Student SPHere 2008-09

Thanks St Catherine of Siena! I will get through the semester successfully!

Chugging along towards the end of the semester. Today was particularly rough, with a group project that somehow went sour. While the outcome was good - we did a great presentation - I was burdened with a lot of unnecessary stress due to a particularly ornery member. He decided on the morning of our presentation to take charge of things and stake out his own route. I've been managing our project from the start, so it was an unpleasant surprise, as I have been conscious about making sure group members are in harmony with the decision-making process. However, I do get to talk to my professor tomorrow about this. While I'm not concerned about our grade - again, we did fine - I'm concerned on how to deal with people like this. Particularly when they decide to blame me and the choices I've made during the process of the this project. How do people like this get this far without learning to work as a group?

Group projects are always difficult, even if things are well-planned. You never know when there will be a wrench thrown into the cogs. I am slowly learning to be more proactive about this; I'd say that my management skills are pretty solid. Spending a good chunk of time drawing out a timeline is so valuable. I would say that a Gantt chart would be even more helpful as it is more visually appealing, but I'm still working my way up there. However, when it comes to human relations, I feel like a robot; aware that something is deadly wrong but unable to process it and correctly respond.

Thanksgiving break was great. The drive down there was horrendous, it was something like 11.5 hours. Driving back was better, it was only 9. Typically, it should take 6.5 to 7 hours to drive to Chicago. Ugh. I felt like exploding by the end of the journey. But that is what makes the break so much delectable, right? Maybe.

Went to Chicago for a day and visited the Shedd Aquarium. I haven't been there since elementary school or something ridiculous like that. However, it was too crowded and the Oceanarium was closed for construction. That was a bummer, but seeing some nice aquatic creatures almost made up for it.

Big foreheaded fish: I can relate

We watched the iguanas being sprayed with a hose by an employee. Then she bent over this iguana and started peeling off its skin. There were collective "Eeeeeews" all round.

Revealing a pretty bluish color underneath

We spent actual Thanksgiving in Chinatown. It's a great way to spend the holiday since no one is forced to cook. Chinese people do not generally celebrate Thanksgiving so there are tons of delicious restaurants open. My sister did a lot of the cooking for Saturday's dinner, which was more traditional. She used three sticks of butter for the turkey alone. It was delicious and I even was able to take leftovers back to Minneapolis.

Two thumbs up, sis.