Student SPHere 2008-09

On the 31st we had a few close friends over for dinner and risk (the guys)/movie (the ladies). It was a ton of fun. We also handed out a lot of candy. It was nice break from the hectic grad student life, but was short lived, as I spend the following day immersed in homework. Its nice to finally be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and being able to work on the projects that are due at the end of the semester. It’s hard to believe that the semester is coming to an end soon. This semester has really shown me that you must really want a PhD. I am getting anxious to be done with classes and focus on research.

One of the reasons this semester has been crazy, is that for most of the semester, especially the last few weeks, my master’s project was being transformed into a “white paper� for CIDRAP. I have a newfound respect for editors, co-authors, and those who write for a living, its hard work. It’s going to be an exciting week, as on Thursday the white paper will be put on the CIDRAP Business Source. I am excited to see what people think of it in the business/public health world and nervous at the same time. More on this in the coming weeks…

This past week was a blur of projects, presentations and a test. I am now done with all assignments in one class, aside from the final (yup it feels great). I also got to relax a bit this weekend with the in-laws (my wife’s mom and stepdad). One of the things that sold us on our house was its two wood burning fireplaces. I started monitoring craigslist for folks getting rid of firewood, as soon as we owned the place. I managed to get a bunch of wood for free that way, but was unable to split a lot of it. So my fathering law brought up his chain saw and we spent about 4 hours making a mess in the back yard and getting the woodpile ready for winter. Then on Saturday, the four of us went down town to see the Macy’s animated Christmas show about a day in the life of an elf. It was amazing.

Megan and I have been now every Christmas we have been married, so I guess it’s a tradition now.

In case you did not know how candy canes are made. From Macy’s we attempted to navigate the skyway system down town to do some shopping before going to see Wicked at the Orpheum. I wont rant and rave to much, since its sold out, but to say I was amazing and awed would be an understatement. I am so excited to see two more shows at the Orpheum later this season, Phantom of the Opera and Fiddler on the Roof. I believe Minneapolis is 2nd in the nation for theaters per capita, behind New York, which is pretty cool if you ask me.

I don’t know about everyone else, but I love this time of year. The first snow, brisk mornings and big piles of leaves are some of my favorite things. I am looking forward to hearing the snow crunch under my feet soon. I realize, I wont like it so much in a few months. Who really likes walking .5 miles and standing outside in the wind/snow waiting for a bus? Just got to remember to dress in layers. Most of my classes are in the same building or connected by tunnels to the Mayo, where the SPHere is. In the SPHere we have lockers, for putting our layers in, which one needs. As the SPHere is so warm, I can’t imagine sitting in there with any extra layers on.