Student SPHere 2008-09

Only a few days left! Man, I've been waking up thinking about my Linear Models take-home exam and going to sleep thinking about my Linear Models take-home exam. The report is up to 15 pages, but my pace has started to slow. In these last two days before it's due, I need to focus my efforts so I can also do a bit of studying for the Survival final on Thursday. It's incredible how all this anticipation and wishing it would be over turns into anxiety about not having enough time before it's all finished!

My presentation in Probability Models last week went really well. I devoted a lot of time to preparing the talk, hoping to dig out of the hole I got into with the midterm. My partner Tom and friend Julia were both super helpful, listening to my talk, asking questions, and giving great suggestions. It was an interesting paper, and I think I managed to get across all the salient points without losing anyone during the technical hand-waving. Whew!

This Thursday, I took a study break to represent Biostatistics at the annual SPH Winter Reception. This year's theme was something about Hollywood, so we played an adaptation of Hollywood squares, with SPH faculty on the panel instead of C-list celebrities. Our team didn't fare so well, but we had fun and a few laughs at the "creative" answers given by panelists. Here's a picture of Dean Finnegan and me, yukking it up.

Tomorrow, we're getting blasted with some truly awful temperatures (a high of -6 F with windchills as low as -30 F). I'd like to stay in my cozy condo, since I have no classes, but I have to take the bus in to school for my annual tuberculin skin test (TST). SPH, as part of the Academic Health Center, has more serious communicable disease prevention programs than the rest of the U. Everyone must have documented immunizations to register, as well as annual TB screening. This year, two of my public health efforts inadvertently clashed. My first attempt at the TB test was aborted when I discovered I'd had my flu vaccine too recently. For most people, this wouldn't be a problem, but I always get the live attenuated version (FluMist), which would interfere with the TST. Ah well. I won't feel like a real Minnesotan unless I get out there and truly experience the ludicrous temperatures.