Student SPHere 2008-09

It feels like this semester has just flown by completely—I just cannot believe that tomorrow is the last day of April. I think I started saying this about three posts ago, but now is the point in the semester when things really seem to start picking up. In a way, I’m lucky because I have only one true final exam this semester in my Clinical Trials class. However, I personally prefer exams to projects because projects are so much more time consuming than studying for an exam. This is particularly true with group projects, especially when members of your group choose to complete their work at half the speed of dead grandma. I have one such scum-sucking imbecile in one of my groups this semester. These productivity remoras seem to develop early in life. In fact, as a kid, I was usually the one stuck with all the work while everyone else sat around and ate Cheerios, and it seems not a lot has changed, except now instead of Cheerios, Mr. Group Project Member sits around playing with his palm pilot kvetching about how “busy” he is. I would like to take this opportunity to inform Mr. Group Project Member that we are all busy. In fact, I don’t know a single person enrolled in the School of Public Health either full or part time who is not busy. Most of us have more to do than there is time to do it, and yet we manage to dredge up the energy to complete our portion of the group project. Therefore, Mr. Group Project Member, would you please a) put down the damn palm pilot, b) remove your head from the bodily orifice in which it currently seems to reside, and c) complete some actual work instead of awkwardly avoiding it, so that I don’t have to sit through another group meeting thinking of all the things I could be doing instead of listening to you whine from behind your palm pilot.
Luckily, I do have two projects to complete before the end of this semester that are not group ones. The first is a presentation I have to give on cost effectiveness studies. That will be over tomorrow. The second is my plan B project, which is nearing completion. I just have a few details to add to the discussion, and then it will hopefully be in decent enough shape to send off to my panel (finger crossed). I didn’t get as much finished this weekend as I would have liked due to the fact that I was in New York for a cousin’s wedding. I was really glad to get to go to the wedding even though it wasn’t the most convenient timing on the planet. The groom was my cousin Rob, who was marrying his long-time girlfriend Sandi. It was awesome to see how happy Rob and Sandi looked the whole day. I got to see my parents and siblings as well as my amazing niece Brooke and nephew Harry. I was really glad that Dan got to come with me, and he played for the cocktail hour at the reception. We stayed one extra day so I could meet up with some friends from NYU and just be in Manhattan again. I had dinner at my favorite Ukrainian restaurant, Veselka, where they have AMAZING cabbage soup, pierogi, and beet salad. We had a great time visiting some of the old favorite spots and just walking around the Village. It was very refreshing to be back in New York, but it was REALLY hard to come back to Minnesota.
I’ve also been lining up my work plans for this summer. It is quite the mish-mosh of work: I will stay at the Department of Psychiatry until the end of August, from May until June, I will stay with the College of Pharmacy, and then at the end of June, I will start working for the Department of Pediatric Cancer in Epi. Then, this fall I will start full time as a fellow in Pediatric Cancer while I start the program for a PhD in Epidemiology. I will also be working for a private consulting firm part time this summer doing super-exciting sample size calculations and random data analyses. Hopefully, I will find some time to relax as well. I know for certain that my mom and I will be going to the Joint Statistical Meeting (the annual meeting of the American Statistical Association) in D.C. this August, and Dan is taking me to Chicago for a week as a graduation present.
But first, I just have to get through a couple more group project meetings without smashing Mr. Group Project Member’s palm pilot against his fat head…

Posted at 8:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So much has happened this past couple of weeks, and so much is going to happen in the next month or so, it can feel almost overwhelming at times. My biggest “accomplishment” was turning in a completed first draft of my Plan B to my advisor this week. I really have learned a lot from my project, and many of the lessons were hard ones to learn. I am not the most “syntax savy” individual, so using an “unpopular” software for my analyses was probably not the most prudent move on my part. However, the software—Mplus—is the “best” software available for doing analyses with latent variables methods, which was the topic I wanted to explore in my Plan B, so use it I did. Unlike more common packages like SAS and R, and even SPSS, there are only a scant number of recources one can utilize with Mplus questions and issues. The most painful part was having to scour the internet for HOURS at a time to glean little bits of syntax buried deep within someone’s rambling webpage that would enable my program to even run. Since my data set is rather sparse for use in a latent variables approach, and a lot of my models were rather complex, I ran into almost every issue possible when attempting to run my models. From failure to converge, to model nonidentification, to non positive-definitive matrices to unstable variance estimates and Lord only knows what else, Mplus fought me every step of the way. Of course, the difficulties I encountered have contributed to a pretty interesting discussion session where I address these issues in terms of the tradeoff between Mplus’ flexibility of estimation and the copious issues that can accompany its utilization for analysis.
I also did manage to finish my Bayes take home exam. Now, when I say “finish,” I simply mean that there was something written down for every question; however, I am more than convinced that I fell far short of the goal of actually correctly answering most of the problems. I am proud of the fact that I did finish more than I thought I would, and that my WinBugs and R code at least produced answers that seemed at least related on some level to the test questions. If this were not my fun class that I’m taking pass/fail, I would be much more stressed than I currently am, but with things the way they currently are, I am happy with how the test went. The Bayes class itself continues to rock my socks off. We are now studying spatial Bayes, in which correlations among observations based on spatial proximity (such as counties in a state that share a border) are taken into account. We learned how to import maps into R and Winbugs and then analyze data for those maps along with map-specific covariates (such as average sun exposure by county) and examine how the relative observed responses can change with the adjustment for these covariates. As a toy example from class, the raw average SAT scores tend to be higher in the Midwest; however, when the number of people taking the SAT is taken into account, the higher scoring areas appear on the coasts. This is probably due to the fact that almost everyone on the coasts take the SAT—not the ACT—and so you have students of all abilities reporting SAT scores, whereas in the Midwest, most students take the ACT, and only those students who are of a high enough academic caliber to be applying to the better schools on the coasts will bother to take the SAT, thus only “good” students who will tend to score high are taking the test in these areas.
In Clinical Trials, I am just trying to finish up the slides for our big group presentation at the beginning of May. Part of the requirements for the class is to complete a fake (and abbreviated) study protocol as a group and then present the protocol to the class. I am one of the presenters, and as such it is part of my job to make sure that our presentation is adequately cogent. Luckily, my group has been able to work well together, and I feel pretty good about the preparation levels for the end of this class. This is also the only class where I will actually have to take a final, so one my presentation is over, I will be able to devote some time to studying for that.
I have two other presentations for which to prepare—one for my Translational Research class on cost effectiveness studies, and one for my Bayes class. I have finished the former and will be (hopefully) completing the latter very soon (as long as Plan B revisions don’t take over my life). There is, of course, the Plan B presentation, which I will have to start preparing very soon as well.
This week I’ll also be preparing to go to New York for a cousin’s wedding this Friday. While it is not the most convenient time for me to be taking a trip, I will be really glad to see my extended family and unwind a little bit. It will also be really nice to get back to the City and meet up with some old friends from college. I don’t get to see them (or New York) as often as I would like now that I live in Minnesota, but every time I get to go back, I always have a great time.

Posted at 10:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I realized earlier this week that I actually only have about a month of school left. I have mixed feelings about the end of this semester since it will mark the end of my studenthood in the Biostatistics program. I have learned so much in the past two years and have had so many wonderful professors, and it seems strange to be ending this chapter in my academic career. I’m really proud of the work that I’ve produced for my Plan B, and I think that I will have a really nice final product. I have really enjoyed working with my advisor throughout this whole process—I would say that getting to interact with such a brilliant and experienced individual has been the biggest benefit I have gained from the Plan B project.
My classes have really picked up in terms of work after spring break. I just finished an assignment for Clinical Trials that is due this Thursday. It was quite a bit more involved and computational than I had anticipated, so I am really glad that I decided to tackle it this weekend instead of waiting. I also spent a good portion of this weekend wrapped up in the final write-up of my plan B. I still have a few more models that I need to look at, but I have about 20 pages written and edited, so I’m feeling very good about where I am with that. I have also been working on a take home exam for my Intro to Bayes course. I’m not very confident about this take-home—it is going to require a good deal of WinBugs and R programming, and while I am certainly a huge fan of this software, I am still a novice when it comes to actual syntax. I’ve had success getting help for the homeworks from other people in the class who were more experienced programmers. I have actually been surprised by how willing people in the class have been to get together and work through problems together. It seems like a lot of the time in Biostats, people are more reluctant to work together (maybe that is just my experience). While this has been a nice unexpected feature of the class, it does me no good for the take home exam since we obviously cannot work together on the exam. I feel that as long as I take the “slow and steady” approach and don’t go ripping into the program expecting to get the entire program written bug-free in the first try I will be more than capable of doing a decent job on the exam. The professor has made the theory behind the code very clear, so conceptually I feel comfortable with the material. We’ll find out!
I am also going to be taking notes for a focus group for the Insomnia study this week. I’m not really familiar with the “qualitative data” that will apparently be collected during this focus group, but it should be interesting to find out what people found to be beneficial and detrimental to the effectiveness of the experimental intervention. Again, this study was supposed to examine the effectiveness of a mindfulness-based stress reduction course on improved sleep in insomniacs compared to using Lunesta—a standard sleep medication.
I have to say that I find it seriously disturbing that it was snowing the day of the season opener for baseball. I find it even more disturbing that people still insist that the Twins should have an outdoor stadium. Usually they justify their insane viewpoint by saying something like “baseball was meant to be played outside.” Yes, but baseball was also “meant” to be played during the day so that the players could see the ball, but we decided to alter baseball’s “natural” state by adding stadium lights, and now baseball can be played at night. This means more people can attend the game since they no longer have to occur during working hours. And yet, no one seems too concerned about this deviation from how things were “meant” to be. This is because we have things called “invention” and “progress” that alters nature for the benefit of humans. These same concepts have brought us many other unnatural yet convenient innovations such as indoor plumbing and automobiles. So now, even though people were “meant” to pee outside and walk wherever they needed to go, we realized that things don’t have to be the way they were “meant” to be. People with allergies were “meant” to suffer from sinus pressure and annoy everyone around them with their constant sniffling, but once again silly old “invention” gets in the way of how things were “meant” to be and brought us Claratin. And people were “meant” to run around naked, but (thankfully) “innovation” once again intervened with something called “J. Crew.” But God forbid we try to stay warm while watching baseball inside. Apparently that is altering the way things were “meant” to be too much.

Posted at 9:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The past few weeks have been quite busy for me, as I’m sure they have for everyone. There is the big frenzied push to get things done before spring break, and then usually the actual frenzy of spring break, followed immediately by the post-spring break scramble to make up for all of the time you should have been devoting to work, but were otherwise occupied during spring break. My pre-spring break scramble was further complicated by the unexpected death of my grandpap, thusly requiring me to travel to Tennessee for his funeral. The weather, of course, refused to cooperate (thank you, Minnesota), but after three cancelled flights and several hours of rotting in some of our great nation’s less than pleasant airports, I managed to arrive safely and in time for the funeral.
Upon my return, I had to thrust myself immediately back into work and school. I was eagerly awaiting spring break so that I could really get to working on the finishing touches of my plan B project which had been languishing the past couple of weeks. I had the usual round of midterms before I could partake in my spring break respite, but nothing too difficult or strenuous.
So then, spring break arrived. Determined to maintain the ravishing albino pastiness my skin has developed since moving to Minnesota, I didn’t go anywhere warm or sunny for vacation. Instead, I spent a good portion of time in my office, working for my RA position, and of course, attempting to tackle the final portion of my plan B. I’m finally entering the last of the follow-up data for the Insomnia study at the College of Pharmacy and hoping to God we finish the grant proposals on time. Nothing motivates quite like a deadline, I suppose. It has been a really good experience for me to be able to be a part of the grant writing process firsthand. I am grateful to be able to have seen the prep-work, research, and time that goes into writing successful grants and all of the careful planning that goes into a study.
I did manage to finish one big project over the break for my Translational Research class. I haven’t spoken much of this class, which is unfortunate because it has really been quite interesting. Right now, we are discussing phase II cancer trials, and the different designs and considerations that must go into performing these early phase trials. It all essentially boils down to a series of ethics questions about the balance between advancing science and medicine and treating and protecting the human patient. I think it is easy—particularly in Biostats—to start seeing people as “events” or “datapoints” instead of people, and it has been beneficial for me to have the validity of this viewpoint challenged a little. The project I finished is actually the final project for the end of the course that takes the place of a final exam. We were to read some (assigned) papers and then we will give a presentation on those papers the last week of class. My topic is examining the cost effectiveness of various screening and vaccination strategies for preventing cervical cancer. The papers I read are simulation studies of the cost to society and the government for instituting an HPV vaccination program versus the benefit of reducing morbidity from cervical cancer.
I did not spend my entire break chained to my desk slaving over schoolwork, however: I also had the pleasure of paying my taxes, which was about as riveting as watching a carpet stain. I feel even worse for my husband who has all kinds of extra fun little forms that he has to fill out since he is self employed. For fun this break, I did manage to attend a Timberwolves game, which I enjoyed quite a bit. It was particularly enjoyable because it was inexpensive given the fact that a group of handicapped gerbils could probably beat the Timberwolves in a game of basketball.
This spring break, I also made a rather interesting observation about Minnesotans that I think explains a lot. I have always been a little baffled by the phrase “Minnesota nice.” I mean, as far as I have been able to tell, Minnesotans are no more “nice” than anyone from anywhere else. And yet, here is this phrase “Minnesota nice” that seems to imply that there is a special kind of “nice” that comes naturally to the natives of this frigid state. I could never quite figure out, however, what was so special about this type of “nice.” But then over break, I figured it out—Minnesotans don’t know what the word “nice” means! I discovered this when I heard people foolishly commenting on how “nice” the weather has been lately. I’m sorry, but on what solar system is forty degrees and soggy considered “nice?” I will admit that the weather has been nicER than the frigid temperatures we had been experiencing, but the improved weather still does not qualify as nice. No, just because the weather is not crappy does not mean the weather is “nice.” You see, “nice” does not merely imply absence of bad, but also the presence of good. For example, say you had a car that was more rickety than Bill Buckner’s knees, and one day this car completely stopped running. Now, if you were to purchase another car that smelled like the contents of a hockey player’s locker and made more noise than a launching space shuttle whenever it changed gears, would this be a “nice” car just because it was superior to your old car that didn’t even run? I think you would agree with me that while this new car is not as bad as the old one, it still falls far short of the “nice” line. Similarly, let us examine the current improvement in weather in Minnesota. While the current weather is inarguably improved from the abysmal climate we had been enduring, the meager boost in temperature does not by any means propel Minneapolis’s weather into the “nice” category, particularly when you keep in mind that the increase in temperature is unfortunately accompanied by the melting of the large piles of snow that have been growing over the winter, thusly turning a good portion of the city’s sidewalks into a swampy wetland—also not “nice.” So, yes, the weather is not completely miserable anymore, but it is not “nice.” The weather in San Diego is “nice.” The weather in Orlando is “nice.” The weather in Minnesota has NOT been “nice”—it has been “not crappy.” But all the same, people have been calling this mediocre weather “nice.” I must conclude, then, that in Minnesota, “nice” simply means “not crappy.” This being the case, I agree that (for the most part) people here are “Minnesota nice.”

It may interest you to know that the current usage of the word "nice" as a word meaning agreeable, pleasant, good, etc. is NOT even, in fact the primary definition of the word "nice." In fact, "nice" as I learned while studying for the GRE really means "difficult to please," "refined," or "delicate." Now we all know what "nice" means.

Posted at 7:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

For the first time in a couple of years, I was on the “other side�? of human subjects research when I participated in a case-control study last week. The study is on hearing loss from childhood ear infections, and involved a hearing test and the collection of a blood sample. I have to say that the experience was less than enthralling. The visit began with the research assistant informing me that I could not hear out of my left ear, which believe it or not, I already knew. What I did not know, but soon found out was that my Eustachian tube had been warped as a result of childhood ear infections, and that the small bones in my hear had been broken, rendering my left ear about as useful as a cement lifejacket. Luckily this is a problem that can apparently be fixed, so come April, I will (hopefully) be able to finally hear out of my left ear. After that excitement was over, I had the even more thrilling experience of having my blood drawn by a phlebotomist who was apparently either a sadist or heavily inebriated because she missed my vein twice. The first, I’m sure was an honest mistake. I mean, could I really expect someone who spends their entire day gouging people with needles to be able to successfully locate my vein? But, I forgave the first mishap and gave the nurse the go-ahead for another attempt. The second stab wound was even more painful than the first, and equally unsuccessful even despite the fact that this time when she missed the vein, our needle-happy nurse decided all she had to do was wiggle the needle like a freaking knitting needle inside my arm because she apparently did not believe in the existence of pain receptors. I was feeling generous and decided to opt for a “three strikes�? approach to this blood-draw extravaganza and awaited a third harpooning. As luck would have it, not only was this third try a “success�?, but magically the holes from the other two failed attempts decided to start squirting blood like a Roman fountain. I have to say, although I’m glad to be able to help contribute to Otitis Media research, the overall experience was less than stellar.
Another less than stellar experience occurred on Friday when my husband and I decided on a whim to attend a high school basketball game. It had been so long since I had been at a high school sporting event that I had forgotten how pathetic and downright rotten so many of the spectators can be at these things. I don’t want to point any fingers, so for ambiguity’s sake, we’ll call the home team the “Maple Grove Crimson Tide,�? and pretend that they were hosting “Elk River,�? and in the stands was the ferocious fire-spewing creatures known as the “athletes’ parents�? who were in full form that particular evening. The moms in particular were an atrocious sight, not just due to their tasteless “mom jeans�? and worse—the “mom mullet,�? (a hairstyle I had not witnessed until I moved to Minnesota but for some reason seems to be popular here), but also by their horrifically asinine banter and behavior. I’m not really sure why people think it is okay to act that freakishly insane over a bunch of 16-year-olds playing basketball, but there they were, all screeching like banshees at the players, the coaches, and each other. One woman in particular was very anxious to inform “Elk River�? with pronounced certainty that they should play “defense.�? I’m sure this was a helpful tip to the young men on the court, as I am almost certain that they had fully intended to sit on the court and crochet doilies until she told them to play “defense�? instead. Thanks to “high school sports mom’s�? vigilance, “Elk River�? did in fact play defense, and even played offense without her needing to tell them to do so. I understand emotional investment in a team, of course—I am, after all, a Steelers fan (did you honestly think I could go a whole blog without bringing that up?), but when the emotion crosses the threshold into psychosis, I think it is time to re-evaluate, particularly when a bunch of pubescent boys in dorky gym shorts and black socks with white sneakers whips you up to that level of neuroticism.
Other than the aforementioned puncture-induced trauma from the phlebotomist from the Black Lagoon, I had a pretty good week at school. Data collection is in its final stages for the Insomnia pilot study, we are *almost* ready to submit our paper to JAMA, my poster got accepted for presentation at a conference in March, and my classes are still going well. I have also started the final stage of my plan B project, and have completed a veritable cornucopia of tables and figures for the accompanying paper. Hopefully everything will continue to run smoothly this semester, and I can avoid being skewered like a lamb kabob for the blood draw at my doctor’s visit in April.

Posted at 11:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As I’m sure most of you have guessed, my week started out fantastically, thanks to the Pittsburgh Steelers’ winning an unprecedented sixth Lombardi trophy. I am proud to say that I did some of my personal best terrible towel waving at the end of the fourth quarter, and I fully believe that it was the exuberant waving of the terrible towel by the countless members of Steeler Nation that ultimately propelled the football into Santonio Holmes’ hands to seal the six-pack for the Steelers. The aftermath of this landmark event will no doubt be felt for weeks to come. In fact Punxsutawney Phil (sporting a tiny groundhog-sized Polamalu jersey) was reported to state “Who cares about the weather, the Steelers won the Super Bowl!�? and then declared six more weeks of winter only for Arizona fans. I’ll try not to babble anymore about the Steelers, but I make no promises.
Dan and I went to Bachmann’s on Lyndale on Monday. I guess Bachmann’s flowers are popular here or something. Someone had recommended that we go, and it was actually a very cute little place—obviously lots of flowers for sale. I think I might go back and purchase a “watch ‘em grow�? pot. It is a large pot that contains bulbs like jonquils and crocus that you can keep in the house and watch grow and bloom throughout the spring. Since we live in an apartment, we don’t have a yard, so I thought it might be nice. Not nearly as nice, mind you, as the amazing Super Bowl victory I witnessed on Sunday. The other feature of Bachmann’s on Lyndale is the fact that a branch of Patrick’s Bakery is in the shop, so you can sit in a nice little garden area and have lunch. The owner is a Parisian trained patissier, and the shop has lovely individual quiches and pain au chocolat and whatnot. I was pleased to find that my favorite drink as a child—the diablo menthe—was also available, so I, of course had to get one, and it tasted just as good as I remembered. Of course, the taste of the diablo menthe did not hold a candle to the sweet taste of the unadulterated victory Steeler Nation experienced on Sunday in their historical SIXTH Super Bowl win.
I had all of my classes once again today. Dr. Neaton was out of town, so we had a guest lecturer for Clinical Trials. She discussed the factors that lead to the termination of a study before full data collection is concluded, and the whole process that is involved in ending a study early. It seems like a rather unpleasant process that is best avoided if at all possible—I cannot imagine how discouraging it would have to be to be the PI on a large-scale study that ends early like that. The disappointment probably feels something like the bitter sorrow of all of the fans of the pathetic teams that are not as wonderful as the Pittsburgh Steelers who have won SIX Super Bowls.
In translational research, we are learning about the ROC curve. ROC stands for receiver operating characteristic, and it is basically a plot of specificity by 1-sensitivity for a diagnostic test at various cutpoints for classifying a continuous test outcome as either “positive�? or negative�?. It is used to determine the quality of a particular diagnostic test, and also the optimal cutpoint for minimizing type I and type II error (i.e. false positive and false negatives). In order for a test to be maximally effective, it needs to be able to perform at as high a level as possible with as few mistakes as possible. In fact, we could model the ideal test after the Pittsburgh Steelers’ miniscule error rates and phenomenal success rate in their SIXTH Super Bowl win (diagnostic tests, however, will probably never be featured in a Mean Joe Green tribute commercial).
And last but not least, Dr. Carlin introduced us to the wonderful world of WINBugs in my Intro to Bayes class. We just did some very baby-like examples to begin, but I’m already impressed by the software’s obvious potential (although mind you, not as impressed as I am by the impeccable poetry in motion I witnessed on the football field this Sunday). One of the things I’ll definitely have to keep in mind with WINBugs, however, is that it does not use variance, but rather the inverse of variance, precision. Hey, maybe the Steelers are all Bayesians, ‘cause they sure exhibited precision last Sunday when they won their SIXTH Super Bowl.
I will not let that horribly corny joke be the last nugget of wisdom in my blog this week. Instead, I will leave you with the immortal words of Jack Lambert, Steelers’ linebacker and participant in four of Pittsburgh’s SIX Super Bowl victories: "If I could start my life all over again, I would be a professional football player, and you damn well better believe I would be a Pittsburgh Steeler.�?

Posted at 10:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I managed to be fairly productive over winter break. I worked on perfecting the second draft of my Plan B project, and I am now ready for the final portion of my analysis. I’m really grateful to my advisor because she decided to have me perform my project in several distinct steps of analyses with a writing session after each step so that the process could be fresh in my mind. I think this approach is far superior to waiting until the end and having to conjure up memories of things I did months ago. I’m hopeful that the remainder of the project will go smoothly and I can have a really nice final product. I also continued to work in both of my RA positions in the Department of Psychiatry and the College of Pharmacy. The transplant study for Pharmacy has its first paper in press, and we finished up a second paper that is being submitted to JAMA. I also managed to finalize my own paper on using cumulative logistics models to predict physical activity as a function of drinking behaviors in college students.
My first week of classes went really well. The only frustrating thing really is that my clinical trials lecture is being transmitted to the U of M campuses in Rochester and Duluth, which means that we are going to be cheated out of about 15 minutes of lecture time every class period while the Rhodes scholars who operate the broadcasting system fuddle around. The actual content of the course seems like it will be interesting and Dr. Neaton, the professor, does a nice job presenting the material. I am also taking two Biostats electives. The first one is a seminar style class on phase I and II trials and is taught by Dr. Chap Le. I think this will be a nice compliment to clinical trials which focuses primarily on phase III trials. My last class is Intro to Bayes, which so far has been amazing. The professor is doing a fabulous job so far, and I am really fascinated by the course content. I’m really excited to be learning WinBugs in the Bayes class as well, and the textbook is fantastic. I didn’t need to take this class to get my degree, but I’m really glad that I decided to go ahead and enroll. I think this semester will prove to be extremely informative and enjoyable.
Of course, no blog of mine would be complete without some mention of that most glorious of football teams, the Pittsburgh Steelers. I am hopeful that my Steelers can outperform the Cardinals, although I am sure that Kurt Warner will be quite the contender. I will probably be spending a good portion of the Super Bowl screaming at the television because everyone knows that this is the most effective way to control any outcome being broadcast. In fact, it has been proven that the 1995 OJ Simpson acquittal was single-handedly achieved by a devout sect of Bills fanatics all hurling synchronized insults and stale cheetos at their television sets. So on the most important Sunday of the year (sorry Easter), I will be proudly twirling my Terrible Towel.

Posted at 11:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I used to like snow. In fact, I used to love snow. As a child, I remember the thrill of waking up to the glistening white glory of a night’s snowfall. On particularly lucky days, school would be cancelled, and I could spend the day making snow forts with my friends. We would then barrage each others’ brains out with a deluge of snowballs and spend the afternoon recovering with a well-earned snack of homemade hot cocoa (with peppermint, of course) and cinnamon bread. However, on the 21st of December, as my husband and I inched our way out of the Minnesotan abyss amidst the billowing swirls of a foggy mass of snow, I decided that perhaps snow is not that great. It was not at that point even snowing anymore, but our precarious predicament was created by the unfortunate combination of powdery snow, high winds, and the fact that southern Minnesota is as flat as month-old soda. We luckily successfully escaped Minnesota, and eleven hours later, found ourselves safely at my dad’s house where we were to spend the holiday.
We spent most of the week in a flurry of friend and family. One of the biggest highlights for my husband was the charity concert he put on for Heifer International. It was the first benefit concert that he had ever organized, but despite a few kinks, it went splendidly. We also were able to attend the wedding of a friend of mine from high school. We had been really close in high school, and she ended up attending West Point, where she met her husband. We stayed close in college since I was able to visit her quite a bit when I was at NYU, and after her plebe year, she was able to come to the City to see me. Her wedding was beautiful, of course, and I couldn’t be happier for her. The only low point was when my husband decided that we needed to dance at the reception. Now, my husband is a musician. He has this thing called “rhythm.�? He also has “coordination.�? I, however, was not blessed with either of these gifts. Instead, when I dance, I look like a wounded ostrich flailing helplessly in painful spasms. Needless to say, the videographer was more than happy to capture my pathetic arrhythmic stylings on camera because apparently that level of jackassery needs to be preserved forever.
On returning to the land of 10,000 lakes (and 10,000,000,000 mosquitoes), we had the pleasure of having my mom visit for a few days. I utilized the fact that her trip coincided with the post-holiday sale at J. Crew to procure several sweaters that I had been coveting. We also have successfully finished the research papers (on college athletes and their drinking habits) we had been working on together, and will be submitting them to journals for publication shortly!! On a sadder note, we also attended the Vikings/Eagles game at the Metrodome, where my husband’s dreams were dashed to pieces at the hands of Donovan McNabb. I guess there’s always next season. All in all, I had a great time with my mom, and I’m really glad I got to see both of my parents during the break.
Now, I am preparing for next semester. I’ll be taking the second part of the stat theory class (8102) and clinical trials, which is a required course for biostats. I’m also going to be taking an intro to Bayes class, and I’m really excited about getting to take it. I’m a little apprehensive, just because I will have to learn WinBugs and be much better at R than I am currently, but I’m confident that as long as I can swallow my pride and ask for help when I need it (which in my case is easier said than done), I will have a successful semester.

Posted at 1:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This last Saturday, I had the distinct pleasure of taking my Stat8101 final exam. The joy of a two hour Saturday exam was augmented by one of the nastiest colds I have ever had in my life. And let me tell you, there is nothing in the universe quite as elating as futzing through proofs for two hours while it feels like you are simultaneously being strangled by a very weak boa constrictor and choking on a large, hairy insect. After that “fun�? was over, I thought I would treat myself to the Blizzard of the Month at Dairy Queen. I am a member of the Blizzard fan club, and had not yet partaken of this month’s soft serve tastiness, but alas! My few minutes serene of tooth-rotting bliss was shattered by the appearance of a pair of a most particular breed of Minnesotan: the Twin-Cities Hobo.
Now, in New York there were many, many, many hobos. In fact, the only thing in New York more populous than the hobos are the Starbucks. However, these hobos were classy. They did not rudely accost you and demand money. They did not belligerently argue with you about how much booze money they felt you should give them. No, they sat quietly out of the way, peeing on themselves in solitude. But, not Twin Cities hobos, oh no! They initiate conversations, aggressively demand money, and in general interact much more closely with any unfortunate soul who happens to be within shouting distance. Such actions from a New York hobo are rare, and are only accompanied by a mugging. So if you are approached by a Manhattan hobo, you should run like heck, because you are about to get stabbed and stripped of your iPod. Needless to say, I was not comfortable with the fact that this dynamic duo was attempting to cozy up with me and my blizzard, filling my nostrils with the sophisticated potpourri of body odor, urine and cheap alcohol. I left my blizzard to fend for itself and scurried home. I have to say, these Twin Cities hobos could take a lesson in panhandling etiquette from their more sophisticated Big Apple compatriots. Let’s get with the program guys.
The rest of the weekend was enveloped in a baking flurry. I was lucky enough to just have a 24-hour “bug,�? so feeling quite refreshed on Sunday, I cranked up my favorite Elvis album, and rip snorted my way through seven varieties of cookie: double chocolate biscotti, spritz, mini pecan pies, rolled sugar cookies, caramel pecan clusters, chocolate mint puddles, and Russian tea cakes. I now have over 350 cookies in my apartment, and it is glorious.
Speaking of glorious, how about those Steelers? If it took a “controversial touchdown�? to secure the title, then so be it. A win is a win in my book. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some cookies to eat…

Posted at 8:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I’m so excited to be nearing the end of this semester. My last final is on the 18th, and afterwards I have the pleasure of seeing an amazing show at the Dakota. The name of the quartet is the Dan Musselman quartet, and, yes, that is my husband! It will be so nice to be able to relax and really enjoy the performance; the last time Dan played at the Dakota was right in the midst of midterms, so I had to lug some textbooks along which really put a damper on the night.
I’ll be presenting my group project in my latent variables class tomorrow and handing in the accompanying final paper. Saturday is my Stat8101 final, and then the 18th is Survival Analysis (and Dan Musselman at the Dakota. $5 cover charge. Good music. I promise).
And yes, I am very excited about the fact that my Steelers managed a 20-13 win over Dallas and Tony “Ears�? Romo. I just hope that they don’t blow it in the playoffs.
I have a question for all of the Minnesotans who read this blog. Several times in the past couple of weeks, I have encountered one of the most nonsensical “Minnesota-isms.�? It is a phrase that is both uninteresting and absurd (thus proving it must be truly Minnesotan). What exactly do you people mean when you say “going north?�? As far as I can tell, WE�?RE ALREADY “NORTH.�? But seriously, what does that mean? Brainerd? Canada? Alaska? The North Pole? Is that what you mean—that you’re going to visit Santa? You do realize that “north�? is just one direction, don’t you? Are you also going east or west? Perhaps you are going to Russia, or maybe Norway? We can’t tell, because all you said is that you are going north. Sometimes, you add the oh-so-helpful word “up,�? apparently because there is also a “down north.�? Or, is there really some small town in Minnesota named “Up North�? where you all go, in which case, I apologize for my confusion.

Posted at 9:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Thanksgiving has always made me feel like a death row inmate having his final meal. I suppose that’s a little overdramatic—finals are definitely not as bad as being executed, but you get the idea. Can you really enjoy your family (assuming you have an enjoyable family) and good food (assuming someone in your family can cook good food), knowing that in mere hours, you are going to be an overwhelmed basket case plagued by a veritable avalanche of exams and papers? If I were in charge of the universe, I would simply make school start in early August and have finals before Thanksgiving so that we wouldn’t have to endure two and a half weeks of stressful nonsense every December. But if I were queen of the universe, I would also make calculus and physics mandatory courses in high school, Ugg boots illegal, and the entire state of Minnesota would be designated a penal colony (think Stalin’s Siberia), so perhaps it would be for the best if I weren’t in charge. So, like everyone else at the U, today I trudged into work and class wishing it were still Thanksgiving, and praying that my sanity remains intact until the afternoon of the 18th.
But there was something sadly absent this Thanksgiving: an icon of American gluttony that has graced tables across this fair nation for generations: the John Madden turducken. For those of you who may be unaware of the origins of this glorious trifecta of poultry badassness, let me explain: it is a chicken (deboned) stuffed inside of a duck (deboned) stuffed inside of a turkey, so that every serving contains a portion of each bird. Every year on Thanksgiving, John Madden prepares a turducken and then consumes it with the help of several NFL players at one of the Thanksgiving Day football games. Unfortunately, due to poor health (who knows how THAT happened), Madden chose not to cook a turducken this year. The outrage expressed by some of society’s more couth members was understandable. How dare Madden spit in the eye of one of the traditions that makes America the nation that it is (fat as heck). To some, Thanksgiving without the turducken may seem like the Fourth of July without fireworks, or Valentine’s Day without cheap wine and bad chocolate. But let me tell you that some of our nation’s finest young minds really came through for their country this Thanksgiving. Not only did they act as true patriots, defying the will of the mighty John Madden, and insist on creating and consuming the iconic sextaped that has so eloquently defined American redneck culture, but they in their unwavering commitment to all that America stands for, did not stop at the turducken! No, these proud young men were not content to replicate what John Madden so irreverently failed to compose, but rather in a flurry of what can only be called pure genius, these innovators of culinary excellence gave rise to a new level of sheer artery obstruction: the turbacoducken. That’s right, they took a turducken and wrapped it in BACON! If this concept offends you, then the terrorists have truly won.
I did not, in fact, eat a turducken or a turbacoducken on Thanksgiving, but I did watch a LOT of football (I know, you’re stunned!). My husband and I had a nice, quiet meal at home, and the best part was we both got to sleep in!! The weekend as a whole was restorative and relaxing. Now I just have to make it until the 18th…

Posted at 5:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I’m writing my blog for the week despite the fact that last week was perhaps the most unbloggable week of my entire life. I will not bore you with the details, but my week basically consisted of working on a take-home exam, studying, attending class, working on the take-home exam, studying, working, studying, studying, studying, and so on. In fact, my week and weekend were only punctuated with three events of any substance whatsoever (assuming a loose definition of substance).
The first was the fact that, despite my better judgment, I set aside time on Wednesday to watch the season premiere of Top Chef. I’m looking forward to seeing how the new crop of chefs fares this season. I haven’t formed a particular affinity for any of the chefs yet, but I think a few have great potential. Then there was, of course, the added delight of having Jean-Georges Vongerichten as the guest judge. I absolutely adore his food (particularly Spice Market in the Meatpacking District in Manhattan).
The second notable aspect of the past week was the fact that this weekend, I took on the role of the mighty huntress. My prey: the spindly-legged freaks (a.k.a. gross bugs) that have sought refuge from the cold (see! Even the bugs aren’t dumb enough to go outside during Minnesota’s winter) in my apartment. Now, I’m all about providing a safe haven for those in need, but only for creatures that I like, and hairy, nasty six-legged invertebrates simply do not fall into that category. In Missouri, we would have a surge of ladybugs invade every winter, but that was fine; ladybugs are cute. I’ve seen babies’ rooms decorated in ladybug themes. They are innocuous, cheery little guys that you want to save from the cold. Whatever the heck is crawling its way across my living room carpet, on the other hand, is some sort of miniature monster worthy of destruction. So destroy I did.
Then there was the Steelers’ win on Sunday with a never-before seen score of 11-10 against the formidable Chargers. This Thursday should prove an easy win against the Bengals, but then it is an uphill battle from there (Patriots and the Cowboys. Ugh.). I was glad to see Ben play so well, and despite the low score, the Steelers managed to dominate throughout the game. And, being the nerd that I am, I can’t help but love the fact that this was the first 11-10 game in NFL history. Now THAT is historical.

Posted at 7:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I am amazed and ashamed by the American public and the American news media. In proclaiming with such doting enthusiasm on having elected the “first African American President,�? all that is being accomplished is pointing out just how far America has to go in its fight against racism. What would truly be a “historical election�? is one in which a minority candidate is elected and nobody cares. If America is truly “color-blind�? then the color of a candidate’s skin will be about as noteworthy as the color of his or her eyes or the straightness of his or her teeth. But, no, apparently we as a nation have not progressed that far. Apparently to a majority of Americans, the most notable thing about Barack Obama is not the fact that he is educated, having attended Columbia University and Harvard Law School, nor is it the fact that he has made great strides to end social inequities while working as a community organizer, or that he has contributed to the betterment of education as a professor at the University of Chicago Law School, and served his country as a senator from Illinois. Apparently it is far more interesting and vital to the accurate depiction of Barack Obama to constantly babble about the fact that 23 of his chromosomes are the result of a sperm that was manufactured in the testicles of a man from Kenya. Yes, that is clearly the most noteworthy aspect of this venerable man. Thank God the helpful news anchors and columnists are being so helpful as to point out that oh-so-critical fact. Let’s all pat ourselves on the back now and completely ignore the fact that our very infatuation with this man’s racial origins only points to our failure as a society to stamp out the bigotry that has so plagued our nation from its very genesis. I am glad Senator Obama is our President-Elect, but it is too bad that the election of such a worthy candidate must be tainted by such ubiquitous race-consciousness.

Posted at 8:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well, at least it decided to warm up enough so that all of the people standing in line at the polls won’t freeze to death. I was glad to see so many people already in line to vote on my way to class (my husband who had to wait in the line was not so glad, but that’s what he gets for switching his residency to Minnesota). I personally have already voted absentee in Missouri. I have actually never gotten to vote for “real�? because I was in New York for previous elections and therefore had to vote absentee.
I was glad to be able to take some time off this weekend. I usually am working on either my plan B or homework or research from 9 or 10 in the morning until 9 or ten at night on the weekends (except when the Steelers are playing), but I decided to take Friday off. My husband and I went to a couple jazz clubs (the highlight of the evening was the 1980’s medley sing-along with the fabulous Erin Schwab at Jitters--Journey was from the 80's right?). Afterwards, we went home and watched the Netflix movie that had been languishing on our coffee table for far too long. On Saturday I baked a sweet potato and praline pie and got started on some holiday shopping. I’m hoping to be able to have a belated Chanukah celebration with some family out East, particularly because it will cost a small fortune to ship the gifts.
Sunday was mildly successful in that I managed to get through some homework, but I did not get nearly enough done on my Plan B in part due to the fact that I apparently have an “old�? version of MPlus that is apparently “useless.�? Luckily after a meeting with my adviser on Monday, I think I am now back on track, at least, I hope so.
Monday was actually a very good day. I was able to get a lot of work done with my RA position at the College of Pharmacy, and the design paper got submitted finally for our transplant study. Now it’s back to work on the main outcomes paper. I also found out that my boss is wanting to keep me for next semester which is a nice boost for my ego as well as my wallet. I took off work early, and my husband and I went out to dinner with some friends. I was glad to have the opportunity to catch up with them and relax for a bit. Then, of course, there was the fantastic performance by the Steelers. It was good to see that even our backup QB is able to hold his own on the field (and I was glad Byron got another shot) and that the defense continues to perform outstandingly (7 sacks and two interceptions!).
Now it is time to get back to work to make up for all the time I took off this weekend. Arrgh.

Posted at 12:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Okay, so apparently the insanely frigid weather I predicted in my previous blog was significantly closer than predicted. I have to say, I have never experienced snow before Thanksgiving, and I have to add that I’m definitely not a fan. I think it is safe to assert that whatever pioneers decided to first settle in what is now Minnesota didn’t do so between the months of October and April.
Despite the unfortunate manifestation of winter’s beginning, I managed to have a fantastic weekend because my father and stepmother were visiting from Missouri. One of the highlights for my super do-it-yourselfer dad was when I took him to the huge Menard’s on University. There is no such thing as a Menard’s in Missouri (thank God, or my father would probably live there, gleefully wandering the aisles and subsisting off of wood chips and beef jerky). As a reward for spending my morning in a hardware store debating the relative merits of stainless steel vs. brushed nickel, I received a large gift of Bobbi Brown makeup and sweaters from J.Crew on a shopping trip later that day. All in all, it was a lovely weekend (despite the weather’s best efforts) of just lounging around and catching up with family (and ignoring the Steelers’ loss to New York).
Of course, I also worked on my Plan B project this weekend. I finally have all of my outcome variables cleaned up, and so I’m ready to start some factor analysis. I had a really productive meeting with my advisor on Monday, and things just generally seem to be falling into place quite well. Hopefully I’ll be able to slug through quite a bit of the preliminary class analysis and exploratory factor analyses this weekend (thanks to the updated version of M-Plus that I just installed on my computer).
On the RA front, this Saturday was the silent all-day retreat for the experimental mindfulness group in the insomnia pilot study. We had 75% of the participants show up, which is a very high rate of attendance for the retreat, so I feel pretty good about that. We are finishing up the papers for the transplant study, and working on developing some posters on the devices that we used to monitor treatment adherence.
Other than that, I’m just trying to get enough done this week so that I can enjoy Halloween. I am very excited about my costume: Sarah Palin. My husband will be going as a moose (well, technically we have reindeer antlers).

Posted at 8:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)