I'm watching Bridezillas with John right now. Its such a nasty show, highlighting the negative aspects of todays wedding industry and the push towards the wedding as the end all goal. On the plus side, it makes me like look such a calm and relaxed woman compared to these crazies! I did a later afternoon 7 miler through the arboretum. The hills were okay, but the 75 degree temperature was ideal.
In other news, this article came out in USA today saying that 70% of the general public things that women should take their husbands last names when getting married. Really, 70% in this day and age. One of the main arguments was towards establishing a household mentality and a unified household demeanor. If thats really the case, then whats the argument for the groom not taking the brides name. And tradition, thats a reasonable opinion, but I wonder if the sources from the University of Utah (mormons?) and Indiana (which is fairly progressive) somehow sway the results. As a girl that loves my name, hyphens and all, I've often pondered the fact, but feel that if I was to adopt a new name, it would be the loss of not just one last name, but double that, and an entire blow to half my name (First and middle staying the same of course). Half is a lot to change. WAY more than 1/3.
Thats about all I have to say about that.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Monday, August 10, 2009
Going on a heat wave!
Okay, I really don't have any reason to have taken a posting hiatus. I did start my Delta class last week, and its been some work balancing everything, but other than that I've just been pretty slammed. Where to begin...
well, my class on Teaching Science in the College Classroom has been more work that I've expected, but I've also taken away more from the first week of class than in some of my semester long classes. We meet three hours a day, 3 days a week for 3 weeks. During the first hour we have discussion leaders and discuss the readings that were assigned in a structured manner. Hour 2 brings peer review of the assignments (lesson plans, syllabus, teaching philosophy, etc...), then for the last 45 minutes-ish, we cover a new topic that we're going to be doing, like assessment techniques, or learning plans. Its long, but the time flies by. Also, as part of it we each do a 15-minute mini-teaching assignment, where you teach any topic to the class, its videorecorded, and played back to you. You then make corrections, and get to teach it again the next week. I'm in the first group to do mine, which is this Friday. I think I'm going to present on clone libraries or PCR or DNA sequining, something that I can draw great pictures for and really help to hammer home. The class has really made me want to teach, especially next semester, but I know I'll be up to my eyeballs in research, so it is what it is.
Also, I was packing up the house on Saturday. August 15th is a Madison-wide holiday known as moving day. The way it works, is that the year long leases expire on noon of the 14th, and no one can move in until noon on the 15th, at which point every single college student moving apartments all moves at the same time. Its NUTS! So, seeing as how we're moving downstairs, we're not exempt from the moving madness, and will be hauling all out stuff downstairs come Saturday. The point of this story, is that I was starting to pack, and my cell phone rang. It was my advisor.
I don't think my advisor has ever called my cell phone, and barring that I wouldn't imagine him calling on a Saturday. So I answered, and he starts talking about how I really need to get trained in DGGE, this technique used for screening environmental microbiology cultures. There isn't anyone here he knows thats doing it, but one of his old students is down at Ole Miss. Thats right, Mississippi. So, I need to hop on a plane at the end of this month, and spend a few days in the good olde south learning some technique. I booked the ticket this morning. I'm running a half marathon on the 29th in the AM, getting on a plane in the afternoon, driving from Memphis to Conway AR to see my awesome friend Sam for a night, then the next afternoon driving the 4 hours to Oxford, MI. I'll work Monday Tuesday and Wednesday in the lab, heading back Wednesday afternoon. Which is....September 2nd. Originally I was going to fly in the morning of the 3rd and miss some classes, but the 2nd is my birthday darnit, and flying in at 9:00 at night is better than no birthday night at all in my apartment. Plus, on your birthday you get to eat cake all day, an I'm not sure if people in the south have Costco cake, so that's a risk I don't know if I really want to take.
The take home message? Its going to be a fun month for me. Also, I get to explore Mississippi (which is really fun to spell), Ar-Kansas, and Tennessee (plus I can sing Walking in Memphis while I'm actually walking in Memphis...happy birthday to me!)
In other news, I'm currently eating a bowl of with one red beet and some golden beets that I boiled and have re-heated in the microwave, so now they're orange tie-die beets. Its pretty hippy dippy, root vegtables AND a crazy color combination. I won't go a week without writing anymore, not unless I have a much better reason!
well, my class on Teaching Science in the College Classroom has been more work that I've expected, but I've also taken away more from the first week of class than in some of my semester long classes. We meet three hours a day, 3 days a week for 3 weeks. During the first hour we have discussion leaders and discuss the readings that were assigned in a structured manner. Hour 2 brings peer review of the assignments (lesson plans, syllabus, teaching philosophy, etc...), then for the last 45 minutes-ish, we cover a new topic that we're going to be doing, like assessment techniques, or learning plans. Its long, but the time flies by. Also, as part of it we each do a 15-minute mini-teaching assignment, where you teach any topic to the class, its videorecorded, and played back to you. You then make corrections, and get to teach it again the next week. I'm in the first group to do mine, which is this Friday. I think I'm going to present on clone libraries or PCR or DNA sequining, something that I can draw great pictures for and really help to hammer home. The class has really made me want to teach, especially next semester, but I know I'll be up to my eyeballs in research, so it is what it is.
Also, I was packing up the house on Saturday. August 15th is a Madison-wide holiday known as moving day. The way it works, is that the year long leases expire on noon of the 14th, and no one can move in until noon on the 15th, at which point every single college student moving apartments all moves at the same time. Its NUTS! So, seeing as how we're moving downstairs, we're not exempt from the moving madness, and will be hauling all out stuff downstairs come Saturday. The point of this story, is that I was starting to pack, and my cell phone rang. It was my advisor.
I don't think my advisor has ever called my cell phone, and barring that I wouldn't imagine him calling on a Saturday. So I answered, and he starts talking about how I really need to get trained in DGGE, this technique used for screening environmental microbiology cultures. There isn't anyone here he knows thats doing it, but one of his old students is down at Ole Miss. Thats right, Mississippi. So, I need to hop on a plane at the end of this month, and spend a few days in the good olde south learning some technique. I booked the ticket this morning. I'm running a half marathon on the 29th in the AM, getting on a plane in the afternoon, driving from Memphis to Conway AR to see my awesome friend Sam for a night, then the next afternoon driving the 4 hours to Oxford, MI. I'll work Monday Tuesday and Wednesday in the lab, heading back Wednesday afternoon. Which is....September 2nd. Originally I was going to fly in the morning of the 3rd and miss some classes, but the 2nd is my birthday darnit, and flying in at 9:00 at night is better than no birthday night at all in my apartment. Plus, on your birthday you get to eat cake all day, an I'm not sure if people in the south have Costco cake, so that's a risk I don't know if I really want to take.
The take home message? Its going to be a fun month for me. Also, I get to explore Mississippi (which is really fun to spell), Ar-Kansas, and Tennessee (plus I can sing Walking in Memphis while I'm actually walking in Memphis...happy birthday to me!)
In other news, I'm currently eating a bowl of with one red beet and some golden beets that I boiled and have re-heated in the microwave, so now they're orange tie-die beets. Its pretty hippy dippy, root vegtables AND a crazy color combination. I won't go a week without writing anymore, not unless I have a much better reason!
Saturday, August 1, 2009
I'm still having such a good time (Can't get Don't stop me now by Queen out of my head)
This morning proved an awesome day for the farmers market. I scooped up some green beans, baby bok choy, swiss chard (the pretty red kind), mushrooms, tomatoes, and golden beets. Its going to be a pretty good week for veggies. On the downside, the people at the Farmers Market (mainly the children) drive me bonkers!!!! Especially the mothers with the 2-wide strollers toting a toddler or two. Who needs that many children? Timed that close together! Especially when your not capable of handling them in public and not having them be trampled by other market goers walking at the powerful pace of 1 mile an hour. The children fray my nerves like nothing else. I think I'll start going in earlier in order to avoid these young-ones.
After much procrastination, around 3:00 I finally got my long run in for the week. It was 10 miles at 11:15 min/mile pace. Not super, but okay. I'm pretty wiped, both from a moving party yesterday (lots of heavy lifting), and a speedy 4 mile set on the treadmill at the SERF yesterday.
I'm watching the West Wing now waiting for John to get off work. These Saturday's tick by so slowly. Although its nice doing nothing, it would be much nicer doing neither if my boyfriend wasn't gone from 7:45 AM to 11 PM every Saturday. That being said, tomorrow is John's first day off in a while, and now that his class is done, we get to actually spend some quality time together. On the menu: Harry Potter in IMAX, some great food, and some awesome hang-out time.
I've decided what my dream job would be. I'm decided I need to work for Promega, an awesome biotech company with a home base in Madison. I would want to do research and development on lab assays and better techniques/development of better environmental microbiology kits for about half of my time. The other half would be spent doing outreach and education about the company, and explaining how to use products effectively. It would couple my love of science, with my love of science education and explain how science works to the masses. I could educate and get my science on at the same time. How amazing would that be??
After much procrastination, around 3:00 I finally got my long run in for the week. It was 10 miles at 11:15 min/mile pace. Not super, but okay. I'm pretty wiped, both from a moving party yesterday (lots of heavy lifting), and a speedy 4 mile set on the treadmill at the SERF yesterday.
I'm watching the West Wing now waiting for John to get off work. These Saturday's tick by so slowly. Although its nice doing nothing, it would be much nicer doing neither if my boyfriend wasn't gone from 7:45 AM to 11 PM every Saturday. That being said, tomorrow is John's first day off in a while, and now that his class is done, we get to actually spend some quality time together. On the menu: Harry Potter in IMAX, some great food, and some awesome hang-out time.
I've decided what my dream job would be. I'm decided I need to work for Promega, an awesome biotech company with a home base in Madison. I would want to do research and development on lab assays and better techniques/development of better environmental microbiology kits for about half of my time. The other half would be spent doing outreach and education about the company, and explaining how to use products effectively. It would couple my love of science, with my love of science education and explain how science works to the masses. I could educate and get my science on at the same time. How amazing would that be??
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