I don't like being on the fence. I much prefer knowing what side I am on, how I got there, and where I am going on that side of the fence. But here I sit on the fence, and its giving me the blahs.
There are two sides of paleontology; warm & fuzzy and cold & scaly. The more I work on my masters research the more ensconced I become in the warm & fuzzy camp, but there are things that I know I like about the cold & scaly camp that I get to visit occasionally.
The warm & fuzzy camp is filled with scientists studying mammals, proto-mammals, primates, and the like. It really is a pretty cool place to be. I fit in here pretty well because I love human evolution, and someday would like to do a study that encompasses all the major extinct hominid classes and see what I can figure out. Basically, I want to add my piece to the puzzle. The w&f camp would also be an infinitely easier place to make my career as it is more female friendly than the cold & scaly camp.
But, the cold & scaly camp is just so . . . cool! I adore doing fieldwork and all it entails. On top of that cold & scaly was my first love. When I was 3 or 4 my mind was all made up to be a paleontologist and I loved dinosaurs . . . particularly Ceratopsians. It wasn't until I learned about evolution, when I was 4 or 5, that I became enthralled with hominid evolution. [Yes, I was an incredibly nerdy child. I rented the same movies about paleoanthropology and paleontology from the movie store over, and over, and over, and over agian. By first grade I could explain the carbon-14 dating process.] The problem with the c&s camp is that it is not terribly female friendly, however with the right connections it could be.
So here I am, on the fence between two diametric opposites. And, don't get me wrong, I do enjoy the research I am doing right now (heck, I just got offered an undergrad assistant, what more could I ask for?!) but I am not sure that it is the path I want to follow for the rest of my career.
What I want is to be able to sit on the fence forever, and work in both the warm & fuzzy camp and the cold & scaly camp and even combine data from both sides of the fence and see what we get then.
Hopefully, the more work on my research I do the clearer the path I want to take will become.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
A good mail day . . . .
I came home from a busy day on campus to a mailbox (and doorstep) full of packages! I love getting mail :)
My new, and very pretty, checks arrived finally. With perfect timing too, I accidentally left my normal check book at home over the weekend and was checkless until today.
My dissection manual (that has been lost in the mail twice and that I've been waiting 6 weeks to get) came, miraculously in one piece. Now I can study in peace for my comparative exams on Friday.
Shoes!! I needed new everyday shoes for the spring, as my current everyday slip-ons are on the verge of death. I ordered the Terrain Janes from Lands' End - I love them and they are surprisingly comfortable on top of being cute! (I should also add, if you ever want to deal with customer service for a retail company this is the place to go. I had to get a different size in the same shoe last week. First I used their online chat function to find the difference in length between one size and a half size smaller. Then, I called to place a Return/ReOrder. Both of the ladies I worked with were both more than pleasant and super knowledgeable. Yay for great customer service!)
Yarn!!! I'm in the Guilty Pleasures / Good Karma Swap on Ravelry and won the week one contest. My prize was a lovely skein of blue/green sock yarn called "Under the Sea" made of Merino wool, Bamboo, and Nylon. Thank you Mspalmtree!
Swap Package from my $10 Swap partner. She spoiled me rotten! Who knew such a little box could hold so much stuff - it follows the good things come in small packages addage! My fave was the little pouch that she sewed herself; it is absolutley perfect and I will enjoy it everytime I use it. She also packed in some Simply Caron bamboo yarn in a great shade of green, Sugar and Cream in bright pink and a bunch of other goodies. Thank you jamierheller!
All that and not a bill in sight!
My new, and very pretty, checks arrived finally. With perfect timing too, I accidentally left my normal check book at home over the weekend and was checkless until today.
My dissection manual (that has been lost in the mail twice and that I've been waiting 6 weeks to get) came, miraculously in one piece. Now I can study in peace for my comparative exams on Friday.
Shoes!! I needed new everyday shoes for the spring, as my current everyday slip-ons are on the verge of death. I ordered the Terrain Janes from Lands' End - I love them and they are surprisingly comfortable on top of being cute! (I should also add, if you ever want to deal with customer service for a retail company this is the place to go. I had to get a different size in the same shoe last week. First I used their online chat function to find the difference in length between one size and a half size smaller. Then, I called to place a Return/ReOrder. Both of the ladies I worked with were both more than pleasant and super knowledgeable. Yay for great customer service!)
Yarn!!! I'm in the Guilty Pleasures / Good Karma Swap on Ravelry and won the week one contest. My prize was a lovely skein of blue/green sock yarn called "Under the Sea" made of Merino wool, Bamboo, and Nylon. Thank you Mspalmtree!
Swap Package from my $10 Swap partner. She spoiled me rotten! Who knew such a little box could hold so much stuff - it follows the good things come in small packages addage! My fave was the little pouch that she sewed herself; it is absolutley perfect and I will enjoy it everytime I use it. She also packed in some Simply Caron bamboo yarn in a great shade of green, Sugar and Cream in bright pink and a bunch of other goodies. Thank you jamierheller!
All that and not a bill in sight!
Monday, February 23, 2009
Bad Morning . . . Good Afternoon
Bad Morning . . .
Slept through my alarm and missed my 8 o'clock bacteriology lecture. Grrr. On the better side, I had time to take a shower and blow-dry my hair.
Managed to confuse the metencephalon, mesencephalon, and mylencephalon on my comparative anatomy quiz. Double Grrr. My professor in that class is one of my research advisors . . . headdesk!
It took me for-freaking-ever to remove the dorsal chondrocranium of my shark - and I still haven't exposed the entire brain. Even the people that skipped out last Friday seem like they are ahead of me (Super Triple Grrr) - yay for extra lab hours this week . . .?
Good Afternoon:
Shipped my Ravelry $10 Swap Package to my partner today. Keep your fingers crossed that it arrives quickly and in one piece.
I worked out and read - albiet at the same time - but it still counts!
The "Check Engine" light went off in may car - Thanks Dad!
Now . . . on to reading for bacteriology and comparative, editing a grant application, and maybe a little knitting.
Slept through my alarm and missed my 8 o'clock bacteriology lecture. Grrr. On the better side, I had time to take a shower and blow-dry my hair.
Managed to confuse the metencephalon, mesencephalon, and mylencephalon on my comparative anatomy quiz. Double Grrr. My professor in that class is one of my research advisors . . . headdesk!
It took me for-freaking-ever to remove the dorsal chondrocranium of my shark - and I still haven't exposed the entire brain. Even the people that skipped out last Friday seem like they are ahead of me (Super Triple Grrr) - yay for extra lab hours this week . . .?
Good Afternoon:
Shipped my Ravelry $10 Swap Package to my partner today. Keep your fingers crossed that it arrives quickly and in one piece.
I worked out and read - albiet at the same time - but it still counts!
The "Check Engine" light went off in may car - Thanks Dad!
Now . . . on to reading for bacteriology and comparative, editing a grant application, and maybe a little knitting.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
The First of Many Lists
I've never had a blog before . . . so here it goes!
About Me (like anyone will actually be reading this besides me!):
-I am a biology grad student focusing on paleontology.
-I live with my very spaztastic cat, Lucy, and many, many skeins of yarn.
-I have my bachelor's in biology and my secondary teacher certification.
-First wanted to be a paleontologist when I was 3 or 4, then had a looooong stint of wanting to be a teacher. Now I'm back to wanting to be a paleontologist.
-I love, love, love being outside. Hiking and canoeing are my favorites, aside from dino digs that is!
- When it is too yucky to go outside I like to read, and love to knit.
- I make lists (go figure!)
My goals for this blog are:
1) To put my resolutions down in writing and out in the world in hopes that I will be better in following through with them.
2) To improve my self-reflection.
3) To make my time spent perusing the internet more productive.
So . . . . more about those resolutions. I made a few resolutions for this year (and my future), I want to be healthier, I want to make time for knitting and fun reading more often, and I want to do everything in my power to make grad school a great experience.
To be healthier I need to exercise more and eat more healthfully. I should workout at least 3 times a week (so far this year I've been lucky to make it once a week). I also need to find some healthier recipes aside from my standbys homemade mac'n cheese, spaghetti and meatballs, and pizza.
I have been good about taking more time to knit and read for fun. I have already read The Last Lecture (soooo good!) and have started Your Inner Fish (also very good). As far as knitting I finished my mittens that I had been working on for the past six(!) months and have started socks, a scarf, and a purse. The purse is coming along nicely.
The Six Month Mittens
And, I can happily say that I am throwing myself into grad school - and loving it! A friend of mine is also a grad student in the same department and has been kind enough to introduce me around and help me get acclimated to life as a grad student.
About Me (like anyone will actually be reading this besides me!):
-I am a biology grad student focusing on paleontology.
-I live with my very spaztastic cat, Lucy, and many, many skeins of yarn.
-I have my bachelor's in biology and my secondary teacher certification.
-First wanted to be a paleontologist when I was 3 or 4, then had a looooong stint of wanting to be a teacher. Now I'm back to wanting to be a paleontologist.
-I love, love, love being outside. Hiking and canoeing are my favorites, aside from dino digs that is!
- When it is too yucky to go outside I like to read, and love to knit.
- I make lists (go figure!)
My goals for this blog are:
1) To put my resolutions down in writing and out in the world in hopes that I will be better in following through with them.
2) To improve my self-reflection.
3) To make my time spent perusing the internet more productive.
So . . . . more about those resolutions. I made a few resolutions for this year (and my future), I want to be healthier, I want to make time for knitting and fun reading more often, and I want to do everything in my power to make grad school a great experience.
To be healthier I need to exercise more and eat more healthfully. I should workout at least 3 times a week (so far this year I've been lucky to make it once a week). I also need to find some healthier recipes aside from my standbys homemade mac'n cheese, spaghetti and meatballs, and pizza.
I have been good about taking more time to knit and read for fun. I have already read The Last Lecture (soooo good!) and have started Your Inner Fish (also very good). As far as knitting I finished my mittens that I had been working on for the past six(!) months and have started socks, a scarf, and a purse. The purse is coming along nicely.
The Six Month MittensAnd, I can happily say that I am throwing myself into grad school - and loving it! A friend of mine is also a grad student in the same department and has been kind enough to introduce me around and help me get acclimated to life as a grad student.
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