WooHoo(!) for:
-sleeping in a little bit
-knitting
-seeing my family
- relaxing at home
- reading
Now, just one more exam and then I'm home free!
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Saturday, March 7, 2009
All Better :)
Yay for not being sick! I finally feel like myself again . . . thank goodness, I couldn't handle another week of being that miserable.
I went owling last night with a couple friends - what a hoot! (ba-bum-ching!) We found 1 (one, uno, mono) owl in the county but had a great time. We got cut off a bit by a thunderstorm that was heading into our area. I'm looking forward to doing it again.
I'm casting on my second Warm Woolies vest in some awesome Elann Highland Peruvian Donegal wool - it's going to be so cute! And I think that I might have enough leftover for a hat, how great would that be?!
One week and two exams stand between me and my spring break. Information about this year's Utah Dino Dig is coming out this week (and I can't wait to go back!), and the TA interest list comes out this week (yat for having a job next year!) - it is going to be a good week!
Now if only the boyfriend would get his act together.
I went owling last night with a couple friends - what a hoot! (ba-bum-ching!) We found 1 (one, uno, mono) owl in the county but had a great time. We got cut off a bit by a thunderstorm that was heading into our area. I'm looking forward to doing it again.
I'm casting on my second Warm Woolies vest in some awesome Elann Highland Peruvian Donegal wool - it's going to be so cute! And I think that I might have enough leftover for a hat, how great would that be?!
One week and two exams stand between me and my spring break. Information about this year's Utah Dino Dig is coming out this week (and I can't wait to go back!), and the TA interest list comes out this week (yat for having a job next year!) - it is going to be a good week!
Now if only the boyfriend would get his act together.
Monday, March 2, 2009
The Fifth Sign of Spring
#5. I am sick. Coughing, phlegm, post nasal drip, head-in-a-fog, lay-on-the-couch-and-do-nothing, wishing that someone would come take care of me, to-miserable-to-knit (because watching my needles move makes me nauseous) sick. I hate being sick.
Luckily, I stockpiled mom's chicken soup. Thanks Mom!
Luckily, I stockpiled mom's chicken soup. Thanks Mom!
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Spring IS Coming . . .
and like the true scientist I am, I have data to support this claim!
Observations of the Impending Approach of Spring:
1. The little birds had returned; and are very active in the morning . . . at sunrise . . . right outside my bedroom window . . . at dawn . . .the crack of dawn . . .
2. The farmers have their irrigation/fertilizing/watering lines out in the field and assembled. The farmers around here know what's up, so I trust their judgment.
3. On my drive back home from Champaign (more about that later) I saw fields that were green - not tan, not yellow, but verdant, grass green.
4. The daffodils and jonquils are coming up around campus and the magnolias are starting to bud!
Yay for spring!
This weekend I spent some time in Champaign - mostly shopping - although Kevin and I did eat out at a couple of our favorite restaurants too. My new favorite shop in the C-U (aside from Espresso Royale) is Klose Knit - an AWESOME yarn shop in Urbana. They are the total package when it comes to a yarn shop. Friendly but not hovery, cozy but not crampt, large selection while still haveing a decent amount of each type of yarn. And . . . I think that this is so cool . . . they knit and sent socks to the whole Obama family during the election! How cool is that??!
So, in short if you happen to be in Urbana check them out!
In addition to all that my school had to inact the emergency alert system . . . booo . . .
They found an IED near campus, it was destroyed before it was able to harm anyone. So thank you to the MPD, ATF, and State Police for keeping us all safe. What would posess anyone to make one is beyond me; but I do hope that they find out who did and that they are held accountable for their actions. I seriously don't get people sometimes . . . why can't we all just get along?
Observations of the Impending Approach of Spring:
1. The little birds had returned; and are very active in the morning . . . at sunrise . . . right outside my bedroom window . . . at dawn . . .the crack of dawn . . .
2. The farmers have their irrigation/fertilizing/watering lines out in the field and assembled. The farmers around here know what's up, so I trust their judgment.
3. On my drive back home from Champaign (more about that later) I saw fields that were green - not tan, not yellow, but verdant, grass green.
4. The daffodils and jonquils are coming up around campus and the magnolias are starting to bud!
Yay for spring!
This weekend I spent some time in Champaign - mostly shopping - although Kevin and I did eat out at a couple of our favorite restaurants too. My new favorite shop in the C-U (aside from Espresso Royale) is Klose Knit - an AWESOME yarn shop in Urbana. They are the total package when it comes to a yarn shop. Friendly but not hovery, cozy but not crampt, large selection while still haveing a decent amount of each type of yarn. And . . . I think that this is so cool . . . they knit and sent socks to the whole Obama family during the election! How cool is that??!
So, in short if you happen to be in Urbana check them out!
In addition to all that my school had to inact the emergency alert system . . . booo . . .
They found an IED near campus, it was destroyed before it was able to harm anyone. So thank you to the MPD, ATF, and State Police for keeping us all safe. What would posess anyone to make one is beyond me; but I do hope that they find out who did and that they are held accountable for their actions. I seriously don't get people sometimes . . . why can't we all just get along?
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
On the Fence
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.
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.
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.
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