Day One Hundred Eighty Three

I slept in this morning. And it was glorious. I only get one day like this during the school week, and I always make sure to take full advantage of it.

I got to school around noon, then proceeded to help hang a new white board in lab, which was way more of an endeavor then any of us anticipated. And may I just point out that the 4 women in the lab hung the board, with no offer of help from the 4 men in lab. Then all the guys talked about how we hung the board too low. Not cool, guys. You will live with this board height, and you will LIKE it.

After that fiasco, I had some time to kill before group meeting and decided to walk to CVS with a friend to pick up skittles for the big game on Sunday (Seahawks fans know the significance of this). We saw the new Butterfinger Cups while we were there, and decided to give them a try. This was a mistake. Butterfingers are delicious. Butterfinger Cups...not delicious. Cue a bad taste in our mouths and slightly uneasy stomachs. I'm warning you all now. Do not fall victim to this unfortunate Butterfinger mutant.

UT vs Kansas basketball game tomorrow. It's sold out, and its going to be madness. I can't wait!

Day One Hundred Eighty Two

Today was a looooong day. It was good, it just felt like it was never going to end. It had a little bit of everything with classes, office hours, quiz TAing, and the ever present traffic. Now it's time to go to bed, I need to rest up for my weekend of Seahawks fanaticism.

Day One Hundred Eighty One

Much to the relief of UT's administration, there was no ice delay today (even though temperatures went below freezing again last night). Which means I had to actually get out of bed when my alarm went off. I guess this cold weather couldn't spoil me forever.

Today my Wednesday lab went through their first full experiment. I was amazed it went so smoothly...until 20 minutes before lab ended and I heard a crash behind me followed by the question, "Um...how much does a pestle cost?" Seriously? My streak of broken glassware continues. Other then that minor incident everything went really well though, which was a relief. The first experiment is always pretty telling of how the semester will go. Wednesday lab students, you may not be the disaster I always fear getting when I begin teaching a new lab group.

I started practicing cutting capillaries in my own research lab today. I get to use a lathe, which makes me feel very handy, even though it's tiny and not overly powerful. But hey, a lathe is a lathe. I learned that I'm actually kind of awesome at making a clean cut on a capillary. SWEET. This will definitely come in handy with future research. I'll keep you all apprised. Then a couple of my lab mates and I went to a poster session that another lab mate was presenting at. None of us realized that this was also a career fair, and we busted in their with our jeans and sweatshirts on while everyone else was in suits and fancy attire. Um...oops. Sorry Maryam, hope we didn't embarrass you! They had free food though, so the looks of disdain from the employers present was totally worth it. It was the weirdest gathering of food I have ever seen though. My plate consisted of a chicken strip, chips and salsa, and a cookie. Other options included fried artichoke hearts, sushi, and mini sub sandwiches. Because obviously those all go together.

I got stuck in horrendous traffic driving home. But I had this view all the way home, so it was actually kind of pleasant.

Austin sunset, courtesy of the traffic on Mopac Expressway.

Day One Hundred Eighty

We had another ice day off from school today. Some people are calling it a snow day. I take issue with that when there isn't actually any snow present. I made a list of things to do in the event I had the day off again, and surprisingly I got most of it done. The most important of which was to finally hang up my diplomas and artwork around my room to finally make it feel complete. It went without a hitch, until I wiped out hard trying to get down from standing on my bed. I can only imagine that I scared the bejeezus out of the people in the apartment below me. Sorry, whoever you are.

Tomorrow is lab day! My students have their first official lab exercise, so I get to see just how disastrous this semester may be. Wish us all luck.

Day One Hundred Seventy Nine

As expected, no one showed up for office hours today. So I got to spend an hour sitting all by myself in the 4th floor hallway. Super.

I met my second lab today, and while they didn't look thrilled to be there, I think they'll be a good group. I did have to make two of them wear giant rubber boots though for wearing the wrong kind of shoes for a chemistry lab. I felt slightly bad about that, but I have a feeling they won't ever forget to wear the right shoes again.

Last note - I finished reading the packet about the Laser in my research lab! I didn't even fall asleep on it! Biggest success of the day. Oh, and it might snow again tonight. Another snow/ice day tomorrow? A girl can dream.

Day One Hundred Seventy Eight

All I want is to see if Sara Bareilles wins the Grammy for Album of the Year. That's all I want. Why won't the Grammy's just announce the winner and let me go to bed?! Right now Miranda Lambert and Billie Joe Armstrong are singing a duet...it's a weird pairing. Billie Joe, I love your music, but you don't exactly mesh with country. I give you props for trying.

I don't want to go back to real life tomorrow. It was an unexpected three day weekend, and it still ended too fast. I vacuumed and cleaned my bathroom today. It was pretty exhilarating. And I read an article about lasers. Well, I read some of it, then decided it was time to stop when I was falling asleep on top of my desk. I love chemistry, I really do, but sometimes reading about it feels equivalent to a tranquilizer. 

I have my first office hours of the semester tomorrow. We haven't done any labs yet, so I foresee myself sitting alone in the hallway for an hour. Maybe I can finish that laser article? Hope springs eternal.

Day One Hundred Seventy Seven

In a stark contrast to yesterday, today was sunny and in the upper 60s. It was weird.

Today was, for the most part, a lazy Saturday complete with reading and a nap. Until I decided to stop being such a lazy bum and went to the gym. I figured now that my calves have healed from the 8 million trips up and down the apartment stairs, it was time to hit the elliptical again. Twenty minutes later, my legs were like noodles and it felt great. Tomorrow's exercise will likely be vacuuming. Just living the dream.

Day One Hundred Seventy Six

It snowed 1/8th of an inch last night. The entire city (including UT) shut down, and local businesses were calling it 'Snowpocalypase.' It's been a long time since I've laughed this hard...but any unexpected day off from school/work is always welcome.
All I did today was read and watch netflix with the roomie. It was pretty great, especially once our heater got fixed. Tomorrow is supposed to be mid-60s and sunny, because weather in Texas makes no logical sense.

Day One Hundred Seventy Five

Rough day. And there was freezing rain tonight, which means the already horrible Texan drivers have completely lost their minds.

Day One Hundred Seventy Four

First day of TAing today! I met my first of two labs this morning, and they didn't injure themselves while categorizing everything in their lab drawers (an improvement over the same procedure completed a couple months ago with my lab last semester) and seemed pretty comfortable already with asking me questions and my opinion on things, so things look promising. We'll see how it all goes when they actually have to do something scientific. That's when the truth comes out.

Then I worked on some things for lab as well as my first homework assignment of the semester before heading out to meet my grandparents. I took a new way home, and ended up passing a bar with a reader board that said "Go Seahawks" as well as driving behind someone with a WSU Washington license plate. It made me nostalgic and a little homesick. But also happy that I'm not the only Washington-native-Seahawk-fan here in Texas

I ended the day with tacos, an episode of Grimm, and a phone call with my mom. It was a pretty great ending to a fairly relaxing day.

Good night.

Day One Hundred Seventy Three

Another day of successfully not falling asleep during classes. YEAH! Other then that, I didn't do a whole lot. I did book an airline ticket back home for late February, which I'm super excited about. With my parents moving over summer, I have to spend as much time as I can in Washington before splitting my vacation time between the west (best) coast and east coast.

Best part of today - watching my research advisor (a brilliant scientist) try and comprehend the conversation that three of us females in his lab were having about the best kinds of mascara. It was hilarious.

Day One Hundred Seventy Two

Running up and down the stairs all last night bringing boxes into the apartment has resulted in severely sore legs. It hurts to move them. I started walking down the stairs to get to my car and my calves practically seized. My adrenaline was peaked last night after the Seahawks game, I couldn't help my frenzied state.

As promised, here are some photos from the Grand Prix swim competition yesterday. 

Caitlin Leverenz is one of the many Olympic medalists
we saw swim.

A lot of seriously impressive swimmers have competed in this pool.

Today was much more low key then yesterday. No Olympic athlete sightings, no crazy Seahawks game. I got our internet fixed, finished unpacking all of my things (whew!), and ran errands for the new apartment. I am now the proud owner of my very own Sunbeam iron (thank you Costco). And I have enough hangers for my room. And 3M hooks to hang things. And food. Probably the most exciting thing at Costco was learning that they sell Honeycrisp apples. Um, WHAT?! Why did I not know this before! I bought a box. Best. Apples. Ever.

Time for bed. Can we somehow figure out a way to take every Monday off? That would be super.

Day One Hundred Seventy One

I took a late nap today, and decided that tonight I would tire myself out lugging all my stuff from the garage up to my room. It worked, I'm completely exhausted. And my bookshelves are filled again, which makes my new room start to feel like home.

I watched Olympic swimmers today. I'll post photos tomorrow. And I watched the Seahawks win the NFC championship over the 49ers. Super Bowl here we cooooome!

Day One Hundred Seventy

Another exhausting day of moving. Thank goodness for hired movers, help from my Aunt Denise (thank you for driving in to Austin for me!), help from the Herzog family, and help from Bob Avant. You are all wonderful.

We finally have internet, which means I can start posting photos again soon. But now, I must sleep in my actual bed (not an air mattress!) and rest up for the Seahawks game tomorrow.  :)

Day One Hundred Sixty Nine

Guess what? Tomorrow night I get to sleep in my own bed, not an air mattress in the middle of the living room floor. As much fun as it has been camping out in the living room with the roommate, I'm pretty excited to sleep on something that doesn't deflate as the night progresses. Tomorrow all our big furniture is getting moved into the apartment, so it'll be crazy hectic for a couple hours...but then the new place will finally feel like home. Yay!

Today was a looooong day at school. I didn't have any classes, but had to be at lab by 10 for some more laser introduction. That was cool, but it was over at 11:30, giving me 4 hours of down time until group meeting. So I...read some science-y things, watched an episode of CSI, went to U-Haul in search of furniture pads (they didn't have any...seriously U-Haul?!), hung out with lab mates, and stared out the window. Then group meeting.

A big thank you goes out to the Herzogs for a delicious dinner and help transporting the sofa to our garage. You both are wonderful.

Day One Hundred Sixty Eight

I got up at 630 this morning. And got to campus by 8. I literally watched the sun rise as I sat in traffic, and it was so beautiful (the sunrise, not the traffic). Still not enough to make me get up that early every day, but it made getting up so early a little more bearable.

Classes again today. I managed to stay awake during both of them, though it got a little close during my second class. Those post-lunch classes get me every time. Between classes I got an introduction to the big fancy laser in the research lab I joined. The thing is so powerful it'll burn your hand if you touch it and blind you if it (or its reflection) hits your eye. The guy telling me about it told me I wouldn't be touching any part of the laser myself until I got further along in school...I told him that was more than fine with me. Next laser session is tomorrow.

My roommate and I are loving this new apartment. I surprised the maintenance man when I got home today (or he surprised me...maybe a little bit of both), he was fixing my toilet. I took him cold water. I think we're best friends now.

Waking up early = going to bed early. I should have gotten into this routine months ago. Better late then never.

Day One Hundred Sixty Seven

Moving. Is. Exhausting.

Day One Hundred Sixty Six

First day of actual classes today! They both went well and look like they're going to be interesting (thank goodness). And I actually have friends in both classes, which was a welcome surprise. The professor for the first class was extremely bouncy in his Hawaiian shirt and cargo shorts, but he was fun to listen to, which is a necessity for a morning class. The professor for my second class was also funny, but had a tendency to go off on tangents that while scientifically interesting, were just completely random. I see a good semester ahead of me.

It was quite literally a perfect day outside. It was around 70 with clear skies and a slight breeze. All I wanted to do was sit outside and bask in it...if only I didn't have classes and meetings all day. I had to settle for gazing longingly out the window. It's supposed to be similar weather all week though. I'm pretty excited about this. Finally Texas, you give me weather I can deal with! Can we keep it this way? Please?

On the shuttle ride back to my car, I saw a billboard with the words "Thank You" along with a giant photo of Mack Brown. It made me smile. Texans are nothing if not loyal. Just like us Seahawks fans. I cannot wait for the playoff game on Sunday. I already have my Russell Wilson jersey hanging up in my closet and ready to wear.

Day One Hundred Sixty Five

First day of spring semester! I didn't actually have any classes today, so my first day of the semester was pretty uneventful. I read some scientific articles, ate lunch, then went to get introduced to the class that I'll be TAing labs for. The best part of that was the professor looking at all the students and saying "if you're stupid, you won't pass this class." Dr. Holcombe, I've missed remarks like these...I'm so glad I'm TAing your class. Judging by the (un)enthusiastic looks on all the undergrads faces...labs may be interesting. Watch out guys, I'm not a newbie at TAing anymore...I will pounce if you don't have those lab goggles on!

After all of that excitement, I came home and packed some more. And watched some more Breaking Bad. And then packed again.

Tomorrow is my first day of actual classes. Wish me luck!

Day One Hundred Sixty Four

I packed today. A lot. For those unaware, I'm moving to a new place in a few days, and let me just say...I forgot how exhausting packing is. Honestly. I wish I had super human strength and could just carry my bookshelf to my new apartment instead of having to empty it and then refill it once we get there. Same with the dresser. And the desk. And anything I have that holds something else. Who knew DVDs could get so heavy when packed en masse?

Other than packing, I went to church, had lunch with my grandparents, and watched lots of Breaking Bad with my roommate. Oh, and was saddened that the 49ers won their playoff game. Colin Kaepernick, will you ever just leave my Seahawks alone?! Next weekends game is going to be completely nuts.

Tomorrow is the first day of the spring semester. Woohoo! You know what's even better? I don't even have a class that day! Well, in a couple weeks I'll start teaching a Monday lab, but as of now nothing is happening except being introduced to the lecture class that I'll be TAing labs for. And hanging out in my research lab following older PhD students around so I can try and learn from what they're doing. Good times. New semester, fresh start, I'm ready to dominate.

Day One Hundred Sixty Three

I took a late nap today. That probably wasn't my wisest decision. I didn't leave the house today, which means I got restless and cleaned. Mom, I know you're probably smiling and slightly proud over the last part of that sentence. I did have a three hour chunk where I was glued to my TV watching the Seahawks beat the Saints. Yaaay! It was a little hard to watch though, because I do love Drew Brees and his team. But not nearly as much as I love those Seahawks. And during the 3rd quarter, it was revealed that there's a hermit crab at the Seattle Aquarium named Marshawn Pinch (in reference to the beast Seahawk himself Marshawn Lynch). Here's a photo. I've never been so happy to see a hermit crab.

Photo from CBSSports

Day One Hundred Sixty Two

I stayed up too late. And did nothing of interest today. Woke up, went to school, went to the grocery store, then came home and wasted time like any good graduate student on a Friday evening. Now, time to rest up for the Seahawks game tomorrow!

Day One Hundred Sixty One

I had a really good day today. Thank you Shear Lab, for being full of awesome people. Thank you Avants, for being my adoptive Austin parents and taking me to dinner. Thank you mom and dad, for always listening to my rambling phone calls. And lastly, thank you Target, for your truly impressive selection of shower curtains.

Day One Hundred Sixty

I knew it would happen. I knew it. I went to the UT Co-Op today, and they already have Texas Strong shirts out for the new football coach. I didn't buy one...I'm waiting for one that says Stronghorns. I think that's much catchier. I wonder what he thinks of these...if he didn't know how obsessed fans are with UT Football, he'll know now considering people may be sporting UT shirts directly referencing him. That would be so weird.

I spent most of the day at my desk in the lab. I observed a couple grad students do their research and did a little bit of my own literature research. When I started falling asleep on my laptop I figured it was time to call it a day. Just in time for afternoon traffic. Perfect. Thankfully I've finally figured out how to navigate the traffic on the highway and know which lanes move the fastest. I feel so savvy.

Tomorrow I find out which two lab sections I'll be teaching this semester. Two of them! I'll be grading lab reports every waking moment. Good thing I like TAing, or it would just be horrible. Hopefully I get as good of students this semester as I had in the fall. Please UT...don't give me the lab full of trouble makers.

Day One Hundred Fifty Nine

I survived my first official group meeting presentation today. It feels so good to have it behind me. It went pretty well...there were quite a few questions that I had no idea how to answer, but I figured that would happen, so at least I was somewhat prepared for my lack of knowledge. It felt great to be back on campus, it's amazing how much more settled I feel now that I have one semester of grad school behind me. Things don't seem quite so unknown anymore. Now I just have to mentally prepare myself for the upcoming semester and the return of classes, TAing, and research.

For dinner I went to a place called TNT in downtown Austin with my roommate and some of her friends. When I googled the restaurant earlier today I learned that TNT stood for Tacos and Tequila, so imagine my surprise when we got to the restaurant and it was actually extremely nice and modern. Definitely not what I was expecting from a name like that.

I took a nap in the middle of the day today. And I'm still exhausted. Stupid changing time zones! Hopefully my brain gets back on Austin time before classes start next Monday...

Day One Hundred Fifty Eight

I bought food today. And did all my laundry. Life may now proceed. I also bought a giant reusable shopping bag with a big photo of Bevo on it, because how could I not?

This morning I watched the press conference officially introducing Charlie Strong as the Longhorns head football coach. For the first half of the interview, he looked absolutely terrified. He warmed up when it was time to take questions though, and he did very well. Go Charlie go! Get ready, the entire state of Texas already either loves you or hates you.

The rest of the day was spent working on my presentation for my group meeting tomorrow. I'm presenting for the first time in front of the group, and I am very nervous. I bought them cinnamon rolls in hopes they'll take it easy on me.

Day One Hundred Fifty Seven

Back in Austin. The flight went well, especially since I got priority boarding for wearing my Russell Wilson jersey! I believe the announcement was "We are now boarding First Class, MVP Gold, MVP, and anyone smart and/or lucky enough to be wearing a Seahawks jersey with the number 3 on it...you are the most MVP of them all, go Hawks!" As if I didn't love Russell enough already. And SeaTac/Alaska Airlines, you are awesome for participating in this. The flight itself was pretty bumpy. You know it'll be an interesting time when with an hour left, the pilot starts telling all the passengers that the flight attendants will be buckling up because the final hour of the trip is going to be "a bit of a rough one." We all survived. Thank goodness turbulence doesn't bother me all that much.

Once I got back to Austin things weren't too exciting. I came home, found an awesome Breaking Bad shirt that my roommate got for me as a welcome home surprise, then scrounged around the kitchen to see if anything was still fresh enough to eat for dinner after almost 3 weeks. Luckily, I had everything for breakfast tacos. Whew! I am in dire need of a grocery store run tomorrow. But everything is unpacked and put away, and I'm ready to pass out.

On a final note, the Longhorns hired a new head football coach today. His name is Charlie Strong. I'm counting how many days it takes for the Co-Op to come out with "Stronghorns" t-shirts. I'll be honest, I would probably buy one.

Day One Hundred Fifty Six

I fly back to Austin tomorrow morning. I don't like this. I've been back in Washington long enough that I've returned to my Olympia routine and I don't want to leave it.   :(

This morning I went out to breakfast with my parents to my favorite breakfast place ever, The Spar in downtown Olympia. So. Delicious. If I could uproot that restaurant and move it to Austin (along with all my family and friends...), I would do it in a second. Then we went to Archibald Sisters, the funkiest fantastic store downtown, before going to Dancing Goats Coffeehouse to get some fresh ground coffee for a couple people back in Texas. It's made our entire house smell like coffee, which is kind of wonderful.

Then, I watched the NFL playoff games, made notes on a scientific paper I have to give a presentation on this coming Tuesday, and went and hung out with my neighbors. Thanks for letting me barge in to your house this afternoon Margie and Roger, I've missed you!

I just finished packing, and now it's time to sleep. Washington, I love you. I promise to come back soon.

Day One Hundred Fifty Five

I had an appointment at 7am today. It was brutal getting up for that. Which means it's going to be extra brutal when I'm back on Texas time and having it feel like 6am when my clock says 8am. Curse you, time change! I made it through the appointment without falling asleep, and rewarded myself with a breakfast at IHOP with my mom. So delicious.

Later, I got a haircut and my subsequent tootsie pop from my hair dresser. She's cut my hair since I was in 3rd grade, meaning no matter what age I am, I still get a tootsie pop. Ann, you are the best. I needed that mini sugar rush after the early morning wake up call. Then, since I was feeling the most awake I'd been all day, I ran over to Saint Martin's to visit the office I used to work in. It was so great seeing everyone again. Debbie, Tanaa, Mike, Caroline, AnneMarie, and Anya, I loved seeing all of you again, and will make a return visit when I come back to Washington in February! It was so nice being on my tiny undergraduate campus again after a semester at the behemoth that is University of Texas.

Day One Hundred Fifty Four

Mmmmm......Red Robin. I had to get at least one Red Robin trip in since Austin doesn't have any. Seriously Austin...what is wrong with you that you don't have Red Robin?! I could probably live off their yukon chips and steak fries. Best things ever. And since Red Robin is right next to the mall...my mom and I naturally made a trip over there. I used one of my Christmas gift cards (thanks mom and dad!) and finally bought myself a Seattle Seahawks hat and a Seahawks window cling for my car. I. Love. That. Team. And I even found a really cute Mariners t-shirt for $8. Mariners, you may be absolutely horrible at baseball, but I still love you (especially when your shirts are this cheap).

Then the rest of the day I read my book, watched sitcoms with my parents, and tried my best to get rid of a horrible lingering headache. The stress of this upcoming semester is hitting me before it even starts.

Day One Hundred Fifty Three

I stayed up too late again. New Years is just throwing my internal clock waaaay off. All I did today was read and watch TV in a zombie post-New-Year state. I didn't hate it.

I went to Seattle to watch New Years at the Needle last night. It was lots of fun, and I got to experience with three good friends, Melika, Nate, and John. Unfortunately, crazy dense fog rolled in about 2 minutes before the fireworks show and all we could see were the fireworks shooting off the base of the Needle. It didn't matter though, I was still excited to be there, and I got to experience it with three of my favorite people.

Giant 12th man crane. Go Hawks!

Fireworks...from the lower half of the Needle. The fog was insane.

Nate and John, my favorite George Fox guys.

Day One Hundred Fifty Two

Happy New Year!