Hooray!!!!!

Winter break has finally arrived!! I am VERY excited. It has started off very well. I went into the lab yesterday and made two very nice gels, and I'll find out this morning how my Western gel ran. I'm sure it went fine. I am flying high this morning after seeing my grades are posted. I did a lot worse on my Ochem final than I had on everything else in that class, but because it was still 56 points above the class average, I got an A in the class!!! I also got an A in History!! And to top it off I must have kicked butt on my Physics final, because I pulled the B+!!! My GPA is going to get a little boost this quarter, and it will be the third or fourth time I've made deans list. So I'm happy, my 2 nights without much sleep this week, and my working hard all quarter paid off. YAY!!! Now next quarter I have a harder schedule, and I'm not sure if I'll be able to work in the lab. I'm a little scared to talk to Dr. Fisk about it, but I suppose I must. I'll probably do that today before or after the lab meeting.

I'm staying in Columbus until Monday, and think I will visit my sister Kate a few times. Maybe we can get some Christmas shopping done! I especially need to get Dave's gifts because I'll be with him from Monday until just after Christmas. But I don't mind shopping!! I can't wait to go home and get to see everyone. It should be fun!

Brrrrrrr...

As the temperature finally stayed in the 30's for a whole week, my roommates and I realized that each day our apartment was getting colder. We got the gas bill this week, and I thought it was oddly low. Then I realized how quiet our apartment was. Dave checked for me, and sure enough our furnace is not working. You hear it want to... but the gas never reaches the starter. I called the emergency maintenance line, and fortunately they respond in the opposite fashion to the regular maintenance people- IMMEDIATELY. Within 3 hours the guy had come over to fix our furnace. Unfortunately, our utility room is through a bathroom, and he first came when Erica was in the shower. When he came back it was just after noon, and he said the good news was we just need one small part. The bad news is the store he has to buy it from closed at noon. So he left and brought us one small heater to carry us over until Monday when he can get the part for us. I am so happy our apartment is well insulated. Our apartment didn't get below 55 degrees, and that heater is keeping downstairs at 63, which is pretty good considering there's snow outside!

Well, time to study for the rest of the day. Nothing like 16 hours of studying in one day! (but I have 2 review sessions). Tomorrow I have my history final at 7:30 am, and physics at 1:30. Hopefully I'll be prepared!! Wish me luck!

A Time to be Thankful

It's funny, today I was thinking how lucky I am. Then I realized that tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and what better time to love your life than on Thanksgiving? My friend Pat saw I was walking to class this afternoon as he was driving, he stopped and asked me where I was headed. I was almost there, but it was so nice of him to check, because I'm sure he would've given me a ride back to my apartment if that was where I was going. It made me think of how many great friend I have, and how many I've had throughout life. I'm so lucky to be surrounded by such wonderful people! In addition to my friends I'm thankful for my boyfriend Dave, he's always there for me, and doesn't seem to mind that I'm crazy sometimes, and the rest he knows! I also am very lucky to have such a close family. Our biggest conflicts seem to be actually getting together! Two loving parents, who in turn love eachother... loving grandparents... I'm so happy love is my base for what makes a family. I am also thankful for my two adorable nephews. They show that when life doesn't seem like it could be better... it just can!

Yumm-o

This is a week of eating great food.

I started it off by making some wonderful apple crisp! No mistakes, just good food!

Wednesday I'm going to Thurman's before going home for my friend's 21st b-day. I'm not getting a burger this time though. Either a flat pizza or reuben.

Thursday is Thanksgiving... and I don't think there are any more explanations needed for that.

As my dad would say.... Yummo!!!

ahh....... relaxing...

It feels so good to have no pressure for the week. 3 days of no quizzes, and no tests. I will get my physics grade back, which scares me! But other than that, not much happening at school.

Friday after classes, Dave and I went to the grocery and then I got a new winter coat. I really needed something that would keep me warm. I got a Columbia men's coat, so that it's a little long and will keep me even warmer. After I got it Dave and I met Kate and Greg for dinner, we ran out and brought back Arby's so that Colin wouldn't have to have the carseat hassle! It was a nice and relaxed evening. I think all 5 of us had a good time. Colin gave me some big smiles.... If you look at Kate's Mommy Files blog you can see one of Colin and I, though he became more interested in the camera than me. After Kate's Dave and I went to a party at two of my friends' apartment. It was a good time, and it was so nice to be invited. I got to see them again Saturday at the guys' house for the OSU game. The game was AWESOME! Very intense! At the end of the game we were all leaning forwards in our seats. Always nice to win the rivarly game. Then Saturday night Dave, Dan, Leah, and I met Jon and Rachel at the cheap theatres and saw the 40 year old virgin. It was funny! After that Jon and Rachel went back to their place to make cookies, and we went to Graeters. YUM YUM!!!

Today I've been a bum. Went to target, then just lazed around. I even made an easy dinner. Now I think I might make apple crisp!! I'm just not sure of what kind of oatmeal I have the recipe's call for either rolled oats or instant. I know I don't have instant... but what are rolled oats??? Hopefully they're anything that's NOT instant! We shall see. Then I'll just need some vanilla icecream and yum yum!!

I can't wait to go home for thanksgiving. I need a rest. I'm sad I won't be able to be with Dave, but it happens. I think he would have come down to Cincy for turkey day, but his brother is going to be home for turkey day and not Christmas, so it makes sense. Saturday we're having a birthday party for my nephew Andrew!! YAY!!! I hope he likes his gift from Aunt Andrea! Now... time to attempt Apple Crisp.

Brownies

So this weekend I attempted writing the history paper... and well, I'll be talking to my TA a lot this week. Anyhow... the concert worked wonders for chearing me up. Phil Vasser was awesome! His entire band was extremely talented. They could all play their instruments extremely well, and a lot of them played multiple instruments. Each of them sang a song themselves too, and they were really good. I was very pleased with the concert. They put on an excellent show, I would've paid money for a show that good! 2 hours of music and fun. Phil not only played his songs, but some by other musicians covering a large range of music. All the musicians were quite different looking, and each had a personality. They looked like they were having fun, and it rubbed off. Good times!

That was Friday night. Saturday I went to the OSU game, last home game of the year. It was fun, and I was somewhat shocked at how badly we beat Northwestern. I somewhat expected a better game. After the game I reattempted the history paper to get about the same result as Friday, only this time I was pleased with the two pages I wrote. As I tried to make myself feel better, I decided to bake some brownies.... out of a box. The lighting in my kitchen is VERY bad, but that still doesn't excuse that I added 3/4 a cup of water instead of the 1/4 of a cup the box asks for. To make the situation that much better, my timer went off without me hearing it making the edges a little bit harder. So yes... I messed up on box brownies.... they taste fine, but they're a little rubber-y. Sigh...

Procrastination

Usually I'm good about not procrastinating too much... but right now I just can't get into writing my history paper. ESPECIALLY on a Friday when we don't have class. I need to get a rough draft into my TA by midnight tonight though if I want her to look over it, which I certainly do! So I won't write too much! I have no clue how I did on my organic chemistry midterm. This one was 13 pages long, and I just don't know. Hopefully I did well. I'll know Monday. I didn't go into the lab at all this week. I was going to go in yesterday, but the graduate students and Harold were all going to be at a conference in Akron, and they're there today too.

This week I changed my schedule for next quarter. I really like my history TA this quarter, and took her advice on good teachers for 112, so I'm going to take it a different quarter. I switched it out for Psychology 331, which deals with Clinical Psychology. Sounds interesting, and saves me some time during the day. AND, still no Friday classes!!! YAY!!!

Tonight I'm going to a free concert. Two country singers.... I'm going with Dave, Dan and Pat. I'm sure we'll have fun. Tomorrow is the last home game for OSU, and it's vs. Northwestern. Should be fun times. I think I'll try to sneak my camera into the game.

Last night I made pizza... it was easy and good. mmmmmm... Random enough? I think so, time to go write a paper!!! (Nothing like writing about love and sexuality in the Roman empire of the first century, as portrayed in Petronius' Satyricon)

Dental Study

So I've decided to participate in a dental study on campus. You may be wondering why in the world I would do such a thing, but let's think about the details. I generally have bad teeth. Lots of fillings, stuff like that. But I DO brush my teeth all the time. And I floss, but not as much as I should. This study is to try a new flossing method. It starts off with a free cleaning (which I'll have this morning). And then we go in 5 times over a period of 10 weeks. We'll probably get free floss, and possibly a free electric toothbrush or something! At the end of the 10 weeks, we will be paid $100. Not bad huh? Plus, if it's a dental study it shouldn't be bad for my teeth!

Now that's all I can write, I must go study some history before I go. No more entries for a while... I have an Ochem midterm tomorrow night, I want to write a history paper rough draft by Friday afternoon, I have Physics next Wednesday, and my History paper is due next Friday. Sounds fun doesn't it?? But that's college for you!

Also-- I changed my comments on this blog, so now if you don't have a blog you can still write me a comment as annoymous!!

Time to go Home

My first two classes for Thursday were cancelled, so I have no class until 3:30 in the afternoon. It's AMAZING!!! So, I decided to go home and get my winter clothes. Kate was nice and brought some back for me, but I need them all now... so I brought home my tank tops to exchange for longsleeve shirts, winter coats, and additional flannel sheets.

I actually picked up my other stuff from Kate's last night. Greg and Colin were there so I stayed for a bit. My nephew is so cute!!! I love being able to put a big grin to his face. He crawled over to me and let me pick him up and give him a nice hug and kiss. He smiled at me as he tried to avoid eating dinner. Then he got sleepy. I got to rock him to sleep. I tried to read to him, but he would have none of it. He wanted silence and rocking. He kept kicking his legs, so I scooped them up and swayed them too. Just gently rocked him until he was asleep. It was incredible. So content. Then I gently put him in his crib where he snuggled up with his blankie and kept sleeping. I love having nephews... they make my life so happy.

Time to Fall Back!

I love gaining an hour. At first I thought there's really no difference. I didn't gain any extra sleep. Oh how wrong I was. True, I woke up an hour early this morning, but with all the studying I got accomplished today, it's nice now having that extra hour to relax before bed. I read more than half of the book I need to finish tomorrow. And I did all of my OChem homework. Success... and it's only 7pm.

This week will be fairly busy, but I'm going home Wednesday after class, because my first two classes Thursday are cancelled this week... and I'm ready to bring home my summer clothes and bring back ALL of my winter clothes. My sister Kate brought back some of my winter clothes with her, but I still haven't picked them up. Tomorrow I'll be in the lab finishing some of my experiment and checking to see if it worked. Tuesday I have a quiz in OChem. But Wednesday I can relax. I think Dave's coming with me to Cincinnati too, so that will be nice.

Last night -at the mixer- I was the only undergraduate. It was a lot of fun. I mostly hung out with the people from my lab and the lab across from mine. I'll hopefully get pictures from Julia soon!

Lessons in Banking

So the rest of my week went well. I figured out what a few things from my banking statement meant. I was wondering why my account said "reimbursment check" and I had a deduct for it. When I asked at the bank, they said it was because one of the checks I deposited bounced. Ouch, unfortunately friends of ours moved out of the country around the same time as my birthday. So what was a 30$ gift, turned out to actually charge me 8$. Hmm... that's interesting.

Later in the week Mark told me he was going to the Mol Gen Club meeting. I thought it would be fun, so I went with him. Found out that I had missed a woman talk about Genetic Counceling the week before. But they're going to get me her information so I can contact her. It was nice talking to researchers, and talking to other students.

On a separate note... I am excited about tonight. It's a Molecular Genetics researcher's mixer... and it's at a bar. I found out yesterday I may very well be the ONLY undergraduate at the mixer. But it makes me feel good that I was invited! Mark and Heather (the two other undergrads in our lab were invited, but couldn't accept because they aren't 21). Our lab is awesome, we get along really well, and try to help eachother out. It's a great atmosphere.

The perfect job for me... or not?

So I finally found out what job I really want to have. I want to become a Genetic Counselor. It combines my interests and desires perfectly. Some of the things it can entail are working with expecting parents who discover they are going to have a disabled child, or working with people who can't get pregnant. You do genetic tests, make medical family trees, analyze things, and then work with people to help them figure out what they should do. It has the 'figuring out' part of science that I like, and the 'people interaction' part of psychology I like. The classes for grad school sound really interesting too. Different genetic classes, counceling and psychology classes. It's what I've been looking for!

I think Giselle may have told me about this, along with some others, and I finally looked into it last night. I found it IS what I want, but I found out some other things too.

If you thought Molecular Genetics was a difficult major, think again. To become a Genetic Counselor you must be certified as a genetic counselor. The certification requires you have a certain education from a few select colleges.

How few? 27. That's right, I'd have to go to 1 of 27 colleges in the US to get my MS in Genetic Counseling. But these 27 colleges are VERY select. They each take 4-8 students a year. One decided not to open enrollment for next year. With an average of 6 students accepted into these programs a year, that means the US takes about 162 students a year into the Genetic Counseling masters program. WOW. On top of that, the certification test is only offered once every three years.

So now I must think to myself... No matter how badly I want it, is it realistic for me to make it in this field? I've never been in that high a part of my class. I have no idea how many people are interested in this field. If I can make it, I will have no problem finding a job out of college. But if I don't get in, what would I do?

So I'll keep thinking about it, and probably start trying to prepare a good resume, but I'll also find another route, and apply to both when I apply for graduate schools.

At least I have 2 more years to figure all of this out!!

Dave Chapelle Stand-up

Sunday I got to go see Dave Chapelle for FREE because it was OSU's quarterly free event. I was very excited, especially since of of the best free events I got to see Freshman year was Chris Rock. I couldn't wait. On my way out the door, I remembered how I brought my camera to Chris Rock.. so I put it in my purse. Dave and I rush there an hour early to try to get a good seat. They separate us into two lines to be padded down. Girls purses searched. Apparently, no cameras at this show. No, they had not mentioned this before. And yes, it was very annoying. Dave and I left to go bring my purse back. I called Fred, and he fortunately saved us a few minutes and met us on the bike path. Then we went to the show. We got there later than we wanted to, and ended up getting seats a little behind the stage. I was a little bummed. Especially knowing that people DID sneak cameras in, and I'd see them going off from very good seats during the show. But I got over it and was ready for a good show. I think my expectations were too high. I always thought Dave Chapelle's stand-up was better than his show, until I saw him live. But again, I was comparing his to the live Chris Rock. Chapelle was funny, don't get me wrong, but tears weren't coming to my eyes. And nothing was solified into my head. I felt like he hadn't really planned anything, and seemed to run out of things to say. Something somewhat interesting happened, he spotted someone in the audience who snuck a camera in, recording the show. And pointed her out. Then he asked her to come on the stage. He told her stealing was bad, but sometimes it pays off, and had a guy take a few pictures of them together. Huh, go figure.

But it wasn't a bad way to spend Sunday evening. It was nice getting out and relaxing. I can't wait for next weekend when I go to the Mol Gen mixer... but I need a costume! I have NO IDEA what to wear. If you have suggestions of something cheap... please let me know!

Disappointment #1

Disappointment seems to come in three's for me... and number one of the year just struck tonight. I found out that I didn't make Helix Triple Beta Honorary Society. I didn't even get to the interview portion. Apparently they had 120 qualified applicants this year, and I was in the first 30 to get cut. Wow, what a burn. I suppose I needed to get a sense of reality. That even if I'm doing well, there's no such this as too good in this field. Ultra competitive, and I unfortunately am not cabable of what some others are.

I just hope now that disappointments 2 and 3 aren't my History and Physics midterm scores. Or that the lab I'm working on is messed up.

Now, I know this sounds like I'm very down on myself... but the truth is, I just know it means I need to keep working hard. And that I still have to try for things and accept I may not get them, but other things can happen instead.

That's all for tonight... I should go to bed.

Finally... a little break

Ahhhh.... the sigh of relief. I'm finally done with round one of midterms. Round two is a safe 2 weeks away. I have a month to read a book and write a history paper (that's round two for history). Then I have another Physics and OChem midterm. Physics went ok. I think I can be above the class average, and really that's all that matters. I just forget when I'm taking a test that curves actually exist.

After classes, my midterm, and a bio-sci meeting I came back and made dinner. Used the little bit of good broccoli and made pasta and chicken alfredo... ok the alfredo sause was from a jar... but it was quick easy and pretty tasty. I also used some Texas Toast for garlic bread. mmmmmm...

So what do I do to relax? Watch Lost... oh wait I do that anyways... I write in my blog. That's it. Unfortunately this Wednesday feels more like a Friday. I'm so tired. My mind hurts. So I'm giving it a break for the night, and then I get to spend all day tomorrow in the lab. I'm not really looking forwards to it, Harold said it was going to be a long day. BOOOOOOO... Oh well, could be worse!

I was about to start talking about that HUGE hurricane that Giselle told me about today, Wilma I think. I guess we can retire two names this year from the list of hurricane names. BUT... my thoughts are too random, and I'm going to stop for the night.

I'm going to die this winter!!!

My winter quarter schedule... it doesn't look fun, and I must note that the hours I do research, are NOT on that schedule!

Ahhhhh...

Well, now that my first O-Chem and History midterms are over I can relax.... WRONG, time to study for Physics. Unfortunately, O-Chem and History are my easy midterms this quarter. Life is easy when you can study what your teacher tells you to, and use what you learned in lecture and recitation, and it's exactly what you needed to do well. Don't get me wrong, you still have to study for hours, but at least you're studying what you need to know!! Physics on the other hand... well, here's how I thought of it yesterday. Physics is set up so all of us non-physics, non pre-med, non bio-chem folk will FAIL. Yes, Lecture has nothing to do with the homework problems, or the quizzes. And the homework problems have nothing to do with the quizzes either. Our book doesn't actually have all the equations you need to answer the problems, and the sample problems in the book don't relate to the homework. In effect, our TA's are told one of the two days a week NOT to help us learn as much as we can, but rather to have us work in groups on a group problem. Now, as you can imagine group work is just that much fun when there's hardly anyone in the class that knows how to do the problem! Oh the joys. Now, for the test... what to study. There are only 2 show work problems and 8-10 multiple choice. And we have about 20 equations. Sigh... better get to work on that soon...

BUT, at least I kicked butt on my Ochem, and I feel pretty good about History.

In other news... my parents came over the weekend and Dave and I met them for dinner Saturday night. Actually, we met my parents, Christy, Andre, Kate, and Colin. Max and Ermas was good. The second half of the OSU game was exciting, the first half was just bad... I think the crowd actually booed OSU at one point. Sunday I enjoyed a nice lunch and went grocery shopping with my mom. It was a nice break from studying!

First O-Chem midterm!

WOW! Talk about a surprise. Studying for hours on end the past week, and I was surprised by how difficult some of the problems were. I couldn't have prepared more. One problem I had no idea how to do, because we had never done one like it. I was talking to my friend Mark last night about the problem, and he showed me how to do it... and I did it correctly!!!! YAY!! So that was good! Hopefully more were like that.

This weekend I have lots of studying to do, as well as the football game Saturday, and my parents are going to be here too. It'll be hard to prepare for History, but I'm sure I'll manage.

In other areas of life... I'm applying for an honorary society today called Helix Triple Beta. One of my good friends, Chris, and my advisor David are two of the people reviewing applications. So that makes me feel better about it. Also, yesterday I was invited to a Mol Gen research mixer. It's at a bar in Columbus the Saturday before halloween. It should be fun. I like meeting new people, and I really get along with the people in my lab.

Now I'm going to finish getting ready for the morning so I can go to class and to the lab for radiation training.

A Basic Weekend

Other than Friday, my weekend went as it usually does during the fall. Friday I went on a retreat with this group I'm in, the Scholars Ambassadors. It was our training. I enjoyed meeting lots of new people. Only two of the Scholars Ambassadors are in Bio-Sci, and they're the year below me. Unfortunately after a hot week, the temperature changed at least 20 degrees for that day. It was an overnight... we slept on a wood floor, in a building with an open window, and the bathrooms were in a different building. Talk about COLD. The worst part was, we did nothing Saturday morning, so we didn't really even have to be there that night! But it was still fun. I slept in my jeans and hoodie to keep warm.

Saturday, I got back around 10:30. After showering I went over to the guys house for breakfast. Then we ran errands to Target and Kroger. Then I studied for a little bit before going to their house for the game. That was my Saturday. Exciting huh?

Today, I've studied OChem for 6 hours straight, and only have 5 major questions. But at least I know what to ask! Hopefully I'll get it all by Wednesday for my midterm. Don't expect me to write anything before then. I'm not going to have time. So, now I'm off to make some dinner.

Lab Excitement

Maybe excitement isn't the word I want to use here. Today I found out that the protein I'm making is something Mark is going to need to use for his experiment. I can't wait until I'm done and he gets to. It will feel very rewarding to have completed something, and immediately see its use. Basically I'm making this protein which is used to help us work with the most precise area of DNA possible. It eliminates a lot of the material we don't need. That's a general way of putting it.

However, true excitement has come... because I got a 19/20 on my second Ochem quiz. Awesome. Now I just have a ton of new stuff to memorize for my midterm a week from today. But I feel like I can do it.

This week I'm applying for an Honorary Society called Helix Triple Beta. It would be awesome to get in. I have to write a page long personal statement. I'm not exactly sure what a personal statement is. What I've done in college, and what I plan to do after I graduate from OSU, and why I want to be in Helix. Sounds easy, but I suppose I just have to sound confident. If I make it through this I then will have to do an interview, which I feel confident about.

So, hopes are high. Confidence is strong. Such a rare thing for me at school!

Scary Neighbors

Today was slightly strenuous. I woke up early so that I could study for my OChem quiz. The material is still fairly easy, but I need to know it REALLY well so I can do everything else. Plus, you get to drop 2 quizzes, but if I can do awesome on my first two I can save the drops for harder material.

Anyways... I woke up early got ready and studied. Then I went to my first class, which starts at 11:30. As I was leaving the building a guy from the building next door was checking his mail and said hello. He was somewhat scary looking. Bleached blonde hair, a few earings, and just a little creepy. I can't pinpoint what it was. But I was polite and said hello and then headed on my long trek to class. About 3 minutes into my walk he gets to where I am (darn my short legs!) and says "hello again". I say hi, again, and then he slows to my pace. I worried for a second, but then he just started talking about the apartment complex. Well... haha he asked if my place had a lot of problems when I moved in. So... I figured I'd take the company for a walk. It was weird though, the whole time I thought to myself, "make sure you don't say too much about yourself". But yeah, his place has had lots of problems, and didn't when he looked at it either, and he said he's talked to others who say the same thing... And I hope I don't run into him again, because he's still kinda creepy to me.

So, then my day went on... Earlier this morning I found out that the OSU free comic event is David Chappelle this quarter, and they only give out 1 ticket per student ID, so I called Dave and we met there and got our tickets! It should be lots of fun.

My Ochem quiz today ended up not being too bad. I think I got at least 15/20.

Oh... and last night I did laundry on my floor for the first time. It's weird having to pay. But everything worked out.

So that's all for now. I'm off to fold my now wrinkled clothes, while watching TV before I read History.

First Real Meal

After moving into my new apartment on the 16th of September, I've finally cooked my first meal. Now, I'd made tacos previously... but Dave even helped me with that. Dave and I have been taking turns cooking. Last week I freaked out because I didn't have enough ingredients to make anything. He still saved me and we through together a mini-stirfry with Pasta, Carrots, onions, chicken, and some spices. While it tasted fine, it still wasn't me cooking.

So today I got back from classes and decided to make chicken catchatori (I don't know how to spell that). I made it for Mark, Dave and I... along with some cheesy breadsticks. And it all tasted great... I think they'd agree. YAY!!!

So there you go... a day not working in the lab, and I find time to make a good meal. Only 3 phone calls to mom, and a little help from the boys!

First-time Blogging

So reading my sisters blogs now for a few months, I've decided to open my own. This past week was my first full week of my junior year of college. After it was over I decided my life might have enough happening in it to write about. So I'll try this blog-thing out.

I just want to start off stating that my blogging will have no consistency seeing as how I'm usually too busy to use my computer!