HOKAY. So.
Yesterday, I woke up at 4:15 am, and was out the door at 5 am to drive to Galveston. Arrive in Galveston at 7:30 am. Meeting with DQ at 10 am. Lab meeting at 12 pm. Leave Galveston at 2:15, and arrive at home at 4:45 pm. Crash into bed at 9:45 pm (after having margaritas and chips and salsa with the lovely Alicia :) )
Busy. Busy. BUSY. Day. Even my extra thermos of tea was not enough to stave off the sleepiness. And the serious under-eye baggage did not help with my appearance.
Too much driving. I was falling asleep during the drive home. BUT it was a good meeting. Everyone was there. Lots of talking and laughing. More MS business taken care of, i.e. third committee member in mind and degree plan pretty much all sorted out.
And even though I wore jeans. And a sweatshirt. Somehow I got bitten by a mosquito. ON THE BACK OF MY LEG. How the hell does that happen? I thought they were all supposed to be dead by now.
Looked online for apartments to move into at the end of May. There's one that's quite literally in the middle between CS and Galveston. About 60 miles both ways. And while I've been going back and forth about where to live, I think the midway point is nice. It means I don't have to get up insanely early every morning, but early enough that I can be there early, and get things done and go home early. And if a trip to CS is called for, again, I don't have to get up at 4 am. Plus, Galveston is pretty expensive, and I'm not sure I'd feel comfortable in hurricane season living 20 miles from the coast. We'll go look at them when we get back from CA I guess. I'm gonna have to make a trip down there to get shit signed anyways.
IN OTHER NEWS.
THIS WEEK:
12/1: Chem ocean homework due at 9:10 am (CHECK!)
12/2: Phys ocean exam at 2:20 pm. (halfway through working on flashcards for that)
12/3: Chem ocean paper due at 11:59 pm (outline in progress, will be working on that intermittently tomorrow and allllll Thursday night/Friday)
12/4: See what of my chem ocean paper I can use for my ecology paper due 12/7.
12/7: Ecology paper due.
12/8: Chem ocean paper reviews due. Chem ocean take home final given, and due 12/13.
12/13: Chem ocean take home final and Ecology assignment due.
12/20: Grades for my undergrads are due. (I only have 4 students that I have to change things around for, so yay). AND Set out for CA!
FIN!
Also from Galveston, DQ's going to the UK for the month of December and so for the lab meeting she made us this OMFG DELICIOUS chocolate bundt cake to make it up to us for not having a Christmas party this year. Instead when she's back in January, she'll have an Australia Day party!
I love my advisor. I think she's the most awesome person in the world.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Monday, November 22, 2010
Procrastination Nation.
So I'm supposed to be reading papers for my chem ocean paper right now. I have lots of thoughts bouncing around in my head.
*Anger at chem ocean prof for having class on Wednesday when in the syllabus it says that we don't.
*More anger at chem ocean prof for moving up the paper due date (essentially removing an entire weekend that could have been devoted to writing it) so we can peer review each other's papers to get the "full scientific paper writing experience."
*Wanting to be done with this week so I can finally enjoy some time with family.
*Excited to spend time with future sister in law. We went to the mall today to get cheap stuff from VS and Bath and Body Works. I'm engulfed in Mint Chocolate candle smell. YUM.
*I already have a student asking me if she can be bumped up to an A from an 89% even though she hasn't done the last post lab yet, and I still have to go through and drop the lowest lab grade.
*More excited to FINALLY see HP7 tomorrow night.
*I need to go shopping for some essential ingredients for Thanksgiving. Anyone know any good stuffing/dressing recipes?
*More or less gave up on the diet for this week. I will start again next week. Really stupid to try to start a diet the week before Thanksgiving. But still trying to eat healthy.
*George's brakes blew out yesterday. Had to get the car towed to the repair shop today. His car will be the first to go, I think. And it's officially not coming to CA with us. My car wins! (minus lack of cruise control. sigh)
*Took engagement pictures yesterday! I'm super excited to see how they turned out. We had fun taking them.
*On a related note (I swear) I need new glasses. Mine hurt my head. And I'm wondering if I should stick with transition lenses. I really wish my eyes weren't so sensitive to contacts.
*It's Thanksgiving week. Where the hell is the cold?
UPDATE:
I want to try to make something out of the *many* wine bottles I have that I can't recycle. Ideas?
*Anger at chem ocean prof for having class on Wednesday when in the syllabus it says that we don't.
*More anger at chem ocean prof for moving up the paper due date (essentially removing an entire weekend that could have been devoted to writing it) so we can peer review each other's papers to get the "full scientific paper writing experience."
*Wanting to be done with this week so I can finally enjoy some time with family.
*Excited to spend time with future sister in law. We went to the mall today to get cheap stuff from VS and Bath and Body Works. I'm engulfed in Mint Chocolate candle smell. YUM.
*I already have a student asking me if she can be bumped up to an A from an 89% even though she hasn't done the last post lab yet, and I still have to go through and drop the lowest lab grade.
*More excited to FINALLY see HP7 tomorrow night.
*I need to go shopping for some essential ingredients for Thanksgiving. Anyone know any good stuffing/dressing recipes?
*More or less gave up on the diet for this week. I will start again next week. Really stupid to try to start a diet the week before Thanksgiving. But still trying to eat healthy.
*George's brakes blew out yesterday. Had to get the car towed to the repair shop today. His car will be the first to go, I think. And it's officially not coming to CA with us. My car wins! (minus lack of cruise control. sigh)
*Took engagement pictures yesterday! I'm super excited to see how they turned out. We had fun taking them.
*On a related note (I swear) I need new glasses. Mine hurt my head. And I'm wondering if I should stick with transition lenses. I really wish my eyes weren't so sensitive to contacts.
*It's Thanksgiving week. Where the hell is the cold?
UPDATE:
I want to try to make something out of the *many* wine bottles I have that I can't recycle. Ideas?
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Diet. Or as Michelle calls it: Lifestyle Change.
So I rather distressingly found on Monday night that I don't fit into my one year anniversary dress anymore. I mean it was 8 bucks and I bought it 3 years ago. But. I loved that dress. And I didn't really have many opportunities to wear it over the years. It makes me sad.
I know I've gained a bit of weight (*sigh*), but there also is the fact that I've gone up a couple cup sizes (thanks BC!) which will affect how well a lot of my clothes fit nowadays.
Anyways. I decided to get started early on my wedding diet aka lifestyle change. And can I just say: diets. suck.
I was very proud of myself for not eating the cookie that came with my lunch yesterday. Or ice cream the night before when I really really really wanted it.
Slimfast for breakfast the past couple of days seemed to help curb my appetite. I don't overeat (I don't think), I just indulge my sweet tooth a little too much. And don't exercise as much as I should. Or eat as many fruits and veggies as I should. So I'm trying to change that.
Pros:
*I actually drink a glass of milk everyday, which is important to women in their early 20s if they want to decrease the probability of osteoporosis. (or so I hear)
*Starting early (way before a lot of brides I hear start their wedding diet) may help me keep this routine in the long run, and keep me healthy.
*I'm eating more fruits instead of other snacks (read: cookies) from the vending machine downstairs.
Cons:
*Trying to find a diet friendly dessert.
*Trying to start a diet the week before Thanksgiving.
*I've been told the first few weeks suck because you're so hungry. Whoever said that was right. It SUCKS.
*I'm usually good at portion control. Trying to keep myself under what I would like is HARD. Trying not to just go to the freezer and eat a spoonful of ice cream is harder.
*Still haven't gotten up to exercise. I do walk from the parking lot to O&M and back everyday (almost) but that's not enough. I'm still figuring out a good time to do more.
We'll see how the pros and cons change over time.
I know I've gained a bit of weight (*sigh*), but there also is the fact that I've gone up a couple cup sizes (thanks BC!) which will affect how well a lot of my clothes fit nowadays.
Anyways. I decided to get started early on my wedding diet aka lifestyle change. And can I just say: diets. suck.
I was very proud of myself for not eating the cookie that came with my lunch yesterday. Or ice cream the night before when I really really really wanted it.
Slimfast for breakfast the past couple of days seemed to help curb my appetite. I don't overeat (I don't think), I just indulge my sweet tooth a little too much. And don't exercise as much as I should. Or eat as many fruits and veggies as I should. So I'm trying to change that.
Pros:
*I actually drink a glass of milk everyday, which is important to women in their early 20s if they want to decrease the probability of osteoporosis. (or so I hear)
*Starting early (way before a lot of brides I hear start their wedding diet) may help me keep this routine in the long run, and keep me healthy.
*I'm eating more fruits instead of other snacks (read: cookies) from the vending machine downstairs.
Cons:
*Trying to find a diet friendly dessert.
*Trying to start a diet the week before Thanksgiving.
*I've been told the first few weeks suck because you're so hungry. Whoever said that was right. It SUCKS.
*I'm usually good at portion control. Trying to keep myself under what I would like is HARD. Trying not to just go to the freezer and eat a spoonful of ice cream is harder.
*Still haven't gotten up to exercise. I do walk from the parking lot to O&M and back everyday (almost) but that's not enough. I'm still figuring out a good time to do more.
We'll see how the pros and cons change over time.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
End of First Semester as a TA
I am almost officially done being a TA. I taught my last class today, and all that's left are grades and putting all the specimens back from whence they came.
I can honestly say that while I was frustrated most of this semester by the lack of work ethic in my students, it was a good experience. I showed them a baleen tooth and they got all excited and were so surprised at how big it was. And I was excited that they were excited. We watched videos from Planet Earth today along with some other random clips (including the flamboyant cuttlefish, SO CUTE OMG) and I think it was a good way to end the semester.
Only downside was I had a student not show up to my class yesterday. This student has not shown up to class before, only to come to my office hours on Thursday (two. days. later.) to tell me that he overslept and didn't want to come in late, so can he please still turn in his handout? Naturally I said no. If something happens and you don't make it to class, email me. Why is this such a foreign concept? I don't understand. It takes 2 minutes at most to write an email explaining why you missed class and ask if you can turn in your stuff. Why would you wait two days? For all I know you forgot to do the handout and spent the time in between class and office hours trying to complete it. At the same time, I have office hours right after his class, and he showed up two weeks ago during the time allotted to say he got in an accident, here's his form.
*sigh*
Anyways. All I need to wait for now is people to finish their post labs so I can go through and drop the lowest lab grade for those who don't have missing work.
In other news, we're getting engagement pictures taken this weekend and I'm SO EXCITED. And I have NO IDEA WHAT TO WEAR. We're thinking some sort of theme, but what theme exactly I have no clue. If it's cold, we can wear our "matching" pea coats. I'm not really sure what's going to capture the essence of us. We're not really big on clothes... so I dunno.
HELP PLEASE. I need suggestions before Sunday!
I can honestly say that while I was frustrated most of this semester by the lack of work ethic in my students, it was a good experience. I showed them a baleen tooth and they got all excited and were so surprised at how big it was. And I was excited that they were excited. We watched videos from Planet Earth today along with some other random clips (including the flamboyant cuttlefish, SO CUTE OMG) and I think it was a good way to end the semester.
Only downside was I had a student not show up to my class yesterday. This student has not shown up to class before, only to come to my office hours on Thursday (two. days. later.) to tell me that he overslept and didn't want to come in late, so can he please still turn in his handout? Naturally I said no. If something happens and you don't make it to class, email me. Why is this such a foreign concept? I don't understand. It takes 2 minutes at most to write an email explaining why you missed class and ask if you can turn in your stuff. Why would you wait two days? For all I know you forgot to do the handout and spent the time in between class and office hours trying to complete it. At the same time, I have office hours right after his class, and he showed up two weeks ago during the time allotted to say he got in an accident, here's his form.
*sigh*
Anyways. All I need to wait for now is people to finish their post labs so I can go through and drop the lowest lab grade for those who don't have missing work.
In other news, we're getting engagement pictures taken this weekend and I'm SO EXCITED. And I have NO IDEA WHAT TO WEAR. We're thinking some sort of theme, but what theme exactly I have no clue. If it's cold, we can wear our "matching" pea coats. I'm not really sure what's going to capture the essence of us. We're not really big on clothes... so I dunno.
HELP PLEASE. I need suggestions before Sunday!
Saturday, November 13, 2010
First Semester as a TA
I'm trying to remember all the random shit that has happened in the past couple weeks. And I'm failing.
This coming week is my last week teaching for this semester. My students are very much excited about that. I'm excited to show them a whole bunch of videos about whales, dolphins and cuttlefish.
Basically, this semester has been a huge learning experience for me. I learned:
- that not everyone is an overachiever. I just happened to be friends with the overachievers and thought everyone else was that way. Apparently, most kids want to get in and get out with as little effort as possible.
- students talk about the TA while sitting in earshot of the TA.
- a lot of students don't actually know how to use a graphing calculator. Or how to do scientific notation. Or pretty much any basic math.
- you can give all the extra credit in the world and there will still be someone that begs for more.
- expectations from the TA of the students are often a LOT higher than they should be.
- quizzes should not be a threat. They should be given at the outset.
- if as the TA, you're not sure of the answer, either say so, or say the wrong thing with conviction.
- teaching is an effective procrastination tool for classes and research.
- college kids still don't take care of their own shit. Your TA is not your mother. I send out an email about what's happening the next week immediately after class and post it as an announcement on the class website. After that, your work is up to you.
This coming week is my last week teaching for this semester. My students are very much excited about that. I'm excited to show them a whole bunch of videos about whales, dolphins and cuttlefish.
Basically, this semester has been a huge learning experience for me. I learned:
- that not everyone is an overachiever. I just happened to be friends with the overachievers and thought everyone else was that way. Apparently, most kids want to get in and get out with as little effort as possible.
- students talk about the TA while sitting in earshot of the TA.
- a lot of students don't actually know how to use a graphing calculator. Or how to do scientific notation. Or pretty much any basic math.
- you can give all the extra credit in the world and there will still be someone that begs for more.
- expectations from the TA of the students are often a LOT higher than they should be.
- quizzes should not be a threat. They should be given at the outset.
- if as the TA, you're not sure of the answer, either say so, or say the wrong thing with conviction.
- teaching is an effective procrastination tool for classes and research.
- college kids still don't take care of their own shit. Your TA is not your mother. I send out an email about what's happening the next week immediately after class and post it as an announcement on the class website. After that, your work is up to you.
Friday, November 12, 2010
MY EYES
THEY BURN.
I've been awake since 4:30 this morning studying for my chem ocean exam today.
Yesterday was my Ecology presentation. I was pretty proud of myself despite probably speed talking because I was nervous. I said one thing I didn't mean to say and confused the class and myself. Fortunately they were forgiving. My prof, may not be so forgiving. Who knows. I never know how well I'm doing in his class. It bothers me. He asked me a question that I had a serious brain fart on. I'M INTELLIGENT I SWEAR.
After that my brain was just shot to hell. I knew I had to study, but I was utterly incapable of stuffing anything else into my head. George tried to help me go through my flash cards and about halfway through I just couldn't do it anymore. After convincing me to just go to bed and get up early, I went to bed. And got up early. And VOILA I was actually a coherent human being with functional memory.
George got up at 6 and went to get milk for tea and other general milk-y uses. And then he made me oven-french-toast for breakfast. Yum. It was a good pre-exam tummy boost.
Fast forward to 8:45 am. I'm sitting in the classroom reading the newspaper, going over stuff in my head. Checking my notes.
9:02 am. The fire alarm goes off.
Proceed down the stairs and out the door. I find classmates. We spot our prof wandering ways away from us. Tests in hand.
A few minutes go by. Suddenly we hear sirens. *ARE YOU EFFING KIDDING ME???*
Fire truck pulls up. Building proctor says they have to inspect THE ENTIRE BUILDING.
It is now 3 minutes past when we were supposed to start our exam. We start contemplating what's going to happen: are we going to postpone until Monday? Oral exam? Just take it late?
Personally, I just wanted to get it over with. I needed to vomit out the information that I had piled into my head onto a piece of paper. And fast.
It's 9:30 am when we're finally given the all clear. 20 minutes after the exam was supposed to start.
Everyone is back in the classroom. Prof decides to give us the exam and just let us stay after the time we're supposed to be done since there isn't a class after us.
I overstudied. It was a cake walk.
I hand in my exam. I felt the adrenaline high beginning to crash. I go home, sit on my couch reading blogs and listening to Angel on Netflix while eating Wheat Thins that have Laughing Cow spreadable swiss cheese on them. And I haven't done anything academic since.
Would like to take a nap but I can't because I won't be able to sleep tonight. So I wait until 5 when George is done working and we go home, picking up pizza, beer and Scott Pilgrim on the way. And it will be a glorious Friday night.
I've been awake since 4:30 this morning studying for my chem ocean exam today.
Yesterday was my Ecology presentation. I was pretty proud of myself despite probably speed talking because I was nervous. I said one thing I didn't mean to say and confused the class and myself. Fortunately they were forgiving. My prof, may not be so forgiving. Who knows. I never know how well I'm doing in his class. It bothers me. He asked me a question that I had a serious brain fart on. I'M INTELLIGENT I SWEAR.
After that my brain was just shot to hell. I knew I had to study, but I was utterly incapable of stuffing anything else into my head. George tried to help me go through my flash cards and about halfway through I just couldn't do it anymore. After convincing me to just go to bed and get up early, I went to bed. And got up early. And VOILA I was actually a coherent human being with functional memory.
George got up at 6 and went to get milk for tea and other general milk-y uses. And then he made me oven-french-toast for breakfast. Yum. It was a good pre-exam tummy boost.
Fast forward to 8:45 am. I'm sitting in the classroom reading the newspaper, going over stuff in my head. Checking my notes.
9:02 am. The fire alarm goes off.
Proceed down the stairs and out the door. I find classmates. We spot our prof wandering ways away from us. Tests in hand.
A few minutes go by. Suddenly we hear sirens. *ARE YOU EFFING KIDDING ME???*
Fire truck pulls up. Building proctor says they have to inspect THE ENTIRE BUILDING.
It is now 3 minutes past when we were supposed to start our exam. We start contemplating what's going to happen: are we going to postpone until Monday? Oral exam? Just take it late?
Personally, I just wanted to get it over with. I needed to vomit out the information that I had piled into my head onto a piece of paper. And fast.
It's 9:30 am when we're finally given the all clear. 20 minutes after the exam was supposed to start.
Everyone is back in the classroom. Prof decides to give us the exam and just let us stay after the time we're supposed to be done since there isn't a class after us.
I overstudied. It was a cake walk.
I hand in my exam. I felt the adrenaline high beginning to crash. I go home, sit on my couch reading blogs and listening to Angel on Netflix while eating Wheat Thins that have Laughing Cow spreadable swiss cheese on them. And I haven't done anything academic since.
Would like to take a nap but I can't because I won't be able to sleep tonight. So I wait until 5 when George is done working and we go home, picking up pizza, beer and Scott Pilgrim on the way. And it will be a glorious Friday night.
Friday, November 5, 2010
It's Been Awhile...
.... and now I have Staind stuck in my head. Not bad, not bad.
Lots of stuff going on as the semester winds down.
*I have a second member on my committee. Just need one more and I'm good to go!
*Ecology, while I love that it's discussion based, we still have assignments that are assigned and graded before we actually go over the topic. Not sure if that's a good system. It's definitely not turning out so well for my grade. Sigh.
*Lots and LOTS of scientific paper reading going on.
- Mini literature review next week in Ecology. I hate that the topic can't be related to my research but on the up side I got to read a lot about kelp forests in the Channel Islands and Santa Barbara area. Makes me miss home.
- Outline with 10 references for our paper (due at the end of the semester) due next week in Chem Ocean. I had to change my topic because I realized that Chem didn't have the ridiculous nothing-related-to-your-research requirement like Ecology. Therefore, I'm researching the beginnings of my thesis! I like double dipping.
- Final essay in Ecology DOESN'T have that requirement. So. Double dipping again. YAY!
*Two more weeks of lab to go. This past week was over Plankton and I was so excited because I actually know a lot about plankton. My kids were excited to actually see stuff instead of thinking about it in the theoretical sense.
*We finally had a Halloween without studying. We carved an awesome pumpkin. Sadly, we didn't get any trick-or-treaters, so this week in labs I asked my students quiz questions and if they answered correctly (hell, if they even tried) they got candy. AND I made vanilla almond butter cookies with my Halloween cookie cutters. They were delicious and didn't look like blobs, which was the main thing.
*It's finally feeling like fall. It's overcast and a bit chilly and I can wear jeans without sweating.
*George and I went to the Texas Renaissance Festival last Saturday and ate ourselves silly on good food. My goal for the day was to find the cheap version of Arwen's sword from LOTR to add to my collection. Alas I did not find it. Oh well. It's probably better for my credit card (WHICH I FINALLY PAID OFF) that I didn't find/buy it.
*It's November. That means WEDDING PLANNING BEGINS. ohgod.
*It's November. That means Christmas stuff is out in full force. Blech. I feel bad for Thanksgiving. It always seems to be skipped over. I want Thanksgiving decorations.
I'll update more with TA stuff later.
Happy Guy Fawkes Day!
Lots of stuff going on as the semester winds down.
*I have a second member on my committee. Just need one more and I'm good to go!
*Ecology, while I love that it's discussion based, we still have assignments that are assigned and graded before we actually go over the topic. Not sure if that's a good system. It's definitely not turning out so well for my grade. Sigh.
*Lots and LOTS of scientific paper reading going on.
- Mini literature review next week in Ecology. I hate that the topic can't be related to my research but on the up side I got to read a lot about kelp forests in the Channel Islands and Santa Barbara area. Makes me miss home.
- Outline with 10 references for our paper (due at the end of the semester) due next week in Chem Ocean. I had to change my topic because I realized that Chem didn't have the ridiculous nothing-related-to-your-research requirement like Ecology. Therefore, I'm researching the beginnings of my thesis! I like double dipping.
- Final essay in Ecology DOESN'T have that requirement. So. Double dipping again. YAY!
*Two more weeks of lab to go. This past week was over Plankton and I was so excited because I actually know a lot about plankton. My kids were excited to actually see stuff instead of thinking about it in the theoretical sense.
*We finally had a Halloween without studying. We carved an awesome pumpkin. Sadly, we didn't get any trick-or-treaters, so this week in labs I asked my students quiz questions and if they answered correctly (hell, if they even tried) they got candy. AND I made vanilla almond butter cookies with my Halloween cookie cutters. They were delicious and didn't look like blobs, which was the main thing.
*It's finally feeling like fall. It's overcast and a bit chilly and I can wear jeans without sweating.
*George and I went to the Texas Renaissance Festival last Saturday and ate ourselves silly on good food. My goal for the day was to find the cheap version of Arwen's sword from LOTR to add to my collection. Alas I did not find it. Oh well. It's probably better for my credit card (WHICH I FINALLY PAID OFF) that I didn't find/buy it.
*It's November. That means WEDDING PLANNING BEGINS. ohgod.
*It's November. That means Christmas stuff is out in full force. Blech. I feel bad for Thanksgiving. It always seems to be skipped over. I want Thanksgiving decorations.
I'll update more with TA stuff later.
Happy Guy Fawkes Day!
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