Student SPHere 2008-09

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)

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)

Taste Diversity, sponsored by Student Senate and the Dean of Student's Office, was last week. I had a great time and the food was great. Good job to everyone who organized this!

Imee and Dean Finnegan.

Eunice looking smart in her dress!

The cotton candy machine was the coolest thing! Although Don and Anna ended up covered in little tufts of cotton candy.

Noel in charge of the sushi-making stall.

Niketa getting her hands done in henna. They also had henna last year, which I tried out and found very fun.

Sung rocking it out.

Enjoying some cotton candy with Amy!

Posted at 1:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Aside from buying discounted Easter candy on Monday - hurray Peeps - I don't celebrate Easter. Yet this weekend managed to be a pretty good Easter Weekend.

Friday
Held a Happy Hour for the Confounders and friends. It was a gorgeous day, so I was mildly surprised that only two people came. We threw the disc around for a while and then went to the Dinkytowner for drinks and free pool. With three people, we played cutthroat style, and I actually won one game! I usually lose to Severin at pool, and he loses to me at bowling. Which reminds me, we haven't bowled in a while....

Saturday
Worked on the data analysis portion for my thesis. It went all right, except that my laptop battery came loose. I didn't notice this until I unplugged my laptop from the power cord and the screen went black. Ugh. Note to Stata developers: How about incorporating auto-save when writing do files?

Later in the evening, we biked over to the 400 Bar in the Cedar-Riverside area. I found out in early February that one of my favorite bands, Dr. Dog, was coming to town. I'm glad that the $10 service charge for purchasing tickets online was worth it, because there was a big line when we got there. The 400 Bar is pretty small and could have benefited from being larger. Still, the sound was good and I had a great time. Dr Dog plays a mean live set. I can't wait to see them again.

photo courtesy of Laura Musselman

Sunday
No real plans but to study. Soccer and ultimate were on hiatus due to Easter, so I was thinking about bowling and dinner. Then Joe called to see what Severin and I were doing for dinner that night. We didn't have any plans so we went over to his friends' apartment to cook beer can chicken. I've heard of this method of cooking before, but never tried it myself. I'm always up for a new cooking experience!

The chicken turned out amazing. Very tender meat and crispy skin. There was also homemade bread, grilled asparagus, mashed potatoes, and ice cream for dessert.

It was surprisingly warm that evening, around fifty degrees F. Grilling out on the porch and having a beer while chatting, it was a nice evening to pass with friends.

Posted at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I haven't been taking any photos lately, but if I had, they'd have one of the following themes:

1. Hunched over the kitchen table in my apartment, frantically finishing a draft for my thesis advisors/my boss at the Humphrey.
2. Hunched over the coffee table at Urban Bean - it's a great cafe for studying in Uptown - finishing a draft for my thesis advisors/my boss at the Humphrey.
3. Watching re-runs of ER with Severin. My dad Santa, gifted me with Seasons 1 and 2 a few years back. They're really good! I also watched the finale last week, which was all right. I didn't recognize anyone and the reunion of returning cast members felt forced. Also, where was Clooney?
4. Passed out in my bed, snoring.
5. Writing reviews for Yelp or checking Facebook instead of writing.
6. Adding more movies to my Netflix queue despite the fact that I still have DVDs from three weeks ago that remain unwatched.
7. Sitting on the couch thinking about how busy I am.
8. Making olive hummus - it's oddly soothing.

Olive Hummus

Ingredients:
Juice of two lemons
2 cans chickpeas, drained
1 can black olives, drained
3 tablespoons tahini (2 TB peanut butter will work in a pinch)
1/2 cup olive oil
Water
Salt

Utensils:
Hand blender and bowl or food processor
Containers to store hummus

1. Add olive oil, tahini, and lemon juice together in a big bowl or the food processor.
2. Add the chickpeas and olives to the bowl, blending a cup at a time. This will be easier than trying to blend the whole thing at once, especially if you have a hand blender.
3. Blend until smooth. Add water to thin it out to a desired consistency.
4. Store in containers. You can freeze some up to one month.

My supervisor at the city said it was all right to make up time after I'm done with my thesis, which makes my life feel much less stressful. Still, sometimes I wish there were several of me to get everything done.

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

Spring Break
While most of my friends went to places like Florida or Nicaragua, I stayed in Minneapolis. Fortunately, it was surprisingly warm. I caught up a little on work and cooked a lot. Udon with shrimp, shrimp fettuccine, ramen, etc. Everything new we tried turned out surprisingly well. It was a good mental break.

This is photo (not mine) is what we were going for when making udon with shrimp. But we breaded the shrimp with panko instead of doing tempura, since there were only two of us.

School
Busy as usual! You can safely assume that I will be stressed out until I get everything done. This week, I have to finish a literature review for work, a 20 page draft for my thesis, and some miscellaneous papers for my other classes.

Graduation
I will be flying home to Chicago to attend my brother's graduation. He's an electrical engineering major, or as he says,"Putting the double E back into 'geek.'" I haven't seen my family since Winter Break, which is probably the longest interval of time in which I have not gone back home. Usually during the semester I make it back once or twice. My sister also moved out to Louisiana for her job, so I am excited about going home, even if it is for a weekend.

I am not sure if I am walking for my own commencement. There are a lot of other projects I need to accomplish, so for me, walking is not a big deal. I wonder if I'd regret it - it should be pretty short anyway - but at the same time, I can't really envision myself walking when I have so many loose ends to tie up. I'd rather celebrate getting a job at this point.

Malpractice Ball
Last Saturday was Malpractice Ball. It's a formal event usually involving the Law and Medical School, but this year they included the School of Public Health. It was held at the Blaisdell Mansion.

Severin and I got there around 7pm, when it was sparsely populated. It felt a little like prom, but without the stress and drama. Here is a photo of the dance floor as it began to get busier.

Some of the first year Epi students. Everyone cleans up nicely! The concept of formal events is a great idea for graduate students to get out of their sweatpants and into some fancier outfits. As our taxi cab driver put it, "Wow, so it's like 'she's so pretty now, but normally she's so ugly at school.' That's how it is, right?" Well, it's not quite that drastic!

On Soccer
The Bad SASes finally won a game! It was the Sunday right after Spring Break. It was an amazing feeling, although I am beginning to tire of people on the opposing teams who take the game too seriously. I've witnessed a lot of dirty moves that result in bruising for our team players. Hey guys, it's INTRAMURALS.

On Ultimate
We had our first game last Sunday. A lot of people were not feeling one hundred percent due to Malpractice Ball, but we did really well considering. While we lost, there's a lot of potential this semester. I hope that the first years can continue this into next year!

We typically play on the West Bank Fields by the Walter Mondale Law building. The field on Sunday was amazing. All the rain and melting snow had saturated the ground to a point of extreme muddiness. My shoes are no longer bright yellow.

As a consolation, Severin and I went to Saigon in St Paul. It's a delicious Vietnamese restaurant that our friend Joe suggested to us.

This weekend should be pretty tame. My thesis draft is due to my advisor on Saturday, so my Friday night will consist of me, my laptop, and a lot of reading. I do have a breakfast party to attend Saturday morning, which I am looking forward to!

Posted at 11:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

My last semester here is great in that I don't have to worry about midterms. I do have A LOT of papers to write though; what a contrast from my first semester here! Fall 2007 I was taking Epidemiology, Biostatistics, Research Methods, and Health Economics. Most of the coursework consisted of problem sets and exams, so I only wrote one paper that semester. It may have been a good thing though, because my writing was rusty and I ended up spending a lot of time with Professor Call on learning to write a better paper on a level appropriate for graduate school. This semester, aside from my thesis, I have to work on two Medical Sociology papers and one term paper for Researching Health Outcomes. So in reality, the workload is not bad, although I tend to get panicky thinking about them.

In addition to suspecting that stress is making my hair fall out more than what's considered normal, I realized last week there are only two real months before I graduate. While I haven't fallen apart just yet, it's on my mind everyday.

I started job searching last week as well. Right now, I am making my way through the SPH Job Postings and some other job websites. I actually have an interview lined up already at the beginning of April for a fellowship in Chicago. That's an exciting start and I hope to have a few more lined up soon. It would feel so relaxing to be gainfully employed before the summer ends.

Last Friday was graced with good weather, making it a perfect evening for PAMOJA! I have to admit that I was impressed by the new location; it made Pamoja feel a lot more "Special Occasion," which is a nice change from the usual environment in which we see our colleagues. For those who have not been to the Campus Club before, It offers a wonderful 3-sided view of the city. It also offered a great backdrop for many photos I took that night.

Many people dressed up for the evening, bringing out clothes from the depths of their closet. Or in my case, from the piles of clothes on my bedroom floor. I felt really adult, getting dressed up. Then I realized that feeling "adult" as a 26 year old graduate student by merely getting into some fancier duds only further served to illustrate my disconnect from being a real, job-having member of society. A little sad. But at least I looked nice!

First year Epi students (also on the SPH intramural soccer team)

Professors Judith Garrard and Vernon Weckwerth

More first year Epi students

My HSRPA cohort (minus one) - yes, there are that many second year MS students!

Group shot of friends (most of whom I rarely see nowadays, due to our hectic schedules)

The women of SPH

Posted at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I am currently writing this entry from the Continuing Education and Conference Center in St Paul. The 13th Annual Minnesota Health Services Research Conference is going on and I am a volunteer. Basically my job is to help people register for the conference. This is my second year volunteering; it's a great opportunity to sit in on workshops and hear about other people's work/interests in the field of health services research. Some topics included: Electronic Medical Records, Health Behaviors, Program Evaluation, and Randomized Controlled Trials.

There are presenters from all over Minnesota and from many different organizations: the Minnesota Health Department, Mayo Clinic, etc. A lot of my professors are also here, so to see them outside of the Health Sciences area is like seeing my high school Spanish teacher at the grocery store. But it's not as weird, since i talk to my professors a little more than I ever talked to my high school teachers.

For the past two weeks I have been down with some cold or virus; it started out as swollen tonsils for the first week and a half and blew up into a cold, complete with a full three-day bed rest. Fortunately, my stockpile of seltzer, orange juice, and tissues came in handy. I almost missed Pamoja too, but thanks to last Thursday's weather it's been moved to this Friday. The bad side of being sick is that I have a lot of work to catch up on. It's a little stressful, but it has to be done.

A couple weeks ago, Severin and I made a traditional Minnesotan dish: the tater tot hotdish. Apparently, other states know it as the tater tot casserole. Even though I have lived in the Midwest all my life, I never heard of this dish until I was in college. The university cafeteria would serve it sometimes, but everything that isn't fried or from the salad bar was pretty disgusting. I wish I had a photo of their baked "chow mein," but in the interest of the public I guess it's better that it remains unseen. My interest in tater tot hotdish was revived by a trustworthy recommendation from a friend who had recently made it and Severin had also never had it before, so one evening the two of us decided to try making it.

As health-conscious public health students, we made some substitutions, like using ground turkey for ground beef, adding chili paste for spice . The results? Delicious! The addition of the chili paste was a nice touch, adding some spice to an otherwise bland dish. It definitely is a calorie bomb, so I would pair it with a green salad. And because it's something you can't really justify eating in the summer, try it while there's snow on the ground; you can always excuse yourself by saying you need to maintain that layer of fat for warmth against the bleak winter weather.

Tater Tot Hotdish Recipe
Serves 8, or 4 gluttons

Ingredients:
2 packs frozen green beans
1 package ground turkey
1 can condensed Cream of Whatever soup (we used Cream of Mushroom)
I package frozen tater tots
Olive oil
Salt, pepper, and Siracha or Korean chili paste (or some other chili paste) to taste

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Take a 9x13" baking dish and place the green beans at the bottom.

A layer of green beans.

2. Cook the ground turkey in a pan with some olive oil, adding salt, pepper, and chili paste to taste.

3. Put the turkey on top of the green beans. Spread the can of condensed soup. Try not to be grossed out by this process, as condensed soups tend to look like something you sneezed out.

The soup went "plop," literally.

4. Add the tater tots to the top.

Can you spot the hidden image in the tater tots?

5. Place in oven and wait for forty-five, fifty minutes or until the tater tots are brown and crisp on the surface. Keep a dishtowel handy in case the smoke detector in your rickety apartment keeps going on.

6. Take out and let cool for ten minute before eating.

If you don't like condensed soups, I think it would be okay to omit. The only other things is that I would say is that this is only good when freshly made. Because the crispiness of the tater tots is important, it doesn't taste as good reheated since the tater tots are all soft. So make it for a party with a 9x13" dish and if you're making it for only a few people, try splitting it into smaller baking dishes or oven-friendly bowls. What you don't bake immediately can be probably covered in plastic wrap while in its dish and kept for a few days in the fridge. Alternately, you could just keep the ingredients separate and put them together when necessary.

Nom nom nom nom...

Posted at 2:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I am quite busy at the moment; my second graduate assistantship at the Humphrey Institute has made quite an impact on my schedule. Currently, both graduate assistantships require twenty-two hours of work a week. But both are interesting and utilize what I am learning. There's also a lot of information I am learning in turn. At the Humphrey, I will be working on developing a conceptual framework linking health outcomes and the built environment and social networks. So while my last semester is going to be hectic, it will also be quite enjoyable.

The first-year epi students have formed an intramural soccer team. They started playing last Sunday. I'm joining them for next Sunday's game. The last time I played soccer regularly was in middle school, so it'll be interesting to see what happens. Will I get kicked in the face? Will I get hit in the face with the ball? Who knows? Usually, running is not my poison of choice, but I make allowances for team sports. Suffering with others as out of shape as I am, somehow it's not so bad. It will also be good practice for ultimate, which will start in late March.

Although it is nearly over, I will share some photos from this year's Art Shanties. Artists get to create something out of an ice-fishing shanty. I wasn't able to go last year, when a friend's sister had her own shanty. Severin and I went when it was chilly and windy. My favorite was probably the Norae-bang shanty. We were in there for a long time singing karaoke with other people.

I hope everyone is doing well!

Posted at 7:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Last week I finalized my schedule, lifting a great burden on my shoulders. It's difficult for me to choose a course, but getting more comfortable with "shopping" around for courses has helped greatly. I am taking Researching Health Care Outcomes, Medical Sociology, and Continuous Quality Improvement. They are all somewhat daunting, for the course material itself and in the context of trying to finish my thesis and work two graduate assistantships, but I look forward to an intellectually exciting last semester.

One accomplishment I am pleased about is the SPHere computer lab. As an active member of the SPH Student Senate, I worked with Student Services to improve the quality of the computer lab. Now we have two printers, with one heavy duty printer, a card reader system for the printers, three graduate students to assist with lab-related issues, and reformatted computers with more useful software like Stata. Student Services did a lot of work over break so student were able to enjoy the refurbished lab immediately. As an undergraduate, I worked for a computer lab that served the Sociology, Economics, Political Science, and Anthropology graduate students. It was so well organized that students never had to deal with technological issues, which is what I wanted for SPH students too. I hunkered down to read for Health Outcomes in the lab the other day and it was gratifying to see the printers not jam up or people getting frustrated.

Lately, I've been making more of an effort to read for leisure. As a child I loved to read, but as I've gotten older I read less and less books each year. A lot of it has been supplanted by reading on the internet, but I miss the tactile pleasure of books. Currently my pleasure books are written by Norman Maclean: A River Runs Through It, Young Men and Fire, and the Norman Maclean Reader. A River Runs Through It is the most famous - a movie was based on it, which I aim to see sometime soon - but Young Men and Fire is my favorite so far. Maclean explores the tragic Mann Gulch fire of 1949, where thirteen young men died trying to fight the fire. They were all relatively young - the youngest was seventeen - and Maclean explores the factors that contributed to their death without being exploitative. Maclean is a fantastic writer, with sparse yet poetic prose. Young Men and Fire is a gratifying read and honorable tribute, despite the fact Maclean died before editing it completely.

Severin and I have been making a concerted effort to enjoy the Minnesota winter. Last winter I stayed in mostly, huddled underneath multiple comforters, eating candy, and feeling sorry for myself, so doing anything outside is a vast improvement. We have been taking advantage of the great equipment rental service offered by the university's Center for Outdoor Adventure. Whether you want to go camping, canoeing, or backpacking, you can rent almost everything you need from them for a reasonable price. They also offer a lot of winter sport equipment like cross country ski packages and snow shoes. Through COA, I was able to snow shoe for the first time and it was great fun to stomp through thick snow without the usual difficulty.

Posted at 7:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I enjoyed my winter break. After a hectic finals week, it was nice to drive home. Even if it was in the middle of a huge snowstorm. There were at least thirteen cars stranded in ditches, having spun out on the slippery roads. There was even a huge two-cargo Fedex truck that was also stranded. I hope those people received their packages on time. Despite the snowy conditions, it cleared out halfway through Wisconsin so I was home in a reasonable amount of time.

The day after I returned, we had family friends over for hot pot. My parents met these friends in their college years and have remained close ever since. My siblings and I grew up with their children and have seen each other go through many stages of life.

I stayed at home in Illinois for two weeks. It was overall relaxing, although I ended up relaxing too much. I could have stood to do a little more socializing. It was great to see the friends that I did go to see though; some I have not seen in quite a few years. My old high school pal Shannon was also in town, but we were unable to meet up.

For Christmas, my family - minus my brother, who spent his winter holidays in Seoul, South Korea - went to Chicago's Chinatown to have a meal with my maternal grandmother, my uncle, and his family. My cousins are really cute. Even at their young age they have vastly different personalities; the eldest, Audrey is very bright and headstrong while the youngest Jaslynn tends to be more reserved.

Audrey and my sister Brenda jumping on the bed

Family portrait

For New Year's Eve, I met up with my good friend Diana. We did very Chicago-tourist things like go ice skating in Millenium Park and take photos of our reflections against the Bean. We also watched The Reader (it was ok) and eat dinner at Crust, the only certified organic restaurant in the Midwest. It's mainly pizza and sandwiches, but the beer selection is good and the prices are really reasonable. I had a veggie calzone. There was also organic vodka and related beverages, but I didn't try those. We later met up with other people to bring in the new year and celebrated in the traditional kind of way.

I left on a Sunday for Minneapolis. Halfway through, I realized that I left my apartment keys in Illinois. Fortunately, my roommate Sarah was able to hang out in the apartment to let me in. Thanks Sarah!

I spent my third week of vacation hanging out. Severin and I went to Minnehaha Falls again. It was completely frozen over and looked like some type of organic ice castle.

We also went sledding with some friends. I haven't been sledding in a long time, but escaped with only a small bruise. However, I do need to get some rain pants to wear over my jeans. My jeans got damp very quickly, but they were a small price to pay for a fun afternoon outside.

This week is about buckling down and getting ready for my last semester. In the meantime, I will leave you with this awesome animated gif I made.

Posted at 1:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Two papers and two exams; these are the only things that stand in the way between me and a winter holiday.

One paper and one exam for next Tuesday; the paper is for Professor Oake's Stata course and the exam is for Professor Wholey's database management course.

One paper for Wednesday; that paper is for Professor Begun's management course.

One exam (a take-home) for Friday; that is for Professor Kuntz's decision analysis course.

Between now and Tuesday are probably going to be the most stressful, but as long as I chug along and put in work a few hours a day, I should be ok.

I made myself a lovely little Gantt chart. The overall "project" to be done with the semester. Most likely I am too optimistic with my scheduling - there are a lot of things I could have completed earlier - but this is what happens when I procrastinate. My only critique is that I didn't break it down to the hour, which is a realistic interpretation of how my deadlines are coming down to. I'm still happy with it though, as it kind of spells everything that needs to be done. It's a little intimidating but I'm sure I will feel better with each task accomplished.

Playing some kind of fishing game last weekend and discovering our slow reflexes

SPH apparel was supposed to come yesterday, but the university bookstore people are completely incompetent. Because this story is not yet resolved, I don't want to get into it. But suffice to say, the Student Senate Executive Board is unhappy. At the moment, we are running around trying to accommodate this unpleasant change of events while trying to study for finals or write papers. Hopefully, everyone who ordered apparel last month will receive their goods before leaving for the holidays.

Today was also the SPH All-School Winter Reception. The theme was Old School Hollywood or something; it was very nicely done! There wasn't a theme last year so it was nice to see all the effort that everyone put into it. Also, there were a lot more people attending than last year. It made for a crowded party, but those are the best kind. The energy was very cheery and I almost forgot that there are finals and papers to be had.

Towards the end, the divisions got together to play Hollywood Squares.

Professor Kuntz representing HPM!

And HPM did not do well; I think if we had figured out a secret hand signal system, our score would have greatly improved. I don't know the rules of Hollywood Squares, so it's impossible to say what we could have done differently. Oh well! At least there is free food and drink to console ourselves!

Whoops

My winter plans are to return to Chicago and spend some time with my family. Originally I was planning to take a short trip to Seattle, Washington, but tickets are too expensive at the moment. Hope everyone is successful with their end of the semester endeavors. Happy Holidays and see you next semester!

Posted at 11:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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.

Posted at 10:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Helped a fellow HSRPA colleague move this past weekend! Erin and her husband just bought a nice house on the outskirts of the city. It was built in the fifties so it has a solid feel to it. Their new family room also has a huge picture frame window. What filled an apartment doesn't quite fill a house the same way, but there is a lot of potential. I wish you the best of luck in your new home!

Fortunately, I didn't have to lift anything too heavy, as there were a lot of strong-armed helpers. It kind of inspires me to start weight lifting, though. I share a locker with my housemate at the Rec Center, but sadly, I haven't even gone at all this semester. I'll just use the stairs a lot more.

The weather was really dreary last week. Beautiful, but dreary. When it is five in the evening and already dark, the long days of summer seem like a memory.

But we had our first sticking snow. Even if it stuck around only for a day, it was amazing to see.

Last week we also photographed our SPH apparel to put it on the internet for long distance students and alumni to order. Thanks to fellow SPH blogger Dinah for helping me model the SPH apparel! Today is technically the last day to order, so please visit our new apparel sale page!

Even though I am done with midterms, the last weeks of the semester just feel so hectic. But I was given a nice surprise. The whole apartment smells like lilies, which brightens my spirits when I walk in from a long day at school and work and from the cold weather.

Thanksgiving holiday is next week, so I am quite looking forward to going home and eating a lot of Chinese food!

Posted at 6:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I had dinner at Severin's apartment tonight. While looking out the window, I saw a truck that was dumping salt on the ground. It seemed odd, but when I walked out I realized it was snowing! The day last week when I biked to school without a jacket seemed so long ago. Today, biking on my way home, my tires skidded out and I fell. Ironically, I pretty much knew sometime bad was going to happen. It's like my psychic skills are developing! My falling skills are pretty good though, so only my ego was bruised. My right arm hurt in a strange way for a few hours, but now it feels fine.

I just turned in my IRB exempt forms this afternoon and am almost done with my proposal. It's amazing that there is only one month left for the semester and I've gotten along so slowly with this project. It's somewhat embarrassing to have so little to show at the moment. Hopefully I can start working on the dataset for my thesis by the end of next week and get a lot of work done during the Thanksgiving break.

Last week Student Senate received samples for our School of Public Health apparel sale. This year we have sweatpants, a fleece jacket, a baseball cap, and - my favorite - mittens! in addition to our regular t-shirts.

If you are interested in SPH apparel for yourself or other - the holidays are coming up - you can download the form, complete it, and turn it into the Student Services Office. That is also where you can look at the samples. If you are a long-distance student, we are currently in the process of figuring out shipping and handling charges for mailing our SPH gear. I will be doing some research on that tomorrow and hopefully get some information out to those who are waiting for it.

Last week I walked from work to my apartment. The walk is under two miles and it gives me a chance to enjoy the view from the Central Avenue Bridge. Admittedly, my cheeks and feet were a wee bit chilly at the end of this walk. Is it just me or does the old Pillsbury building look slightly curved inward?

Last weekend, Severin and I went to Summit Brewing Company in St Paul for a tour. I had toured back in the summer, but figured that with a new found appreciation for brewing beer, my appreciation would be more refined.

Fermentation tanks

Cold storage, where up to ten days' worth of beer is kept

We also went to Minnehaha Park to see the falls. Everyone else had the sense to stay inside that cold Saturday afternoon; that is to say, we didn't have a hard time finding parking as we were two of a handful of visitors that day. However, the falls are really beautiful right now. With no one else around, it does feel like a secret natural hideout in the middle of a bustling city.

See you all next week.

Posted at 10:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)