Self-designed Student

Ecology! Oh, and hello!

2011-11-16T19:42:00.002-05:00

I don't know what the fate of this blog is, but I missed it today and since it's been over a year since I've written on it, I have things to say.

Since I last wrote, I have started two research projects, won grant money to conduct said research projects and dropped a geology major in order to focus more closely on zoology. I have moved twice, cut my hair off, had panic attacks, taken up dance and started gardening. Emily, my cat, has gone deaf. J and I are still together, and we are both graduating this year and then starting the grad school application process.

My interests have changed. Not completely, but they have certainly migrated more toward ecology and behavioral ecology and a little bit away from paleontology and geology. I struggled with this for a very long time because it seemed to me a failure; however, some wise person urged me to look at it as a success - a success in finding out what I do and don't want. That being said, I still feel like a person who lacks clear direction, but has mutiple interests and, overall, an interest in being challenged. I don't know how this will work for me when I apply to graduate programs, but I hope that the fact that I would be happy to study many different things isn't a negative thing!

I have given enough presentations and led enough discussions to know that I absolutely want to teach. I love teaching! I'm good at teaching! And this means I need to stay in school. I couldn't be happier about it, despite being slightly burnt out.

I hope to post more. More about my research. More about the courses I'm taking. More about the sweet insect collection I had to put together this semester. More about dance. More about the marathon I'm running in the spring! More about turning 30. More about how hard it is to live with an aging pet. More about applying for grad school.

But now, I need to study for three exams!

Ecology?

2010-08-20T14:29:00.002-04:00

The semester starts in ten days and I have only five more days of full time work. I am really very happy to be going back to school full-time, but I will miss being around my co-workers. I will stay on the job part-time for most of September until they hire someone to take my place. And after that? I'm trying to find a position in the Geology department.

I am also going to work a few hours a week in the lab of a former TA. She does research on gynodioecious plants and is investigating the reproductive advantages that allow females to exist in various populations of Polemonium foliosissimum. She's taking a multi-species approach to understanding the problem - looking at seed predators, pollen thieves, herbivory and pollinators to determine the effects of each on females and hermaphrodites.

I don't know if ecology is my thing, but I do feel like it's important to take advantage of the relationships I have built with people in the Biology and Geology departments and to get any research experience that I can. I know that this former TA is willing to help me out - and I am going to let her do that! Perhaps next summer I will take on some of my own research. And maybe I'll be sucked into researching a single plant species for the rest of my life. Right now, I don't really care, as long as I'm learning and am interested in what I'm doing.

Super-late Vermont City Marathon Relay Race Report

2010-07-27T18:00:00.001-04:00

I may have mentioned that I was doing a half-marathon in May. Well, May has come and gone! My co-worker Deanna and I teamed up to do the Marathon relay. I had been running with Deanna all winter on my lunch breaks and she suggested that we do the race together.

A couple of months before the race, I started training, running about 20 miles a week at first and then up to 30 miles a week. My goal was to run my half (13.1 miles) in under two hours.

Two weeks before the race, J and I headed off to Florida for a nice vacation. The day we got back, we had to pack so that we could move to an apartment across town the next day. The day after that was race day!

I was very nervous before the race and was running on very little sleep. The night before, I had kept myself awake by repeating "I must get to sleep" over and over in my head. I tried to eat some food, but my stomach was so knotted that I could only get down a grapefruit half and a small Cliff bar. I kept drinking water so that I wouldn't be dehyrated, but then I kept having to pee.

Deanna ran the first leg of the Marathon, so J and I and her fiance, Dave, saw her off at the starting line. There were so many runners! Still, we were able to catch a glimpse of her as she took off. The course looped back around to the start line, so we waited there until Deanna passed by again. Then, J and I caught a shuttle over to the relay exchange, which was just a mile and a half south of the start line.

Deanna looping by the start line (she's in the blue, next to the guy in red). Photo by her fiance!

I waited for Deanna at the relay exchange after stopping to pee for the millionth time. I had to stand on my toes to see over the other runners so that I would be sure not to miss her. Finally, she rounded the corner and handed me a little yellow wrist-band. I took off, running at what seemed to be a reasonable pace (but which I would later find out to be too fast).

The first mile of the second leg was on a narrow bike path by the lake and I got caught in a large group of runners. Thankfully, they were all running about "my pace", so I wasn't stuck behind anyone or blocking anyone's path! After the bike path, I had to run up the biggest hill on the course, which wasn't bad at all, since there were so many people cheering the runners on!

At the top of the hill, I headed out on a very flat, several-mile stretch through some nice neighborhoods. There were tons of spectators on that stretch and I was in pretty good spirits, not really noticing how tired my body was. Many of the residents on the course streets set up tables and handed out fruit and water and I stopped at every station for water, which I think was a mistake. By the time I was leaving the neighborhood stretch, I felt insanely full and sloshy and could barely drink water without feeling gross. I had read about hyponatremia before the race, so I decided to take it easy on the water. From then on, I only drank Gatorade, which made me feel a little sick.

Around miles 8 and 9, the course reverted back to bike path, and the last 4.5 miles or so were on a quiet stretch of path next to the lake. I thought that it would be the nicest part of the race, since the scenery was so lovely and the course was all downhill from there. I was very wrong.

At some point in the race, my body started to go into autopilot mode. I am thinking this happened around mile 8 because I distinctly remember running down a small hill and realizing that I couldn't seem to physically slow myself down. My quads were burning and when I tried to do anything but move that the pace I had been moving at, they felt very rubbery and unsteady.

So there I was, in the last 4.5 miles stretch, running simply because I couldn't really do anything else with my body. I was full of water and I was tired and for some reason, my brain was saying You're almost there! But I wasn't! I was still more than 4 miles away! And that's when that really stupid voice turned on and said Boy, you're really tired! You could walk a little bit...maybe just sit down. WOW! You're tired!

I hate that voice.

Instead of listening to it, which I sometimes do, I just kept running. I found a guy to chat with, who was running the entire marathon. He was pretty miserable, so I found myself cheering him on and encouraging him, which helped me feel a little better about my own tired self!

In the last mile, I tried to run a little faster because I really wanted to be done with the race, but I found that I couldn't. My body was really tired and completely unwilling to cooperate.

Me, in the final stretch. So tired!!!

As I rounded the corner toward the finish line, I tried, again, to run a little faster, but it just wasn't happening. I crossed the finish line and could hear Deanna shouting to me. She had to prompt the woman handing out medals to give me one!

The finish - wobbly legs.

I remember finishing very vividly. When I stopped running, I immediately became aware of the pain in my legs and in my hips. I felt very foggy and a little dizzy but I also felt insanely proud of myself. I was so tired and so happy and I had so many great people with me to see me finish.

After the shock of finishing wore off, I got some Ben and Jerry's ice cream and sat around with my friends in the shade of a school bus, replaying the race in my head and stretching.

J gave me the best hug after the race! Photo by Lisa Thompson.

After saying goodbye to Deanna and Dave, Jordan and I went to the pub for a cheeseburger. By the time the cheeseburger came, I was feeling rather ill and tired, so we just grazed for a bit and then headed home. I got right into bed and slept for a while - another mistake! I was so stiff when I woke up!

The next day, Deanna sent me the race results. I ran my leg of the race in 1:55:54, meeting my goal of running it in under two hours! Overall, we had a marathon time of 3:44:09, which is really fantastic! I ran the first nine miles in 8:30 miles and the last few closer to 9:00 miles, which explains why I was so wiped out at the end, since I'm used to running closer to 9:30 miles. Next race, I will slow down in the beginning and try to make the last miles my fastest!

J and I are currently training for my next race - the Leaf Peeper's Half Marathon. And next year, I will attempt to run the full marathon in May!

The Running Titles (our team name!). Photo by Dave!

Now a Full-Time Self-Desgined Student!

2010-07-21T08:37:00.002-04:00

When I started this blog, I chose the name to reflect my major. I was going to create a self-designed major that integrated geology and biology so that I could set myself up nicely for a paleo program. In the end, that didn't work out, so I found myself as a bio/geo double-major working full-time and taking a couple of courses each semester. I did that for three solid years and it was exhausting.

This fall, I am returning to school as a full-time student! I gave notice at my job and my last day is August 27th. They may use me for 14 hours a week or so after that, which will give me some income while I live off of loans!

The lineup for this fall is: Prehistoric Archaeology, Sociobiology, Physics I and Field Geology. I have also enrolled in an Evolution course, but I think I will save that for another semester. Without that course, I would be taking 14 credits, which seems like plenty for a first-time full-timer.

I am so excited to have time to devote to school and feel incredibly lucky to have this opportunity.

Why, yes, that is a half-marathon in my pocket!

2010-02-10T15:19:00.002-05:00

Good news! My co-worker and I entered the lottery for the local marathon relay and we got picked! The race is at the end of May, so training begins the last week of March. Last weekend I ran an 8-miler in 78 minutes, so I'm hoping that I can do the half marathon in 2 hours or less. I know it can be done!

Since we both work for a medical journal, we picked the team name "Running Titles." I think it's cute, but it brings to mind the SNL celebrity Jeopardy sketch in which the category is "famous titles" and Sean Connery says "I'll take 'famous titties" for $400, Trebek." Hopefully, nobody will make that mistake.

New Shoes

2010-02-10T15:09:00.003-05:00

I didn't exercise enough last semester. I don't mean that I gained weight - I have the metabolism of a hummingbird - nor do I mean that my muscles atrophied. I just became, well, a bit lethargic and depressed. Exercising keeps me happy. Makes falling asleep at night just a little bit easier. I sleep better, eat better, when I exercise.

This semester, I have made a real effort to stay on top of things. I have been running for a few months with my co-worker on my lunch breaks and have been doing yoga 2 or 3 times a week. Unfortunately, I haven't gotten down the art of balance - I'm exercising more but studying less. I swear I've done the minimum that I need to do to eek by with a B in my classes. This is unusual for me.

It's tricky, this balance thing. I'm utterly failing at it.

I think I need to set up a strict schedule for this semester. And then stick to it. It feels wrong to be so rigid, but I am going to be really upset when I screw up my GPA because I just didn't feel like doing what had to be done.

Hotel Schmotel

2010-01-21T12:06:00.000-05:00

Anyone want to share a room with me at this year's annual meeting?

2010-01-06T11:12:00.002-05:00

Well, the semester is over, and I am REALLY happy about it. I've been enjoying a much-needed break for the last two weeks. J and I went to my mom's house for the holidays and visited with my family and some of his friends. I've been running 4 four miles nearly every day and am putting some more effort into exercising, which is something that suffered during last semester!

I ended the semester with an A in Organic Chemistry and an A+ in Ecology and Evolution. My eco and evo professor was really fantastic and I wrote him a thank-you note and got this in return:

Thank you for your note. Each year after grades are posted, I receive several e-mails from my students. But I can assure you those notes are rather different in content and tone from yours!

Congratulations on your outstanding achievement in Ecology and Evolution. Not only did you receive the highest grade out of a class of 161 students, the 2nd ranked student was several percentage points below you.

If you ever need a reference, I am happy to write a strong letter of recommendation for you.

So, I officially have a reference for when I want to apply to grad school.

I will probably go to school full time starting in the fall. J and I are talking about taking the month of August off and hiking the Long Trail, which would be really hard, but probably mega-rewarding. I think that immersing myself in the natural world would do me a lot of good!

All that feels a long way off, though! We just got almost three feet of snow last weekend and it seems to be getting colder and colder!

The semester is almost over.

2009-11-20T14:26:00.003-05:00

This has been the hardest semester so far, no contest. Organic chemistry is not easy. I have done well, with an exam average of 93.5, but it hasn't come easily and I've spent a lot of time reading and re-reading the textbook, doing practice problems, attending reviews and taking practice exams. I am not sure how I have done in the lab portion of the class. For the most part, I've gotten decent grades on my lab reports; however, I have failed at least two lab quizzes (with 1 out of 3 possible points). My TA does not hand out perfect grades - he claims that it is nearly impossible to get a perfect grade, and so he just doesn't assign them. At the end of the semester, all of the lab grades will be scaled in case one TA is easier than another. I believe that my lab grade will be scaled up. The lab is worth 1/4 of my grade. Two midterm exams make up 50% of my grade. The final is worth 25%.

I have done extremely well in my Ecology and Evolution class. I am pretty confident that I will end the semester with an A.

A couple of weeks ago, my Eco & Evo professor gave an interesting lecture on creationism. He recorded it, so I will try to get a copy of the video to post.

On Tuesday, I signed up for classes for the spring semester. I'll be taking the second half of organic chemistry and a course called Earth, Life and Environment Throughout Time through the geology department. We have a weekend trip to NYC to visit the AMNH. I think I'm going to like that class!

Sometimes, my job is highly entertaining...

2009-11-20T14:16:00.006-05:00

We received this email in regard to a manuscript we published last year about the correlation between teen pregnancy and sex on television:

Help my friends!

2009-10-27T14:54:00.003-04:00

This summer, my friends JP and Meghan took off for Thailand and India. Meghan is working on her thesis there and both of them have found themselves fighting hard for a small colony of folks in Nellore, India. The colony is the Seva Jyothi Leprosy colony; the folks that live there have been provided with a small amount of land and cement houses, but are extremely poor and have to beg for their food. They do not have the resources to grow their own food. Their children are often orphaned or too poor to attend school.

Meghan and JP are project coordinators for the Seva Life Project - they are trying to raise $3500 to fund "The Garden Project," which will help develop the land for agriculture and be the first step in making the Seva Jyothi colony a sustainable, self-sufficient community.

Any amount that you can donate - even just a couple of dollars - will help! Instead of having a latte this week, send three dollars to the Seva Life Project. If a hundred people did that - they'd have an additional $300 to put towards their project!

Click here to go to the Seva Life Project webpage. Read more about it and donate what you can!

Danielle

2009-10-13T13:27:00.003-04:00

This is my new roomate, Danielle. She was nice enough to let me take some pictures of her on Sunday.

I haven't been photographing much of anything lately and on Sunday, I just had to get out and do some shooting. It was beautiful out and I'd spent the whole day inside with my nose in a book or in front of a computer screen.

October love....

2009-10-07T14:21:00.003-04:00

Good times at the SDS household. And by "good times" I mean "no time to have a bad time."

This semester has been SO trying. I am busier than I've ever been - taking two 4-credit classes and working. Go in to work at 7:00, get out of school at 7:30. I have just an couple of hours at night to eat and relax. Notice that that doesn't include homework? That's right - now I only have time to do homework on the weekend. So far, it's worked out okay, but I have a feeling things are about to get crazy. J's having a rough time, too.

Organic chem is not as scary as everyone made it out to be. I like it a whole lot more than general chem - it's more concepts-based and I like that. The teacher is pretty fantastic, which is helpful. The lab has been relatively easy, as well. I got a 95 on my first exam, and we only have two graded exams besides the final, so even if I crap out on the next one, I'll be in decent shape.

Ecology and Evolution is awesome. My professor is fantastic. He's brilliant, available and interesting. I really really enjoy his lectures. So far, we've covered population and community ecology. We're approaching concepts mathematically and I find it really helpful. I'm excited to get to the next half of the class, which focuses on evolution. We were also promised one lecture on evolution and creationism, so as to not ignore the elephant in the room.

I will, eventually, tell you all about the Westboro Baptist Church picket and the sweet field trip I went on a couple of weeks ago. But that will have to wait until a day when I have some time...and that might mean sometime in December.

I leave you with some love from Emily. She's a bit limpy lately, so we're taking her to the vet tomorrow to make sure she's not hiding some huge lung tumor or something. Wish us luck...or whatever.

Contest Update

2009-08-31T13:28:00.002-04:00

I was keeping an eye out for the results of the "What's Your Favorite Toy" Brickfish contest but I got tired of waiting. The results were supposed to be posted a month after the deadline, but months after the deadline they still weren't posted. So I gave up.

Anyway, today I got curious and I checked and, not surprisingly, I didn't win. These people did.

Oh well. I really appreciated all of your votes and comments.

I had my first Organic Chem class today. My professor seems like he'll be a fantastic teacher. He immediately had the respect of the class, even though it was clear that he won't take any b.s.

I am not nervous about the class. I've heard horror stories and I know that the subject is notoriously difficult. But I've gained a good deal of confidence in my abilities as a student and I am sure I'll be fine.

I have Ecology and Evolution in an hour and a half. The professor for that class has a reputation for being a great teacher.

I think I have a great course load this semester.

J also started today. It's his first time at a big university. He's taking 17 credits: two philosophy courses, calculus, chemistry and biology. So far, he seems really excited and happy about the classes he's attended. I'm SO excited for him. And proud.

Fred Phelps in Vermont

2009-08-25T10:50:00.002-04:00

I learned the other day that Fred Phelps has Vermont on his picket schedule. On September 1st, the day that the new marriage equality law goes into effect, he and about 9 others will picket in Montpelier and Burlington. Phelps is planning on picketing in Vermont for about 3 hours. The RU12? Community Center is countering the picketing by holding a pledge drive.

I urge you to donate even a penny a minute (that's just $1.80!).

I'm going to take the day off from work and spend my day living as peacefully as possible...my own little protest. Maybe I'll protest in person...but I don't know...I don't want to give the crazy too much attention. It's a tough call with people as crazy as Phelps.

How would you protest? Would you protest at all?

Things I have/haven't doen this summer: list edition.

2009-08-11T14:26:00.003-04:00

Have done:

learned to use my new camera (and now I have a newer one to learn!)
read books (except I haven't finished "The Link" - I'm finding it to be quite dry)
ran around barefoot in the woods
swam in my clothes
picked strawberries (and tonight - blueberries!)
seen Lucy and Ida (and Brian!)
read numerous poems by Mary Oliver
listened to the first bunch of episodes of Radiolab (please please listen if you haven't!)
gone on 3 or more 5k runs each week
started doing yoga
reached a goal of 5 pull ups and am on my way to 10
worked many hours of overtime because a colleague quit
been really really lazy when I was home and enjoyed having nothing to do

Have not done:

written on this blog

I bought my school books yesterday - looks like my Ecology and Evolution class will be very math-heavy (at least in the beginning). They don't even have my organic chem book in...but I'm sure that'll be very, well, organic chem-heavy.

Since I'm not taking a geology class this semester, I thought I would try and get myself signed up for the New England Intercollegiate Geological Conference. The conference is in Lyndonville, Vermont and there are a couple of interesting field trips. I'd like to go on any one of the following:

Road to the Kingdom: A Bedrock Transect Across the Pre-Silurian Rowe-Hawley Belt in Central Vermont
Glacial Geology, Climate History, and Late-Glacial Archaeology of the Northern White Mountains, New Hampshire
Bedrock Geology of the Montpelier Area, Central Vermont

I've also decided to try and fit the following classes into my course of study:

Prehistoric Archaeology
Biological Anthropology
Primates and Anthropology

Some of the stuff I've read this summer has really piqued my interest in the role evolution plays in behavior - especially human behavior.

We're all moved in!!!

2009-07-14T13:22:00.003-04:00

And it's awesome!

The new apartment is huge - or at least much bigger than the last. It's got TONS of natural light and windows. The first night we spent there, it was so quiet that I could hear the wind rustling the leaves on the trees. The breeze comes straight into our bedroom window and I wake up to the sound of birds (cardinals!). This morning, it took me five minutes to get to work. I can now go home on my lunch break and read for an hour.

Look!:

The prints that are hanging up in the picture with J are two that I got at the SVP annual meeting. I've been meaning to matte and frame them for a year and just finally got around to it. I love them!

On a walk yesterday, J found a dead pileated woodpecker. I want to clean it and mount the skeleton, but I'm 98% sure that I won't find the time and that I'll just end up with a ton of bones, stuffed in a baggie somewhere in my closet. I haven't totally nixed the idea, though - I would love to have the skull with the little hyoid apparatus.

Sweet Crap

2009-07-08T08:58:00.002-04:00

I'm busy! One of my co-workers quit a week ago and there's only two of us in this office, running this journal. On top of being one person down, we're also putting in close to eight hours of overtime each week...and moving! On Monday, our office is being moved (to a place with no windows about half the size of our office now), so we're juggling packing and trying to keep the manuscript submission, review and decision process moving smoothly.

On the home front, J's mom has been visiting. She leaves tonight and then we start packing because, on top of moving my office, I'm also moving myself. We are moving all the big stuff this weekend, but we'll probably be moving a bit and cleaning all next week.

I haven't had time to myself. I haven't had time to play with my camera or read my books or post my pictures and blog from my visit to see Lucy and Ida.

Eventually, when this all quiets down, I will return to having a normal summer. Hopefully by then, all this rain will have stopped.

I can't believe

2009-06-26T07:56:00.002-04:00

that Michael Jackson is dead. It's so weird.

My first album ever was Bad. I got it when I was six years old.

My brother and I used to put on dance shows for our parents to Dangerous and Thriller.

I started a club in fifth grade to save the endangered species and used "Heal the World" as my theme song.

Some Saturdays, for the last couple of years, I've gone to 80's night at the local club and made sure to be on the dance floor for "Billy Jean."

Weird.

Stuff!

2009-06-22T09:56:00.002-04:00

I spent this past weekend doing things I don't like doing - packing, throwing away stuff, running all over the place trying to get rid of things that I don't want to lug to the new apartment.

But I did some pleasant stuff, too. On Saturday, my friend Danielle and I went hunting for clay in the Winooski River. Danielle is a potter and she's been dying to find some local clay to work with. We drove to a couple of spots and waded around a bit, but we didn't really find anything, so next Saturday we're maybe going to rent a canoe and paddle around so that we can get to the hard-to-reach-by-land spots.

After searching for clay, we spent some time picking strawberries on the most beautiful little plot of land I've ever seen. There were arches made of tree limbs and rows of berry bushes. All of the cedar waxwings that hang out by my apartment in early spring? They live on the berry farm in the summer! It was 70 degrees out and overcast and the berries smelled so sweet and were so delicious!

Yesterday, J and I scouted out a new run - a 5K jaunt starting at our new apartment and circling the university. In the middle of our run, it started pouring rain - it was insanely refreshing!

This weekend, J and I are going to NYC to see Lucy and Ida! We're going to meet up with Brian for some lunch in Times Square. I'm so excited!

New Apartment

2009-06-16T13:02:00.005-04:00

I've lived in my current apartment for two years now, which is longer than I've ever lived at any place other than my childhood home. It's a nice place; it burned down a few years ago so by the time I moved in, it had been completely rebuilt. It's modern and clean (sort of - nothing is ever really clean with two cats). There are a couple of problems with it, though.

First, the apartment is on a very busy street next to a rotary. People in Vermont don't know how to use rotaries and this rotary is pretty unusual, hence the large number of accidents that happen right in front of our place. People honk early in the morning and late at night. In the summer, we can't sleep with our windows open because the traffic noise wakes us up and drowns out the sound of the television.

Our landlord has been pretty decent, but he's in no hurry to get things fixed when the break or to plow when a foot of snow has fallen. Our lawn (a tiny tiny patch of grass) was just mowed for the first time this spring and the landscaping has been neglected for years.

Our apartment is a 25- to 30-minute walk from the university. This wouldn't be a big deal, but J and I don't have a car and the only bus that went directly to the university from near our house is being cancelled this month, so we don't have any quick way to get to and from in the winter. I don't mind long walks - I do them often - but when biology lab gets out at 9:00 pm on a Monday night it's just nice to not have to trudge two miles in the snow and ice to get home.

Anyway, we've been on the hunt for a new place and yesterday, we put a security deposit down on an apartment! It's a 10-15-minute walk from the apartment to my office and a stone's throw from the apartment to the university gym. It's also got a much more open floor plan than the apartment we're in now:

Old Apartment:

New Apartment:

The apartment we're in now is 1/3 hallway, and while the rooms are pretty private, it feels a bit cramped.

I have to admit that part of me is wondering if the new place is going to turn out to be a good thing. It's really charming, but it's not as modern as the place we're in now. The bedrooms are a bit smaller (I think - it's hard to tell), as are the kitchen and bathroom. The living room, though, is quite a bit larger. There's no porch, but there is a decent little strip of lawn to hang out on. There's also a storage unit in the basement.

If it's as quiet as I'm hoping, I think the location of the new apartment will make the move totally worth it. I'm excited about being able to keep my windows open at night, waking up the the sound of birds, and falling asleep to the sound of crickets.

The only thing that makes me sad to leave our current building is that I have a lot of memories tied to it - my first year with J, little memories of Echo sleeping on the couch and racing through the hallway.

Christy

2009-06-10T13:34:00.003-04:00

I have a really beautiful friend named Christy. She's a mom, an aikidoka, an artist and an all-around awesome gal. She's opening a studio/collective here in town and I have an opportunity to rent some studio space from her! I don't know if I can afford to do it, but if I can, it would mean that I could have my very own photo studio, which would be very nice, if I ever want to try my hand at professional portraiture.

This past weekend, I got to spend some time with Christy and her boyfriend, Alex, at the studio. It's in the first stages right now - it's just a big room with some heavy equipment. It needs to be cleaned and organized and some walls need to be built, but it's a cool space.

I don't know if I'll do it - I barely have time during the school year to even watch a movie - but the idea is really exciting.

Photography

2009-06-09T08:55:00.004-04:00

In my building, there's a "Medical Photography" office. I think one person works in it. He takes photos - of medical stuff. And the school buys him his equipment, so he's got two Nikon D3s with $6,000 lenses mounted on them. He carries both around at the same time, one over each shoulder. I bump into him occasionally and I'm always a bit star struck for some reason, even though he's by no means famous.

I've wanted to do photography for a long time. I got into it, originally, in high school, when my parents gave me their old Canon AE-1 Program and some lenses for my birthday. Alas, I didn't know how to use the camera, nor did I seem to have the mind for learning at the time, so it sat, in my closet, until my first year of college.

I took a black and white photography class in 2002. We used film only, so I learned how to develop and manipulate film film photos. I didn't produce any great work during that time, but I did learn all of those technical things that my high school brain couldn't handle when I first got the AE-1. Unfortunately, once the class ended, so did my shooting. I got a couple of digital point and shoots and all of the sudden, film seemed like too much work - too pricey. (I've changed my mind about film. I think it's fantastic and I plan on getting myself a nice film camera once I've leanred the ins and outs of photography)

Anyway, I've realized lately that I spend a lot of time wanting to do things and very little time actually doing things. I'm sure, on my death bed, I'll have a lot of regrets - so I'd like to start doing those things that I've always wanted to do, not matter how scary they are. And while photography in itself isn't scary, the idea that I might invest some money in it and turn out to be a terrible photographer is.

So I bought myself a nice digital SLR camera and I've invested in some fantastic lenses. I got the Nikon D70. It's a great little tool and it has the capacity, coupled with nice lenses and good technique, to take beautiful pictures. Plus, it was cheaper than the more recent $1,000 bodies.

So far, I'm working with the following:

Nikon d70, Digital SLR
AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.4D lens
AF Nikkor 20-35mm f/2.8D zoom lens
Tamron SP AF28-300/3.5-6.3 XR Di LD Aspherical (IF) Macro lens

I'd like to pick up an external flash and a better tripod and eventually, I'd like to get a faster telephoto lens, though they run in the thousands of dollars, so that may never actually happen.

I'm having a lot of fun experimenting. Eventually, once I get a bit more familiar with the camera and the pictures I produce, I might even develop some kind of unique style. Right now, most of what I've done has been an imitation of several other people's style, though it's definitely helping me learn how to use the camera and the editing software (Nikon Capture).

I think I might be an okay photographer, if I stick with it.

I don't know if I ever linked to this

2009-06-05T15:03:00.002-04:00

but if I did, it's still worth reading again.

Hole in the Wall

2009-06-04T10:14:00.002-04:00

I grew up in Ashford -a tiny little town in Connecticut. It's a beautiful place with only a couple thousand residents. The house I spent most of my life in had a little stream in the back yard. There are two gas stations and one Dunkin Donuts. Otherwise, the town is just a school, some local restaurants, a dairy bar and lots and lots of woods.

And there's the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, founded by Paul Newman. You may have seen him in a movie or two, or bought his delicious dressings.

The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp does fantastic work. It "provides children with cancer and other serious illnesses and conditions a camping experience of the highest quality, while extending year-round support to their families and health care providers."

When you grow up in a small town like Ashford, you get to know people pretty well. My brother had a friend, Ray. Ray was a kid that we all knew would grow up to be a decent man. He was a sweet kid - really polite and kind. I got to do some Civil War reenacting with Ray when he and his father joined the local (and tiny, but awesome) civial war reenacting regiment. By the powers of Facebook, I've gotten to reconnect a bit with Ray. And, as we expected, Ray is doing great things - and working with Team Hole in the Wall to raise money for the Hole in the Wall Camps.

On August 16th, Ray will be running in the NYC Half-Marathon. He's committed to raising $1,500. Help Ray reach his goal by donating some money. Even if it's just $5, it'll help!

Guess which one of my boyfriends got into UVM?

2009-06-03T14:54:00.004-04:00

If you guessed this one:

then you are correct.

Congrats to J! He's now a double major in biology and philosophy. And extra congrats to him for making Presidents List this past semester!

I'm so lucky to have such a smart, hardworking and handsome partner in crime.

Fairbanks Museum

2009-06-01T10:24:00.004-04:00

This weekend, J and I drove up to St. Johnsbury - a quaint little town in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom. St. Jay, as the locals say, has a beautiful historic district with old brick buildings and a lovely little museum. We've been wanting to go to the Fairbanks Museum for quite some time, but since neither of us have a car it was only this past weekend, when J's sister was out of town and we had her car, that we could get there.

The Fairbanks Museum opened in 1891, though before that, Franklin Fairbanks invited folks to view his "cabinet of curiosities" in home where, on the third floor, he had a collection of natural objects.

I was pretty impressed by the museum. It had one of the most extensive collections of birds (dead ones) that I've seen, though many of them are so old that the colors are starting to fade from their feathers. almost the whole first floor of the museum, which was one gigantic room, was devoted to birds. There were also some stuffed bears, a moose, a tiger and some small mammals.

The second floor of the museum had a mishmash of items and themes. There were minerals, dolls, historical artifacts from around the world and a little display of the history of life through time. The mineral collection was impressive, not in size, but in specimen quality. The dinosaur display emphasized the historical aspects of paleontology but was lacking in anything modern. Besides casts of T. rex and Styracosaurus albertiensis, the only visuals were replicas of Mantell's statues and illustrations of lumbering sauropods with their tails dragging on the ground. Though the display information acknowledged recent advances in paleontology, any child running through the museum probably wouldn't pick that up.

Regardless, the museum was defininely fun to visit and I would recommend it to anyone as a stop on a day trip.

Monkey's Uncle

2009-05-29T12:06:00.004-04:00

Every once in a while, my life will take on some kind of theme. Lately, primates have been it.

I recently picked up a copy of Our Inner Ape by Frans de Waal. When I say "recently," I actually mean "months ago." I finished it on my trip to Florida earlier this month. It's a fantastic read and I encourage anyone with an interest in primatology, human behavior or anyone with opposable thumbs to read it. In the book, de Waal describes years' worth of experience working with chimpanzees and bonobos that offers insight into our own species' behavior - conflict resolution, sex, power, motivation.

So, after reading Our Inner Ape, I was really excited to visit the Miami MetroZoo and see the chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans. Unfortunately, the orang display was closed because they had just introduced two new orangs to the zoo and had them in quarantine. The chimps were not very active when we arrived at their enclosure. I don't really blame them - it was almost 94 degrees. A couple of them - a male and female - were sitting in full view, but they were far away and I didn't get any good shots of them.

The 94 degree heat was getting to us and we decided, after seeing about 2/3 of the zoo, to call it quits. But, we were passing near the gorilla enclosure and I convinced J and his mom to put up with the heat (and my picture-taking) just a bit longer.

The gorillas were really spectacular. Several females were lounging in the shade and a huge male, I think his name is JJ, was stalking around. I got some great shots of the gorillas and was about to pack up my camera when I saw JJ head to the gorilla viewing cave. I rushed into the cave and got there in time to watch JJ approach. He was moving so fast for such a big animal and he was heading right toward the two inches of glass separating us. I have never, in my life, had such a physical reaction to fear and excitement. My legs started to go numb, my heart was pounding and I immediately broke into a sweat. JJ sped up when he saw he had an audience. He plunked down on his butt and looked right at me, for a second, before averting his eyes. At one point, he opened his mouth to show off his canines. He was magnificient. Beautiful and powerful. Words can't do it justice.

I was so taken with JJ that I spent a couple of bucks on a key chain, which seemed like a totally inadequate token.

And of course, now that I'm back in Vermont and have some free time, I've picked up a copy of The Link: Uncovering Our Earliest Ancestor. I'm curious about the book and how it's going to frame the discovery of Ida - given all of the recent hype. Speaking of the hype, go read Brian's take on it!

More to come when I finish reading the book...

I'm thinking

2009-05-21T11:20:00.004-04:00

that I need to shift the focus of this blog slightly. I have not had any motivation to write for a very long time. It's not that I'm bored by what I'm writing or reading or learning about, but that when the day is done and I've spent hours studying, I don't feel like putting a lot of time into posting something journalistic or complicated. And I don't know that that's really my style, anyway. Maybe it's just something that I decided I should do rather than something I wanted to do. I do that often.

I'm sure that what I've done is create an idea of what my blog should be. And I'm holding myself to that idea, even though I haven't actually been producing any work in sync with that idea. You're probably thinking, journalistic and complicated? I've been reading this blog for a while and there's nothing journalistic or complicated about the post content! And you are right. But in my head, I'm under the gun to produce those things. I've set up standards that I don't have the desire to live up to and as a result, I don't enjoy writing anymore. So, I'm changing my expectations. This blog is going to be something - but I'm not going to say what that something is because I don't want to set myself up to stay within certain boundaries until I'm sure about what it is that I want to be writing about.

So, I know I haven't really written about paleo in a long time, but there's a nagging feeling that I should, so I'm going to take that pressure off of myself. Accordingly, I'm not going to expect to remain on anyone's "paleo blogs" blogroll (or any blogroll for that matter). That's not to say that I will stop writing about paleo as a rule. I'm just going to write about what I want to write about, when I want to write about it. And hopefully, once I've stopped telling myself I have to write about paleo, I'll find that I want to.

So, I hope you'll still visit this place. I know that there are a lot of people out there that like to read a nice coherent, sciency blog. I'm just not in a place where I can devote myself to that. I'm still devoted to school, still devoted to all things ancient, still devoted to rocks and wildlife and all of those awesome things. But I'm also learning something about myself that I think I need to address: I tend to decide who I am and what I should be doing so rigidly that I mark any deviance from that as a failure. I'd like to be more flexible than that.

You can expect some changes here. I will still keep the same html address (which is http://www.selfdesignedstudent.blogspot.com) though I will likely make some template changes. I might even change the name of the blog. I will probably post more photos. I expect that school will remain a central focus, since it's the most exciting and consuming part of my life. And hopefully, I'll be writing more often.

Oops

2009-04-28T11:33:00.003-04:00

It's been way too long since I've written on this blog. Sorry.

Tomorrow I have the last two classes of the semester and then on Monday and Wednesday, I have finals. I'm in really good shape and could afford to blow off the finals a bit, but I won't (and I'm not sure that I'm even capable of that, anyway).

I had my first mineral identification test, so now I feel like a real geologist. I did well - though I'm not entirely sure that that means I know my minerals. We were given eight thin sections and had 15 minutes to identify and describe 4 minerals in each. So, for example, even if I described olivine, and there was olivine in the thin section, it may not have actually been olivine that I was looking at.

I leave for Florida in a week and three days. I bought myself a new camera to take with me. I've been wanting a digital SLR for a long time and last Saturday I went to the local awesome camera shop and tested out a couple of cameras. In the end, I left with a used Nikon D70, a 28-300mm Tamron lens (no image stabilization, though), a monopod, a camera bag and a memory card for under $700. I don't know if it was a good deal or not, and I'm wondering if it would have made more sense to get a package from Best Buy (Nikon D80 with a kit lens and extra lens for $700), but I think it'll do for now, considering I barely know how to use the thing.

I'm probably going to annoy everyone because I want to photograph everything. Last night, J and I took a walk and I ended up taking a couple of nice shots of him.

I'm planning on taking a class so that I can really get the most out of the camera.

Stuff from the last week...

2009-04-14T08:38:00.002-04:00

I had to register for classes this morning, so the last week I've been in a panic, trying to figure out what the hell I'm doing with my education. Last Monday, I declared a double major in biology and geology, which has me fairly stressed out, but also sort of excited. I will have to take something like 4 lab courses a semester for a couple of semesters, but I think I can do it. Right now, I'm taking 2 lab courses a semester, working 40 hours a week and still maintaining a 4.0, so maybe my GPA will suffer a little, but it doesn't seem impossible.

Also, last week I was told I won an award in the geology department (yay!) for having the "highest grade point average in the Introductory Geology class." I will receive a set of geology field gear (hammer, compass, hand lens, field notebook) and my name will be engraved on a plaque that hangs in the Department Seminar room. So that is cool...because I've gotten awards for things I've not worked hard for, but never for something I have worked hard for.

I also set some new goals with my personal trainer. I have to do 10 "perfect" push-ups and at least one "perfect" dip within the next 6 weeks. And I have to keep working on the pull-ups. I reached my goal of 5, but now I have to do 10 by August.

So this morning, I enrolled in two courses for the fall: Organic Chemistry and Ecology and Evolution. Then, if it works out next spring, I'll take the second half of Organic Chemistry and Earth, Environments and Life Through Time, which is a lab course taken through the geology department.

Overheard in my biology class...

2009-04-08T10:10:00.002-04:00

"Dude, we've been reading these books in my French class and I haven't been reading, so, like, I haven't really had anything to contribute to the class. So, I think I'm going to just skip French class today, since I didn't do the reading."

Apparently, Obama likes BSG, too...

2009-04-01T15:04:00.000-04:00

A lot.

New Paleo Blog

2009-04-01T07:39:00.001-04:00

Anthony Maltese, Curator for the Rocky Mountain Dinosaur Resource center is starting a blog! You can find it here. Check it out!

Look at that face!

2009-03-31T11:20:00.003-04:00

My coworker thinks that Emily looks like she's in love:

But this picture makes it pretty obvious that she's not:

Intro Bio

2009-03-31T10:38:00.005-04:00

My introductory biology course is fairly intense. Rather than cramming a lot of information into a single semester, the class is broken into two semesters; during the first semester we covered the tiny stuff: cells, macromolecules, cell division, etc. This semester, we're going macro; we're studying ecology and evolution, as well as animal development and physiology. The class meets three times a week, for an hour each meeting and there is a 3-hour lab component that meets weekly. We have done several studies/experiments and written lab reports for each. I don't particularly enjoy writing the lab reports, but I understand the relevance of writing to a career involving research, so I put my best effort in.

So far, our labs have been pretty straightforward. The first week, we mated some Drosophila melanogaster flies and predicted the phenotypes of their offspring. In the second week, we studied the effects of population density on Paramecium multimicronucleatum. In the third week, we tested the effects of various common pollutants on Daphnia magna. In the fourth week, we looked at interpecific competition between Paramecium multimicronucleatum and Paramecium tetraurelia. I semi-enjoyed all of those labs, though I was a bit unmotivated when it came to sharing the studies via written reports. Why did you conduct this study? Because I was told to. Why did you use the procedure that you did? Because I was told to.

The last couple of weeks, I've really started to enjoy the lab section. Last week, we gave 10-minute oral presentations in which we had to present the findings of any peer-reviewed, published study. I presented the Maiacetus inuus paper to my class and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was so much fun to take something that I find fascinating and teach people about it. I was actually disappointed when, at the end of the presentation, nobody had any questions!

We've also started doing our winter bird studies. It's the first lab assignment I've had where I get to design my own study; of course, there are some limitations. I've been recording the various species of birds that visit two feeder types: feed and suet feeders. So, I've spent at least six hours in the last two weeks in the field, studying the feeding habits of birds, and I have pretty much fallen in love with birdwatching. I bought myself a pair of binoculars (10X50) and an I.D. book for Eastern birds and every sunny day, I try to squeeze in a bit of time in the woods. There's something about being outside, with no noise other than bird songs (which I'm starting to recognize!), in the sun, just watching. And I love the challenge of trying to add to the list of species that I've seen. There's one species, in particular, that I have never seen, but have heard, that I'm dying to identify. I thought it was a cardinal...but it isn't.

I'm hoping there's someone at the university who studies birds, because I'd love to hop on board with some research.

Seasonal Stuff

2009-03-27T09:56:00.003-04:00

This time of year is really hard. It's been dark out for months and the weather is doing it's usual thing - the thing where it gets warm, but summer is still months away, the sun is MIA and mud season is looming.

I am sure that I get seasonal depression. The last week or so, I've really been feeling it - I feel flat, unmotivated, disinterested and generally miserable. When I feel that way, I stop thinking that school is a good idea because I lose perspective. I have a hard time doing stuff that isn't mandatory (like the reading assignments that probably are the reason I do well in my classes). Generally, I just don't see the point of working so hard - because I have already decided I'm going to fail.

This week, I've just soldiered on. I've done stuff I really didn't want to do, like outline the chapters we're reading in my Mineralogy textbook (instead of just reading them) and spent extra time in the geology lab with thin sections and the microscope. I've cooked dinner instead of just ordering take-out, even though I just wanted to get in bed. I've done my best to be kind to the people around me - the construction worker that's been drilling outside my office all week and the coworker who finds a problem with everything - even if I've just felt like being a huge jerk.

Last year, this time, I was pretty depressed. Then one day J and I were walking with some friends by the lake and while the sun was setting, some ducks flew over the water and for some reason, I just felt better. Something about how gracefully the ducks glided just inches from the surface made me so happy - it reminded me of all of the amazing things I have around me. That experience, and a cardinal that began singing outside of our front door ushered in a new season and I experience a little bit of a rebirth, as I do after every winter.

This morning, J sent me a sweet message that gave me just the little boost I needed to have a positive outlook. I don't feel quite as terrible and some part of me is actually hopeful. Later today, I have a date with some birds. As part of a study I'm conducting (for a lab assignment - this is not research) I have to go sit for an hour in the woods and observe birds at three sets of bird feeders. It's not that warm out today, but it's sunny and I think that my time outside will be another boost.

I am a big advocate of taking care of myself. I don't like to rely on other people to make me feel okay and I don't think that it's healthy to do; however, some days I just don't have what it takes to pull myself out of a funk. It's those days that I'll take all the help I can get.

Battlestar Gallactica Grinds to a Halt

2009-03-25T07:24:00.004-04:00

(do not read this if you haven't seen the last episode of BSG...it will ruin things for you)

Okay, Will, here it is: I confess - I was not all that happy with BSG's ending.

First, let me just say that at the beginning of the last 3-part episode I was like, "okay...that's more like it!" and by the second part I was like, "Sweet! I've missed you, Battlestar Gallactica."
The last episode had some awesome BSG drama and it truly matched the tone of the rest of the series - in most parts. There were a couple of times that I turned to Jordan and we groaned because something horribly cheesy happened (like when Baltar and Caprica were talking in unison because they could both see the angels), but for the most part, we were pretty into it. I loved that they brought back all the prophecy stuff - that was something they just left out in the last season and it was the backbone of the show.

But the last part of the 3-part episode? Meh. I'm sick of the "robots will take over the Earth if we let the crazy scientists do what they want" theme. We did that in I Robot and a billion other movies. And Hera as Mitochondrial Eve? I don't know...seems like a bit of a stretch. I mean, if there was already a tribe of advanced hominids on earth that, according to Baltar, we could breed with, why would Hera be Eve?

Really, I was so turned off by the Baltar/Caprica team of angels. They just seemed so, er, not real - so not in sync with the rest of the show. And the montage at the end of all of the robots? Ugh.

I did like what they did with Kara - how she brought them to Earth by typing in a code that corresponded with the song that her father taught her as a child. That was neat and it was right in line with the series - a bit of prophecy and a bit of mystery. She needed to do something cool, because they basically turned Kara into a washout by the last episode.

Basically, I think that Moore had a great idea and he developed some AWESOME characters and the middle of the series was SO AMAZING. But he didn't know where he was going with anything. You can tell. The show was just floundering at the end. It probably would have worked out better if the show had gotten cancelled before the final season. Not that I would have been happy about that, either, but I would have been left thinking that BSG had one of the most ineresting plots, ever.

A lot of people are saying, "how could they ended it any other way?" and I think there are plenty of ways that BSG could have ended that wouldn't have turned it into a fable. Do we really need to drill it down the audience's throat that technology could overcome the human race? No! The whole show was based on that! We get it! We started drawing parallels between the Caprican-Cylon relationship and the Human-Technology relationship as soon as the show started. For heaven's sake - your viewers are not idiots!

It could have ended at Earth. It could have ended at the scene with Adama sitting by Roslin's grave and that would have been awesome (though nothing could have redeemed the last disgrace that was the last season). In fact, I thought it was ending then and I was pretty happy with it.

But then Baltar/Caprica angels fake conversation that really was a lecture to the audience happened and I lost the warm fuzzy feeling I had.

BSG is over and it didn't go out kicking and screaming - it just sorta ground to a halt.

I'm going on a tropical vacation!!!

2009-03-20T10:32:00.003-04:00

In early May, J and I are going to Fort Lauderdale to visit his mom, relax and unwind a bit after a difficult and long semester. We're leaving on the last day of finals, in the evening, so it'll truly be a "finish and run away" sort of thing.

J's mom surprised us last week with some news: she's going to take us to Sanibel for three nights! I've never been on the Gulf coast - nor have I ever been to an island with white sandy beaches - but I am really really excited! I hear there are some really beautiful bike trails and lots of beautiful birds and shells.

On top of going to a gorgeous island, we're also staying in a gorgeous condo with king-size beds and a patio that overlooks the ocean:

I am REALLY excited. So much so that I want the next month and a half to fly by. I'm sure it will...but right now, it just doesn't seem to be going fast enough!

An easy grader?

2009-03-20T10:16:00.002-04:00

I did just fine on that mineralogy midterm. In fact, with the extra-credit points I racked up in the beginning of the semester, I got over 100% on the exam. So, I spent a week and a half being a miserable jerk for no good reason.

It happens.

I think that I studied too hard for the exam, which barely scratched the surface of the details in our textbook. In class, we just sorta skimmed over ideas - not going into detail - but our reading was pretty in-depth. Having no idea what to expect or, better yet, what was expected of me, I just studied everything in a ton of detail.

The exam was very long - but it required very broad answers. I spent too much time answering the first 10 questions (in as much detail as I thought was expected) and then panicked when I realized that I still had half an exam to complete within 10 minutes. So, I rushed through the last half of the exam, spending very little time and attention on the details. I did just as fine on those questions as I did on the first few.

Lesson: For the final, I should really try to give broader, less specific answers. I could study less, too, but what would be the point of that?

Sun!

2009-03-16T10:40:00.003-04:00

It's been sunny out for, like, two whole days! And warm! So, in the spirit of Spring, I've decided to apply for a community garden plot. If I get the plot I want, it will be just a two minute bike ride from my house and all summer, I can eat fresh veggies!

I haven't decided just what I'm going to plant, though certainly I will have lettuce and tomatoes and peppers. I'd like to grow beans, too...

The plot is only going to be about 350 square feet, but I think it'll be more than enough - especially since I've never done this before and don't really know how it'll work out. It only cost 37$ and two volunteer days, so it won't be a big loss if it doesn't work out.

I love gardening - I worked in greenhouses and for landscaping companies for years. Best jobs I've ever had.

Dear Battlestar Gallactica writers,

2009-03-10T10:02:00.003-04:00

WTF are you doing??? You left us all at the end of season 4.0 with so many questions...promising us exciting answers and another fantastic season.

And season 4.5 SUCKS. It's terrible.

What was with that entire soap-opera-ish episode in which you decided to tell everything all at once? And why is there so much romantic drama? The last couple of episodes have made me want to take a nap.

Please, please, please stop this crap and bring back your old writing style. And while you're at it, whip the actors into shape, too.

If you want to laugh until you cry...

2009-03-09T10:22:00.002-04:00

go see Louis C.K. live. J and I went on Saturday night and I laughed the whole time. It was one of the best shows I have ever seen in my entire life. Funny, brilliant, honest and true.

Well worth the 25$.

Midterm

2009-03-05T12:55:00.002-05:00

It's officially "mid-term" and while for most people that means TONS of work, I'm looking at a fairly light load. I have a chapter or two to read and a lab report to start on. And I have to prepare a presentation on my choice of journal article (I'm doing Maiacetus because it's cool and will allow me to talk about paleo AND sexual selection).

I took my mineralogy midterm yesterday and it was really awful. I didn't answer a good chunk of the questions and didn't do very well, despite all of my hard work. I know that working really hard doesn't guarantee success in college - but I feel like I knew the answers to the test questions and just didn't have time to answer them, not because I had to think for a really long time before writing down my answers - but because the test itself was REALLY long. There were about 30, multi-part questions, half of which were essay-type questions that asked really really broad things - like what happens to light as it goes through a petrographic microscope and thin section?. Um...lots of things...

We had 50 minutes to complete the exam. I did as much as I could in the 50-minute allotted time and then handed in my unfinished exam because I had to run to my next class. People who didn't have a class right after got to stay a little late and finish up - something I'm pretty upset about.

I don't know how the grading will go. Perhaps the test was designed to be unfinishable and there will be a considerable curve. Or, I'll get a D on something worth 20% of my grade.

Indecision

2009-02-27T11:26:00.002-05:00

I'm having a problem. Every time I take a new class, I get entirely engrossed in the subject and decide that I want to devote my life to studying it. Except for the subject that is my current major.

So, right now....geology is neat. And I have a special place in my heart for paleontology. But studying hominid evolution....even more neat. And studying evolution and ecology? Awesome.

I can't seem to stick with one thing...every semester I freak out and change my major and it's getting really close to being a problem, since sooner or later, I won't be taking intro courses and what classes I do take will start counting toward a specific area of study.

That, and I have this "should I go to school in the fall" dilemma. That was the plan...until I found out that I need another CT scan next winter and possibly surgery on my freaking brain (which isn't such a big deal, really, but I bet it will be $$$). So, quitting my job and giving up my amazing health care in exchange for student health care seems silly - especially since there's a chance that they could label my head problem a "pre-existing condition."

If I work another year, I'll be four courses closer to a degree and will have time to save up more money for school. But what if next year they tell me I need a CT scan in another year...and maybe surgery in another year?

J is probably looking at 3 years of school after this one, so it makes sense to work another year if that's the case.

GAH! Can someone else figure this out for me, because the amount of time I spend worrying about it is getting ridiculous.

You know what today is???

2009-02-26T09:49:00.003-05:00

It's Brian's birthday! Make sure to stop in and wish him a happy day!

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It's pretty crazy over here at the SDS household. I have a lab report due Monday and a midterm in my mineralogy class on Wednesday. I also have a potential modeling job on Tuesday (I find out today - fingers crossed!) and a ton of reading to do for both of my classes.

I bought some tickets to see the comedian, Louis C.K., at a local venue in early March and tickets to see Ani Difranco in April - two shows I'm really looking forward to! It'll be nice to do something other than schoolwork!

Best Valentine's Day cookie, ever...

2009-02-23T11:26:00.004-05:00

Okay, I know that Valentine's Day was, like, nine days ago, but this had to be posted:

There was a female cookie, too, but I ate that one before I got the idea to photograph it.

We're tired of doing homework...

2009-02-21T13:28:00.002-05:00

Emily and I are sick of doing homework this morning. I have something resembling the flu. I'm kinda sore and my throat is raw and my chest feels tight and congested. I had the chills last night. I feel like poo.

I saw a personal trainer last weekend and I only have six weeks to whip myself into good enough shape to do 5 pull ups. It's been one week and I've only made it to the gym twice. I was hoping to go today and tomorrow so that I could claim 4 workouts per week, but I think it's wiser to stay home and relax.

Maybe tomorrow I'll feel better. Thankfully, I have hours and hours of work to do at home, including a lab report on Drosophila melanogastor that I REALLY do not want to do. My goal is to get the Methods and Introduction sections finished today. I can't do the Discussion, Results or Abstract sections yet because there's some confusion about what data I'm supposed to be using.

And in the first week in March, I have my mineralogy midterm. I honestly don't even know what I should be studying because we've approached things so randomly in the class. Thankfully, the professor is providing us with a review outline.

I suppose I should end this post, since it's a procrastination tool. Back to work. *cough*cough*

I'm sick of winter, but this is beautiful...

2009-02-19T09:02:00.002-05:00

Not having a car has been pretty sweet. I take a bus to work and the walk to the bus stop is really pleasant in the morning (unless I'm running late). Last night, we got a couple of inches of snow and this morning, everything was whitish blue - even the sky.

Happy Birthday!

2009-02-12T09:53:00.002-05:00

Today is Charles Darwin's birthday...though I'm sure you know that already. There are lots of things going on in celebration around the country (though not much around here except for a short 10-minute cake-eating session before a geology class). And there's also a lot going on in the blogosphere.

Tom Holtz has composed "The Twelve Days of Darwin"
Julia has written a post about Darwin's Image
Neil has tempted us with some awesome cupcakes!
Larry Moran shares an excerpt from Janet Browne's biography of Darwin
Dave Hone offers us "Darwin in Beijing"
Chris tells us all about Darwin in Australia
Micheal shares some links
ReBecca has, like, a ton of posts :)
The Panda's Thumb has lots 'o' links and posts

I'm sure there's more (and if you'd like me to list yours...let me know!) and it's fairly early in the day...so keep checking your favorite blogs!

Darwin probably would have freaked out from all this attention, were he still alive - so I think I'm going to celebrate his birthday as quietly as possible. I have a geology lab tonight and we're going to the Barre granite quarry to do some mineral identification (um....granite???). Darwin's ideas were largely influenced by the geologists of his time and Darwin made some of his own important geological observations - namely that geological processes implied a very long Earth history.

So, a little geology for Darwin Day...and then, at 7, I have an exam covering evolution!

I plan to end the day on the couch, eating ice cream. And then tomorrow, it's J's birthday (and Julia's!!!), so the celebrations will continue.

Things Get Crazy

2009-02-11T10:03:00.002-05:00

School this semester has been all over the place. My classes are great. I'm really enjoying my biology class because we're covering evolution and all things related. I'm also enjoying my mineralogy class, even if some of the material is not all that interesting (it's hard for me to make it through a chapter about microscopes and various spectroscopic techniques when the reading is quite technical and I don't understand it). Still, I like it and find it fascinating and I've been constantly reminding myself that there's plenty of time to learn and that I'm not required to know everything about minerals this semester.

So, things are going well and my only complaint this semester...okay, it's not the only one, but it's the biggest...is that there's no structure to my schedule. My biology class was going by effortlessly. I read a chapter from a book every couple of days and did some in-lab exercises and answered really easy questions like "Is it okay to omit data from your lab report?" I was beginning to think it would be smooth-sailing this semester. And then BAM! Yesterday, I got two lab reports dumped in my lap - I have an exam on Thursday night and a decent-sized homework assignment due next Monday. All within the next two weeks. It's doable...but I'm a little stressed out.

My geology class is fairly unstructured, too. We've had one homework assignment and almost no assigned reading. I've been reading from the book, anyway, but up until a week ago, I had to guess at which chapters the information we covered in class was found. We have two exams in the class - a midterm and a final. Since we don't have any other tests/quizzes, I don't know what to expect on the midterm, which makes up a lot of the grade. I'm not sure at this point what it is I should know and in what detail I should know it. We've really just skimmed a bunch of topics; spectroscopy, definition of a mineral, symmetry, and what influences mineral formation.

I'm sure I'll survive. If I can make it through the next two weeks without freaking out, I'll be pretty proud of myself!

HAHAHAHAHAHAH! HAHAHAHAHH!

2009-02-10T16:35:00.004-05:00

This is hilarious, but if you're going to watch it in a public place, I have to warn you that it's not light on the expletives!

Pretty sure I bought one of those last year and that it doesn't work anymore.

Outlet

2009-02-05T08:54:00.003-05:00

I've been engaging in an argument about evolution in the comment section of the local newspaper (due to recent local events involving a propagandist and an honorary degree) for the last few mornings and this morning, I got really, really tired of it. I've been called a "libtard," been accused of only being interested in listening to people who share my worldview, been accused of loving Micheal Moore (are you serious? not even close!). And I've seen people rail on other people for being religious. It's ugly - lots of hate and irrational finger-pointing. Everyone is talking at each other with their fingers in their ears. It's a battle between liberalism and conservatism. It's a battle between religious and non-religious. Except I don't believe that's the truth.

I believe that the people who are most aggressively arguing are also the most extreme. Extreme liberals, extreme conservatives. It's a public display of the most extreme types of people around. I'm willing to bet that there are many people out there, completely disinterested in arguing, or thinking there's a better way, who are religious, liberal people that understand evolution and its contributions to our understanding of the world. And there are atheist conservatives who feel the same way. It's not as black and white as it seems. I refuse to believe that.

What I do notice is that the majority of people I've come into contact with arguing that evolution is full of holes seem to have a very very poor understanding of how evolution works. And it angers me that there are people out there that are so willing to call it a lie, when their understanding of evolution doesn't even go beyond the high school level.

Dear faithful readers,

2009-01-27T11:48:00.003-05:00

A few posts ago, I promised to write about redox boundaries. Except it dawned on me that I don't really know what they are. I mean, I do, but not well enough to write about them publicly.

Instead, I give you a summary of a lecture I went to that spurred the unkept promise. And perhaps you could explain this redox boundary thing to me.

Bjorn Sundby’s lecture, “What can we learn from metals in the environment: A tale of two oceans” included highlights from research projects involving two bodies of water– the Arctic Ocean and Lake Matano.
In the Artic Ocean, Dr. Sundby’s research team used redox tracers such as manganese, rhenium and AVS (acid-volatile sulfides) to determine the location of the redox boundary in the ocean-floor sediment at several stations in the Arctic Ocean basin. At about 10 cm of depth, ocean-wide, there was an enrichment of AVS, but no
enrichment of rhenium. Organic carbon was found in the top 10 centimeters. Dr. Sundby’s team concluded that recent global warming has reduced the volume of ice in the arctic and caused a huge flux in organic carbon to the ocean floor, which is supported by the position of the redox boundary.
At Lake Matano, the presence of banded iron formations suggests that organisms
inhabiting Earth’s early oceans metabolized Fe2+. Dr. Sundby and his colleagues
studied the chemistry and fauna of the lake and found that at 100m deep, the
environment became anoxic; however, there was photosynthetic activity occurring
below that depth. They determined that between 110 and 120 meters, a mixed community of Chlorobiaceae inhabits the waters. Because the levels of sulfates in the deep waters of Lake Matano are low and the waters are iron-rich, Dr. Sundby’s team concluded that there are ferrophototrophs in the lake and that Lake Matano is a modern analog of the oceans of the Archaean.

On being a pushover...

2009-01-27T11:10:00.002-05:00

I like to think I'm a nice person. Sure, I have mean, terrible thoughts and I quietly hate on a lot of the world, but I don't usually act on those thoughts. I try to be kind, compassionate and if I wouldn't want you to do something to me, I try not to do it to you. I try hard - key word being try- to improve my outlook and attitude. I do it actively, every day. In fact, sometimes I spend so much time thinking about it that I cause myself heaps of anxiety.

I like avoiding controversy when possible. But, every time that somebody takes advantage of my tendency to avoid controversy, a little bit of me dies. Today, two manuscript authors called me with, um, concerns about their papers. Both of them treated me like I was a child - telling me how to do my job, treating me like I was a disinterested customer service representative. Both of them, when I explained the status of their papers and why they weren't ready, fed me the "that's not okay" line, which is really annoying, because, well, it's going to have to be okay. If you want us to publish your paper, you're going to have to be okay with the process.

I am not a complaint department. My job is not to compensate for other people's technology retardation. It is not to make excuses and grovel and apologize. My job is to make sure that your manuscript gets reviewed by other professionals and that the publisher knows what and when to publish.

Did I say this to the two angry callers? NO. And I wish I had, because now I feel like I didn't take care of myself when I was being attacked. I let someone else (2 someone elses!) walk all over me and I was polite and quiet because was afraid I'd lose my job if I wasn't. Except now I've lost a bit of my dignity.

Hmmm....

2009-01-26T17:57:00.003-05:00

I just stumbled across this poll on my university's website:

I'd Rather Do Anything Than...

a) clean

b) exercise

c) study

d) balance my checkbook

I'll give you one guess at which one is the most popular choice. For the record, I chose "balance my checkbook."

The state of my carotid...

2009-01-17T09:11:00.003-05:00

I went to see a neurosurgeon last Tuesday and he told me a little more about my aneurysm. It's in the cavernous carotid, which is a good thing because if it were to rupture, it would probably not bleed into my brain. So, not fatal, really. But, if it ruptures, it could cause my eye to swell and pop out a bit from the socket. Think final scene from Total Recall:

So, in a year, they do another CT angiogram to determine if it's growing. And if it is, they want to consider doing a minimally invasive surgery called Coil Embolization, in which they will snake a catheter into my leg and into my blood vessels and then, through that, insert a small coil into the aneurysm. Blood clots will form around the coil, preventing blood from flowing into the aneurysm and therefore releasing the pressure on it.

I'm hoping the aneurysm just stays nice and small. I don't want to have something foreign snaked into my brain through my leg. That sounds horrible. And apparently something like 7% of the procedures require additional surgery or treatment. Not great.

But it could be worse, so I'm pretty happy about the news.

Back to school...

2009-01-15T08:00:00.004-05:00

The Spring semester officially started this past Monday and so far, so good. I started off my first day with the second half of a year-long introductory biology course. This semester, we're covering Mendelian genetics, evolution, ecology and some physiology. The course is pretty centered around humans and disease, which I find rather disappointing. Every topic, whether it's cell reproduction, metabolism, evolution, or genetics, is somehow connected back to human beings and medicine. It makes sense, since most of the biology majors at the university are actually pre-med students and since there's a hospital connected with the university that has a decent med program.

I'm running into a lot of interesting problems this semester already. For one, I am in smaller classes, which is fantastic!, but I really feel like the weird old lady and I know that people have noticed that I'm not a traditional student. Often, I get asked how old I am by other students, which doesn't bother me, but it is a little strange. Students are much more likely to start conversations with other students in their peer group, so I feel like it's a little hard for me to make connections, which is unusual - I usually am pretty good at meeting people and socializing.

Another problem I've run into is my own ego, which somehow has convinced me that because I'm older than my classmates, that I should be smarter. Yesterday, we were solving a simple genetics problem using simple probability rules and I just couldn't do it without drawing a Punnett Square. All around me, I could hear people saying "Oh! I get it!" and I was getting so annoyed with myself. Why wasn't I getting it? In the end, I left the class a little shaken up - partly because I struggled with the material, but mostly because I don't want to be the kind of person who thinks their age is related to their intelligence. I don't want to feel competitive with my classmates...at least not in that way.

My geology class went a bit more smoothly. In fact, I'm enjoying the class so much that it's going by way too fast. Every day, when the professor says "That's all the time we have for today," I get so disappointed. His class is really interesting and he is very engaging. I felt comfortable with him the first day I stepped into the classroom and I think that that comfort will allow me to open up to asking more questions.

Anyway, things are going well and I'm excited to be back. More to come on the following:

-how I went to the wrong class, twice
-the state of my carotid
-redox boundaries

I know, I know...but it's almost over!

2009-01-09T10:54:00.003-05:00

This contest is over in a month and you have all been SO SO SO helpful and I really appreciate it a lot! I'm currently in 4th place and I need another round of votes to boost me up again!

What's Your Favorite Toy?
Brickfish

Also, if anyone can figure out how to make the photo show up in the above box, I'd appreciate the advice...I'm not great with html code.

Just make my eggs, dude...

2009-01-08T08:47:00.002-05:00

There's this old cranky racist that works in the cafeteria in my building. He's the short order cook in the morning and every time I order scrambled eggs, he peeks through this little window (the one they use to pass plates of food from the kitchen to the serving area) to see who's ordering the eggs.

One day, my co-worker ordered eggs. The woman in front of her, a young black girl, had also ordered eggs. The cranky cook peeked out to see who was ordering. The black girl got a tiny pile of eggs while my co-worker got a heaping pile.

This morning, I decided I was sick of having to look at this guy's face. When I ordered my eggs, I ordered them at the register and stayed out of the line of sight of the window. He never saw who ordered the eggs and I got the biggest pile of eggs I've ever gotten.

New Year's Meme

2009-01-05T11:36:00.002-05:00

1. What did you do in 2008 that you'd never done before? I attended my first academic conference and traveled alone for the first time.
2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year? For the most part, yes. I didn't wear makeup all year (except for photo shoots...but that's different) and I quit smoking.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth? My friend Alison gave birth to a beautiful little girl named Emma.
4. Did anyone close to you die? My cat, Echo, died of lung cancer. It was and still is pretty horrible.
5. What countries did you visit? I went to Canada...
6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008? More time to read non-school books.
7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? August 14th - I put my sweet little teddy bear cat to sleep. November 4th - I gained some hope for my country.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? I had two 4.0 semesters, despite J's illness, my cat's death and my enrollment in the most difficult course I've ever taken.
9. What was your biggest failure? I neglected my blog.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury? I had a cold and a stomach bug...and now I have an aneurysm.
11. What was the best thing you bought? An SVP membership and two plane tickets to Cleveland.
12. Whose behaviour merited celebration? J and the blogosphere...I got so much support from you all...
13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed? George Bush and Ben Stein. I'm sure there are more.
14. Where did most of your money go? The SVP annual meeting and Echo's vet bills.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? SVP. I was excited for, like, six months straight!
16. What song will always remind you of 2008? "Walk the Dinosaur" with accompanying images of Tom Holtz and Julia dancing around at the after-hours party.
17. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? b) thinner or fatter? c) richer or poorer? I am happier, fatter and poorer.
18. What do you wish you'd done more of? Reading, writing, spending time alone.
19. What do you wish you'd done less of? Worrying.
20. How will you be spending Christmas? Oh...was I supposed to do this before Christmas? I spent it with my family and a very sick J. It was lovely.
21. Did you fall in love in 2008? I was already in love. But I guess I fell in love with geology...and sloths.
22. How many one-night stands? Nada
23. What was your favorite TV program? So hard to choose from...but probably Battlestar Gallactica with Dr. Who running a very close second.
24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year? No...I hated them all last year, too :)
25. What was the best book you read? I really liked "The Secret Life of Bees" and "Wonderful Life."
26. What was your greatest musical discovery? Morphine. I know it's not new music, but the song "I'm Free Now" just blew me away.
27. What did you want and get? Big stuff: I wanted to meet people in the paleo world and I met some amazing amazing people. Small stuff: I really wanted a nice rock hammer and some long johns. I got those, too :)
28. What did you want and not get? I really really wanted some magical fairy to come down and say, "hey...here's some money for college...don't worry about it." But that didn't happen, and I suspect it won't.
29. What was your favorite film of this year? I loved The Dark Knight. And if they never make the Watchmen movie, then I'm declaring the trailer as my favorite film.
30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I worked, but then I went home and had dinner and opened gifts and just spent some time with my roommates, which was nice. I turned 26.
31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Being in school full-time.
32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008? Jeans and tee shirts.
33. What kept you sane? I don't know that I was sane.
34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? I don't know...I guess Obama got my attention the most.
35. What political issue stirred you the most? The election! And some evolution/creationism stuff.
36. Who did you miss? My family and my close girl friends that I haven't seen in too long.
37. Who was the best new person you met? Any of those paleo blogger people...and the non-blogger paleo people.
38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008. I can do things and do them successfully if I stop quitting out of fear before I've even started.
39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. Bah..I can't think of one. It would contain the words hope and fear.

When I say I'm a little messed up in the head, I totally mean it.

2008-12-17T15:10:00.006-05:00

So, I don't know why I haven't blogged about this, but I've been having some medical issues. A couple of months ago, I found out that I had a nerve-fiber layer infarct in my eye. The usual causes are diabetes, HIV and hypertension; three things I am 99% sure I don't have. Since mine was an unusual case (most people have multiple infarcts and are unhealthy), the doctor figured that it was idiopathic, but he left me the option of having any tests done that I felt I needed done.

I have a family history of aneurysms...my mother had one in her brain stem that ruptured when I was 15, nearly killing her. My grandfather had some as well. In the week before the follow-up with the eye doctor, I had been having headaches; not big headaches...just sinus-y headaches. So, when the doc offered to refer me for any tests, I told him I wanted an MRA. He managed to get my insurance company to cover it! 100%! Here are the results:

That arrow? It's pointing at one of my aneurysms. I guess I have two; two tiny aneurysms.

I'm not really nervous, at least not consciously. They're small enough that they're not really in any danger of rupturing and hell, it's better to know they're there. But still, sometimes when I get a headache or bend over to pick something up, I worry just a little bit.

I had a CT angiogram yesterday. They injected me with an iodine-based dye which will act as a contrast. They had to put an IV in my arm and that was horrible. I'm TERRIFIED of needles. When I was six, I had ITP (basically all of my platelets disappeared) and I had to have blood drawn for months. The nurses and doctors threatened to tie me down often, because I would kick and scream and cry. I've gotten a bit better since then, but the whole time that the IV was in my arm, I was really tense. I could feel the dye entering my blood stream and as soon as it did, I could tasted metal in my mouth. Then, my eyes and head got really hot and as the dye traveled through the rest of me, I felt like I peed myself. Very very strange...

So, I'll learn more when the CT scan results come back (and I'll totally post those pictures, too, because I'm sure they'll be awesome!!!). I have an appointment with a neurosurgeon in the beginning of January. I don't think they'll recommend surgery of any kind, but it'll be interesting to see what they want to do about it all.

Me, I'm just going to wait to freak out until I know there's something to freak out about.

The "How did you meet ___?" meme

2008-12-15T13:39:00.002-05:00

I promise...cool post about Vermont geology to come. But first, something less time-consuming during this week after the end of the semester (in which my brain is mushy and NOT into writing about anything sciency):

(I guess I copied this incorrectly, because it doesn't include the title that explains the whole thing...but it's about J)

Where did you meet? At an Aikido weapons seminar. I was trying to find a place to sneak a cigarette and I snuck off behind a barn and J was there with his friend, Greg. This might not be the first time we met, but it's the first time I remember meeting.

What was the first thought that went through your head when you met? I was really intimidated by him, actually. He seemed kinda sarcastic and I was SO insecure at that point in my life. Sarcasm and insecurity don't mix well, y'know?

Do you remember what he/she was wearing? No, I don't. But J sorta has a uniform...so I bet he was wearing some Carhartt pants and a red, grey, blue or brown tee shirt.

Where was the first time you kissed this person? This is a story that I cannot in good conscience put up on this blog. I'm pretty sure it's more embarrassing to him than it is to me :)

Where did you go for your first date? Alone, I think it was this little restaurant called the Shed in a town about 40 minutes away from ours. We had dinner and then walked around town and then drove home, listening to the Dresden Dolls. In fact, I have a picture:

How long did you know this person before you became a couple? I don't know. Maybe 8 months or something close to that?

How did he/she ask you out? That never really happened. I just introduced him as my boyfriend to someone one day and then we talked about that and decided we both were interested.

Has this person ever proposed to you? No. I think once he asked me if I wanted to get married, but that wasn't a proposal, really. He was just wondering.

Do you and this person have kids together? Nope.

Have you ever broken the law with this person? I think so. I mean, speeding...I'm sure we've trespassed, too.

When was the first time you realized that you liked this person? We were sitting on the couch one night with our roommates and one of them said something kinda mean to me and J stood up for me and I realized that I had gotten him all wrong and all the sudden I saw him for who he was and I was like, "sweet...this guy is so funny and caring and I totally wanna be with him."

Do you trust this person? Yes. He's got a heart of gold and he's as honest as they come.

Do you see him as your partner in your future? Yes. The thought of anyone else makes me actually feel sick.

What is the best gift he gave you? Well, when we first got together he made me a mixed CD and it had all of these songs that reminded me of him and I listened to it every day at work for hours and had that giddy happy glow for weeks.

What is one thing He does that gets on your nerves? He puts dirty dishes on the right side of the sink instead of the left. And there are some more things, too. But they never outweigh the good.

Where do you see each other 15 years from now? I'm hoping we're both finished with school and settled into our careers and still happy with each other. That's all.

What causes the most arguments? We're both ultra sensitive and neither one of us tolerate the other being upset very well.

How long have you been together? Two years this February.

Are you Married? Nope.

Vote often :)

2008-12-09T12:06:00.004-05:00

Thanks to everyone who voted for me in the Brickfish "My Favorite Toy" contest. It's not over yet...another month or two, but you've managed to get me into 11th place and I'm the 2nd "most viral" meaning people are linking to my entry from all over.

I just learned that you can vote every 2 hours, so if you feel like popping over there a few more times over the next couple of months, that would be awesome.

What's Your Favorite Toy?
Brickfish

I'm your teacher, not your friend...

2008-12-08T15:54:00.003-05:00

One of the biggest challenges I've run into in my classes has been maintaining professional relationships with my TAs. As an undergraduate taking introductory courses, my TAs are usually first-year graduate students, closer to my age than the majority of my classmates. They are more mature than my classmates (usually) and they're pretty much guaranteed to be interested in the the same things I am. I like them. A lot. They're the kinds of people I want to be friends with; interested in science, passionate about something, intelligent and mature, but not too mature.

Except they're my teachers and certain boundaries have to be maintained. I'm not talking about romantic relationships here, which are certainly out of the question for a multitude of reasons; just friendships.

Now that the lab section for my biology course has ended, I find that the "we can't be friends" thing that my TA and I have maintained has slipped away. We have plans to go dancing some night soon. And it's exciting...she's a cool girl and I have been wanting to form more friendships with women. But there's still that weirdness and while I'm sure I will get over it, I'm not entirely sure that I should.

Who's to say that some semester in the future, she might not be my TA again?

What do you think? Have you had this experience?

Help me win some $ for school...

2008-12-06T15:19:00.003-05:00

So, I'm planning on going to school full-time this fall, but I'm totally terrified of it. I'll be quitting a job at a time when people are losing theirs like crazy. I'll be selectively putting myself in debt during a recession. And I'm scared.

But I'm also scared to give up on school. And I think I could live with myself if I were poor, but not if I quit this school thing.

So, I'm going for as many little scholarships as I can and I need your help with this one. I've posted a box on the right - it's for the Brickfish "My Favorite Toy" scholarship. Click on the vote button and vote for me. I would appreciate it more than you know.

Humph...

2008-12-03T13:45:00.003-05:00

I've come to a conclusion. Not a life-shattering one or anything...but this:

I don't have a very interesting life.

I mean, I do. I find it interesting because I'm living it. But you might not be so interested in it.

I also don't have much time. I'm constantly doing something. Work has picked up because we have a new editor and he's like a tornado and is constantly coming up with new things for us to do here in the office. School is quite crazy this semester because I'm fitting in 2 lab courses besides work...and it will be that way next semester, too.

So, I don't really know how to fit in this whole blogging thing. I could write about paleo and geology and biology and zoology, but I dont' have time to do any research. I could write about my life, but that's mostly just interesting to me and also, my life is literally just eat, sleep, poop, study and work. And who cares about that?

I'm in a rut. And I apologize for a) not posting and b) posting about not posting.

I think I need a new direction. Perhaps I could explore the basics of science with illustrations or something. Hand-write my blog posts and post them as pictures - use the time I have on the bus-ride to and from work to write them.

Or I could stop writing. But I don't actually want to do that.

So, I'm working on it...this rut. I'm mostly just worried about losing connections. This blog has helped me meet so so so many awesome people and I don't want to ruin that.

The Boneyard is coming!

2008-11-25T07:22:00.003-05:00

Traumador is hosting the next version of The Boneyard and needs your posts! You don't have to be a paleontologist or a dinosaur connoisseur to contribute - this month's theme is "My favorite museum." So, wax poetic about the AMNH, profess your love for the Smithsonian or the Peabody. And then send your posts to our favorite Tyrannosaur.

New Blog: Paleo Errata

2008-11-21T15:33:00.001-05:00

Check out Jeff Martz's new blog, Paleo Errata!

Carless in the 21st Century

2008-11-21T12:16:00.002-05:00

So I chose the geology class because I found out that it's a prerequisite for a required course that is only offered in the Spring of 2010.

And my car broke down. It happened last Sunday and I decided that I don't want and can't afford to fix it. The car's only worth $1000 and it's going to cost close to $900 to fix it. Plus, the bus system here is pretty decent and I can get to and from work and school within twenty minutes. Because I'm a student and employee of the university, I ride the bus for free. Even if I got a car again, I would never drive to work knowing how simple and fast it is to take the bus.

Of course, traveling home to CT for the holidays is going to be difficult...I'll have to rent a car for the week.

Overall, I'll be saving money, reducing my carbon footprint and getting more exercise. So far, I'm enjoying not having a car.

I can't decide...

2008-11-19T14:03:00.002-05:00

I need some help.

I have to choose my classes for next semester. I definitely have to take the second half of the introductory biology course I took this semester, which makes 1/2 of the decision making easy. But, I need to choose a second course.

My employer allows me to take 15 credits for free each year. I've taken 8 so far and the bio course will be another 4. So, I have 3 free credits.

I can either take a statistics course...basic statistical methods, or I can take another geology course...basically mineralogy.

The stat course is 3 credits, so it would be totally free. The geology course is 4 credits, so if I take that course, I pay for 1 credit, which is $460. The $460 will come out of grant money but it will still be less money in my pocket at a time when I'm pretty strapped for cash (post to follow).

Also, if I take the geology course, that will give me another semester with 2 lab courses, which are a lot of work, on top of my full-time job. Stats will likely be much less work. And because the stats class meets only three hours a week versus the geology's six hours a week, I wouldn't have to go to work at 7 am (instead of 8) every morning if I took stats.

But...I really really love geology. And if I don't take the geology course now, I will have to take it when I'm full-time next fall. It's a required course that is only offered in the spring and stats is offered every semester. Also, once I go full-time, I'll be taking four or five lab courses every semester, since I already took the fluff courses during my last degree. It would be nice to take stats during a full-time semester in place of geology so that I'd at least have some variation in the courses.

I don't' know...this is probably not an end-of-the-world decision, but it feels like one. Any suggestions?

Shooting the moon...

2008-11-13T16:10:00.003-05:00

I'm no Dr. Vector, but I'm working on it.

Last night, I took out the telescope and aimed it at the moon. Now, I've had the scope since September 22nd, but I haven't had a good chance to see the moon until last night. Not that last night was a great chance...the moon was glaringly bright...but it was a chance.

I'm having some problems with focus. The telescope focuses fine and the camera focuses fine, but the two combined don't focus very well. I think the problem is that the camera is touching the eyepiece, which in turn moves the telescope out of focus. Unfortunately, I can't get a good picture if the camera lens isn't right up against the eyepiece. I'm going to try my old camera next time, which has a lens that pops out from the camera body. The one I used last night has a lens that is flush with the body.

Anyway, here's my first feeble attempt at shooting the moon:

Thank you, aikido!

2008-11-12T14:52:00.000-05:00

1 minute, 35 seconds

Created by Bunk Beds.net

Bad News...

2008-11-12T07:51:00.003-05:00

My domain, selfdesignedstudent.com, expired and GoDaddy is now auctioning it off. It has 13 bids and the price is up to 103$, so I just can't afford to buy it back.

I'm going to have to go with my old address: selfdesignedstudent.blogspot.com. (If you try to go there right now, it won't work because nobody is using it...) Please please please update your blogrolls/whatevers so that I continue to get traffic from your sites. I will start using the old address tomorrow or Friday, so if you switch the address today, you may not be able to get to the site right away.

Sorry for the fuss :(

Brian Switek Meme

2008-11-11T11:16:00.004-05:00

I know I already put up a "vote for Brian" post, but I just gotta jump on this meme bandwagon.

Here's a pic of me and Brian at the AMNH last year:

If you haven't already, head on over to the poll and cast your vote for Brian! He's done an amazing job of communicating science over the last few years and I can't think of anyone more deserving of the 2008 College Blogging Scholarship!

Vote for Brian!

2008-11-10T14:27:00.004-05:00

Brian is in the final 20 for the College Blogging Scholarship! The grand prize is $10,000 and Brian sure could use the money to finish off his degree in Ecology and Evolution.

I strongly urge you to head over to Brian's blog, Laelaps, and take a look at the amazing pieces of writing he has posted there. Brian most definitely deserves this award for the time, effort and energy he has put into bringing us interesting information that is inteligently presented.

There aren't many bloggers whose work I admire more than Brian's. Plus, he's a super-nice guy.

Go vote for him!

I almost peed my pants but instead I just cried

2008-11-05T14:12:00.002-05:00

I fell asleep last night around 10 o'clock with my computer right next to my bed, displaying automatic updates of the electoral map. At 11:30, I woke up and thinking it was much much later, checked the computer, anxiously. The blue-colored swing states were an indicator that Obama had become president-elect (YEAH....UNH....it feels AWESOME to say that!!!). I woke up J and told him the news and then I fell back asleep.

At 12:30 am, McCain's voice blared his concession through my computer speakers. I don't know how that happened...I didn't have any live streaming programs open. It was eerie...but it was beautiful. I do not hate that man, but I am glad that he's out and that the Republican reign is over, for now.

Obama's speech moved me to tears. I am not under and illusion that his election has changed anything, but I have hope for the first time in 8 years (1/3 of my life!!!). He has one hell of a mess to clean up, but his election is a step in the right direction. I feel energized and ready to join in the fight in any way I can.

Sadly, the U.S. hasn't hidden its bigotry. Though we've elected the first black president, we've denied homosexual citizens in Florida, California and Arizona the right to marry. In Arkansas, an initiative has passed (or will pass...it's not close) that bans gay couples from adopting children. This country has taken a big step forward some steps back.

So today I am ecstatic...elated. I have hope and some pride in my country. And I am also deeply saddened and disappointed.

But I'm going to hold on to my hope and allow my sadness and disappointment motivate me, remembering that there's work to do and that it's done through action.

So that's what they're thinking....

2008-11-04T15:14:00.002-05:00

The woman who used the computer in my cubicle before I was hired was a real piece of work. I've heard horror stories about her and I got my job despite her; she did not want someone young and "inexperienced" replacing her and she tried her best to keep me from being hired, indirectly.

She also had some weird internet searches. I know this because she never cleared her search history, and everything she ever typed into the Google search box is still in there.

Today, while I was looking for a good political argument, I typed in "Obama is"... and here's what popped up automatically in the search box:

-Obama is a Muslim
-Obama is the Antichrist
-Obama is a terrorist
-Obama is an arab
-Obama is a socialist
-Obama is an idiot

Ugh. Despite all the fear and hate, there was this, my personal favorite:

-Obama is my homeboy

Did you?

2008-11-04T08:31:00.000-05:00

Happy Fracking Halloween!

2008-11-01T12:16:00.001-04:00

Love, Amanda & J

Eyes are scary, no?

2008-10-31T16:05:00.004-04:00

So it's Halloween and that means that I have to do something festive like give out candy or carve pumpkins or something. Except I don't have time for all of that, so I'm going to post a gross picture of an eye. At least, most people seem to think it's gross. I think it is astoundingly cool.

Check this out:

That is my eye!!!...or really my optic nerve.

Notice the little white spot...looks kinda fuzzy? That's Mr. Fuzzle. He's a cotton wool spot, or a nerve-fiber layer infarct. It's often a symptom of diabetes, HIV and hypertension; three things that I have been tested for and that I'm sure I don't have.

I started having weird spots in my vision the other day and I paid a visit to the ophthalmologist. He did all sorts of cool tests and dilated my pupils, which I've never had done before. One of the tests showed two little blind spots in my left eye, besides the normal big-arse blind spot. Upon closer inspection, the doc noticed Mr. Fuzzle.

I need to go to another specialist (I'm kinda confused about this. I thought that the specialist was sorta an "end of the line" thing...) next Friday so they can decide if this is really weird and whether or not I should get some blood work done. I guess most healthy, young adults don't get these...though mine is an isolated one and they usually occur in bunches when some horrible disease is underlying.

Anyway, that's my addition to this crazy holiday. I'll be donning my costume in less than an hour and heading over to a friend's house to see her son's costume and her decorations. Then, it's off to volunteer at the co-op for an hour and then on to Friendly's to have sundaes with J and my friend Franky.

What are you doing tonight?

Halloween Teaser

2008-10-29T20:04:00.002-04:00

Since J and I have no social lives, we didn't plan on doing anything on Halloween night and consequently didn't bother finding costumes this year.

And then we signed up to do member work at our local co-op, which does a themed costume thingy every year. This year's theme: TV/movie characters.

So, last minute, I rushed out and got us some costumes. I tried mine on today.

It's just about the dorkiest thing I've ever done.

You'll have to wait for pictures.

Ediacaran

2008-10-27T14:12:00.001-04:00

I put a new blog, Ediacaran, on my blog roll. It's new, so there are only a couple of posts so far, but they're pretty fantastic.

Enjoy!

Religulous

2008-10-27T13:27:00.002-04:00

I saw Religuous the other day and I laughed my arse off. Not really because of the movie, though. More because J was being hilarious.

I agree with my father that Maher didn't need to make people sound like idiots...the people did it themselves.

I didn't like the Jewish jokes scattered throughout the movie. All of the other jokes were directed towards specific religous beliefs and the Jewish jokes seemed to be directed at the Jewish people, or a sterotype, rather than the beliefs.

My favorite part: the Vatican. You know what I'm talking about (if you don't...go see the movie!).

I'm feeling a bit worn down on all this religion/science stuff...thought it's often on my mind. Just today, in biology class, we were talking about cell communication and I was just blown away by how many things need to be in place in order for a living thing to operate as it does. I thought, I could understand if someone were to see a place for god there.

A Tale of a Triceratops

2008-10-24T14:01:00.005-04:00

Jerry made me this very very cool Triceratops and gave it to me at the annual meeting:

Sweet, huh?

I was a little worried about how I was going to get it back home on two flights without ruining it, but it worked out okay. Despite being placed in a pocket, mixed up with luggage and being squeezed onto two tiny planes, the only real threat to the little guy was the US Airways attendant.

As I approached the desk to check in, the attendant asked for my driver's license, which I had stashed in my pocket. The Triceratops was in the same pocket, so I took him out and put him on the counter while I dug around for my license, so as not to squish him any more than he'd already been squished.

The attendant must have mistaken him for a crumpled up piece of paper (which he DOES NOT look like) because she asked, "Would you like me to throw that trash out for you?"

I snatched up the Triceratops as fast as I could and got really flustered, muttering something like, "he's not trash" or "get the hell away from my origami masterpiece." (I actually muttered something closer to "unnnnhhhhh ummmm.....")

So, Jerry's cool gift almost didn't make it.

Now he's resting comfortably on the table near my bed, with all my other little dino trinkets (the gift, not Jerry!).

Dear Cleveland Police Officer,

2008-10-23T10:05:00.002-04:00

Thanks for making my first venture out into Cleveland the deciding factor in whether or not I'll ever go to Cleveland again.

I'm from a small, rural state, so I recognize that it's possible that I don't know how to cross the street in a big city; however, I think that the large crosswalk sign with the yellow flashing lights was a pretty good indicator to oncoming traffic that pedestrians had the right of way.

I didn't just "jump out in front of the bus," like you seem to think I did. I did indicate to the bus driver that I was planning on crossing the street by standing on the curb and making eye contact with him. He even managed to come to an almost complete stop before I ever set foot in the road. And that's when you lost your shit.

My new friend had already started to cross when I stepped out into the road. You yelled "HEY! What the fuck do you think you're doing!" and started to go after him. When you got to my side, you stopped and said, "What is your fat-ass friend's problem, jumping out in front of a bus like that?" Let me remind you, ma'am, that the bus had already stopped. I know this because you wouldn't have been able to do what you did next if it hadn't.

I didn't want to be anywhere near your crazy ass, so I started to cross. You abruptly put your arm in front of my chest and screamed something incoherent. And then, while stopping me, the pedestrian, with your meaty arm (who were you to call my friend fat???), in the zone where I obviously had the right of way, you motioned for the bus to move on. You actually physically stopped me so that you could get your way.

I was glad to get away from you, finally, until I realized that I had left my nametag in the restaurant I'd just eaten at. So, I had to go back across the street and cross it yet again. And wouldn't you know, you pulled the same thing again.

Ma'am, you have a duty. To protect and serve. That's why we pay you, with our tax dollars. If you want to act like a 15 year-old high school whiner in a cat-fight, I suggest you give up your badge and find a new vocation.

Calling people "fat-ass" and being physical with people who aren't posing a threat to you are totally unacceptable actions. I wish I'd gotten your name and followed through with my verbal threats to get you fired. If everyone in power acted as you did, this country would downright suck.

Thanks for being such an asshat.

Hugs and kisses,

Amanda

A Few Good Blogs....

2008-10-23T08:19:00.002-04:00

Jerry has recently directed me to a new blog, Sarah at KU. It's written by paleo grad student, Sarah Spears. She started it as a way to study - to retain the masses of information that she needs to know. We'll see where it takes her!

Also, check out Dave Lovelace's blog, Sedline News. It's just in its early stages, but so far so good! I expect great things from a sauropod & evo devo lover!

SVP '08

2008-10-22T12:21:00.007-04:00

Oh! The annual meeting was so much fun! I'm still getting used to being home...it's like being in a totally different world with different friends, different styles. Here at home, there are relatively few people who have the same interests...and very few people who are comfortable being a little geeky. I live in a college town and everyone is too cool for school, if you know what I mean. It was so nice being surrounded by people who think dinosaurs/fossils are cool.

I'm also still catching up on my sleep and my assignments, both of which I neglected at the meeting. There were talks from 8 to 4 every day, poster sessions from 4 to 6 and various evening activities that went until my normal bedtime. And of course, everyone crowded into the lobby after the scheduled stuff and socialized/drank/partied until well past my bedtime. I got just a few hours of sleep each night...and I'm used to a solid 7 or 8.

The talks were really interesting, though many of them went over my head. I especially enjoyed the talks about dinosaur sinuses, ankylosaur tail clubs and mamenchisaurid limbs. Assuming that all that information was embargoed, I'm going to wait to go into more detail.

The best thing about the meeting, by far, was getting to meet everyone in person. Some of the fantastic people I got to spend time with: Zach, Julia, Paul, Lorin, Thomas and Thomas, Wayne, Jerry , Lisa, Matt and Matt, Neil, Dave, Andy, Patty, ReBecca and Scott. There were many many more, but I just can't name everyone!

Since pictures might do more justice that this shoddy summary, I'll post a few and leave it at that:

From left to right, top to bottom:
1) Paul, Julia and Lorin with Nanotyrannus at the welcome reception at the CMNH.
2) Matt Celeskey (HMNH) and Zach at the welcome reception at the CMNH.
3) Julia, Matt (Ask Dr. Vector), me and Neil with "Happy" the Haplocanthosaurus at the welcome reception at the CMNH.
4) Jerry Harris and I at the after-hours party.
5) Thomas Adams and Lisa Babilonia at the after-hours party.
6) Darrin Pagnac and Wayne Thompson at the after-hours party.
7) Lorin, Paul and Julia in the "cool kids" section at the back of the bus on the way to the CMNH.
8) Bloggers lunch crew: Thomas Holtz, Matt Wedel, Patty Ralrick, Andy Farke, Nick Gardner, Alton Dooley, J, me, Julia "Heathercote" Anderson, Jerry Harris, Matt Celeskey, Zach Miller, Scott Elyard and Neil Kelley.
9) Me and J at the awards banquet.

The Me Meme

2008-10-09T14:17:00.006-04:00

Julia tagged me for what she calls the "WORST meme ever." Here's whatcha gotta do:

1. Take a picture of yourself right now.
2. Don't change your clothes, don't fix your hair...just take a picture.
3. Post that picture with NO editing.
4. Post these instructions with your picture.

Okay. Here I am, sitting at my desk in my office:

Now I tag Zach, Brian and Rebecca.

The Question, Part II

2008-10-09T09:26:00.002-04:00

I got the question wrong (it was "the velocity of the current when the sediment settled to the bottom"). In fact, I got a lot of questions wrong! This is the first time that I've put 100% of the effort I can afford to put in to studying for a test and still gotten a marginal grade. Oh well. There's always the next exam.

In my biology class yesterday, the professor had us fill out a mid-term evaluation. We had to evaluate the lectures, homework, tests and material. At the end, there was a space for us to put our own participation level.

I hadn't considered how much time I put into my classes before. I go to every lecture, read every assigned chapter, and probably spend 1 to 2 hours a day doing homework/studying for each class I take. Total, I put about 32 hours a week into my biology and geology classes (3 hours of class, 3 hours of lab, 10 hours of homework for each class). Consequently, the lectures are very clear, the tests are relatively easy and the homework is not that difficult.

I got to peek at some of the evaluations being passed down to the front of the class. A lot of people had admitted that they didn't put much time into the class. Those were the same people who thought that the lectures moved too fast, the tests were too difficult and the homework was too time-consuming. And all the kids in the class are biology majors.

It made me think about my freshman year of college and how "the college experience" was so important to me. I wasn't going to school to learn; I was going to experience freedom. I knew that if I didn't go to college, I would have to get a job and start being responsible for myself. If I went to college, I would just have to do a little more school (I'd been doing it for 14 years, how hard could it be?) in exchange for a nearly responsibility-free life for 4 years.

I wonder if the kids in my bio class are doing the same thing - just going to school because it sounded cool/because they felt they had to. Or are they just adjusting to their first semesters in college, not realizing how much time and effort are required to do well? Perhaps they don't care how they perform academically. Or, maybe they do care, but they don't want to have to put in the effort. Did they do well in high school with minimal effort and are expecting the same thing in college?

The Question

2008-10-03T08:07:00.003-04:00

If water is the transport medium of sediment, the grain size of sedimentary deposits most closely indicates the _______.

I've narrowed down the possible choices to these two (the other two were obviously wrong):

1. Average velocity of the water from the time of erosion until deposition.

2. Velocity of the water at the moment the sediment settled to the bottom.

Either one makes sense to me, in light of what we talked about in class. The Hjulstrom diagram, which was sort of the basis for this lesson, has both erosion and deposition values, so my initial instinct was to go with the first answer. Also, sediment can reach the bottom and still move along it, so it seems that the velocity of the water at the moment the sediment settled to the bottom would only account for grains that were actually picked up and dropped to the bottom. Of course, that is only one way in which sediment moves due to current. Once dropped to the bottom, grains can continue to roll along the bottom and be transported.

Hmmm...I may have just figured this one out. Yay, blog!

NOTE: This is a take-home test in which I have been given full permission to consult books/other people. I'd prefer it if I wasn't given the answer...just some discussion that might help me come to it on my own. Thanks!

Bah (I seriously can't think of good titles...I'm gonna start writing really long ones that have nothing to do with my posts)

2008-10-02T15:11:00.005-04:00

School continues to be really really interesting this semester! In biology, we've gone over really basic stuff; chemistry, carbon, water, the cell, metabolism. I got my first test back and I got a 98, which confirmed that my method of studying is working. I was afraid I was going about it all wrong because I've never really taken a science course where most of the information had to be memorized. Of course, I have found out that it isn't all just memorization - things fit together in a way that makes sense. It's more like learning a new language when you don't know the words but understand how the sentences are structured.

Geology has been great. After the first lab where we went to the beach and measured sand ripples and grain size, we went to a gorge and made a profile of the river by wading waist-deep in the water and using electronic flowmeters to measure the velocity of the currents at the top and bottom of the river in 2-foot intervals. Using the data, we calculated the river's discharge and also calculated the recurrence interval of a flood of that discharge's magnitude. Very fun.

Last night, in the rain, we hiked out to an ancient tidal flat (Cambrian) and measured ripple marks, grain size and bed thickness. We used dilute HCl to determine what kind of rocks were present (Dolostone!). We also looked at some mud cracks and trace fossils. Using our data, we're supposed to determine what kind of sedimentary environment the sediments were laid down in.

My first geology test was yesterday. I didn't do as well as I hoped ( I think...haven't gotten it back yet), though I've been studying an insane amount. Part of the test we did in class, which counts for 75% of the grade. The other 25% comes from the same test, which we took home and can complete with the help of the book and/or friends/TA's/whoever. I'm pretty frustrated with it. The questions I know I got wrong/was unsure about during the in-class portion are not easily answered with the help of the book or a TA. In fact, I have been unable to answer one question at all, even after talking to my TA and consulting the textbook and searching online.

Anyway, the annual meeting is coming up and I'm really excited. I've got to buckle down a lot and get my homework done before that week, so I don't fall behind. It's going to be hard, though, because the weekend before, I'll be in Connecticut for my cousin's wedding. And that Sunday, I'll be meeting up with Julia and Paul for some Ben and Jerry's ice cream!

Speaking of weddings, J and I went to my best friend Jayme's wedding this past weekend. It was a blast! Here are some photos:

Birfday

2008-09-25T14:24:00.006-04:00

Yeah, my birthday rocked. Like, it was great. After I got out of class at 9 pm, I went straight home and this was waiting for me:

Yeah, my cake say "Yeah buddy happy." That's right. And those are Smooth 'n' Melty mints and that card does say "Happy Birthday Buddy."

J made me tacos for dinner, which was awesome. Because tacos are awesome.

And then we all retired to the living room and I opened my gifts, which were also awesome.

The telescope: Celestron Astromaster 114az
The shoes: sweet Gore-Tex trail running shoes. Green.

Guess what I'm trying to do with the telescope? Here's three hints (or two hints and one shot of J just because):

The bird was in the top of the tree to the left of the house in the first picture!

So I'm not too good at it yet, as you can tell from the grainy and out-of-focus last picture, but I figure some more practice and I'll have at least something I'm proud of.

I've been wanting to try this ever since I read this post over at Ask Dr. Vector.

A long long time ago...

2008-09-22T15:26:00.005-04:00

I attempted to emerge from my mom's womb, ass-first.

I've don't a lot of things backwards since then and today marks the anniversary of that first attempt of ass-backwardsness. I'm now 26 and to mark the occasion, by body has produced this:

My first grey hair!

It's been a fantastic day so far. Not crazy remarkable, but nice and sweet and normal with a lot of birthday wishes coming to me in every way imaginable: text messages, phone calls, facebook comments, mail, email.

Tonight, J and his sister and I are going to have cake when I get home (I have lab until 9:30, so it's a LONG day for me) and I'll open my gifts. Hopefully, I'll have enough time to watch some Battlestar Gallactica and relax before bedtime.

Belated Greetings!

2008-09-19T16:18:00.004-04:00

From the Ben and Jerry's factory!

Love,

Amanda and J

After the Cut

2008-09-18T15:25:00.011-04:00

So, I DON'T have to burn $90 in a video for you. Maybe only $30.

The haircut was great. Is great. Whatever.

It doesn't look all that different in a photograph, but it looks much nicer in real life - it's curlier, has more body, has less zingers (those little flyaway things), and just generally looks healthier. Plus, it weighs at least 20 pounds less.

The hairstylist thinned it out with thinning shears and halfway through, he was like "Hey...can someone come help me???" I thought he was maybe doing to do some crazy clipping maneuver that required another person holding him up or something, but I guess he just wanted someone to sweep up all of my hair, because he was up to his ankles in it. Seriously. The girl who swept it up looked like she was sweeping up a large capybarra that wouldn't let go of the broom. TONS of hair. And I still have more than enough.

I rode my bike to the salon because I'm on a save money and the environment kick, so I also had to ride the bike home. By the time I got there, all the styling was gone and my hair looked very...um...windswept.

And of course, I didn't have 1,000 hair products to put into my hair this morning, so it doesn't look half as nice as it did last night. But, I'm 75% happy with it, and that's WAY more than usual.

Haircuts and Majors

2008-09-18T15:25:00.008-04:00

It's almost my birthday. I'll be 26 on the 22nd...that's on Monday, if you were wondering when to send my gift.

As a present to myself, I'm getting a haircut. And not just any haircut, but a REALLY expensive haircut.

Why?

Well, I suppose it's because the hair stylist in town that I've only heard positive things about charges that much. He'd better be good. I mean, REALLY good. I'd better leave there feeling like I've got the sexiest hair ever. Or with a new car or something.

I have to be in a wedding in a week, so I need to look presentable. Plus, I only get my hair cut, like, once a year, so I'm going to stop feeling guilty right NOW. Or now.

Nope...not working.

I'm actually going to buy myself two gifts this year. The haircut and these shoes:

J swears by these things...they're waterproof and green...what else could anyone ask for?

I'm not really rolling in the dough right now, but I have finally caught up with my fiances* since Echo died. Finally, I have just a little money in the bank and a little in savings.

IN OTHER NEWS...

I'm thinking about switching my major back to geology and possibly scrapping this whole "oh my gawsh I really need to be an expert on everything by grad school" thing. I'm taking a fantastic geology course and I'm totally in love with it. While my professor is new and awkward and not so hot at keeping control of the classroom, the information is enough to keep me engaged. And the labs are really really cool. We spent last week at the beach measuring wave ripples and grain size and talking about the energy of the environment and how we might determine the velocity of the waves in an ancient beach. This week we went to a gorge and made a profile of the river there, determining the probability of flooding and identifying the components of the river (like the point bars and floodplain). It's very hands-on. So, I'm thinking that I still want to study paleo, but that I might actually be more interested in the geology part of paleo...

The only problem is, our geology department is small and there aren't enough people to teach all the courses that are listed in the university catalogue. So, I could plan out the next two years of courses, but at any point, the courses I want to take could just fail to exist; most specifically Sedimentary/Metamorphic Petrology, which I think is kinda important.

Anyway...for the record, here's a BEFORE shot of my hair (and my dad...he came to visit this past weekend):

I'll post an AFTER shot tomorrow. Hopefully my hair will look different. If not, I'll make a video of me burning $90 and post it the day after.

*I'm not engaged...I meant "finances"...but it's too funny to fix.

Chinleana

2008-09-06T19:35:00.001-04:00

Check out this new blog! It's about Triassic vertebrate paleontology.

Good morning!

2008-09-05T09:06:00.004-04:00

I woke up at six yesterday morning; an hour earlier than usual. Not by chance, no, but because I had to. It was still pretty dark and I don't know about you, but nothing about the dark makes me want to hop out of bed and skip to the shower or anything like that.

I emerged from my bed like Dracula - arms crossed over my chest, body unmoving, feet planted on the bed and serving as an axis of rotation. Only when completely vertical did I open my eyes. Since my mattress is now on the floor, thanks to my recent poverty and a certain friend who really needed her bed frame back, I literally stepped out of bed.

The vibrations created by my first footsteps apparently also woke up one of our resident house centipedes, though he did more of a snake-like wiggle than a Dracula maneuver. He, with all his gross little legs and his silvery body and his side-to-side undulations, shot out from under J's bureau and charged at me, full-speed. Emily, good for nothing, watched on as if she were in a 3D movie - batting at the bug while remaining several feet away from it.

I let out a shriek, grabbed the nearest crossword puzzle (thankfully I never throw them out unless they're 100% finished and have 30 at my disposal) and slammed it down on Mr. Pedie. I slowly lifted the paper and BAM, he went dashing back toward the bureau, hoping to escape with at least 99 limbs still intact. But I was too quick for him, in my adrenaline-induced panic, and caught him again, making sure to slam on every square inch of the newspaper.
After ensuring Mr. Pedie's death (HA! I almost wrote "full death" which is redundant, eh?) I left him, exposed, on the floor while I got dressed. No sense in making two trips to the bathroom, right?

It was then that Emily decided to take more than just a lazy swat's interest in Mr. Pedie. She circled the smooshed carcass and just as she was about to give him a little nibble, I realized that I didn't want my cat breathing centipede breath on me. So I swatted her lightly with my shirt.

Apparently, Emily was also pretty terrified of Mr. Pedie, because when the the shirt touched her, that little stinker jumped straight up in the air - so high that I could have pet her without bending over (and I'm tall for a woman).

I don't normally kill bugs I find in my apartment. I usually let them out and hope they stay out. But, I draw the line at house centipedes...and spiders...and ticks...

Photo from http://richard-seaman.com/

First Day of Classes

2008-09-03T13:21:00.002-04:00

Was yesterday...but MY first day was today. I had both classes, back to back, during lunch time (10-12). I'm glad I decided to eat before going to the first class because even after a snack, my stomach was SCREAMING after the second class. I rushed back to my office and ate my lunch in three seconds and I'm still really hungry. *gurgle*

It was a good first day. I mean, as first days go: syllabus review, academic honesty policies, accessing Blackboard and course expectations. We did get to some of the material in my Bio class, but just a brief introduction.

My biology professor is pretty great. He's a research assistant professor who specializes in evolutionary biology and ecological genetics. He's confident, friendly and seems really interested in instructor/student communication. He also seems determined to keep us up on the latest research and to use it to teach the basic principles of biology. Today we discussed monogamy/promiscuity of voles and how research surrounding hormones and receptors involved in those behaviors is being extended to human beings - all as a means of comparing hypothesis driven science with discovery science.

My geology professor can't be much older than I am. He is a newly minted PhD and is teaching his first class ever as an instructor and not a TA. He is nervous and not very confident, though I suppose that will change as the semester progresses.

The geology course is going to have some interesting labs, many of which are field trips. Unfortunately, because I'll be missing two days to attend the SVP meeting, I will also miss a field trip. Those can't be made up, so I'll have to deal with the consequences of missing the lab (which is worth 35% of my grade!!!). I'm hoping that someone will switch lab sections with me for that week or that if I just show up for another lab section there will be room for me in the department van.

It'll be an interesting semester...