday I have my first lab of the year and spend the rest of the day in work study. I'm continuing to volunteer tutor one of the boys I worked with this summer at the library on Tuesday nights, so I am excited about that. And then Wednesday the volleyball team leaves at 6:00 a.m. for San Diego California!!!! WOOOHOOOO!!!! I'll leave the details of that trip for a future post. :) I can say that it is sure to be a great time despite the fact that we will miss and have to make up work for three days of class in this first week.
I'm signing off now to get my productivity on the ball. Happy school days to all of you!
Because I play volleyball, I could not be an orientation leader. But, this weekend is a big one for my teammates and I as well. Tomorrow morning at 11:00 is our season kick-off. We are hosting a triangular with Waldorf and DSU. Varsity will play at both 11:00 and 3:00 and JV won't be left out as we play at 3:00. All 25 members of the team have survived the first two weeks of practice. The soreness is wearing away and the rustiness of the summer months has been cleared. We have all been working hard, sweating away gallons of water from our bodies, and I think we're ready to play. It's always a bit nerve-racking for me to step back on the court for the first time without a clue as to where my team stands in relation to opponents. It would be fantastic to start the season off 2-0, and we've been working for it and together believe it is possible! So fans out there, come on down and watch the show!
As I'm writing this, I'm debating how I want to spend all my free time today. Now that two-a-days are done, I have the time to relax, and it's almost a bit overwhelming because I have so much free time to occupy. :) Yesterday morning I drove to Hartington, NE to get my official 21-year-old license. Woohoo! My birthday isn't actually until Sunday, so let me explain for non-Nebraska residents. In good ole NE, our licenses expire on our 21st birthdays, so the state issues new ones up to 10 days prior to your actual birthday. I was pretty pumped about my morning adventure for two reasons: 1) I made it to Hartington without getting lost and then only drove around for about 3 minutes before randomly and luckily stumbling upon the courthouse's whereabouts and 2) I look decent in my picture and mastered that stupid little touch screen signing machine. Once back in Yankton safe and sound, I edited the last of the papers I needed to read as the student editor for Scholastica, an undergraduate research journal of MMC students' papers. Call me what you will, but I actually enjoy editing (maybe a grammar cop? :)). Having enjoyably occupied myself all morning, I decided to make the afternoon just as exciting. I went with a friend and fellow volleyball player, Kate Carda, to her grandma's house here in Yankton to play a rousing card game of hand and foot. I had never even heard of the game, but it turned out to be relatively easy to catch on to and wasn't too challenging but did require strategy. I came in second and was fairly pleased with myself for catching on so quickly. Kate's grandma is an absolute sweetheart! Though getting up there in age, she gets around incredibly well, and I was shocked to learn she even has a three wheeler bike thing. She told the cutest stories and definitely held her own at cards. I really enjoyed visiting with her and was sad to leave when practice time rolled around. I survived practice, though I was far from impressed with my play last night, and came back to my room where I spent a few random hours chatting and wandering and then settled on my futon where I finished Nicholas Sparks' At First Sight. It was a great book and incredibly sad at the end, so I was literally crying on my futon for about 2o minutes before bed (don't judge me, I get really into my books!). That being said, yesterday was a great day. It would be wonderful if all days could be so carefree, but I think my goal for today leans more toward productivity. Right now I'm debating whether to attempt a start on my research paper over my summer research or some studying and application completing for grad school. Icky, I know.
I'm working on enjoying these last days of this week as much as possible. My birthday week is going to be off-the-wall crazy. All the returning students move back in on Sunday - I'm super excited to see my friends again! Classes start on Monday - ugh. I need to dig my motivation back up from somewhere. Tuesday I have my first lab of the year and spend the rest of the day in work study. I'm continuing to volunteer tutor one of the boys I worked with this summer at the library on Tuesday nights, so I am excited about that. And then Wednesday the volleyball team leaves at 6:00 a.m. for San Diego California!!!! WOOOHOOOO!!!! I'll leave the details of that trip for a future post. :) I can say that it is sure to be a great time despite the fact that we will miss and have to make up work for three days of class in this first week.
I'm signing off now to get my productivity on the ball. Happy school days to all of you!
Friday, August 15, 2008
Back at it
Hello all! I've been so busy since coming back from that "precious" Iowa town I spoke of in my last post, that I don't even know where to begin. Well I guess first off, I have successfully moved out of the apartment and into my dorm room. Everything is unpacked, I love my carpet, my dad built me a reliable loft (he brags about it every time he puts it up), and my walls are decorated. The decorated wall thing was quite the dilemma. You see, my nails didn't appreciate being hammered into the cement walls, so they bent under the pressure and failed me. I tried these cheap plastic hook things next, only to have pictures and posters dropping from my walls like flies and a series of exasperated, angry words coming from my mouth. So yesterday, I splurged at Walmart and bought expensive hooks that are not failing me thus far (knock on wood!). That being said, my little "hallway" of a room (I live on 4th floor Bede where the rooms are long and narrow) is quite cute and homey. =) And the best part: I'm getting a good breeze coming in my window and amplified by my fan, so it's not even grossly hot up here!
Beyond moving back to MMC, my life has been volleyball, volleyball, volleyball. The team moved in on Monday and we were supposed to have a camping trip that evening, but an angry storm stopped us in our tracks. SOOO, we "camped" overnight in the gym and had quite the team bonding experience. We played speed ball to loosen us up and then bonded around the campfire in the gym.....I mean just kidding. We bonded in a circle around the imaginary campfire. We then watched a movie and went to bed. Let's just say I'm not as young as I used to be and sleeping on the hard floor didn't make my hips so happy. We woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed and headed out to the beach to start the morning off with a jog along the bike trails by the river. It was beautiful outside and I enjoyed it (do note that I enjoy running - it is my stress reliever - but a majority of the team didn't find the 20 minute run to their liking). We got funny looks from campers along the way. I shouted a few "good mornings" to elderly people staring at us. I can't say I blame them for their curiosity though. I mean, how often do you see a troop of 28 people running along - some giddy and some half dead? Run completed, we then hit the sand for a round robin sand volleyball tournament. It was a relaxing way to introduce practice. We ended our overnight bonding experience with lunch at pizza ranch. We had meetings all afternoon on Tuesday and then our physicals at 6:00. And then ....THE SEASON BEGAN!! We had our first official practice on Tuesday night. It was a short one to basically introduce the freshmen to our offense.
I'm happy to say that I survived the next three days of two-a-day practices. I believe I lost about 10 pounds of sweat, but feel like we have accomplished a lot as a team. Everyone is fitting in nicely. The 11 new freshmen are starting to get the hang of things (and I know all of their names =)). The inevitable soreness hasn't been a lot of fun, but this afternoon I feel like it is starting to go away. Yesterday standing and sitting and walking and just being was an achy experience. My knees exploded with pain with every bend. My right achilles tendon has been a bit under the weather but is hanging in there.
And who makes it through volleyball practice without an injury? Apparently not me. Yesterday afternoon we were doing a conditioning drill called shadow defense. Coach yells "Down" after a while and everyone has to get flat on the ground and back up as fast as possible - it is a race between you and your partner. Well, beings I am clumsy and manage to acquire the dumbest injuries known to man (usually in a very dumb way) I....well...I definitely got down. I whacked my chin on the floor. It wasn't a very hard hit and didn't really hurt that badly, but I have a scar there from when I was 10 and fell on my face ice skating. I hit the scar straight on and split my chin open. I ran to Andy the trainer who informed me I needed stitches. I was so devastated at the news that he agreed to try and sew me up himself with glue and butterfly strips....and he did it! I So I have a big ugly bandage contraption on my chin, but the wound is holding together and I'm living with it. I'd rather live with a split chin than hip surgery like last year any day!
And as if volleyball wasn't enough to keep me busy, the Riverboat Days celebration is going on in Yankton this weekend. I'm off now to walk around by the river, eat, listen to music, and watch some fireworks. I'll be back early so I can get up and be functional for 6:30 a.m. practice tomorrow. ugh. We practice and then get to walk in the parade. :)
Have a great weekend, and fellow MMC students I will see you soon!
Beyond moving back to MMC, my life has been volleyball, volleyball, volleyball. The team moved in on Monday and we were supposed to have a camping trip that evening, but an angry storm stopped us in our tracks. SOOO, we "camped" overnight in the gym and had quite the team bonding experience. We played speed ball to loosen us up and then bonded around the campfire in the gym.....I mean just kidding. We bonded in a circle around the imaginary campfire. We then watched a movie and went to bed. Let's just say I'm not as young as I used to be and sleeping on the hard floor didn't make my hips so happy. We woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed and headed out to the beach to start the morning off with a jog along the bike trails by the river. It was beautiful outside and I enjoyed it (do note that I enjoy running - it is my stress reliever - but a majority of the team didn't find the 20 minute run to their liking). We got funny looks from campers along the way. I shouted a few "good mornings" to elderly people staring at us. I can't say I blame them for their curiosity though. I mean, how often do you see a troop of 28 people running along - some giddy and some half dead? Run completed, we then hit the sand for a round robin sand volleyball tournament. It was a relaxing way to introduce practice. We ended our overnight bonding experience with lunch at pizza ranch. We had meetings all afternoon on Tuesday and then our physicals at 6:00. And then ....THE SEASON BEGAN!! We had our first official practice on Tuesday night. It was a short one to basically introduce the freshmen to our offense.
I'm happy to say that I survived the next three days of two-a-day practices. I believe I lost about 10 pounds of sweat, but feel like we have accomplished a lot as a team. Everyone is fitting in nicely. The 11 new freshmen are starting to get the hang of things (and I know all of their names =)). The inevitable soreness hasn't been a lot of fun, but this afternoon I feel like it is starting to go away. Yesterday standing and sitting and walking and just being was an achy experience. My knees exploded with pain with every bend. My right achilles tendon has been a bit under the weather but is hanging in there.
And who makes it through volleyball practice without an injury? Apparently not me. Yesterday afternoon we were doing a conditioning drill called shadow defense. Coach yells "Down" after a while and everyone has to get flat on the ground and back up as fast as possible - it is a race between you and your partner. Well, beings I am clumsy and manage to acquire the dumbest injuries known to man (usually in a very dumb way) I....well...I definitely got down. I whacked my chin on the floor. It wasn't a very hard hit and didn't really hurt that badly, but I have a scar there from when I was 10 and fell on my face ice skating. I hit the scar straight on and split my chin open. I ran to Andy the trainer who informed me I needed stitches. I was so devastated at the news that he agreed to try and sew me up himself with glue and butterfly strips....and he did it! I So I have a big ugly bandage contraption on my chin, but the wound is holding together and I'm living with it. I'd rather live with a split chin than hip surgery like last year any day!
And as if volleyball wasn't enough to keep me busy, the Riverboat Days celebration is going on in Yankton this weekend. I'm off now to walk around by the river, eat, listen to music, and watch some fireworks. I'll be back early so I can get up and be functional for 6:30 a.m. practice tomorrow. ugh. We practice and then get to walk in the parade. :)
Have a great weekend, and fellow MMC students I will see you soon!
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Iowa!
Greetings to all of you lovely people from Larchwood, IA!
Exactly two days before I am expected to move out of my apartment and back into the dorms, I find myself visiting my fabulous friend and roommate Brittany Sehr in her hometown - none other than small town Iowa. I came down with Tiffany Heck and Adrian O'brien, also friends of mine from Mt. Marty, and together we dubbed Larchwood as being "precious." Brittany lives in the perfect little neighborhood with green luscious grass and light brown brick houses (the kind I dream about living in someday). Her neighbor across the street is a hardcore body builder. This morning I looked out her kitchen window to see a young father pulling his three kids down the street in a mini-wagon train thing. It's just the cutest little neighborhood. Good location as well beings that it is only about 30 minutes from Sioux Falls. In fact, we drove to Sioux Falls at 4:00 this morning for some pretty fantastic strawberry banana french toast, and we are getting ready to head back soon for an afternoon of shopping - definitely great memories to end my summer with! As much as I love staying up until 5 in the morning with friends, I doubt I will have the opportunity to pursue such an adventure for quite some time. Goodbye lazy summer days and hello demanding volleyball practices. ugh.
Beyond loving my life in Larchwood, nothing new and revealing has happened in my life since my last post. I'm still making disgusted faces at the thought of having to go back to my apartment tonight and tomorrow to pack for the big move in day Saturday. I still have to-do lists up the wahzoo. BUT...deep breath here, this is big: ........ I did manage to knock off a big chunk of my grad school to-do list in a couple of afternoons I like to think of as "operation get organized." I now have three folders labeled and sorted with notes telling me deadlines and requirements. I'm not going to lie, I'm pretty proud of myself for accomplishing that. I also have shadowing experiences lined up (although one's not until a week in mid-December and the other is still in the workings as they had to do the whole background check extravaganza). All in all, it has been a busy but surprisingly productive week. Things are looking .... um..... school-ish and sure to be busier.
Exactly two days before I am expected to move out of my apartment and back into the dorms, I find myself visiting my fabulous friend and roommate Brittany Sehr in her hometown - none other than small town Iowa. I came down with Tiffany Heck and Adrian O'brien, also friends of mine from Mt. Marty, and together we dubbed Larchwood as being "precious." Brittany lives in the perfect little neighborhood with green luscious grass and light brown brick houses (the kind I dream about living in someday). Her neighbor across the street is a hardcore body builder. This morning I looked out her kitchen window to see a young father pulling his three kids down the street in a mini-wagon train thing. It's just the cutest little neighborhood. Good location as well beings that it is only about 30 minutes from Sioux Falls. In fact, we drove to Sioux Falls at 4:00 this morning for some pretty fantastic strawberry banana french toast, and we are getting ready to head back soon for an afternoon of shopping - definitely great memories to end my summer with! As much as I love staying up until 5 in the morning with friends, I doubt I will have the opportunity to pursue such an adventure for quite some time. Goodbye lazy summer days and hello demanding volleyball practices. ugh.
Beyond loving my life in Larchwood, nothing new and revealing has happened in my life since my last post. I'm still making disgusted faces at the thought of having to go back to my apartment tonight and tomorrow to pack for the big move in day Saturday. I still have to-do lists up the wahzoo. BUT...deep breath here, this is big: ........ I did manage to knock off a big chunk of my grad school to-do list in a couple of afternoons I like to think of as "operation get organized." I now have three folders labeled and sorted with notes telling me deadlines and requirements. I'm not going to lie, I'm pretty proud of myself for accomplishing that. I also have shadowing experiences lined up (although one's not until a week in mid-December and the other is still in the workings as they had to do the whole background check extravaganza). All in all, it has been a busy but surprisingly productive week. Things are looking .... um..... school-ish and sure to be busier.
Monday, August 4, 2008
To-do Lists - I need to "do!"
AHHHH!! That's how I'm feeling this morning. I am mortified (good word choice, huh?) that I have only a week left of summer - well kind of not even. You see, beings my parents have to move my brother into the dorms at Northeast Tech in Norfolk, NE on Wednesday and then move my sister 14 hours away to Michigan on Friday, they are coming up a couple of days early and helping me move back into the dorms on Saturday rather than Monday. Holy mound of depressing realizations of sand-less days! a.k.a. Moving into the dorms means the beginning of two-a-day practices and the end of my lazy summer days at the beach. As much as I miss my friends and even kind of miss a normal routine, I'm just not ready for the exhaustion and pain of two-a-days and the endless studying for classes. Don't worry though, I'm sure as acceptance leaks its way into my soul, I'll gradually get excited as my final week of summer vacation slams its door in my face.
But for now, I'm playing the "crap, I need to get 101 things done before I lose this time" card. At the apartment, my roommate Brittany and I have had this summer to-do list hanging up since the beginning of July. How many things have we checked off of the 12 or so tasks? Well.....ummm....like 2, and what's even sadder is that they only count for partial credit as we didn't do them together. But yesterday I was quite alone and feeling the need to accomplish something tangible, so I ventured out to this trail called south shore with full intentions of hiking in the 100 degree heat. I found the trail (an accomplishment in itself as the one and only time Brit and I tried, we ended up completely overlooking it - well looking on the wrong side of the road - and just sitting by the rocks on the river banks and talking) and started off very much alone and very hot. And I walked...and walked...and walked. And it was beautiful and peaceful and refreshing....and well, after about an hour or so, kind of frightening. I had no idea where the path was leading, and I kept coming to forks in the road and having to chose my path (such pressure!). I had about two swallows of disgustingly warm water with me and began to have fleeting images of myself passing out from heat exhaustion in the middle of the forest and no one would have a clue where I was to come and rescue me. I even contemplated just turning around and exiting the trail the way I had come in. But I suppressed the urge and continued on. The trail eventually led up to an area where I could overlook the river! It was beautiful and calming - at least if I was going to die I would be able to yell at the people down below in the boats first. :) About 30 minutes or so later, I wound my way back to my car feeling very accomplished and ready to be a go-getter this week. "Hike at south shore" - checked off the list!
I woke up fully intending to get some summer adventure time in this morning only to find out it's cloudy and stormy looking. So I'm in the library with a second to-do list - this one concerning grad school applications. If I make it through this list, I might be doing cartwheels of jubilation through the hallways of my apartment building this evening! :)
In the meantime, I have a third to-do list forming in my head. I need to get organized back at the apartment and pack, pack, pack. The prospect of moving back to the dorms for the third time in my life without a bit of pre-planning to make the task less crabbiness-inducing is appalling. Lindsay, one of my other roommates, and I need to get some volleyball stuff organized - freshman care packages and a team bonding project. I also need to burn some CD's for my sister to entertain herself with on her 14 hour drive away from me and plan a last visit up to her cabin to see her and her husband. I finally made it up there last Friday and spent a wonderful day simply playing games, talking, and being lazy with my sister.
And with three to-do lists awaitng some "doing," I need to end this brief ramapge and "do." One today is worth two tomorrows and with that being said, I'm off. Have a great week!
But for now, I'm playing the "crap, I need to get 101 things done before I lose this time" card. At the apartment, my roommate Brittany and I have had this summer to-do list hanging up since the beginning of July. How many things have we checked off of the 12 or so tasks? Well.....ummm....like 2, and what's even sadder is that they only count for partial credit as we didn't do them together. But yesterday I was quite alone and feeling the need to accomplish something tangible, so I ventured out to this trail called south shore with full intentions of hiking in the 100 degree heat. I found the trail (an accomplishment in itself as the one and only time Brit and I tried, we ended up completely overlooking it - well looking on the wrong side of the road - and just sitting by the rocks on the river banks and talking) and started off very much alone and very hot. And I walked...and walked...and walked. And it was beautiful and peaceful and refreshing....and well, after about an hour or so, kind of frightening. I had no idea where the path was leading, and I kept coming to forks in the road and having to chose my path (such pressure!). I had about two swallows of disgustingly warm water with me and began to have fleeting images of myself passing out from heat exhaustion in the middle of the forest and no one would have a clue where I was to come and rescue me. I even contemplated just turning around and exiting the trail the way I had come in. But I suppressed the urge and continued on. The trail eventually led up to an area where I could overlook the river! It was beautiful and calming - at least if I was going to die I would be able to yell at the people down below in the boats first. :) About 30 minutes or so later, I wound my way back to my car feeling very accomplished and ready to be a go-getter this week. "Hike at south shore" - checked off the list!
I woke up fully intending to get some summer adventure time in this morning only to find out it's cloudy and stormy looking. So I'm in the library with a second to-do list - this one concerning grad school applications. If I make it through this list, I might be doing cartwheels of jubilation through the hallways of my apartment building this evening! :)
In the meantime, I have a third to-do list forming in my head. I need to get organized back at the apartment and pack, pack, pack. The prospect of moving back to the dorms for the third time in my life without a bit of pre-planning to make the task less crabbiness-inducing is appalling. Lindsay, one of my other roommates, and I need to get some volleyball stuff organized - freshman care packages and a team bonding project. I also need to burn some CD's for my sister to entertain herself with on her 14 hour drive away from me and plan a last visit up to her cabin to see her and her husband. I finally made it up there last Friday and spent a wonderful day simply playing games, talking, and being lazy with my sister.
And with three to-do lists awaitng some "doing," I need to end this brief ramapge and "do." One today is worth two tomorrows and with that being said, I'm off. Have a great week!
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
I sit here shivering as I watch summer run away...
Well despite the suffocating, horrendous heat, I find myself writing to you with blue lips. I'm shivering away at the library, where I'm pretty sure the AC is working quite well.
It has been a long day. The "Buggin' Around" summer reading program ended at 2:00 this afternoon and beings that I have nothing tying up my early afternoon hours, I came to the library 4 hours early and have been busy ever since. I feel like I've been here for eons. But helping out with the program was worth it. We took the kids on a walk showing them "historical" sights in Yankton. It turned out to be 4 blocks of sweaty, frustrating, ornery kid-chasing frenziness. Lola, my supervisor, basically wasted energy that could have been better used for sweating, talking to kids who cared not the slightest for what she had to say. The kids preferred to run in circles, look at bugs, and pick up garbage instead. I think the most exciting thing most of them learned on our historical tour was that Lola will yell if one attempts to touch a bat floundering around in broad daylight. "Get away!! It might have rabies!!" haha.
When we arrived back at the library all slightly worn out and edgy, Megan (my coworker and fellow Mt. Marty student) and I sneaked away and climbed up onto the roof of the library. (I must point out here that it was a scary climb and I feared for my life on the ladder descent but luckily I live to tell my tale.) On the roof, a basket of water balloons that we spent an entire hour last night blowing up was waiting for us. We got to chuck them down at the conglomeration of kids down below. It was a blast! We were told not to aim, but let's just say I can't be blamed for my balloons' slight inclinations to fly through the air in the general direction of the kids who had been naughty on the walk. :)
After that thrilling escapade, Megan and I spent the next two hours making bulletin boards. And then I tutored, and I am not yet done tutoring. Good news though: the boy I was working with today did soooo well! He was working on math problems that I made especially challenging for him at his request. He was getting all of them correct, admitted that it was fun, and got excited to show his dad what he had accomplished. I was happy for him and it was rewarding to see!
But in the meantime, like before I decided to contract hypothermia in the library on this scorching afternoon, life has gone on. My mom and sister picked me up in Yankton last Friday and we went to Sioux Falls for the day to go shopping. My sister is moving to Michigan on August 16, so it was kind of a last hoorah for the Starman girls together. It was a ton of fun and let's just say I spent way too much money. We got back to Yankton about 8:00 and I then went home for the weekend because it was alumni weekend. I go through Neligh, NE on my way to my Elgin farm, and the town has one of the few remaining drive-in movie theaters. I called my brother on my way home and he told me there was a whole group from TEC that was there, so I stopped. I arrived late for the movie, The Dark Night, but somehow managed to get completely excited (gasps and everything) about the second half of the movie without even really knowing what was going on. I then decided I was too tired to stay for the late movie (began at midnight) so I drove the remaining 10 miles home. Once I got home, I decided I was no longer tired so I put in a load of laundry at 1:00 a.m. and went outside to watch the stars while I waited for my clothes to get clean. The stars are beautiful, especially out in the country!
There is always a softball tournament to celebrate alumni weekend, but I did not participate because 1) my achilles tendon has not yet recovered from it's rather irritating persistence to have tendinitis, 2) I find the game to be incredibly dull, and 3) even if I did like softball, awful is probably an understatement as to my skill level. But, I did meet up with about 6 of the girls from my class, and we spent the evening reminiscing. One of the girls is getting married next summer and has already graduated from a 2-year program and thus has her "real world job." She was talking about having kids and everything. I was a bit shocked. Hello, I still have at least 5 more years of school! I'm like Peter Pan here or something. I'm rather enjoying college and not having a "real" job yet. I don't want to "grow-up" for a few more years. It was strange to think I'm the same age as her, and we had so much in common just two years ago.
I attended my TEC (teens encounter Christ) reunion on Sunday on my way back to Yankton. It was great to see my high school and TEC friends all in the same weekend! I can't believe summer is nearly over and this week will be gone before I know it as well because it is busy, busy, busy. Tomorrow and Thursday I'm off to Vermillion for a research poster presentation, Friday I will be visiting my sister at her Cabin, and this weekend is my roommate/best friend's birthday. I find myself silently begging summer to not leave. ahhhhhhhh. Until next time, stay cool and happy summer!
It has been a long day. The "Buggin' Around" summer reading program ended at 2:00 this afternoon and beings that I have nothing tying up my early afternoon hours, I came to the library 4 hours early and have been busy ever since. I feel like I've been here for eons. But helping out with the program was worth it. We took the kids on a walk showing them "historical" sights in Yankton. It turned out to be 4 blocks of sweaty, frustrating, ornery kid-chasing frenziness. Lola, my supervisor, basically wasted energy that could have been better used for sweating, talking to kids who cared not the slightest for what she had to say. The kids preferred to run in circles, look at bugs, and pick up garbage instead. I think the most exciting thing most of them learned on our historical tour was that Lola will yell if one attempts to touch a bat floundering around in broad daylight. "Get away!! It might have rabies!!" haha.
When we arrived back at the library all slightly worn out and edgy, Megan (my coworker and fellow Mt. Marty student) and I sneaked away and climbed up onto the roof of the library. (I must point out here that it was a scary climb and I feared for my life on the ladder descent but luckily I live to tell my tale.) On the roof, a basket of water balloons that we spent an entire hour last night blowing up was waiting for us. We got to chuck them down at the conglomeration of kids down below. It was a blast! We were told not to aim, but let's just say I can't be blamed for my balloons' slight inclinations to fly through the air in the general direction of the kids who had been naughty on the walk. :)
After that thrilling escapade, Megan and I spent the next two hours making bulletin boards. And then I tutored, and I am not yet done tutoring. Good news though: the boy I was working with today did soooo well! He was working on math problems that I made especially challenging for him at his request. He was getting all of them correct, admitted that it was fun, and got excited to show his dad what he had accomplished. I was happy for him and it was rewarding to see!
But in the meantime, like before I decided to contract hypothermia in the library on this scorching afternoon, life has gone on. My mom and sister picked me up in Yankton last Friday and we went to Sioux Falls for the day to go shopping. My sister is moving to Michigan on August 16, so it was kind of a last hoorah for the Starman girls together. It was a ton of fun and let's just say I spent way too much money. We got back to Yankton about 8:00 and I then went home for the weekend because it was alumni weekend. I go through Neligh, NE on my way to my Elgin farm, and the town has one of the few remaining drive-in movie theaters. I called my brother on my way home and he told me there was a whole group from TEC that was there, so I stopped. I arrived late for the movie, The Dark Night, but somehow managed to get completely excited (gasps and everything) about the second half of the movie without even really knowing what was going on. I then decided I was too tired to stay for the late movie (began at midnight) so I drove the remaining 10 miles home. Once I got home, I decided I was no longer tired so I put in a load of laundry at 1:00 a.m. and went outside to watch the stars while I waited for my clothes to get clean. The stars are beautiful, especially out in the country!
There is always a softball tournament to celebrate alumni weekend, but I did not participate because 1) my achilles tendon has not yet recovered from it's rather irritating persistence to have tendinitis, 2) I find the game to be incredibly dull, and 3) even if I did like softball, awful is probably an understatement as to my skill level. But, I did meet up with about 6 of the girls from my class, and we spent the evening reminiscing. One of the girls is getting married next summer and has already graduated from a 2-year program and thus has her "real world job." She was talking about having kids and everything. I was a bit shocked. Hello, I still have at least 5 more years of school! I'm like Peter Pan here or something. I'm rather enjoying college and not having a "real" job yet. I don't want to "grow-up" for a few more years. It was strange to think I'm the same age as her, and we had so much in common just two years ago.
I attended my TEC (teens encounter Christ) reunion on Sunday on my way back to Yankton. It was great to see my high school and TEC friends all in the same weekend! I can't believe summer is nearly over and this week will be gone before I know it as well because it is busy, busy, busy. Tomorrow and Thursday I'm off to Vermillion for a research poster presentation, Friday I will be visiting my sister at her Cabin, and this weekend is my roommate/best friend's birthday. I find myself silently begging summer to not leave. ahhhhhhhh. Until next time, stay cool and happy summer!
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
hmmm...randomness
Hello all! Well since my last post, my life has been flying steadily by in a somewhat monotonous and seemingly purposeless string of events (suppress your laughs, please). In layman's terms, without my research job demanding set hours out of my day, I have free reign of my daily schedule. It is quite amazing, but I must admit that considering everyone I know is still actually working from 8-5 it has made for some slightly tedious and lonely days - I refrained from using the word "boring" because, Lord help me, I have tons of stuff to keep me busy. My days have consisted of working out, eating, attempting to get grad school and research papers and applications squared away, enjoying the summer sun, tutoring at the library, and going to bed - every day, with very little variation...I need some excitement in my life!
The presentation I was on the verge of being spastic about last week went fairly smoothly after all. I did find myself incapable of pronouncing the word "specificity" and have since been walking around randomly attempting to spit the word out with no luck and a lot of incredulous frustration. Additionally, despite my plea for no questions, I was asked questions I did not know the answers to. Because this wasn't the most formal of affairs, I handled the situation in a moment of panic by handing the microphone to Dr. Wu, my very intelligent mentor who did know the answers. Don't take pointers from this technique, kids! It was very unprofessional (but it did save me in that particular moment :) ).
Sunday night, for the first time this summer, 9 of my volleyball teammates and I finally got together to play. It was so refreshing to get some touches on the ball after about 2 months of very limited playing. But, let's just say I'm a bit rusty and have quite a few kinks to work out before the season begins. We're working on getting together again this Sunday night to play - hopefully a few more girls will be able to make it! In the meantime, I'm hoping to get in the gym to work on some individual hitting and such so that I can retrain my body how to do such things. You see, I am about 6'0 and that makes for some pretty powerful coordination problems that I must continually conquer. I typically end up coming up with bizarre ways of doing things and sometimes look quite ridiculous in the process, but hey, it has never stopped me from giving my best shot!
The volleyball and soccer teams move into the dorms in 2 and 1/2 weeks. Yikes, now that I said that, it makes it seem so real and threatening! My summer is down to the last threads and that is ever so sad! I'm planning on spending the remainder of this week and next focusing my cardio workouts on quickness and jumping drills we do during practice in hopes of alleviating a bit of the pain that comes with two-a-day workouts. You see, I love to run, so for the majority of the summer, I have gone for 2-3 mile runs - not exactly volleyball specific, but enjoyable and stress-relieving all the same. I work out daily, maybe taking a day off once a week. Well, after being nice to my tired body last week and taking an entire weekend off, I went for a refreshing 3 mile jog like I have been doing all summer. I woke up last Monday with an excruciating pain in my right achilles tendon. I convinced myself that it was just tight and would go away - NOT the case. I couldn't help tearing up when I walked down the stairs that morning, and as I was walking with a ridiculous limp, I let go of my stubbornness and walked down to ask Andy the trainer what sort of bizarre injury was suddenly and unexpectedly crippling me. He told me I had tendinitis in my achilles. OWWW! I haven't run since then (about a week and a half now and probably a record for me). I have attempted to do some of the jumping and quickness drills though, and though the pain is not nearly as bad as it was, it's still hanging on. I think I'm going to have give in and do some serious resting before the season starts to hopefully let my poor aching heel recover!
Now that I've spilled all of my tedious life's randomness, I should be taking off. I have a date at the library with some adorable kids and multiplication tables. Keep living it up in the summertime....I read an entire book yesterday, Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas by James Patterson (absolutely amazing) and words of advice from that book: ONE TODAY IS WORTH TWO TOMORROWS! :)
p.s. Read the book if you have time. I loved it!
The presentation I was on the verge of being spastic about last week went fairly smoothly after all. I did find myself incapable of pronouncing the word "specificity" and have since been walking around randomly attempting to spit the word out with no luck and a lot of incredulous frustration. Additionally, despite my plea for no questions, I was asked questions I did not know the answers to. Because this wasn't the most formal of affairs, I handled the situation in a moment of panic by handing the microphone to Dr. Wu, my very intelligent mentor who did know the answers. Don't take pointers from this technique, kids! It was very unprofessional (but it did save me in that particular moment :) ).
Sunday night, for the first time this summer, 9 of my volleyball teammates and I finally got together to play. It was so refreshing to get some touches on the ball after about 2 months of very limited playing. But, let's just say I'm a bit rusty and have quite a few kinks to work out before the season begins. We're working on getting together again this Sunday night to play - hopefully a few more girls will be able to make it! In the meantime, I'm hoping to get in the gym to work on some individual hitting and such so that I can retrain my body how to do such things. You see, I am about 6'0 and that makes for some pretty powerful coordination problems that I must continually conquer. I typically end up coming up with bizarre ways of doing things and sometimes look quite ridiculous in the process, but hey, it has never stopped me from giving my best shot!
The volleyball and soccer teams move into the dorms in 2 and 1/2 weeks. Yikes, now that I said that, it makes it seem so real and threatening! My summer is down to the last threads and that is ever so sad! I'm planning on spending the remainder of this week and next focusing my cardio workouts on quickness and jumping drills we do during practice in hopes of alleviating a bit of the pain that comes with two-a-day workouts. You see, I love to run, so for the majority of the summer, I have gone for 2-3 mile runs - not exactly volleyball specific, but enjoyable and stress-relieving all the same. I work out daily, maybe taking a day off once a week. Well, after being nice to my tired body last week and taking an entire weekend off, I went for a refreshing 3 mile jog like I have been doing all summer. I woke up last Monday with an excruciating pain in my right achilles tendon. I convinced myself that it was just tight and would go away - NOT the case. I couldn't help tearing up when I walked down the stairs that morning, and as I was walking with a ridiculous limp, I let go of my stubbornness and walked down to ask Andy the trainer what sort of bizarre injury was suddenly and unexpectedly crippling me. He told me I had tendinitis in my achilles. OWWW! I haven't run since then (about a week and a half now and probably a record for me). I have attempted to do some of the jumping and quickness drills though, and though the pain is not nearly as bad as it was, it's still hanging on. I think I'm going to have give in and do some serious resting before the season starts to hopefully let my poor aching heel recover!
Now that I've spilled all of my tedious life's randomness, I should be taking off. I have a date at the library with some adorable kids and multiplication tables. Keep living it up in the summertime....I read an entire book yesterday, Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas by James Patterson (absolutely amazing) and words of advice from that book: ONE TODAY IS WORTH TWO TOMORROWS! :)
p.s. Read the book if you have time. I loved it!
Thursday, July 17, 2008
An entire afternoon in the library...in JULY?!?
Yes folks, that's right. It is the middle of July - the hottest, most carefree month of the summer. The time when we're feeling the tug of the sweet summer days too quickly slipping by. What to do about it? Well, go to the beach of course! Run! Read a book outdoors! Do anything that involves soaking up the sun and feeling the freedom of summer. ........ hmmmm.....well....what am I doing about it you ask? Ironically, I find myself sitting at the Yankton Public Library two hours before I am scheduled to work with full intentions of staying here all afternoon. I know, I know, it's summer. Gosh, Kelly, get a life! Well you see I have my reasons and I'm pretty disappointed in them myself, but here goes: 1) it is cloudy outside to go along with the smothering humidity, so a day at the beach would most likely be miserable and unproductive, 2) I cannot run because I somehow managed to mysteriously contract tendinitis in my achilles tendon and it hurts so bad that even being OCD about running, I simply can't, 3) Despite it being mid-July, I find myself with the icky assignment of putting together a 20 minute presentation over my research that I must present for a bunch of science goo-roos tomorrow afternoon, and 4) I'm working on applying to grad school and studying for the PCAT, so combined with reasons 1, 2,and 3, today seemed like as good a time as any to delve into that mound of mind-boggling information.
So anyway, I have this presentation prepared in PowerPoint and the slides sitting here staring at me. I'm thinking I deserve somewhat of a pat on the back for getting that far. But my pride ends there. I'm actually incredibly, slightly ridiculously, nervous about giving this presentation tomorrow. I've done okay going over the presentation by means of talking to myself about four times now, but I have this nagging fear that my facts are wrong or that some genius chemist is going to ask me an "easy" question that will make me wither like a dandelion fried by the sun. My only comfort is that in these 80 minutes now that I have talked to myself about what I've done for the last month and a half, I have actually managed to plow through it with an inkling of confidence and "wisdom." The challenge comes tomorrow when I find out how true my explanations are. I'll probably have nightmares of Dr. Wu sitting there shaking her head in the back because what I'm presenting is completely wrong - if that is the case, I just hope to high Heaven that no one else picks up on it, and everyone just sits there lost by the difficulty of the material, oblivious to my made up knowledge. Wow, okay, I think it's time to stop psyching myself out.
My other task of the afternoon is to dive into Pharmacy grad school applications and PCAT information. You see, I am a terrible decision maker. I hate saying yes to one thing when it involves so many "no's" to exciting possibilities. So as you can likely imagine, picking a major and a career was no easy task for me. One evening this summer though (a Tuesday night to be exact) I was sitting in this very building (library) when out of the blue, for no reason whatsoever, I starting googling pharmacy grad schools. I'd been thinking about going into pharmacy for quite some time, but was holding off on making the commitment because I want to do so many different things. But on this Tuesday, as I was deeply involved in my research, I decided that pharmacy grad school fit. It just seemed right. For reasons I can't rationally explain, I've just felt sure of this decision since that night, and I'm pretty pumped about it. On top of that huge decision right there, my goal is to apply to grad school a year early, a.k.a. this year! When I started looking into it, I realized that it only requires two years of pre-pharmacy school to get into grad school. I will have 3 years of undergraduate studies after this coming year and all the pre-requisites for grad school. I realized that, and despite the huge challenge and commitment ahead of me, I decided I'm ready to move on and I'm going to take on the challenge! :) YAY!
Okay, but before I get ahead of myself here, I have a LOT of work to do. Number one is the PCAT - pharmacy college admissions test. I will have to take the exam on October 18. That gives me three months to do some crash course studying, reviewing, and even some teaching myself new material (the stuff I'll be taking this coming fall and spring, but won't be covered in class before the test date). I'm excited about it, but also terrified. I've always been up for challenging myself, and this will definitely be one of the biggest challenges I've faced. I have nothing to lose, so I just need to stay focused and study adequately prior to the date. Focusing may be the problem though - there is so much information covered and after all, it's still summer! :S BUT, it has to be a good start to be in the library for an entire afternoon, right?? :)
Alright, while I sit here attempting to meet a challenge (or maybe just completely losing my mind...) you should definitely stop reading my crazy summer melodrama and take advantage of your own summer! Run! Go to the beach! Read a book outside! Soak up the sun and be a kid! :)
So anyway, I have this presentation prepared in PowerPoint and the slides sitting here staring at me. I'm thinking I deserve somewhat of a pat on the back for getting that far. But my pride ends there. I'm actually incredibly, slightly ridiculously, nervous about giving this presentation tomorrow. I've done okay going over the presentation by means of talking to myself about four times now, but I have this nagging fear that my facts are wrong or that some genius chemist is going to ask me an "easy" question that will make me wither like a dandelion fried by the sun. My only comfort is that in these 80 minutes now that I have talked to myself about what I've done for the last month and a half, I have actually managed to plow through it with an inkling of confidence and "wisdom." The challenge comes tomorrow when I find out how true my explanations are. I'll probably have nightmares of Dr. Wu sitting there shaking her head in the back because what I'm presenting is completely wrong - if that is the case, I just hope to high Heaven that no one else picks up on it, and everyone just sits there lost by the difficulty of the material, oblivious to my made up knowledge. Wow, okay, I think it's time to stop psyching myself out.
My other task of the afternoon is to dive into Pharmacy grad school applications and PCAT information. You see, I am a terrible decision maker. I hate saying yes to one thing when it involves so many "no's" to exciting possibilities. So as you can likely imagine, picking a major and a career was no easy task for me. One evening this summer though (a Tuesday night to be exact) I was sitting in this very building (library) when out of the blue, for no reason whatsoever, I starting googling pharmacy grad schools. I'd been thinking about going into pharmacy for quite some time, but was holding off on making the commitment because I want to do so many different things. But on this Tuesday, as I was deeply involved in my research, I decided that pharmacy grad school fit. It just seemed right. For reasons I can't rationally explain, I've just felt sure of this decision since that night, and I'm pretty pumped about it. On top of that huge decision right there, my goal is to apply to grad school a year early, a.k.a. this year! When I started looking into it, I realized that it only requires two years of pre-pharmacy school to get into grad school. I will have 3 years of undergraduate studies after this coming year and all the pre-requisites for grad school. I realized that, and despite the huge challenge and commitment ahead of me, I decided I'm ready to move on and I'm going to take on the challenge! :) YAY!
Okay, but before I get ahead of myself here, I have a LOT of work to do. Number one is the PCAT - pharmacy college admissions test. I will have to take the exam on October 18. That gives me three months to do some crash course studying, reviewing, and even some teaching myself new material (the stuff I'll be taking this coming fall and spring, but won't be covered in class before the test date). I'm excited about it, but also terrified. I've always been up for challenging myself, and this will definitely be one of the biggest challenges I've faced. I have nothing to lose, so I just need to stay focused and study adequately prior to the date. Focusing may be the problem though - there is so much information covered and after all, it's still summer! :S BUT, it has to be a good start to be in the library for an entire afternoon, right?? :)
Alright, while I sit here attempting to meet a challenge (or maybe just completely losing my mind...) you should definitely stop reading my crazy summer melodrama and take advantage of your own summer! Run! Go to the beach! Read a book outside! Soak up the sun and be a kid! :)
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
TEC - a super great weekend!
Hi everyone!!
First off, WOW! I am sorry for the time lag between now and my last post. I can't believe how ridiculously fast summer seems to be flying by and how busy I seem to manage to be.
I received the most exciting news last Thursday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. After spending yet another miserable day in lab running time consuming, uncooperative computer tests, Dr. Wu decided that our machine was not high-tech enough to get appropriate readings. The result? We had to get our information the "easy" way - "easy" being the shorter, less complicated, and in my opinion, quite marvelous way. So, I ran a seemingly endless serious of micro-pipetting, computer scanning tests, and then Dr. Wu turned to me and said we had completed our summer research goals and that I didn't have to come in anymore....WHAT?!?!? I think I stood there dumbfounded for a full 30 seconds before responding and registering that I had in fact heard correctly. I am free of research for the rest of the summer. I just have to give a presentation on Friday and write a paper. WOOHOOOOO!!!! I'm pretty pumped about it. Don't worry though, I have PLENTY of things to keep me busy for the next month (you'll probably be hearing about them in future posts).
Now to the subject matter of this post. For the 4 Sundays prior to this past weekend, I had been making trips to Norfolk, NE to attend TEC (teens encounter Christ) meetings. TEC is a three day Catholic retreat put on for the group of teens in the range of juniors in High school to 22 years old. This past weekend, the event went down, and it was phenomenal. I was a member of the kitchen crew for rural NE TEC 25. We made a ridiculous amount of food and had enough junk food (a.k.a. cookies and brownies and sugar up the wazoo) to feed an army. And beings I was working to make the food, I believe I ate enough for 20 people. I honestly had more to eat in three days than I normally eat in a week or two. We're talking cheesecake and grilled steaks and hamburgers and tacos and pancakes and all sorts of heavenly food.
But beyond the fact that I think I gained 10 pounds, the food isn't the important thing here. I love working TEC! I made the TEC retreat when I was a senior in high school and since then have worked at three of them. It is a life-changing experience. Candidates come in and experience a serious of talks mingled with awesome surprises and fun and prayer experiences. It's not like anything else I have ever been a part of. It is so hard to explain and is one of those things that just simply needs to be experienced. Everyone leaves with the feeling that they can get through anything. The people I've met there are truly amazing and I get incredibly sad every time I have to leave and say good-bye to them. If you ever have the chance, I would strongly recommend attending TEC!!!
I had a couple of cool personal experiences at the TEC weekend. I got up at 6:00 on Saturday morning and went for a run before having to cook breakfast. It was spectacular. It was cool and sprinkling a little. The retreat was held at Tintern outside of Oakdale, NE (a.k.a. middle of nowhere) so it was super peaceful. As I was running along, 4 dear bounded across the road in front of me. It was sooo cool! :) Saturday night's events took place outside around a bonfire underneath the clear sky and gorgeous stars. I love star-gazing! Sunday I had about an hour of free time, so I ventured off and took a walk. It was good to get away and have time for myself to think about whatever my heart desired - in normal day-to-day happenings, that doesn't happen often. I found some beautiful orange flowers and watched a couple of butterflies (don't judge me, I know it sounds super cheesy but it was nice all the same). On top of all of that, my little 6'9 brother was also working on the weekend. It was great to spend some time with him. He's a super cool guy and I'm super proud of him. :)
Sadly, the weekend ended Monday at 8:00 and it was back to reality. I now have 2 days left to prepare a 15 minute presentation over my research for Friday. ugh.... I'll just have to use my good spirits from the weekend to motivate me to be studious in the summer. Speaking of which, I should work on that now. bye!
First off, WOW! I am sorry for the time lag between now and my last post. I can't believe how ridiculously fast summer seems to be flying by and how busy I seem to manage to be.
I received the most exciting news last Thursday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. After spending yet another miserable day in lab running time consuming, uncooperative computer tests, Dr. Wu decided that our machine was not high-tech enough to get appropriate readings. The result? We had to get our information the "easy" way - "easy" being the shorter, less complicated, and in my opinion, quite marvelous way. So, I ran a seemingly endless serious of micro-pipetting, computer scanning tests, and then Dr. Wu turned to me and said we had completed our summer research goals and that I didn't have to come in anymore....WHAT?!?!? I think I stood there dumbfounded for a full 30 seconds before responding and registering that I had in fact heard correctly. I am free of research for the rest of the summer. I just have to give a presentation on Friday and write a paper. WOOHOOOOO!!!! I'm pretty pumped about it. Don't worry though, I have PLENTY of things to keep me busy for the next month (you'll probably be hearing about them in future posts).
Now to the subject matter of this post. For the 4 Sundays prior to this past weekend, I had been making trips to Norfolk, NE to attend TEC (teens encounter Christ) meetings. TEC is a three day Catholic retreat put on for the group of teens in the range of juniors in High school to 22 years old. This past weekend, the event went down, and it was phenomenal. I was a member of the kitchen crew for rural NE TEC 25. We made a ridiculous amount of food and had enough junk food (a.k.a. cookies and brownies and sugar up the wazoo) to feed an army. And beings I was working to make the food, I believe I ate enough for 20 people. I honestly had more to eat in three days than I normally eat in a week or two. We're talking cheesecake and grilled steaks and hamburgers and tacos and pancakes and all sorts of heavenly food.
But beyond the fact that I think I gained 10 pounds, the food isn't the important thing here. I love working TEC! I made the TEC retreat when I was a senior in high school and since then have worked at three of them. It is a life-changing experience. Candidates come in and experience a serious of talks mingled with awesome surprises and fun and prayer experiences. It's not like anything else I have ever been a part of. It is so hard to explain and is one of those things that just simply needs to be experienced. Everyone leaves with the feeling that they can get through anything. The people I've met there are truly amazing and I get incredibly sad every time I have to leave and say good-bye to them. If you ever have the chance, I would strongly recommend attending TEC!!!
I had a couple of cool personal experiences at the TEC weekend. I got up at 6:00 on Saturday morning and went for a run before having to cook breakfast. It was spectacular. It was cool and sprinkling a little. The retreat was held at Tintern outside of Oakdale, NE (a.k.a. middle of nowhere) so it was super peaceful. As I was running along, 4 dear bounded across the road in front of me. It was sooo cool! :) Saturday night's events took place outside around a bonfire underneath the clear sky and gorgeous stars. I love star-gazing! Sunday I had about an hour of free time, so I ventured off and took a walk. It was good to get away and have time for myself to think about whatever my heart desired - in normal day-to-day happenings, that doesn't happen often. I found some beautiful orange flowers and watched a couple of butterflies (don't judge me, I know it sounds super cheesy but it was nice all the same). On top of all of that, my little 6'9 brother was also working on the weekend. It was great to spend some time with him. He's a super cool guy and I'm super proud of him. :)
Sadly, the weekend ended Monday at 8:00 and it was back to reality. I now have 2 days left to prepare a 15 minute presentation over my research for Friday. ugh.... I'll just have to use my good spirits from the weekend to motivate me to be studious in the summer. Speaking of which, I should work on that now. bye!
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Pre-holiday vacation!? :)
So, I have no right whatsoever to complain about my research job. Because it is science and science takes time, I bounce back and forth between hardly working and working hard. This week has most definitely been hardly working and I absolutely, positively have loved it!
We finished phase one of our research this summer and officially have "purified protein" amongst our stocks of chemicals. Phase 2 is sure to be incredibly monotonous and lacking in any sort of excitement (my science-loving professor even stated that this will be the case). With this in mind, last Wednesday, I was in a dreadful mood willing myself to acquire a learning attitude to make it through the next few boring days. Low and behold, we searched an entire chem lab top to bottom 4 times over and could not find the little 2 inch tall cuvette that we needed to run our tests in the spectrophotometer. As my mentor stood there completely crestfallen and repeated over and over, "Ah, this is terrible!" I was secretly ecstatic. No cuvette meant that we had to order them, which in turn meant that the experiment could not proceed. So, Thursday and Friday, I came in in the mornings to do some cleaning, work on the poster presentation, and finish up a few tidbits. AND, the super exciting part, I've spent the first three days of this week on vacation from research! WOOHOO! yay summer! :)
Normally I would take advantage of such a thrilling and unexpected "summer vacation" and go home or visit friends, but I have still had to work at the library during my evenings. Therefore, I have spent three amazing afternoons at the beach thoroughly enjoying the sun, water, sand, and everything about summer. Yesterday, Brittany, my roommate, a fellow researcher, also had the afternoon off, and she joined me. We soaked up the sun, jumped in the water, decided to go for a run, didn't make it very far because I was drained from the heat and dehydrated, and then came back, jumped in the water again, and took off for home so I could make it to the library at 5. We hit up the Dairy Dock for ice cream on our way back to our apartment, and I had exactly 28 min to get and eat my cookie monster sundae before work. It was absolutely delicious and I think it may even beat Dairy Queen on my list of ice cream heavens.
In the mean time, I've spent my mornings, working out, reading, running errands, and biking. I haven't had to work, but I certainly haven't gotten bored either. My fun ends today though. I received an email this afternoon stating the following: "Finally we receive all we need. Please come tomorrow at 9:00 am. We meet in my lab." And so my fun ends. I'm not yet sure if I'll have to work on the 4th, but even if I do, it will only be a two day work week, and it's been a very relaxing and enjoyable pre-holiday vacation.
I'm looking forward to seeing two different fireworks shows this weekend and many friends who visits with are long overdo! Enjoy the holiday and try not to work too hard!
We finished phase one of our research this summer and officially have "purified protein" amongst our stocks of chemicals. Phase 2 is sure to be incredibly monotonous and lacking in any sort of excitement (my science-loving professor even stated that this will be the case). With this in mind, last Wednesday, I was in a dreadful mood willing myself to acquire a learning attitude to make it through the next few boring days. Low and behold, we searched an entire chem lab top to bottom 4 times over and could not find the little 2 inch tall cuvette that we needed to run our tests in the spectrophotometer. As my mentor stood there completely crestfallen and repeated over and over, "Ah, this is terrible!" I was secretly ecstatic. No cuvette meant that we had to order them, which in turn meant that the experiment could not proceed. So, Thursday and Friday, I came in in the mornings to do some cleaning, work on the poster presentation, and finish up a few tidbits. AND, the super exciting part, I've spent the first three days of this week on vacation from research! WOOHOO! yay summer! :)
Normally I would take advantage of such a thrilling and unexpected "summer vacation" and go home or visit friends, but I have still had to work at the library during my evenings. Therefore, I have spent three amazing afternoons at the beach thoroughly enjoying the sun, water, sand, and everything about summer. Yesterday, Brittany, my roommate, a fellow researcher, also had the afternoon off, and she joined me. We soaked up the sun, jumped in the water, decided to go for a run, didn't make it very far because I was drained from the heat and dehydrated, and then came back, jumped in the water again, and took off for home so I could make it to the library at 5. We hit up the Dairy Dock for ice cream on our way back to our apartment, and I had exactly 28 min to get and eat my cookie monster sundae before work. It was absolutely delicious and I think it may even beat Dairy Queen on my list of ice cream heavens.
In the mean time, I've spent my mornings, working out, reading, running errands, and biking. I haven't had to work, but I certainly haven't gotten bored either. My fun ends today though. I received an email this afternoon stating the following: "Finally we receive all we need. Please come tomorrow at 9:00 am. We meet in my lab." And so my fun ends. I'm not yet sure if I'll have to work on the 4th, but even if I do, it will only be a two day work week, and it's been a very relaxing and enjoyable pre-holiday vacation.
I'm looking forward to seeing two different fireworks shows this weekend and many friends who visits with are long overdo! Enjoy the holiday and try not to work too hard!
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Numbers, Words, and the CUTEST kids ever
So I've posted a couple of times about my research job, and you may have picked up from my tone that lab work is most likely not my life's calling (if it is, Lord save my brain cells!). I've also mentioned that I work at the library in the evenings (Mon and Tues from 5-9 and Wed and Thurs from 3-6). I'd have to say that I love it! Refreshing is the perfect word to describe my nights in the building of books. The summer tutoring program started after the kick-off party (I wrote about that in a previous post), and I enjoy it so much that I actually spend afternoons in the lab looking forward to working with the little kids once I'm free from protein purification.
I have my own tutoring schedule and I help grade school kids with math and or reading. I tutor a total of 8 kids and I love them all. They each have a day of the week when they are scheduled to come in for an hour. My task is to keep them thinking during these summer months and help them get ahead for the upcoming school year, but most importantly, to make learning fun. We have games here at the library that we use to work on math skills. For example, I've played multiplication war and bingo, matching games, and helped kids fix addition, subtraction, and multiplication puzzles. I gave one little boy a fun addition lesson at the chalkboard. He got to be creative and draw butterflies and dinosaurs and other creatures to illustrate the problems. I taught a 3rd grader how to play scrabble. I had her do all the math and keep score, so she was having fun and working on spelling and math at the same time. I even made up nerdy rhymes and used funny voices while enforcing repetition, repetition, repetition to try and make memorizing multiplication tables fun. The little girl I was working with that night hid under the table when her mom came to pick her up because she didn't want to leave - it was an awesome feeling of accomplishment for me!
I let the kids pick out books on whatever topics they want when we work on reading. I try and make it less strenuous for the littler ones by striking a deal with them - I'll read this page if you read the next one.
On Monday nights, I also get to help out with story hour. I read a book called "Messy Molly" to the kids last night, and when I finished, I was in an awesome mood. The little kids get so interested in the simple books and they ask the funniest questions and their innocence is too adorable.
My tip of the day for you: if you're feeling down for any reason, find a little kid and play with him or her. My job here at the library has made me realize that it's nearly impossible to keep a frown on your face when you're around little kids. They're so darn sweet! :)
I have my own tutoring schedule and I help grade school kids with math and or reading. I tutor a total of 8 kids and I love them all. They each have a day of the week when they are scheduled to come in for an hour. My task is to keep them thinking during these summer months and help them get ahead for the upcoming school year, but most importantly, to make learning fun. We have games here at the library that we use to work on math skills. For example, I've played multiplication war and bingo, matching games, and helped kids fix addition, subtraction, and multiplication puzzles. I gave one little boy a fun addition lesson at the chalkboard. He got to be creative and draw butterflies and dinosaurs and other creatures to illustrate the problems. I taught a 3rd grader how to play scrabble. I had her do all the math and keep score, so she was having fun and working on spelling and math at the same time. I even made up nerdy rhymes and used funny voices while enforcing repetition, repetition, repetition to try and make memorizing multiplication tables fun. The little girl I was working with that night hid under the table when her mom came to pick her up because she didn't want to leave - it was an awesome feeling of accomplishment for me!
I let the kids pick out books on whatever topics they want when we work on reading. I try and make it less strenuous for the littler ones by striking a deal with them - I'll read this page if you read the next one.
On Monday nights, I also get to help out with story hour. I read a book called "Messy Molly" to the kids last night, and when I finished, I was in an awesome mood. The little kids get so interested in the simple books and they ask the funniest questions and their innocence is too adorable.
My tip of the day for you: if you're feeling down for any reason, find a little kid and play with him or her. My job here at the library has made me realize that it's nearly impossible to keep a frown on your face when you're around little kids. They're so darn sweet! :)
wedding!
Well, it's been quite some time since my last post, and I have been busy, busy, busy since then. The highlight of my summer, my sister's wedding, is now over. Laura, my older sister who just graduated from Mount Marty in May, married her high school sweetheart, Skyler, on Saturday in Elgin, NE, my hometown. They have dated without a single breakup for 6 years and they're the perfect couple! :)
I took off Wednesday afternoon last week to head home to help with all of the planning and preparation for the big day, but my personal planning started at the beginning of summer. I had been working on a surprise slide show presentation for the bride and groom, and let's just say that to say it took a lot of time would be an understatement. It was my gift to them (one of those from the heart :)), and I'm a perfectionist, so it got pretty complicated. The theme was "A History of Love." I included pictures of grandparents and parents, pictures of both Laura and Skyler growing up, and pictures of the two of them together. I also included video clips from interviews with Laura and Skyler in a section entitled, "Secrets Revealed" that drew a roaring laugh from the guests. To top it off, I recorded all of the grandparents giving advice to Laura and Skyler as a married couple and wrote a poem that I flashed in pieces throughout the show. It turned out beautiful, and the happy couple and the guests all loved it.
But of course hectic lives forced the project completion to Friday afternoon (pushing it, I know!). I stopped at Skyler's house Wednesday on my way home where I acquired the final video clip. Things were looking amazing until Skyler walked in and spoiled the surprise element and my computer froze after a LONG 63 min of slow preparation for the burning of the DVD. Out of frustration, I boycotted the project for the night, didn't arrive home until 10:30 p.m., and stayed up chatting late into the night while I started the burning process from the beginning.
Thursday consisted of a trip to Norfolk, NE to pick up my dress and my brothers' tuxes, a practice session with my hair stylist, an evening of frustration while trying to fit 400 chairs onto enough tables for 280 people, a mini get together with some of the wedding party, and a manicure.
I didn't think a day could get any busier, but Friday proved otherwise. I woke up and went straight to the reception hall to decorate. Six hours later, it looked gorgeous! However, because time was cramped, I left early to decorate the trolley for the post marriage drive. I got creative and used Christmas decorations to make it festive. Once that was complete, I booked it home to get dressed up for the rehearsal and then met my family in town to decorate the church and work out the kinks at the reception. The night ended with a delicious rehearsal dinner and a combined bride and groom family get together in the parking lot of the little hotel in my town of 700 people.
Saturday morning I woke up bright and early and got my hair fixed at 7:30 a.m. Pictures were at 11:30, and my sister became a Schindler at 2:00. The ceremony was perfect! We trolly-ed around afterwards. It was quite the experience...groomsmen climbing the water tower, attempting to go cow tipping in broad daylight, ringing an old lady's antique collection of bells, and nearly starting the town on fire were only a few of our interesting experiences. :)
The dance was the most fun I've had all summer. I saw family and friends who I haven't seen in a LONG time, and we danced the night away. I was completely exhausted by the end of the night, but it was so much fun that I wish my sister could get married every weekend! Love is a beautiful thing!
Needless to say, I took 3 naps yesterday in between jobs and on my lunch break. I'll have to look for new adventures for the next month to keep me busy! :) Until next time, I'll do my best to (as should you) keep enjoying the sun!
I took off Wednesday afternoon last week to head home to help with all of the planning and preparation for the big day, but my personal planning started at the beginning of summer. I had been working on a surprise slide show presentation for the bride and groom, and let's just say that to say it took a lot of time would be an understatement. It was my gift to them (one of those from the heart :)), and I'm a perfectionist, so it got pretty complicated. The theme was "A History of Love." I included pictures of grandparents and parents, pictures of both Laura and Skyler growing up, and pictures of the two of them together. I also included video clips from interviews with Laura and Skyler in a section entitled, "Secrets Revealed" that drew a roaring laugh from the guests. To top it off, I recorded all of the grandparents giving advice to Laura and Skyler as a married couple and wrote a poem that I flashed in pieces throughout the show. It turned out beautiful, and the happy couple and the guests all loved it.
But of course hectic lives forced the project completion to Friday afternoon (pushing it, I know!). I stopped at Skyler's house Wednesday on my way home where I acquired the final video clip. Things were looking amazing until Skyler walked in and spoiled the surprise element and my computer froze after a LONG 63 min of slow preparation for the burning of the DVD. Out of frustration, I boycotted the project for the night, didn't arrive home until 10:30 p.m., and stayed up chatting late into the night while I started the burning process from the beginning.
Thursday consisted of a trip to Norfolk, NE to pick up my dress and my brothers' tuxes, a practice session with my hair stylist, an evening of frustration while trying to fit 400 chairs onto enough tables for 280 people, a mini get together with some of the wedding party, and a manicure.
I didn't think a day could get any busier, but Friday proved otherwise. I woke up and went straight to the reception hall to decorate. Six hours later, it looked gorgeous! However, because time was cramped, I left early to decorate the trolley for the post marriage drive. I got creative and used Christmas decorations to make it festive. Once that was complete, I booked it home to get dressed up for the rehearsal and then met my family in town to decorate the church and work out the kinks at the reception. The night ended with a delicious rehearsal dinner and a combined bride and groom family get together in the parking lot of the little hotel in my town of 700 people.
Saturday morning I woke up bright and early and got my hair fixed at 7:30 a.m. Pictures were at 11:30, and my sister became a Schindler at 2:00. The ceremony was perfect! We trolly-ed around afterwards. It was quite the experience...groomsmen climbing the water tower, attempting to go cow tipping in broad daylight, ringing an old lady's antique collection of bells, and nearly starting the town on fire were only a few of our interesting experiences. :)
The dance was the most fun I've had all summer. I saw family and friends who I haven't seen in a LONG time, and we danced the night away. I was completely exhausted by the end of the night, but it was so much fun that I wish my sister could get married every weekend! Love is a beautiful thing!
Needless to say, I took 3 naps yesterday in between jobs and on my lunch break. I'll have to look for new adventures for the next month to keep me busy! :) Until next time, I'll do my best to (as should you) keep enjoying the sun!
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Catching the Summer Reading Bug..and maybe a couple of stinkbugs :)
When I'm not trying my best to look the part of the mad scientist, you may very likely find me at the Yankton Public Library. I'm working there in the late afternoons and evenings after research this summer. So far, I love it. My main purpose there is to tutor little kids in reading and math. The tutoring program just started this week. I also help arrange crafts for the kids and get in my own precious moments of reading.
The program I'm working under at the library is funded by work study. The theme at the library this summer is "Catch the Reading Bug." I work with Megan O'Grady, a friend of mine who attends Mount Marty as well. I believe I already mentioned our "worm painting" craft at the park last week. The kids loved getting messy, but I think I probably enjoyed it just as much as they did. I brought some lovely pictures back to hang on our apartment fridge!! :) I've received numerous compliments, too.
On Monday night, we had our summer reading kick-off party. We had about 100 kids come. Our feat of the evening: have them create this craft (the "flat bug") that they decorate, fill-out, and leave with us to mail to a relative in another state without letting them tear the place apart. My supervisor, Lola, explained the project to the 100 kids and sent them off to various craft tables to see how much damage they could do. Within 2 minutes, the tables and floors were a disaster!! We had these cute little foam bugs, feathers, construction paper, crayons, crepe paper, you name it - and about anything you just named probably ended up as a permanent table or clothing decoration or dropped to it's treacherous spot on the floor where it sparked questions of "how the heck did this get here?" Oh but wait! Here's the most humerous part of my evening: Within those first two minutes, as I'm flying around answering questions and trying to keep chaos from destroying us all, I witnessed one little boy choosing to use a gluestick on his friend's forehead rather than his paper. After I suggested to him that that might not be such a good idea, I walked about two steps to watch him out of the corner of my eye while picking out a friendly bug for a little girl to tack on her project. Apparantly he thought his fun-destroyer had left and was about ready to resume his mischieviousness when the to-be-glued friend whispered, "No, wait, she's still standing there." I just chuckled and walked back to the two to ask them how it was going. They hastily glued a couple of computer print-out bugs on there covers and claimed project completion. Before sending the craft-pasted kids home, we ushered them all outside for ice cream cones. There's no better summer treat. :)
Now that the programs have started, my tutoring has as well. I've tutored two little girls so far this week and I have about 10 more little kids scheduled. I get to help them with math and reading and becasue it's summer, I'm supposed to make it as fun as possible. I love the little kids and it gives me something to look forward too. I'm sure I'll have many tutoring stories to share with you later on this summer!
The program I'm working under at the library is funded by work study. The theme at the library this summer is "Catch the Reading Bug." I work with Megan O'Grady, a friend of mine who attends Mount Marty as well. I believe I already mentioned our "worm painting" craft at the park last week. The kids loved getting messy, but I think I probably enjoyed it just as much as they did. I brought some lovely pictures back to hang on our apartment fridge!! :) I've received numerous compliments, too.
On Monday night, we had our summer reading kick-off party. We had about 100 kids come. Our feat of the evening: have them create this craft (the "flat bug") that they decorate, fill-out, and leave with us to mail to a relative in another state without letting them tear the place apart. My supervisor, Lola, explained the project to the 100 kids and sent them off to various craft tables to see how much damage they could do. Within 2 minutes, the tables and floors were a disaster!! We had these cute little foam bugs, feathers, construction paper, crayons, crepe paper, you name it - and about anything you just named probably ended up as a permanent table or clothing decoration or dropped to it's treacherous spot on the floor where it sparked questions of "how the heck did this get here?" Oh but wait! Here's the most humerous part of my evening: Within those first two minutes, as I'm flying around answering questions and trying to keep chaos from destroying us all, I witnessed one little boy choosing to use a gluestick on his friend's forehead rather than his paper. After I suggested to him that that might not be such a good idea, I walked about two steps to watch him out of the corner of my eye while picking out a friendly bug for a little girl to tack on her project. Apparantly he thought his fun-destroyer had left and was about ready to resume his mischieviousness when the to-be-glued friend whispered, "No, wait, she's still standing there." I just chuckled and walked back to the two to ask them how it was going. They hastily glued a couple of computer print-out bugs on there covers and claimed project completion. Before sending the craft-pasted kids home, we ushered them all outside for ice cream cones. There's no better summer treat. :)
Now that the programs have started, my tutoring has as well. I've tutored two little girls so far this week and I have about 10 more little kids scheduled. I get to help them with math and reading and becasue it's summer, I'm supposed to make it as fun as possible. I love the little kids and it gives me something to look forward too. I'm sure I'll have many tutoring stories to share with you later on this summer!
Days Controlled by Timers...
Hey everyone! I feel like it's been forever since I've posted...summer is going by too fast and I'm staying incredibly busy...maybe too much for my own good. :) I'm currently at work. My BRIN research task for the day is to let my life be controlled by a timer. Every 3 min I have to get up and go check this machine in the cold room to make sure it hasn't gone berserk and dumped our whole experiment on the floor - it's done it before. In fact, this is the second time through. The first time we ran the experiment, we did it over the weekend and came back to find an entire 2 weeks worth of work on the floor. :S .....so now we monitor it. ...Just back from about my 30th check. I sat in a walk-in-freezer watching this painfully slow collector drop 100 drops into one of 240 tubes. It takes 3 min to fill one tube. I may be here all day!
Having our experiment dump itself all over the floor did have a few benefits. For one, we had to repeat all of the steps that require little work and observation, but loads of time - the ones that take place after a 15 minute task of squirting in chemicals to make e-coli cells grow. In layman's terms, on Monday and Tuesday, my research job consisted of about an hour of work each day. I took my free afternoons to sleep on the beach under the amazing sun. It was Heavenly! A second benefit (this only counts if you have a bit of a nerdy side like me) I got to repeat all of the new procedures I learned and see if I remembered them. I felt like I learned twice as much the second time around and had a small inkling of excitement at the prospect of not only performing the steps, but actually thinking about the magnitude of what I was doing.
But yesterday, the lost experiment began haunting me. I spent four hours in the morning doing the same tedious task. At first I kind of enjoyed it. I was busy and I knew and appreciated what I was doing. But after about 2 hours of doing the same pin-point accuracy task every 10 min, I felt exhausted and repulsed by the remaining bottles to be centrifuged. I did finish in time to grab a running lunch at 1:00 and make it back to scrape out collected cells (they resembled icky brown globs of fat) and proceed to break them with a $20,000 french press. Dr. Wu told me that the task would require strength. I thought she was joking until I got my arm workout in for the day. In the battle of pressure versus Kelly's strength, pressure had the upper hand. I did manage, though weakly and in a very exhausted state, to complete the step. We were able to dump the broken cells into a tube in the cold room and I dashed out of here in just enough time to make it to work at the library.
And that brings me to this morning. I've been sitting here for 2 and a half hours now checking the machine every 2 min. I have a bit of a headache. BUT when we come up with that new drug someday, I may feel less like I'm in way over my head....
My goal for the day is to not let this machine beat my will power or outsmart me. I have my eye on it....every two minutes. 40 tubes down, only 200 more to go....
If you're basking in the sun this beautiful day, enjoy every minute of it and say a prayer for all those mad scientists out there controlled by timers and machines! :)
Having our experiment dump itself all over the floor did have a few benefits. For one, we had to repeat all of the steps that require little work and observation, but loads of time - the ones that take place after a 15 minute task of squirting in chemicals to make e-coli cells grow. In layman's terms, on Monday and Tuesday, my research job consisted of about an hour of work each day. I took my free afternoons to sleep on the beach under the amazing sun. It was Heavenly! A second benefit (this only counts if you have a bit of a nerdy side like me) I got to repeat all of the new procedures I learned and see if I remembered them. I felt like I learned twice as much the second time around and had a small inkling of excitement at the prospect of not only performing the steps, but actually thinking about the magnitude of what I was doing.
But yesterday, the lost experiment began haunting me. I spent four hours in the morning doing the same tedious task. At first I kind of enjoyed it. I was busy and I knew and appreciated what I was doing. But after about 2 hours of doing the same pin-point accuracy task every 10 min, I felt exhausted and repulsed by the remaining bottles to be centrifuged. I did finish in time to grab a running lunch at 1:00 and make it back to scrape out collected cells (they resembled icky brown globs of fat) and proceed to break them with a $20,000 french press. Dr. Wu told me that the task would require strength. I thought she was joking until I got my arm workout in for the day. In the battle of pressure versus Kelly's strength, pressure had the upper hand. I did manage, though weakly and in a very exhausted state, to complete the step. We were able to dump the broken cells into a tube in the cold room and I dashed out of here in just enough time to make it to work at the library.
And that brings me to this morning. I've been sitting here for 2 and a half hours now checking the machine every 2 min. I have a bit of a headache. BUT when we come up with that new drug someday, I may feel less like I'm in way over my head....
My goal for the day is to not let this machine beat my will power or outsmart me. I have my eye on it....every two minutes. 40 tubes down, only 200 more to go....
If you're basking in the sun this beautiful day, enjoy every minute of it and say a prayer for all those mad scientists out there controlled by timers and machines! :)
Friday, June 6, 2008
BRIN
So I've given you a couple of ramblings about where I'm staying for the summer, but you're probably wondering what the heck I'm doing with my time other than having near death experiences on my bike and contemplating how best to share an apartment. I have two jobs, well maybe 2 and a half (I'm student editor for Scholastica which doesn't really count), for the summer. I work first and foremost here at the Mount doing undergraduate research. I also work part time at the Yankton Public Library (I'll elaborate later on about that).
As a biology major (and I'll add in here that despite the fact that I will be entering into my Junior year in the fall, I'm still skipping around not knowing exactly what I plan to do with my degree) I have to complete research credits before I can graduate. Because I'm usually anal about being ahead of the game, I thought that completing the project now rather than waiting until the summer before my senior year would be very beneficial. In the Spring, I applied to work under the BRIN program. BRIN is an undergraduate research program that offers grants to partner SD colleges to pay students to participate in research projects during the summer. I was super excited when I got the notification in late April that I had been accepted into the program, and thus my summer job! I'm working under Dr. Chun Wu.
Dr. Wu's project for the last few years has been to study giardiasis, a type of diarrhea caused by a parasite. The disease is common in third world countries and thus pharmacuetical companies aren't overly concerned about finding a new drug. The current drug has been found to be carcinogenic in mice. The cool part is that the ultimate goal of the research I am now doing is to actually find a new drug for the disease. We've spent the first two weeks purifying the protein (enzyme) so that we can test different inhibitors on it. I know, I know, sounds like a bunch of alien talk. Don't worry, I still feel clueless a large majority of the time.
The first day was...let's just say...a bit overwhelming. Now granted I've experienced lab with my college courses, but never as in depth as this summer project is taking me. Despite the fact that it is intimidating, it is also exciting and surely stimulating. In the first couple of weeks, I've already developed a headache or two thinking about the implications of what we're trying to do here. I've used more machines and techniques than I ever have in my life. I've also decided that no matter how complicated it gets, research is so much cooler than course lab experiments because what I'm doing actually has a purpose - like thinking in possibly largely exaggerated terms, I could make an impact on the world!
Another benefit: well, if you know anything about science, you know that it often takes time. Certain steps in the experiment take time to develop, react, etc. So, lucky for me, on those days, I get to escape from the lab and frollick around in the sun! :) For instance, today I came in at 9:00 this morning like usual; Dr. Wu explained some procedural steps to me and and then told me I was free to go and didn't have to come back until 3:00 because some cells had to run through a column before we could move on. So, I left the lab and spent the morning and afternoon catching up on a project for my sister's upcoming wedding. I will admit, I feel somewhat like a lazy pile when I think about everyone else out there slaving away, but I love it and besides, not everyday is like that. :)
BRIN is an excellent opportunity. I'm completing a course requirement, learning above and beyond what a textbook could ever teach me, getting priceless hands-on experience, I have my own personal mentor, and I'm getting paid well to do it. Any of you out there that are thinking of becoming science nerds, I'd definitely recommend the program to you in the future. For now, I'm going to give my brain a break and head out for a relaxing weekend. I'm sure you'll hear more from me about BRIN later on!
As a biology major (and I'll add in here that despite the fact that I will be entering into my Junior year in the fall, I'm still skipping around not knowing exactly what I plan to do with my degree) I have to complete research credits before I can graduate. Because I'm usually anal about being ahead of the game, I thought that completing the project now rather than waiting until the summer before my senior year would be very beneficial. In the Spring, I applied to work under the BRIN program. BRIN is an undergraduate research program that offers grants to partner SD colleges to pay students to participate in research projects during the summer. I was super excited when I got the notification in late April that I had been accepted into the program, and thus my summer job! I'm working under Dr. Chun Wu.
Dr. Wu's project for the last few years has been to study giardiasis, a type of diarrhea caused by a parasite. The disease is common in third world countries and thus pharmacuetical companies aren't overly concerned about finding a new drug. The current drug has been found to be carcinogenic in mice. The cool part is that the ultimate goal of the research I am now doing is to actually find a new drug for the disease. We've spent the first two weeks purifying the protein (enzyme) so that we can test different inhibitors on it. I know, I know, sounds like a bunch of alien talk. Don't worry, I still feel clueless a large majority of the time.
The first day was...let's just say...a bit overwhelming. Now granted I've experienced lab with my college courses, but never as in depth as this summer project is taking me. Despite the fact that it is intimidating, it is also exciting and surely stimulating. In the first couple of weeks, I've already developed a headache or two thinking about the implications of what we're trying to do here. I've used more machines and techniques than I ever have in my life. I've also decided that no matter how complicated it gets, research is so much cooler than course lab experiments because what I'm doing actually has a purpose - like thinking in possibly largely exaggerated terms, I could make an impact on the world!
Another benefit: well, if you know anything about science, you know that it often takes time. Certain steps in the experiment take time to develop, react, etc. So, lucky for me, on those days, I get to escape from the lab and frollick around in the sun! :) For instance, today I came in at 9:00 this morning like usual; Dr. Wu explained some procedural steps to me and and then told me I was free to go and didn't have to come back until 3:00 because some cells had to run through a column before we could move on. So, I left the lab and spent the morning and afternoon catching up on a project for my sister's upcoming wedding. I will admit, I feel somewhat like a lazy pile when I think about everyone else out there slaving away, but I love it and besides, not everyday is like that. :)
BRIN is an excellent opportunity. I'm completing a course requirement, learning above and beyond what a textbook could ever teach me, getting priceless hands-on experience, I have my own personal mentor, and I'm getting paid well to do it. Any of you out there that are thinking of becoming science nerds, I'd definitely recommend the program to you in the future. For now, I'm going to give my brain a break and head out for a relaxing weekend. I'm sure you'll hear more from me about BRIN later on!
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
An Apartment!
For the past two years, summer for me has meant packing up my stuff from my cute little dorm room and moving it across town to an apartment for three months. This summer, I am living in River Heights in a two bedroom apartment with three of my friends. The complex is located right behind the MMC campus, and I work here at school, so I take advantage and walk to work every morning and back home for lunch. It's fantastic beings I love walking, especially in the beautiful summer weather, and it also saves on gas money (because we all know how ridiculous prices are!).
I must admit that it is somewhat of a hassle to pack up my stuff at the beginning and end of summer to move back and forth from the dorms to my apartment, but I've been super excited both summers of my college experience to move to new locations and new experiences. At the end of this past school year with four girls, only two bedrooms, one bathroom, a tiny kitchen, and a rather small living room, I was a bit nervous for my relocation to our new apartment. The place looked too tiny to pull through, and I felt claustrophobic after examining it post lease-signing. However, I should have known to never underestimate the classiness of women. :) I must say that with our furniture and wall decorations, the place is rather cute with a homey atmosphere, and I'm happy to call it home for the next three months.
I share the small bedroom with my best friend. Beings it is only 5' by 5', we had to be resourceful in moving in to say the least. Luckily, our experiences with college dorm rooms have already taught us the basics. My Dad built me a set of bunk beds that we are using (he is possibly a bit too excited about his handiwork). Boxes of winter clothing and excess books, photographs, and trinkets were left packed up and sent home for the summer. Once the beds were in place, the rest was a matter of creativity - a couple of trips to Walmart later for plastic dressers and hooks, and we were able to treat ourselves to DQ blizzards as a reward for our intelligent designing. :) We were even able to fit a mini fridge and a television comfortably into the room...I know, wow!
The four of us all have different work schedules, so we usually get up at different times and competition for bathroom time hasn't been an issue. If nothing else, living in an apartment or a dorm room re-emphasizes the importance of communication and compromise! My roommates and I know each other's general schedules and discuss possible conflicts about shower time, etc. before they come about. I myself am impressed with how smoothly four girls are functioning with only one bathroom.
Past experience and stories have taught me that food could be our downfall. To avoid squabbles over who's gulping all the milk or eating all the crackers, we each have our own cupboard and buy our own food. We don't hate each other by any means, but it cuts out a lot of possible pointless drama. And because we are friendly people, we do have a community food cupboard. We share bread and milk and occasionally such yummy things as ice cream and cookies!
Thankfully, I live with girls who do not enjoy filth. We each do our share of cleaning and picking up after ourselves. We pay rent on the first day of every month. To make things simple, we just split it four ways and submit four separate checks.
The place is typically locked up and quiet during the day as we are all working or out and about. The evenings are our time to relax and chat about our days and our lives. It's great to go home after a long day at work and have friends to talk to and hang out with. The first couple of weeks of summer have been great with my apartment roommates!
I have to head back to the lab to culture some proteins, so until next time, yay for summer! :)
I must admit that it is somewhat of a hassle to pack up my stuff at the beginning and end of summer to move back and forth from the dorms to my apartment, but I've been super excited both summers of my college experience to move to new locations and new experiences. At the end of this past school year with four girls, only two bedrooms, one bathroom, a tiny kitchen, and a rather small living room, I was a bit nervous for my relocation to our new apartment. The place looked too tiny to pull through, and I felt claustrophobic after examining it post lease-signing. However, I should have known to never underestimate the classiness of women. :) I must say that with our furniture and wall decorations, the place is rather cute with a homey atmosphere, and I'm happy to call it home for the next three months.
I share the small bedroom with my best friend. Beings it is only 5' by 5', we had to be resourceful in moving in to say the least. Luckily, our experiences with college dorm rooms have already taught us the basics. My Dad built me a set of bunk beds that we are using (he is possibly a bit too excited about his handiwork). Boxes of winter clothing and excess books, photographs, and trinkets were left packed up and sent home for the summer. Once the beds were in place, the rest was a matter of creativity - a couple of trips to Walmart later for plastic dressers and hooks, and we were able to treat ourselves to DQ blizzards as a reward for our intelligent designing. :) We were even able to fit a mini fridge and a television comfortably into the room...I know, wow!
The four of us all have different work schedules, so we usually get up at different times and competition for bathroom time hasn't been an issue. If nothing else, living in an apartment or a dorm room re-emphasizes the importance of communication and compromise! My roommates and I know each other's general schedules and discuss possible conflicts about shower time, etc. before they come about. I myself am impressed with how smoothly four girls are functioning with only one bathroom.
Past experience and stories have taught me that food could be our downfall. To avoid squabbles over who's gulping all the milk or eating all the crackers, we each have our own cupboard and buy our own food. We don't hate each other by any means, but it cuts out a lot of possible pointless drama. And because we are friendly people, we do have a community food cupboard. We share bread and milk and occasionally such yummy things as ice cream and cookies!
Thankfully, I live with girls who do not enjoy filth. We each do our share of cleaning and picking up after ourselves. We pay rent on the first day of every month. To make things simple, we just split it four ways and submit four separate checks.
The place is typically locked up and quiet during the day as we are all working or out and about. The evenings are our time to relax and chat about our days and our lives. It's great to go home after a long day at work and have friends to talk to and hang out with. The first couple of weeks of summer have been great with my apartment roommates!
I have to head back to the lab to culture some proteins, so until next time, yay for summer! :)
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