Well tomorrow is the first day of December, which officially marks the home stretch towards the end of the semester. To be honest, ever since coming back from the Thanksgiving holiday, I haven't been cranking out work as well as I know I can be. Maybe it's the colder temperatures (it was 5 degrees on Tuesday when I walked to the bus stop, talk about an eye opener) or the shrinking amount of daylight or just some mental wear and tear, but it's taking just a little bit more to get me going on some assignments. Not a great time for this to happen as this is the time of the year when all those final papers are due, final exams will be here soon, and that master's project isn't going to write itself.
Yesterday was an interesting day in working on my master's project. For the last few weeks, I have been working hard on developing my questionnaire for the key actor interviews that I will be conducting. Developing interview questions sounds easy, but man, I've written at least four drafts, and every time I meet with my advisers we find new ways to tear it up and improve the questions. I believe with each meeting it improves, but it can be tedious. Then again, this stage of the project is surely the most critical. If we develop bad questions and then do the interviews, then we're going to end up with bad and perhaps inconclusive results, in which case the project would have been a wash. I am getting more and more excited about the project, and will keep you posted as I conduct some of the interviews.
Last night was a break from my sub par production level. My friend, my brother and I went to a bar to watch the Packers - Cowboys matchup, which unfortunately did not go my way. Afterwards my friend and I met up with one of my friends from the PHAP program and hung out at Rudolph's for awhile. Some of us PHAPers are going to get together soon to make some Christmas cookies to get us through these final weeks of the semester. No matter what holiday you celebrate, you can't turn down a Christmas cookie, you just can't!
OK, still need to write another draft of questions tonight and perhaps look at a Finance case study that is due for Monday. See you around the blog!
I got off my schedule last week with T-Giving. Sorry for not writing last week! I drove (well rode, actually) to St. Louis for the holiday and did NO homework at all. I always bring books home and have literally never opened one in the state of Missouri. I don't know why I still try. But it was really great to see my family despite the drive.
But now that I've been back for almost a week, it's nose to the grindstone. I have a pretty big paper and one final coming up soon. The most exciting thing EVER was me having a meeting with Lisa McGuire, a research librarian at Diehl Hall library. I can't believe I went through all of undergrad and almost 4 months of grad school without knowing how to really do good article researching. She taught me how to do good research with all of our amazing sources available online here at the U. And she introduced me to my new best friend, Refworks. If you have not been introduced to this system, you certainly must. IT WRITES YOUR WORKS CITED PAGE for you. Works cited pages are the absolute epitome of hatred for me. I will use the hell out of this. I can't wait. I did pretty much all of my research for my huge paper in like two nights. I AM IN LOVE.
I really can't believe the semester is almost over. I know everyone says that all the time but I totally mean it. There are two weeks of classes left and I'm actually a little sad about it. I really hope my classes next semester are as amazing as these have been! I'll have to hear more under-the-table gossip from classmates...
As far as fun goes, hmmm... what have I done (not as much lately)... I saw the local band International Espionage! at the Uptown a couple of weeks ago and they're really great. Other than that I really haven't done much besides work out, read and write.
However, the FUTURAMA movie came out this week!!!! I am the biggest Futurama fan of all time (except for this guy I saw once with a gigantic Bender tattoo on his arm. It was really awesome, but I bet he's a bigger fan than I am) and am not sure if I can wait till tomorrow night to watch it (plans with someone to see it together). I'll give the full report next week.
Hi everyone. I'm not going to talk about how overwhelming school is right now (less than three weeks to finish off these classes!) Instead, I'm going to talk about something that makes me really happy right now - the holidays! With Christmas right around the corner, the Twin Cities just starts bursting with fun activities - and some of the them are even free.
Last weekend I went to Macy's (most people still call Dayton's) 8th floor. For those of you who are not familiar with this, every year the downtown Minneapolis Macys/Marshall Fields/Dayton's store puts together a holiday exhibit that tells a story as you walk through it (this year the theme was Nutcracker, some years it is Disney related). It is FREE and a great thing to do with family, particularly if you have small children. For me, it was all about getting me excited to go see the Nutcracker in December. I went to the Nutcracker my first winter in Minneapolis and I've been dying to go again. The show is AMAZING! The Twin Cities is doing at least three productions of the Nutcracker this season (that I'm aware of) and I was lucky enough to receive tickets for my birthday. This show is not even close to free, but it SO great, I highly recommend saving your pennies for it! Another activity that is free, however, is the Holidazzle parade, a holiday-themed parade through the Nicollet Mall area (downtown Minneapolis) Thursday through Sunday nights in December. It's a fun way to get into the spirit of the holidays - grab some hot chocolate and some friends and make it a night of shopping and enjoyment!
One other holiday tradition of mine, started well before I moved to Minnesota, is donating to those in need over the holidays. My mom, for as long as I can remember, has taken families shopping over the holiday season to get coats and other essentials. Since moving to the Twin Cities, I have taken advantage of many of the opportunities here, including book drives for children in the hospital, volunteering for the Salvation Army, and buying coats and toys for local children. I think it is very important to remember that everyone deserves to have a great Christmas/Holiday season and even if you only have a few dollars or a few hours to spare, you will make a difference.
"I'm about to change the focus
From the richest to the brokest
I wrote this opus
To reverse the hypnosis
Whoever's closest
To the line's gonna win it
You gonna fall tryin to ball
While my team win the pennant
I'm about to be in it
For a minute
Then run for senate
Make a slum lord be the tenant
Give his money to kids to spend it
And then amend it
Every law that ever prevented
Our survival since our arrival
Documented in the bible
Like Moses and Aaron
Things gon change, it's apparent
And all the transparent gonna
Be seen through
Let God redeem you
Keep your deen true
You can get the green too
Watch out what you cling to
Observe how a queen do
And I remain calm readin' the 73 Psalm
Cause wit all that's going on, I got the world in my palm
You could get the money
You could get the power
But keep your eyes on the final hour..." Lauryn Hill
It's crunch time. 3 papers due next week, grad apps filling up the final hours, presentations, tests, job searching, back up planning, thesis plotting, and.....Restless nights....All I can think about.....is a moment. I just returned from out East, visiting Imran, my older brother for Thanksgiving. And I left hope in MA. I've been down the same path, and I'm contending with the One who directs the changing of the wind. I don't know if I'll win. I usually lose. But this day, it's a new day.
Well, no more break and now back to reality or catching up. I honesty don’t know when this game is going to end. It seems to me that everyone is so busy and behind with projects and papers. For me, I have never been so busy and behind like this in my life. I managed to catch up, so if I put in about 4 hours of work a day, I should be fine until finals come.
I had a very good break. I mostly stayed home to clean the house or cook (I love cooking, especially when I have free time) Besides that, I did lots of shopping. At 11:00pm on Thursday before Black Friday, some of my friends and I went to Albertview Outlet mall. The traffic was so bad that it took us about close to 2 ½ hours to get there. The funny thing was, about 80% of the shopping population that night were Asian. I have never seen so many Asian gathering at one point like that in Minnesota. I shopped all night long; they have very good on sale stuff. I went home at about 7:00am, slept for about 3 hours and more shopping. I am a total broke ‘Thuy’ right now. But well, that’s the spirit of holidays.
Now going back to reality, I really need to focus on finishing this semester accordingly (that means should not be so behind with things). I also need to finish my phd application and look for summer internship. I have been talking to many people about what should I pursue next in my life, but I think I still am wanting to pursue further with my education. It seems to me like I am still so motivated with school (despite the fact that I am quite lacking at the moment or it is just the graduation symptoms.)
Oh, I also want to remind you that SPH Public Health & Cultures: Discover Vietnam event is tomorrow at 11:00am – 12:30pm. Please come to celebrate other cultures as well as learning something new. Our friends Tran Huynh and Jooyeon Hwang will be presenting their field experiences in Vietnam. Also, I ordered super delicious authentic Vietnamese food. So come, experience yourself something new and indulge great food! See you all there.
Hi everyone! Sorry for the long absence, school was CRAZY right before break! I have three big assignments/projects due this week and I really wanted to get as far on them as I could before break so I worked a lot of long days! I was SO excited for this break - I forced myself to take Thursday, Friday and Saturday off of school work to just relax. Thursday was a great day with my family - none of us got out of sweat pants and we played games and watched football and ate WAY too much food - a PERFECT Thanksgiving if you ask me! I took Friday and Saturday off because Saturday was my birthday and I didn't want to spend any part of my birthday doing homework. I drove back from Wisconsin on Friday and watched the new Die Hard movie with a friend (by the way, great movie - LOTS of explosions!) And then for my big day I did as much relaxing as I could! I went bowling and shopping and watched college football (if you are a big football fan, the Tennessee/Kentucky game was pretty amazing - it went into a 4th overtime!) My favorite part of the day was dinner though - I got together a few of my very closest friends and went to Cheesecake Factory. It is such a great place to eat - a good, large menu, a great atmosphere and of course the best dessert! Overall, it was a great day. Today I'm back to working on homework, though I have to admit it isn't going quite as well as I was hoping - after three great days of doing nothing my mind and body would love for it to continue. I hope everyone had a great relaxing weekend as well and that this coming week is not nearly as demanding as it is going to be for me!
This year Thanksgiving was not the typical one day affair where you cram in the cranberries, the stuffing, and the turkey in one giant, gluttonous swoop, sleep it off and then you're done. This year Thanksgiving was like a slow process of obliged eating and forced feeding--like I am being prepped for foi grois out of my liver. I had a record 4 Thanksgiving feasts to attend: 2 on Thurs, 1 on Fri, and 1 on Sat, so it's needless to say that I feel like a stuffed turkey! But I shouldn't complain since eating with great family and friends is never cause for complaint....but I think there is enough tryptophan coursing through my veins to make me lethargic for the weeks to come....I'm happy to see the passing of this edible holiday....
This upcoming week shouldn't prove to be that eventful. I have a Welcoming reception for new Board members of NARAL on Tuesday, and then on Friday I will go see my roommate perform with Zenon Dance Company at the Guthrie Theater. Other than this, I will be stuffing school--like Thanksgiving dinner--down my throat.
Happy Thanksgiving from Manitowoc, WI. I hope you all have had the chance to stuff a whole lot of turkey (or tofu turkey, or whatever else you may eat) and everything else on Thursday. This has been a great break for me, hanging out with the family, watching the Packers beat the Lions, repressing public health thoughts like the obesity epidemic just for a little while. Did some homework and TA stuff yesterday as well. I have to say that most of my activities have been playing with my little nephew, which is entertaining for both of us. In fact, I think I'll go back to that right now. Short blog for a long weekend. You understand.
See you around the blog.
Ever since I returned from APHA, I am more behind than I was before. For those of you who think grad school is not as hard as undergrad – you are so wrong. I have never been so busy with everything and as the same time behind at almost everything as I am right now. But, do not think that I am lacking off. In fact I work so hard, but things seem to pile up everything single day. Luckily I have only one final in my Ecology of Infectious Disease class, 4-5 major papers and two group projects. I cannot wait until graduation – I will be a free bird for awhile.
Last Thursday I went to the Mentor program; I enjoyed it very much. My mentor is so knowledgeable and friendly. He is an inspector for the environmental division at the city of St. Louis Park. I enjoyed talking to him about his daily job, in fact, I am going to go on sites with him next month.
I am looking forward to the Thanksgiving break; that means more time to sleep and eating out with friends, spending time with family, and not catching up with behind works. My family only has four people; my father is a vegetarian, so Thanksgiving for us is still vegetarian dishes and maybe a duck. I am thinking about making spring roll and perhaps have some friends over on the weekend for a pot luck.
I almost forgot about inform you our next coming events. Please come to the two events listed below. Come to meet other people and learn something new. See you all there.
Word of the Day, Sunday November 18, 2007 (dictionary.com):
comport \kum-PORT\, transitive verb:
1. To conduct or behave (oneself) in a particular manner.
intransitive verb:
1. To be fitting; to accord; to agree -- usually followed by 'with'.
Phew...EVERYTHING is catching up to me! I'm sort of at one of those cruxes where my momentum is dwindling right at the time I need to go faster and further. I have a paper due Monday (shouldn't take too long...), a final and a 16-20 page paper. I think it'll be fun to research and write, but it's just a lot. And I work in the Department of Pediatrics and we've begun recruitment season for residents. That means I'm pretty much non-stop at work from now till MLK Day. Coincidentally, it happens right at this time when school is the busiest...
I'm really looking forward to Thanksgiving break next week. Last weekend I literally spent both Saturday and Sunday glued to my computer working on a PowerPoint presentation on Disease Management I performed last Monday. It is also a really cool subject and I learned a lot, but I can't say it was super fun sitting at my tiny Ikea desk getting up like every 5 minutes because I have ADD. I recently inherited a record player and it's great because I have to get up about every 20 minutes or so to flip the vinyl. It's a nice break. I have all my mom's old records and the woman knew (knows) how to rock it. I only wish she got into Pink Floyd and David Bowie back in the day. Besides missing them, she was pretty on the ball. I have tons of Dylan, the Stones and Led Zeppelin. Dylan sounds so much better on vinyl.
So for fun... I saw Lucero at the Fine Line last week. I really really hate that venue and probably have ranted about it previously. I think I'm starting to figure out why with deep and careful analysis among show friends. First, it's kind of a poser bar. It wants to be divey but is too clean and organized.And there is carpet! Weird. Second, the design of the bar and bathroom traffic is terrible. They're all in one straight line and the stage is off to the side. That means for people not standing in the aisle are really far away from the bar and bathrooms and have to push through the crowd to get anywhere. This makes normal people jerkwads as they push and shove through the crowd and make people like me who stand near the other side hate them. And they use too much freaking fog. No one likes it. Yes, it may make lighting look a little cooler, but please. Since the smoking ban, us Minneapolisans don't like to breathe in that crap. And the drinks there are really expensive. But they have a coat check for two bucks. That's nice. Oh yeah, one more crappy thing about it: it's DOWNTOWN. I have to pass all the really horrible bars and clubs to get there from the parking ramp. It makes me (who is hardly ever uncomfortable) uncomfortable. I really really really hate those places. And I've never even been inside. If there are girls in tiny skirts, halter tops and open-toed shoes standing outside of the club in DECEMBER in MINNESOTA, it's not a place I'd like to be. It's cold here, people. Dress accordingly. You can still look cute and bring a coat to smoke outside. So, besides the fact that the show was at the Fine Line, it was really great. They're good old cute Southern country rockers from Tennessee.
Then Monday night I saw 'Sex Ed and the State'- a documentary master's project done by a Public Health student last year. I saw it last year and really enjoyed it (even though my blood boils at some parts...) but I thought I should see it again after taking the Sex Ed class. It was still really great but even more meaningful. I hope my master's project is of similar quality... it was really great.
Well, guess I should start finishing that paper...
Well I'd like to say that I have an action packed weekend ahead of me, but this would be an utter lie. Having a rather lengthy paper due Monday means that--once again--I am sequestered in my apartment office only to emerge for food and water. BUT depending on how long this takes (I am a painfully meticulous writer when it comes to academic papers), I may try and seek a deserved break and play with some friends--we'll see. Of course, I will do my Saturday morning ritual of waking up early, going to yoga, and then heading downtown to take advanced modern dance at Zenon Dance Company and School. I'm a creature of habit and starting the days off my scheduled routine would be counterproductive for the rest of the day as I would be so--for lack of a better word--'off.'
I did, however, have quite an eventful week. Firstly, I was officially appointed as a board of director member of MN NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota Foundation for the '08--'09 year. I think it will be a really great experience and a welcomed opportunity. Secondly, and perhaps on a lesser 'professional' scale to some degree, I managed to catch the season premiere of Project Runway. I am totally in awe of people who can actually make wearable clothes--particularly under a short amount of time! What a skill! A friend of mine had a couple of us over for dinner because her friend is one of the contestants on the show, so we wined and dined prior to the show beginning. It was a delicious mixture of homeade macaroni & cheese, red wine, and high fashion--delightful!
Today specifically was a day of lectures: one focusing on the relationship between poverty and health given by a friend of mine as part of the Social Epidemiology Working Group headed by faculty member, Michael Oakes. Kate--the presenter--did a wonderful job qualitatively describing her experiences over the summer working on a research project in conjunction with the University of Alabama. Afterwards, I hiked it to the UMN Law School to attend a debate/discussion of organ transplant and its encompassing ethical debates. It was fascinating to hear three very expert opinions, and I left the room adding 'Bioethicist' to the ever-expanding lsit of what I would like to be when I actually grow up........
Ever since coming back from APHA last week I have been working hard at catching up on a few things as I did NOTHING homework related for those five days in DC. I don't think it's recommended that we just take five days off from doing grad school, but hey, I was on a mega-field trip. But coming back to a pile of work is the price you pay. Nothing an anti-social hermit-like weekend couldn't cure. I did go out to watch the Packers beat down the Vikings at a friends house, but other than that I just put my head down to get things done, ranging from some TA duties, to my master's project, to homework for a few classes.
I think now I have turned the corner in getting back on pace with the rest of my work and actually have time to do some fun things. Last night I went out to dinner with some friends as a college friend of mine was in town on business. I found it pretty amusing as she was talking about what she does as a consultant and how much she has to work which requires a ton of travel, even internationally. At one point she stopped and said "Well enough about me, what about you?" Haha, yeah, I just had my traveling experience for the year so just keep talking about your exciting life. Nonetheless, fun to catch up with friends.
Also, this weekend I will be attending my second gopher football game of the year against rival Wisconsin. My best friend from preschool on is coming into town for it with his girlfriend so I'm really looking forward to the weekend. I won't tell you who I am cheering for, but lets just say I'm gonna wear red and white to the game.
I also picked up my own copy of Michael Moore's film "Sicko" that has recently been released on DVD. I saw it in the theater this summer and was pleasantly surprised on how Moore had toned down some of his liberalism a little bit to make a very good and exposing documentary. No matter what you think of him or what direction you believe our health care system should go, I really hope you watch this film sometime. If you don't think Universal Health Care is the right way to go, please watch this film. If you don't find yourself emotionally gripped by some of the interviews on how insurance determines health at times, then you need to take out your wallet, look at your driver's ID, and make sure it doesn't say "Uncle Scrooge" under 'Name.' (That's right, already in a holiday mood).
That reminds me, universal health care was a huge topic at APHA, talked about in the opening session and I also attended a session on the last day of the conference as well. It was very well organized with three speakers all discussing different aspects of universal health care. The first was the issue in America itself, the second was on the morality of the issue, and the third was on the potential conflict between Universal Health Coverage and the private health care industry. I'm sure we will all see this topic a number of times in the upcoming presidential election, but please educate yourself on the topic, or go find your local public health student, and I'm sure that he or she will be more than happy to fill you in.
See you around the blog.
Last modified on Monday Jul 02, 2007