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! :)
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
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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