Student SPHere 2008-09

Well school is done for the summer. I managed to finish my biostats final just in time to catch my preferred bus last weds. The semester finished up nicely for me and just in time too. The day before my last final a grant proposal, I had been waiting for was posted. So now I am pretty busy working on that proposal. I am also using the summer break to really focus on finishing up our paper on critical pharmaceutical products. Its coming along nicely. So basically the summer is time for me to focus more on work, as school is not a priority (I am not taking any summer classes). I am going to be enjoying the break from balancing the demands of academic life and work life.

It feels kinda weird being done with my third year of grad school. I feel like I am closer to the end goal, graduating in 2011 yet realizing that a lot still has to happen to make that a reality. One of my goals this summer is to finalize my committee, which should not be to difficult. Its one of many things I need to accomplish to graduate by 2011 (that sure seems like a long way off).

Megan and I were able to spend the weekend in Iowa at her youngest brothers graduation party. It was pretty fun and relaxing. A nice way to finish off the semester. He is going to be going to Luther (our alma matter). One of my younger brothers graduates tomorrow and will be heading off to Montana State. Since he is my brother, I thought I would do a little bragging. A few weeks ago his high school team (him and another guy) finished 37 out of 273 team at the Vex robotics world championships (there were colleges competing too). He taught himself most of what he needed to know for the competition, so its going to be cool to watch him continue to learn robotics stuff in college. Needless to say we are pretty proud of him.

Well I hope everyone has a great summer. Its been fun blogging and sharing this past year with you all. Stay safe and enjoy the beautiful weather we are having. I know I am planning on spending lots of it outside in our yard.

Posted at 11:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

This past week was full of plants and flowers. The trees everywhere are full of leaves, the crab apple trees are smelling heavenly and the dandelions have already sprouted.

We stopped by the Friends School Plant Sale on Saturday to pick up some herbs. For $27, we got two sets of basil plants (four sproutlings to a set), one lavender plant, one rosemary, one oregano, one thyme, one mint, two types of tomatoes, and two succulent plants. While it was too crowded for my liking, the plants were pretty cheap and it's for a good cause.

The student volunteers were charming. We got our plants totaled by a very serious-looking elementary student, who tapped away at his receipt calculator and then gravely handed us the bill.

Basil

Bloody butcher (tomato)

Mint

We also grabbed a few succulents. Haworthia attennuata.

Woolly rose. It's WOOLLY.

Yesterday we put them in containers. It looks really great and I'm excited for fresh herbs and tomatoes this summer.

I'm postponing my thesis work until after finals. I look forward to being able to focus on just that. It's been somewhat stressful trying to juggle school, work, and thesis. This summer I will also be working on a paper at the Humphrey examining urban health penalties. I'll get a chance to work with GIS data, which is exciting.

Posted at 11:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Don’t get me wrong, I was just as pumped as anyone to attend any undergraduate event that advertised free pizza. But now I think the difference is that all the food is scrunched into the last three weeks of the semester.

Not that I’m complaining about that either. Stress and food are an excellent combination, and the more time I can spend on homework (as opposed to cooking) the better.

Last week, the School of Public Health bloggers got together for a fabulous Greek lunch.

Over the weekend, I went to the May Day festival in Powderhorn Park. Let’s just say I have a weakness for cotton candy.

Yesterday, we had a lunch potluck in our CHE class. Note to self for future potlucks: grad students + finals + homemade mac ‘n’ cheese = empty pan.

Then we had a (Cinco-de-Mayo-themed) dinner potluck in computer-assisted reporting. I broke out the chickpea tacos recipe I’ve been meaning to try, and we flew through a package of tortillas, so I’m assuming that means they turned out well.

Today, I’m going out to lunch with a friend at the Star Tribune. It’s my technical last day, though I’ll definitely still be here a month from now if I’m going to finish the stories I’m working on.

And for dinner? Potluck No. 3 in two days – this time, a barbeque with some CHE and MCH folks and friends. I’m heading right home from work to wash and slice and skewer some zucchini, mushrooms and peppers.

Who knows what the weekend will bring. But I would guess it’ll be edible.

And I'm hoping it will fuel me through the grant proposal and biostats final I have left to go!

Posted at 11:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well the past few weeks have certainly been interesting. Work has been far more demanding that is usually is, as everyone started dealing with the novel H1N1 (the virus formally known as swine flu) outbreak. School is finishing up; I am now done with all my assignments for this semester, just two finals to go now. That’s a huge relief, as my time has been very limited since the outbreak began. Thankfully things are starting to calm down a bit. It will be interesting to see how things play out with H1N1, as nobody really knows what will happen next. Will a second wave occur? Will it start causing severe disease or stay mild? (I don’t know about you but the last time I had seasonal influenza, a “mild” disease, I was out of commission for almost a week, so mild is somewhat relative.) Will business stop caring about pandemic planning?

On May 4th the FDA/CDC put out a joint press release about “spot shortages” of supplies for treating and preventing influenza. Evidently when a nation suddenly ramps up their purchasing habits for specific items, the supply chain is not elastic enough to meet all the surges in demands. Most folks dealing with supply chains could have told you that would happen. Needless to say this has really stimulated my academic pursuits around public health issues relating to supply chains.

I am quite anxious for weds to come, that’s the day of my last final, biostats. It will be nice to be done with classes for the summer. This has been a pretty challenging semester for me. My grandmother was diagnosed with cancer (she is doing ok and has had more tumors removed) and I have been involved in my first public health emergency (H1N1). Both of these events have consumed quite a bit of my time. Thankfully I have had some very caring and understanding professors this semester (I am sure other semesters would be no different) who worked with me to make sure my academics did not slip. Its always nice to know that when things get interesting in your personal or professional life, the support is there help you keep balance and keep you moving towards your main goal, education.

I don’t know about you, but I am loving the weather we have been having in the cities lately. Its so nice out now. This however makes it a challenge to study. Its going to be fun balancing studying with yard work, something I have been looking forward to for a long time. I now finally have the chance to work in our yard. I am hoping to get a lot of yard work and studying done this weekend.

Posted at 8:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Now I wish i could say it was all over like many people are getting excited about, but the thing is, even though im done with all my classes and walk with my classmates on the 18th...im not actually done till the fall when i defend my thesis.
I got delayed because it took a while to get my survey in to the IRB(Institutional Review Board) and then it took forever to get approved. And im still working on finalizing the survey.
And for most of you who are wondering what im talking about. I am working on a process evaluation for my masters project. I wanted both qualitative and quantitative data so i designed a survey. Most people think that's the fun and easy part but dont be decieved. I think i will be glad when i finally start gettin my results.
In the meantime, I am finishing up my final projects and studying for the MCAT which is scheduled for July--yikes!
I finally got my new camera on friday and got to use it at the Phillips Neighborhood Parade on Sunday. Ofcourse, i forgot to switch out the custom memory card for mine which meant that I couldnt only take a max of 9 pictures.
Which was all i really needed to take i suppose.
Eitherway, if you are thinking of getting a point and shoot digital camera which is semi professional... I would recommend looking at Canon's variety of digital slip cameras.
Here are a few pics from Sunday...

getting ready

Eddie, Dave and I repping the Phillips Neighborhood Clinic

The most adorable kids ever!

Well I suppose she has a point!

Im pleased to say our efforts payed off and we have upped the number of patients at the clinic per night

Posted at 9:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This weekend was finally rain-free. We took full advantage of it by doing a lot of outdoor activities and to avoid thinking about the end of the semester. I can't believe it's almost over. I'm really fine with having another week or two, so I can finish all my projects.

On Saturday we went to the Spring Raptor Release at Hyland Park Reserve in Bloomington. It's an annual event co-sponsored by the Three Rivers Park District and the University of Minnesota Raptor Center. They take injured birds of prey - UMN has one of the best in the nation. You can also tour the facility, which I highly recommend. Today they were releasing one Cooper's Hawk and two Red-tailed Hawks. We sat way back on the top of the hill, so we were able to enjoy a panoramic view of the event.

They also brought out their educational birds, which are birds that have been too injured to return to the wild. They are utilized for presentations at schools, churches, and the like to create awareness about the environment.

The educational birds included a wide range of raptors from bald eagles to peregrine falcons to weeny little hawks.

Some photos of the release. They had a raffle for a chance to release one bird, but we predictably did not win.

They had patrol horses to make sure that dogs were not brought into the park to stress the raptors. Despite the large turnout, it was a calm event, so the horses had nothing to do but get petted. They looked really sleepy, so we took a snapshot.

We also played our last Ultimate game of the season. It was a close game, but we lost. Still, we played well and I'm really happy that I was able to play with a great group of people. I also left my SD card in my laptop, so although I brought my camera, I couldn't take any photos.

I'm both dreading and anxiously awaiting the end of the semester. Last Friday I attended a job fair for the HPM division. It was much better than the job fair at the convention center last March. Hopefully, it gave me some leads for future employment!

Posted at 9:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)