Wow, so it's been a while. Sorry for the radio silence! This year has been quite busy for me. I spent all of the spring semester completing my master's thesis, entitled "Fermentative Production of Short-Chain Fatty Acids and Methyl Ketones in Escherichia coli." It was a huge endeavor and the longest paper I've ever written. I can't believe that I ever struggled with 4 page papers in high school. My thesis was 76 pages! I defended in April and passed, and commencement was in May. So I'm officially a Master of Science! Graduate school is probably the hardest thing I have done so far, but the payoff was worth it.
My family visited me for graduation and we went to the Botanical Gardens in Madison. I will try to post the pictures soon. It was a huge place with large outdoor gardens and I really liked it. I could have spent an entire day there. At the end of our vacation we all went to Chicago and saw The Who on their current tour.
Thankfully, after I got back from vacation I was able to get in touch with a recruiter at Aerotek Scientific and they were able to help me find a job. I've been at my new position for about a month now and I enjoy it. I'm a Pharmaceutical Quality Control technician now at a veterinary company in Des Moines. It's very different from working in a biology lab. It's essentially analytical chemistry and there is a whole load of paperwork and very specific rules about everything because it's quality control. I've adjusted pretty well so far and I like the job itself. Commuting does suck though so next year I am planning on trying to move closer.
My garden is still growing. No harvests yet so I don't have anything to show off, but I can probably harvest some basil and lemon balm soon. There are lots of green tomatoes so I'm just waiting on them to finish growing and ripen!
Showing posts with label grad school. Show all posts
Showing posts with label grad school. Show all posts
Sunday, July 12, 2015
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Garden now delayed by rain
This month has definitely not been too interesting for gardening, which is why I haven't posted much. I've also been pretty busy at work. The good news is that my paper got accepted for publication! So I will finally be a published author.
That being said, I'll have some more pictures soon, I promise. It's been raining for days now and I had to rescue all of my hardy cool-weather plants. My poppies, love in a mist, and swiss chard got swamped, and they are all just sprouts so I was worried for them. I did sow echinacea and carrots last week. My tomatoes are growing well and this weekend I have a lot of potting up work to do. I just hope the weather will be slightly more cooperative soon. We've gotten over 2.5 inches in three days! It's far too much for my poor container plants. Hopefully it will help cure our drought though, so I'll live with running out in downpours to save my pots.
That being said, I'll have some more pictures soon, I promise. It's been raining for days now and I had to rescue all of my hardy cool-weather plants. My poppies, love in a mist, and swiss chard got swamped, and they are all just sprouts so I was worried for them. I did sow echinacea and carrots last week. My tomatoes are growing well and this weekend I have a lot of potting up work to do. I just hope the weather will be slightly more cooperative soon. We've gotten over 2.5 inches in three days! It's far too much for my poor container plants. Hopefully it will help cure our drought though, so I'll live with running out in downpours to save my pots.
Monday, October 7, 2013
No pictures today
I'm way behind on uploading my garden pictures. Life has been really busy and I keep putting it off. I'll try to get some up soon, maybe tomorrow. This week is starting off busy. I have a two-day conference that I spent all day at today, and half the day tomorrow. It's a scientific conference on biorenewable chemicals. I had to give a short presentation and a poster today, which was the longest day. Tomorrow won't be so bad, and I'll be able to come home and take a little nap in the afternoon. It's just a very draining process to be on point and talking science for eleven hours today and six tomorrow.
Thursday, September 26, 2013
And now for something completely different
This post is not about gardening so if that's what you care about, you might want to skip this one. I'm about to complain about work.
Okay, complaining about work. Actually, I want to complain about my stupid DNA and that it won't do what I want. I have three different cloning projects going on right now and all three of them are being stupid. I seriously wish I could beat this DNA into submission. It's pissing me off, and I'm on a deadline so it feels like wasting time, but I can't make bacteria grow any faster. It's very frustrating. At least I have one thing that's sort of working but it's not really a big thing, so I really need these cloning things to get their shit together and work properly. URGH. It's just so annoying and frustrating.
On a non-complaining side, I have done an awesome job at not overeating this week! It doesn't sound like much but it's a big deal to me, because I struggle with emotional overeating so much. I'm going to keep working hard at this and string a bunch of good days and weeks together now. I've lost 4 pounds, which isn't a lot but it's a good start and I feel good about it. I think the hardest thing now is not overeating at restaurants and things like that, because it's so tempting to! At least I know I can control my food intake, even when I'm stressed out and anxious.
Okay, complaining about work. Actually, I want to complain about my stupid DNA and that it won't do what I want. I have three different cloning projects going on right now and all three of them are being stupid. I seriously wish I could beat this DNA into submission. It's pissing me off, and I'm on a deadline so it feels like wasting time, but I can't make bacteria grow any faster. It's very frustrating. At least I have one thing that's sort of working but it's not really a big thing, so I really need these cloning things to get their shit together and work properly. URGH. It's just so annoying and frustrating.
On a non-complaining side, I have done an awesome job at not overeating this week! It doesn't sound like much but it's a big deal to me, because I struggle with emotional overeating so much. I'm going to keep working hard at this and string a bunch of good days and weeks together now. I've lost 4 pounds, which isn't a lot but it's a good start and I feel good about it. I think the hardest thing now is not overeating at restaurants and things like that, because it's so tempting to! At least I know I can control my food intake, even when I'm stressed out and anxious.
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Catching Up
Hi everyone who reads this, sorry I've been away for a month. My old netbook was starting to take a dump on me, and my tablet isn't really good for lots of typing. And I've been too busy to sit down at my desktop and do nothing but blog. I've just gotten a new netbook though, so I'm back in business. It's an ASUS 1015e with windows 8. Windows 8 is kind of weird but the netbook is pretty cool.
It's been a very weird past month. Our lab manager announced two weeks before I went on vacation that he had gotten another job and was leaving. That leaves me as the only person working on the biorenewable chemicals projects. It also means that I had to take over the summer REU student and that I've become the de facto lab manager even though that's not really my job. Obviously this has made my stress and workload skyrocket. So far I'm doing alright managing everything, but I am definitely more mentally exhausted at the end of every day. I'm trying to go to bed earlier since I'm going into work at 8:30 now instead of 9-9:15ish. That is kind of working but I'm a night owl so it's hard to go to bed early sometimes. One of my labmates did get a Keurig coffeemaker from his mum and brought it into lab, so at least I can have a steady stream of coffee if I want it. That's pretty awesome.
At the end of June I went back to Michigan for a short vacation. I also visited my brother in Wisconsin. I'll make a separate post or two later with a bunch of photos. It was fun. I enjoyed being back home. I got to meet my parents' puppy Macduff. He's a collie and super adorable. We've never had a puppy before so it was neat to meet him. We also went to Belle Isle and visited their conservatory and the Michigan nature museum. They were both very cool and I'd never been to either even though they're both in downtown Detroit. It was nice to go somewhere new and to enjoy one of the nice parts of Detroit. Then on July 4th we set off fireworks. We only do the fountains that stay on the ground. I like doing those because nothing but sparklers are legal in Iowa, which is in my opinion pretty lame. Then my dad and I drove to Madison, WI where my brother lives. We hung out for a couple of days there. We went golfing at one of the municipal courses which was a lot of fun! I got a little sunburned but it was worth it. I wish I had someone to go golfing with in Iowa. I'm too self-conscious to go alone because I'm not very good. We also took a tour around Epic, where my brother works. It was a neat place. If I was a computer whiz it would be a decent place to work. Then it was back to Ames for me.
While work has been stressful, my garden has still been a source of relaxation. My tomatoes are growing; I'm hoping that they'll reach full size and start ripening soon. I'm really looking forward to fresh tomatoes. The basil and parsley are producing really well. I've put the chamomile outside to see if it prefers the warmer weather. I need it to flower because that's what you use for tea! I also started some lettuce seeds to grow inside. Some of the seeds have already sprouted! I'm really excited for lettuce too. I eat lettuce and tomato the most so if I could grow my own that would be awesome. Next year I might try green beans and strawberries too.
It's been a very weird past month. Our lab manager announced two weeks before I went on vacation that he had gotten another job and was leaving. That leaves me as the only person working on the biorenewable chemicals projects. It also means that I had to take over the summer REU student and that I've become the de facto lab manager even though that's not really my job. Obviously this has made my stress and workload skyrocket. So far I'm doing alright managing everything, but I am definitely more mentally exhausted at the end of every day. I'm trying to go to bed earlier since I'm going into work at 8:30 now instead of 9-9:15ish. That is kind of working but I'm a night owl so it's hard to go to bed early sometimes. One of my labmates did get a Keurig coffeemaker from his mum and brought it into lab, so at least I can have a steady stream of coffee if I want it. That's pretty awesome.
At the end of June I went back to Michigan for a short vacation. I also visited my brother in Wisconsin. I'll make a separate post or two later with a bunch of photos. It was fun. I enjoyed being back home. I got to meet my parents' puppy Macduff. He's a collie and super adorable. We've never had a puppy before so it was neat to meet him. We also went to Belle Isle and visited their conservatory and the Michigan nature museum. They were both very cool and I'd never been to either even though they're both in downtown Detroit. It was nice to go somewhere new and to enjoy one of the nice parts of Detroit. Then on July 4th we set off fireworks. We only do the fountains that stay on the ground. I like doing those because nothing but sparklers are legal in Iowa, which is in my opinion pretty lame. Then my dad and I drove to Madison, WI where my brother lives. We hung out for a couple of days there. We went golfing at one of the municipal courses which was a lot of fun! I got a little sunburned but it was worth it. I wish I had someone to go golfing with in Iowa. I'm too self-conscious to go alone because I'm not very good. We also took a tour around Epic, where my brother works. It was a neat place. If I was a computer whiz it would be a decent place to work. Then it was back to Ames for me.
While work has been stressful, my garden has still been a source of relaxation. My tomatoes are growing; I'm hoping that they'll reach full size and start ripening soon. I'm really looking forward to fresh tomatoes. The basil and parsley are producing really well. I've put the chamomile outside to see if it prefers the warmer weather. I need it to flower because that's what you use for tea! I also started some lettuce seeds to grow inside. Some of the seeds have already sprouted! I'm really excited for lettuce too. I eat lettuce and tomato the most so if I could grow my own that would be awesome. Next year I might try green beans and strawberries too.
Sunday, June 2, 2013
June 2
Last week the weather was pretty crappy. Lots of rain and thunderstorms. The rivers got really high here in Ames, and for a while it looked like it might flood. Luckily it didn't and the rivers are starting to come back down. Dan and I went hiking around Ames and saw the Skunk river at a bunch of different places, and it was pretty crazy. There were some spots that were supposed to be hiking trails that were completely covered in water. Hopefully it stays dry for a while and the rivers get back to normal. I'd also like it to be dry and warmer for my plants. I don't want their roots to rot.
I can't believe it's already June! I feel like the year is going by really quickly. At the end of this month I'll be going home for a week to visit my family. That will be really awesome because I haven't seen them since Christmas. I'll get to see the new puppy that my parents got in April too! He's so cute from the pictures I've seen and I'm looking forward to actually meeting him.
Lab work is going well so far. I think I'm making some good progress. We're going to start up a little collaboration too with another lab so there will be more work to do. That's good though so I have more data for my thesis. Hopefully in the next year I'll be writing my thesis and graduating. I really hope that's how it works out. I don't want to stay in school too much longer than that. I really do want to get going and get a real job soon. After all, my next goal is to buy a house of my own with a yard. Then I can have more room for gardening, and the kitties will have their own house to live in too. Then I could put up some permanent kitty perches for them in a couple of windows!
I can't believe it's already June! I feel like the year is going by really quickly. At the end of this month I'll be going home for a week to visit my family. That will be really awesome because I haven't seen them since Christmas. I'll get to see the new puppy that my parents got in April too! He's so cute from the pictures I've seen and I'm looking forward to actually meeting him.
Lab work is going well so far. I think I'm making some good progress. We're going to start up a little collaboration too with another lab so there will be more work to do. That's good though so I have more data for my thesis. Hopefully in the next year I'll be writing my thesis and graduating. I really hope that's how it works out. I don't want to stay in school too much longer than that. I really do want to get going and get a real job soon. After all, my next goal is to buy a house of my own with a yard. Then I can have more room for gardening, and the kitties will have their own house to live in too. Then I could put up some permanent kitty perches for them in a couple of windows!
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Well it's halfway through May
I still am having trouble posting pictures on Blogger. Eventually I'll figure it out and everyone will get to see my plants. In the meantime, I've been pretty busy. This week was the annual CBiRC site visit so I had to present a poster and then spend two days looking nice and trying to impress the government visitors. It went just fine but those meetings are always a huge drain on my energy. Thankfully there's only two of them every year so it's not too bad. I took Thursday afternoon off and was able to catch up some on my sleep at least.
Otherwise it's not been too crazy. My tomatoes live outside full time now that it's gotten warmer. I'm starting to harden off the basil too so that I'll be able to keep it outside all the time too. My carrots are coming up too! I thought they were a lost cause but it seems not. My catnip and chamomile are ready to get put into slightly larger containers. I wish I could get more plants all the time, but the cats keep trying to eat them! I do need another bookcase so maybe some of the plants can go on top of it and I'll have a bit more room. I wish I could get the cats to ignore the plants but they are very silly.
Otherwise it's not been too crazy. My tomatoes live outside full time now that it's gotten warmer. I'm starting to harden off the basil too so that I'll be able to keep it outside all the time too. My carrots are coming up too! I thought they were a lost cause but it seems not. My catnip and chamomile are ready to get put into slightly larger containers. I wish I could get more plants all the time, but the cats keep trying to eat them! I do need another bookcase so maybe some of the plants can go on top of it and I'll have a bit more room. I wish I could get the cats to ignore the plants but they are very silly.
Friday, April 26, 2013
April
Well, I kind of dropped the ball here during the month of April and haven't kept up to date. It's been a pretty busy month so maybe I have an excuse. I was going to upload a bunch of photos of my newest plants but the photo uploader is being a butt so I don't know when I'll be able to do that. Not cool! Anyway, most of April has been pretty crazy. I finally have made progress in lab-significant progress. Finally I have results from all of the crap I've been struggling with for the past five months! I swear I could have kissed the spectrophotometer today when I got my data. Anyway, I'm starting to feel better because I'm not stuck. I grumble a lot about grad school, and there are general things I wish could change, but now at least I feel like I'm moving forward and making progress toward my degree. The timing of this is doubly good because I have to submit a poster next Friday for a big meeting on May 15-16. So now I feel great because I have new data to show.
My weekends have been equally busy for the past month! It's been a Tessa party pretty much. The first weekend I spent helping Tessa pick her wedding dress, which was pretty cool. I really like the one she chose. I was happy and a little surprised that I didn't feel super jealous, which is good. It means that I'm generally more chill about when the whole marriage thing will happen for me :) The next weekend was our last Des Moines Symphony for the season. It was Carmina Burana and it was really cool. They printed all of the translated lyrics in the program, and I was surprised to find that most of them are dirty songs about sex, drinking, or gambling! It was hilarious. And then the weekend after that was the Glow Run! We did it as a 5K walk, which was fine with me because I'm not in running shape right now. It was really cool because we all had glow in the dark stuff on and there were black lights set up along the route to make it even more glowy! So this weekend is my only April weekend where I'm at home the whole time. I'm okay with that. I'm just planning on getting flowers and potting them so that it's nice and springy around my house.
My weekends have been equally busy for the past month! It's been a Tessa party pretty much. The first weekend I spent helping Tessa pick her wedding dress, which was pretty cool. I really like the one she chose. I was happy and a little surprised that I didn't feel super jealous, which is good. It means that I'm generally more chill about when the whole marriage thing will happen for me :) The next weekend was our last Des Moines Symphony for the season. It was Carmina Burana and it was really cool. They printed all of the translated lyrics in the program, and I was surprised to find that most of them are dirty songs about sex, drinking, or gambling! It was hilarious. And then the weekend after that was the Glow Run! We did it as a 5K walk, which was fine with me because I'm not in running shape right now. It was really cool because we all had glow in the dark stuff on and there were black lights set up along the route to make it even more glowy! So this weekend is my only April weekend where I'm at home the whole time. I'm okay with that. I'm just planning on getting flowers and potting them so that it's nice and springy around my house.
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Third Week of March
I seem to be getting a little behind on my posts! Last week was a little different and weird so I'm still trying to remember what day of the week it is. The first three days were work days and my PI was home from sabbatical. He was in lab helping me and one of the postdocs with an assay we've been struggling with. I think everything is sorted now and it was helpful, but when he's working with you there's no sitting down! I didn't even have time for lunch those days, just enough time to run to the bathroom and shove a granola bar down my throat. I made the mistake of wearing cute shoes on Monday and my feet were in agony by the end of the day. At least it seems like everything is fixed and progress can be made on my project now. That's worth a bit of foot pain.
Then I took Thursday and Friday off. It was Spring Break anyway and I needed a couple of days off just to relax and get some chores done that I'd been putting off. I went to Holub Garden and Greenhouse in Ames and got a couple more plants! I got an orange Lithops and a Euphorbia obesa. I'll post pictures once I put them on my computer. I also up-potted my Rubber Tree because it was really root-bound and getting a little sad. My seedlings are still going and alive, which is good, and some of them are starting to get their leaves and grow a lot. Hopefully they'll make it and get to go outside in May.
Then I took Thursday and Friday off. It was Spring Break anyway and I needed a couple of days off just to relax and get some chores done that I'd been putting off. I went to Holub Garden and Greenhouse in Ames and got a couple more plants! I got an orange Lithops and a Euphorbia obesa. I'll post pictures once I put them on my computer. I also up-potted my Rubber Tree because it was really root-bound and getting a little sad. My seedlings are still going and alive, which is good, and some of them are starting to get their leaves and grow a lot. Hopefully they'll make it and get to go outside in May.
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Second Week of February
February is already halfway over, which seems strange. It feels like the time is going by very quickly. On the one hand, I'm glad for that because I'm looking forward to spring, but on the other hand I don't like the feeling of time flying by.
I've had a small success with one experiment at work, which makes me happy. On the other hand, the major experiment is still not working. My PI sent an email to two of the postdocs this week asking them to help me. I appreciate help, but I'd already talked to both of them about this experiment and him sending the email just kind of felt like he was going over my head. I'm trying not to be offended because I want to finish this stupid experiment and move on. Whatever. I think I could really use a week off just to stay at home and rest a little, get some chores done and feel relaxed. We might get another major snowstorm this week so maybe I'll get another snow day.
I ordered more houseplants! I'm still waiting on my first two, but the gardener contacted me and is waiting until he can safely ship them in the cold weather. He's in Massachusetts so it makes sense that he needed to wait since they had a load of snow. Anyway, I ordered some more plants via Amazon, they have some companies that sell through them. I ordered a Blush Pink Aloe, which has pink leaves in the summer. Then I got a pink Rubber Plant, and a Tillandsia. Tillandsia is an epiphyte which usually grows on tree branches, so it doesn't need soil. They're commonly called Air Plants. I'm looking forward to receiving them and expanding my houseplant collection. Once it's warm enough outside I'll start my patio garden. I really like plants and gardening so I'm getting going on this hobby. Maybe once I'm done with my graduate studies and have a home with a garden, I'll get my Master Gardener certification. I think it would be a cool thing to do and I do like learning.
Dan and I had a night in for Valentine's day so we didn't have to fight the crowds at restaurants. We had pizza and watched Godzilla vs. Megalon because Dan hadn't seen that one before. It was very funny and it was really good to spend the day with him. Our one year anniversary was on the 11th. Since we aren't at the mega-romantic stage yet we didn't do anything super special, but Dan did come over for a while and we enjoyed some time together. Today was his last day at Walmart and his new internship starts next week. I'm very excited for him.
I've played a lot of Harvest Moon this weekend. I think it's a way for me to escape a lot of stress because the premise is living such a simpler life. Sometimes I wish I could just walk away from the stress of graduate school and science and just become a farmer. I'm sure that has its own set of stresses but it seems like something I would enjoy.
I've had a small success with one experiment at work, which makes me happy. On the other hand, the major experiment is still not working. My PI sent an email to two of the postdocs this week asking them to help me. I appreciate help, but I'd already talked to both of them about this experiment and him sending the email just kind of felt like he was going over my head. I'm trying not to be offended because I want to finish this stupid experiment and move on. Whatever. I think I could really use a week off just to stay at home and rest a little, get some chores done and feel relaxed. We might get another major snowstorm this week so maybe I'll get another snow day.
I ordered more houseplants! I'm still waiting on my first two, but the gardener contacted me and is waiting until he can safely ship them in the cold weather. He's in Massachusetts so it makes sense that he needed to wait since they had a load of snow. Anyway, I ordered some more plants via Amazon, they have some companies that sell through them. I ordered a Blush Pink Aloe, which has pink leaves in the summer. Then I got a pink Rubber Plant, and a Tillandsia. Tillandsia is an epiphyte which usually grows on tree branches, so it doesn't need soil. They're commonly called Air Plants. I'm looking forward to receiving them and expanding my houseplant collection. Once it's warm enough outside I'll start my patio garden. I really like plants and gardening so I'm getting going on this hobby. Maybe once I'm done with my graduate studies and have a home with a garden, I'll get my Master Gardener certification. I think it would be a cool thing to do and I do like learning.
Dan and I had a night in for Valentine's day so we didn't have to fight the crowds at restaurants. We had pizza and watched Godzilla vs. Megalon because Dan hadn't seen that one before. It was very funny and it was really good to spend the day with him. Our one year anniversary was on the 11th. Since we aren't at the mega-romantic stage yet we didn't do anything super special, but Dan did come over for a while and we enjoyed some time together. Today was his last day at Walmart and his new internship starts next week. I'm very excited for him.
I've played a lot of Harvest Moon this weekend. I think it's a way for me to escape a lot of stress because the premise is living such a simpler life. Sometimes I wish I could just walk away from the stress of graduate school and science and just become a farmer. I'm sure that has its own set of stresses but it seems like something I would enjoy.
Saturday, February 9, 2013
First Week of February
It was a lot warmer this week, above freezing the whole time. The snow and ice are starting to melt! I hope it stays that way. I'm ready for spring. I'm getting a little stir-crazy having to be inside all the time. I want to go out and walk through the parks again, and I really want to start my patio garden. It's like I'm just trying to make it through every day until spring comes.
Since it's still too cold for me to start my patio garden, and I don't have the equipment to start seeds inside yet, I bought two more houseplants today. I ordered them from Pernell Gerver online. It's a store in Massachusetts and they look like they have a pretty big inventory. I ordered a Marble Queen Pothos in a 6" hanging basket and an Old Man Cactus. Pothos are supposed to be pretty easy to care for and the hanging hook in one of my rooms should be a great place for it. I got the Old Man Cactus because I haven't had a cactus in a while, and they're really cool-looking. They grow these big silver hairs and look like an old man's beard, hence the name. I'm looking forward to them arriving! I also moved my Hoya carnosa upstairs to my room. It suffered some damage last summer when I moved, but this week I noticed that it grew its first new leaf! So I moved it upstairs where there's more light every day and hopefully it'll start growing again like crazy. Hoya are pretty resilient so I'm optimistic.
Memo and Leo are going stir-crazy too. They've spent a lot of time at the doorwall watching birds and rabbits. They've been playing all kinds of weird kitty games and running through the house like crazy. It's pretty funny to watch.
I still haven't made a whole lot of progress on my problem at work. It's very frustrating. I've talked to my lab mates and they're pretty much as confused as I am. So I guess I just have to keep banging away at it and hopefully it works eventually. I'm waiting on some other stuff to come back from the DNA sequencing so hopefully that stuff is good and at least I could make progress on something. This is so frustrating because I have the deadline of wanting to graduate next year hanging over me and I get really worried about that.
As of next Monday, Dan and I will have been dating for a year! That seemed to go by really quickly. I'm glad he's in my life, he's really made it better. I don't know how we'll celebrate yet since Valentine's Day is the same week and of course it's his last week of working at Walmart so he's stuck with one more week of shift work. But I'm happy that we're together and I'm looking forward to the next year.
Since it's still too cold for me to start my patio garden, and I don't have the equipment to start seeds inside yet, I bought two more houseplants today. I ordered them from Pernell Gerver online. It's a store in Massachusetts and they look like they have a pretty big inventory. I ordered a Marble Queen Pothos in a 6" hanging basket and an Old Man Cactus. Pothos are supposed to be pretty easy to care for and the hanging hook in one of my rooms should be a great place for it. I got the Old Man Cactus because I haven't had a cactus in a while, and they're really cool-looking. They grow these big silver hairs and look like an old man's beard, hence the name. I'm looking forward to them arriving! I also moved my Hoya carnosa upstairs to my room. It suffered some damage last summer when I moved, but this week I noticed that it grew its first new leaf! So I moved it upstairs where there's more light every day and hopefully it'll start growing again like crazy. Hoya are pretty resilient so I'm optimistic.
Memo and Leo are going stir-crazy too. They've spent a lot of time at the doorwall watching birds and rabbits. They've been playing all kinds of weird kitty games and running through the house like crazy. It's pretty funny to watch.
I still haven't made a whole lot of progress on my problem at work. It's very frustrating. I've talked to my lab mates and they're pretty much as confused as I am. So I guess I just have to keep banging away at it and hopefully it works eventually. I'm waiting on some other stuff to come back from the DNA sequencing so hopefully that stuff is good and at least I could make progress on something. This is so frustrating because I have the deadline of wanting to graduate next year hanging over me and I get really worried about that.
As of next Monday, Dan and I will have been dating for a year! That seemed to go by really quickly. I'm glad he's in my life, he's really made it better. I don't know how we'll celebrate yet since Valentine's Day is the same week and of course it's his last week of working at Walmart so he's stuck with one more week of shift work. But I'm happy that we're together and I'm looking forward to the next year.
Sunday, January 27, 2013
January Week 4
Another week is gone. I can't believe that there's only one more week left in January. The time is already flying by. This week was kind of frustrating at work because I'm still troubleshooting this one assay and it's just not working. I wish I could just be done with it but it has to get done. Hopefully this crap doesn't take too much longer. On a brighter note, Dan got an internship! It's paid and everything, and it sounds like it will be a really great opportunity for him. I'm thrilled and relieved because he needs it to graduate and I know he was nervous about finding one.
In other news, I tripped on the stairs while carrying laundry (good job, me) and thought I had pulled my left quad. Now I'm not sure it was the muscle at all, because the pain became that lovely tell-tale ache that means I messed up a ligament in my left knee. It's probably just a strain of some kind because taking acetaminophen and bracing it when it really hurts does seem to be helping. But if it's not feeling better by my next doctor's appointment in February I'll mention it and see what can be done. I hate having stupid joints.
It's been really cold this week, just ridiculously cold. Today it's warmer but there was freezing rain this morning so everything is coated in ice. Luckily it should melt because it's going to be above freezing for the next couple of days. Then it's going to get really cold again, of course. I wish the weather would decide because the constant up and down in temperature is just hell on my sinuses.
In other news, I tripped on the stairs while carrying laundry (good job, me) and thought I had pulled my left quad. Now I'm not sure it was the muscle at all, because the pain became that lovely tell-tale ache that means I messed up a ligament in my left knee. It's probably just a strain of some kind because taking acetaminophen and bracing it when it really hurts does seem to be helping. But if it's not feeling better by my next doctor's appointment in February I'll mention it and see what can be done. I hate having stupid joints.
It's been really cold this week, just ridiculously cold. Today it's warmer but there was freezing rain this morning so everything is coated in ice. Luckily it should melt because it's going to be above freezing for the next couple of days. Then it's going to get really cold again, of course. I wish the weather would decide because the constant up and down in temperature is just hell on my sinuses.
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Week 3 of January
I made it through another week! Actually, this week was alright, although it felt like it went very slowly. I may have gotten an actual result at work, so there might be some progress instead of just beating my head against the wall. That's how biology tends to be, lots of crap and then suddenly results. So having a result is a relief. Tomorrow is MLK day and it's a university holiday so I have it off, and that's nice because it's good to have a holiday.
It was so warm and nice yesterday, and today we have a couple of inches of snow. I forced myself to drive to Hyvee to prove that I can drive in the snow. I was very anxious about it since during the last snow storm I got stuck twice and had to call the cops once for help. There were some slippery spots but I managed to get there and back. I'm glad I did it but I'm relieved that I can stay home for the rest of the day. I ordered some pizza and the cats are all curled up with me.
I haven't done a whole lot else. I played a lot of Harvest Moon this week. I wish running a farm and having a life was as easy as Harvest Moon sometimes, because I'm really good at that lol. Usually I spend my evenings watching TV and playing video games. It's a good way for me to unwind after a long day. Yesterday I did build a couple media towers for my games and DVDs. They're kind of small, not so towering, but they work, and they were only 20 bucks. If I can get another one soonish I will so I have room to grow.
In health news, I've lost a pound since I went to the doctor. I'm using my fitbit to track my steps and caloric burn. I set the food tracker to tell me how many calories I can eat based on losing 1/2 pound a week (it's a 250 calorie net loss a day). So far that's worked. It's been two weeks and 1 pound gone. Hopefully it keeps going! I'm trying to increase my protein intake too, since I eat a lot of carbs right now. My doctor wants me to lose 4 pounds by the time I see her in the middle of February. I should be able to get close to that as long as I keep following the calorie count.
It was so warm and nice yesterday, and today we have a couple of inches of snow. I forced myself to drive to Hyvee to prove that I can drive in the snow. I was very anxious about it since during the last snow storm I got stuck twice and had to call the cops once for help. There were some slippery spots but I managed to get there and back. I'm glad I did it but I'm relieved that I can stay home for the rest of the day. I ordered some pizza and the cats are all curled up with me.
I haven't done a whole lot else. I played a lot of Harvest Moon this week. I wish running a farm and having a life was as easy as Harvest Moon sometimes, because I'm really good at that lol. Usually I spend my evenings watching TV and playing video games. It's a good way for me to unwind after a long day. Yesterday I did build a couple media towers for my games and DVDs. They're kind of small, not so towering, but they work, and they were only 20 bucks. If I can get another one soonish I will so I have room to grow.
In health news, I've lost a pound since I went to the doctor. I'm using my fitbit to track my steps and caloric burn. I set the food tracker to tell me how many calories I can eat based on losing 1/2 pound a week (it's a 250 calorie net loss a day). So far that's worked. It's been two weeks and 1 pound gone. Hopefully it keeps going! I'm trying to increase my protein intake too, since I eat a lot of carbs right now. My doctor wants me to lose 4 pounds by the time I see her in the middle of February. I should be able to get close to that as long as I keep following the calorie count.
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Second week of January
Sorry about the lame post titles, but I'm not feeling particularly creative and I hate leaving something untitled. Anyway, this week was about the same as last week except that I was at work all week. I still haven't gotten any good results from either of my projects and it's getting frustrating, but there are a few things my PI suggested that I'm working on. Hopefully I get some data soon, because it's really obnoxious to have nothing work. It definitely makes it harder to be motivated to want to do anything.
I still haven't unpacked everything from my vacation, although it's mostly done. Oops. I guess I need to make that a priority for the upcoming week. I also want to buy another bookcase-I'll probably do it tomorrow-and put all my DVDs and games there since they are overflowing the two tiny ones I have in my living room right now. The two little ones will go upstairs and become Lego display cases. I've put all my Christmas Lego together and my Black Pearl one, and I want to get a bunch of them rebuilt. I just have to have somewhere to display them where the cats won't knock them over or steal pieces from them! I really enjoy building Lego; it's very zen and calming for some reason. Plus I have a bunch of Harry Potter ones that I want to put back together.
Other than that, I've been playing lots of Harvest Moon: A New Beginning. Harvest Moon is one of my favorite game franchises. I've almost beaten the newest Paper Mario game too, but Bowser kicked my ass the last time I tried to beat him so I'll have to change my strategy.
I actually caught the cats cuddling last night! They stopped as soon as I noticed them, but it actually happened. I knew they were friends but just didn't want to admit it. Right now they're sleeping on the bed, not touching, but almost!
I still haven't unpacked everything from my vacation, although it's mostly done. Oops. I guess I need to make that a priority for the upcoming week. I also want to buy another bookcase-I'll probably do it tomorrow-and put all my DVDs and games there since they are overflowing the two tiny ones I have in my living room right now. The two little ones will go upstairs and become Lego display cases. I've put all my Christmas Lego together and my Black Pearl one, and I want to get a bunch of them rebuilt. I just have to have somewhere to display them where the cats won't knock them over or steal pieces from them! I really enjoy building Lego; it's very zen and calming for some reason. Plus I have a bunch of Harry Potter ones that I want to put back together.
Other than that, I've been playing lots of Harvest Moon: A New Beginning. Harvest Moon is one of my favorite game franchises. I've almost beaten the newest Paper Mario game too, but Bowser kicked my ass the last time I tried to beat him so I'll have to change my strategy.
I actually caught the cats cuddling last night! They stopped as soon as I noticed them, but it actually happened. I knew they were friends but just didn't want to admit it. Right now they're sleeping on the bed, not touching, but almost!
Sunday, January 6, 2013
First Week of 2013
The first week of 2013 is over. It was a pretty good week for me. I didn't go back to work until Thursday, so the first part of the week I spent relaxing and getting a few things done around the house. Then I spent two days at work where not a whole lot got done. I had to plate bacteria and then you just have to wait for them to grow, so there's not a lot to do except sit around. This week I'll have more to do so that will be better. I don't like being so busy that I'm overwhelmed, but I don't like sitting around doing nothing either.
Besides that, I weather stripped my patio door on Saturday. It was really drafty, so much so that I could feel cold air blowing in all the time and it was getting hard for the heater to keep it warm downstairs. I used the self-adhesive foam stripping because it's cheap and easy, and I'm renting so I'm not putting more money into this place than I absolutely need to. I can already tell that it's working so that was 4 bucks well spent. I also bought thermal blackout curtains for the patio door and those seem to be helpful too. Plus it makes me feel less weird about people maybe seeing inside the house. Then today I woke up and went to the gym and I feel all good. I used the elliptical because I slept weirdly on my ankle and it hurts, so I didn't want to do anything high impact. My ankle still hurts and it's annoying. Now I get to relax for the rest of the day!
Besides that, I weather stripped my patio door on Saturday. It was really drafty, so much so that I could feel cold air blowing in all the time and it was getting hard for the heater to keep it warm downstairs. I used the self-adhesive foam stripping because it's cheap and easy, and I'm renting so I'm not putting more money into this place than I absolutely need to. I can already tell that it's working so that was 4 bucks well spent. I also bought thermal blackout curtains for the patio door and those seem to be helpful too. Plus it makes me feel less weird about people maybe seeing inside the house. Then today I woke up and went to the gym and I feel all good. I used the elliptical because I slept weirdly on my ankle and it hurts, so I didn't want to do anything high impact. My ankle still hurts and it's annoying. Now I get to relax for the rest of the day!
Monday, November 19, 2012
Fall is slipping away!
Wow, Thanksgiving is this week. That happened really fast. I feel like I've been saying that a lot, but it really does seem like this year has gone by incredibly quickly. My parents warned me that this is what happens when you get old, so maybe I'm officially old now :)
Not a whole lot has been going on. I've just been doing the work and school thing. It's been going alright. I'm not in love with going to work and class every day, but I don't feel depressed or miserable, so that's good. It's hard to stay motivated in graduate school though. I still have almost two years to go and already I really want to be done. I don't think that's an uncommon feeling though, and as long as I keep going I'll be fine.
I just found this awesome program today to help me keep my life organized and on track. It's called LifeRPG and it's pretty cool! Basically you can make a list of all your things you need to do, daily or bigger projects, and as you complete them you get experience points and level up. It's a video game based way to organize your life. I hope it will help me out especially in terms of making myself go to the gym regularly and not overeat. It's so hard to stay on track with those things and any motivation I can get will help. Plus it's free and that's cheaper than a hardcore organizing system, although those look pretty cool.
I'm not going home for Thanksgiving this year, mostly because I only get two days off and that's not enough time to go to Detroit and back. It sucks because this will be my first Thanksgiving alone. Even in 2008 when I was in DC I had Thanksgiving with my ex and his roommates so I wasn't by myself. This will be the first time and it will be hard. I know I should be grateful that I have the day off, my boyfriend doesn't, but it will be hard to be alone. On Saturday my brother and I are going to meet up since he lives in Madison and that's not super far away, but it will be weird to just be by myself on Thursday.
Not a whole lot has been going on. I've just been doing the work and school thing. It's been going alright. I'm not in love with going to work and class every day, but I don't feel depressed or miserable, so that's good. It's hard to stay motivated in graduate school though. I still have almost two years to go and already I really want to be done. I don't think that's an uncommon feeling though, and as long as I keep going I'll be fine.
I just found this awesome program today to help me keep my life organized and on track. It's called LifeRPG and it's pretty cool! Basically you can make a list of all your things you need to do, daily or bigger projects, and as you complete them you get experience points and level up. It's a video game based way to organize your life. I hope it will help me out especially in terms of making myself go to the gym regularly and not overeat. It's so hard to stay on track with those things and any motivation I can get will help. Plus it's free and that's cheaper than a hardcore organizing system, although those look pretty cool.
I'm not going home for Thanksgiving this year, mostly because I only get two days off and that's not enough time to go to Detroit and back. It sucks because this will be my first Thanksgiving alone. Even in 2008 when I was in DC I had Thanksgiving with my ex and his roommates so I wasn't by myself. This will be the first time and it will be hard. I know I should be grateful that I have the day off, my boyfriend doesn't, but it will be hard to be alone. On Saturday my brother and I are going to meet up since he lives in Madison and that's not super far away, but it will be weird to just be by myself on Thursday.
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Bits n' Bobs
There isn't a whole lot of news since I last wrote. Leo has assimilated well into the family. He and Memo are getting along well. I haven't caught them snuggling yet, but they will sit next to each other and watch 'cat TV' out the window. They like to tussle with each other but it's friendly and pretty cute actually. I'm really glad I brought Leo home. He and Memo make my house all happy and fluffy.
Work is going. I'm feeling ambivalent about school again. I really want to get my degree and then start working again. I think I'm just wanting to move on with my life and being in school makes me feel stuck, like I have to wait to do things like make money, buy a house, and all that. I'm sure I'll feel better in a little while, but right now I definitely wish that a genie would show up, hand me my degree, and leave. Too bad that thesis genies don't exist!
My running has been slow. A couple weeks ago I wore nice shoes to work and had the nastiest blisters. Then it got hot. But today I went out for a run and I feel really good. I'm still fat and I still can't run more than half a mile without stopping, but I feel good and I'm going to use that feeling to keep going. I'm hoping in a couple weeks I'll be able to make the whole mile without slowing down to a walk. I don't care about how slowly I run right now, it's all about being able to do it at all.
In other news, I just ordered some Lithops plants. They are really cool succulents and I'm hoping that I can get them to grow inside. I really like plants! I need to go to Lowe's and get a bunch of pots and herb seeds or plants so I can start an herb garden too. I might wait until spring to do that so I can grow them outside, so for now I'm getting more houseplants. Houseplants are freaking awesome. If anyone has suggestions on what plants would be good to grow, tell me!
Work is going. I'm feeling ambivalent about school again. I really want to get my degree and then start working again. I think I'm just wanting to move on with my life and being in school makes me feel stuck, like I have to wait to do things like make money, buy a house, and all that. I'm sure I'll feel better in a little while, but right now I definitely wish that a genie would show up, hand me my degree, and leave. Too bad that thesis genies don't exist!
My running has been slow. A couple weeks ago I wore nice shoes to work and had the nastiest blisters. Then it got hot. But today I went out for a run and I feel really good. I'm still fat and I still can't run more than half a mile without stopping, but I feel good and I'm going to use that feeling to keep going. I'm hoping in a couple weeks I'll be able to make the whole mile without slowing down to a walk. I don't care about how slowly I run right now, it's all about being able to do it at all.
In other news, I just ordered some Lithops plants. They are really cool succulents and I'm hoping that I can get them to grow inside. I really like plants! I need to go to Lowe's and get a bunch of pots and herb seeds or plants so I can start an herb garden too. I might wait until spring to do that so I can grow them outside, so for now I'm getting more houseplants. Houseplants are freaking awesome. If anyone has suggestions on what plants would be good to grow, tell me!
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Summer?!
It's June already. That happened really fast. I feel like May just went so quickly. Everything is going well, and maybe it's good that the year feels like it's moving quickly. I just wish that the weekends felt like they were going more slowly, because it never feels like I've had quite enough time to recharge before it's time to go back to work. I'm doing alright, functioning and everything, but it just feels like I could use another day to sleep in, get things done, relax, etc.
I'm moving in a couple of months and I need to buy moving boxes. It takes me forever to pack so I have to start now or I won't get done in time. I'm so slow about it so if I can get my books all packed and my winter clothes and all that by a week or so before I have to move, then it won't be so hard to finish everything up. I have a million books so they will take forever to pack.
Other than that, I'm just working, trying to keep up with my chores and eat right, and trying to stay relaxed and okay. Hopefully it continues. In a couple more weeks I have to officially get into the lab, so I'm trying not to worry about it. Everything is going well so I think it won't be an issue, but I worry about stuff like that all the time, whether it makes any sense to worry about it or not.
I'm moving in a couple of months and I need to buy moving boxes. It takes me forever to pack so I have to start now or I won't get done in time. I'm so slow about it so if I can get my books all packed and my winter clothes and all that by a week or so before I have to move, then it won't be so hard to finish everything up. I have a million books so they will take forever to pack.
Other than that, I'm just working, trying to keep up with my chores and eat right, and trying to stay relaxed and okay. Hopefully it continues. In a couple more weeks I have to officially get into the lab, so I'm trying not to worry about it. Everything is going well so I think it won't be an issue, but I worry about stuff like that all the time, whether it makes any sense to worry about it or not.
Monday, May 7, 2012
I told myself so
So just as I totally predicted, I feel about a million times better after spending my first day in Dr. Bobik's lab. I can't be too specific about what I'm doing on the internet because people would definitely try to scoop us all over the place, but I can say that I'm engineering E. coli to produce industrially relevant chemicals to replace petroleum derived products. And that's about all I can say about the research. However, I can say that the people in the lab are pretty awesome. It's currently pretty small because several people recently graduated and got postdocs, but that is fine with me. The two guys I'm working with are both pretty chill and have that sarcastic kind of humor that I do, so already I feel comfortable around them. One of them had no experience in this kind of stuff before he started working there as well, so I don't feel totally in over my head. Dr. Bobik is in the lab actually working on experiments pretty often as well, so it's neat to see my PI more than once a week in a lab meeting. It's a nice lab too, with plenty of room and windows (oh god the windows are the best) and we don't have to share too many instruments. It probably sounds bad, but I hate having to share all my lab equipment with random people so if I'm in a lab that has all its own stuff that makes me happy. Anyway, I feel a lot better now and I think everything is going to be alright.
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Argh anxiety
I am already so nervous about starting to work in Bobik's lab. I am afraid that no one will like me, that I won't get accepted to the lab, that I'll get thrown out of the program and I at least want to get this stupid MS so I can say I have an advanced degree and get the hell out of academia. I know this is the anxiety disorder talking, but I am so antsy right now. I've already packed my bag, made a lunch, checked the map of the Molecular Biology building so I know where Bobik's office is and where the bathrooms are, and now I'm just drinking tea and trying to relax so I can sleep. I will definitely need to make coffee in the morning because I have no idea how well I'll sleep tonight. I'll feel so much better after this first day but right now I am freaking out.
In other non-related stuff, it stormed and the internet went out for about an hour. That was the first time it actually went down and I couldn't fix it by turning the modem on and off. It was out for about an hour and then came back on. Annoying, but whatever. When I called the provider, the lady on the phone said that all of their lines in Ames were down. The weird thing was that the storm lasted about ten minutes and that was it. It was silly.
And now I'm watching an interview on MSNBC of Jeffrey Dahmer's parents. Why? I have no idea. I like that kind of true crime and psychological stuff. Maybe I should have gone into criminal justice and been a forensic evidence technician person. Maybe I'll do that if I can't get my microbiology MS. It will totally be fine and I'll grind through this MS, but just in case, I'm already looking at various and sundry options.
In other non-related stuff, it stormed and the internet went out for about an hour. That was the first time it actually went down and I couldn't fix it by turning the modem on and off. It was out for about an hour and then came back on. Annoying, but whatever. When I called the provider, the lady on the phone said that all of their lines in Ames were down. The weird thing was that the storm lasted about ten minutes and that was it. It was silly.
And now I'm watching an interview on MSNBC of Jeffrey Dahmer's parents. Why? I have no idea. I like that kind of true crime and psychological stuff. Maybe I should have gone into criminal justice and been a forensic evidence technician person. Maybe I'll do that if I can't get my microbiology MS. It will totally be fine and I'll grind through this MS, but just in case, I'm already looking at various and sundry options.
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