February <3

By Kristen Cunanan
Biostatistics, MS

Happy hour was honestly a couple hours of happiness with friends. There was quite a turn out compared to last time; and we arrived early enough that Kitty Cat Klub felt like our domain. Classes have been going well. I really enjoy Consulting and have improved on my attention span in Clinical Trials. Intro to Bayes is always interesting; although I am a little behind in homework. Work has picked up in the Nursing school, so the Intro to Stochastic Processes course I've been sitting in on has been getting the short end - but I manage to go in every now and then to catch back up to the class.

We had a Biostat Super Bowl party last weekend. The super bowl snacks were delicious! Made by our very own PhD student, Lisa. She made the honorary spinach dip in a bowl bread, artichoke dip, orange salad, quinoa salad, and of course the blue and red layered jello! All amazing, trust me. My mother sent a pinata over for my birthday, so we got to break that open during half time. Madonna at this year's half time was MUCH better than last year's with the Black Eyed Peas. Also, last week there was a graduate school mixer at The Loring Pasta Bar. Pre-tickets were 5$ (10$ at the door). There were appetizers to meet and socialize over as well as optional speed-dating. I didn't get my ticket, but my roommate said at the end of the night each individual wrote down the id numbers of the other speed-daters they would contact for a second date. Afterwards, the organization sent emails to those participants who matched on selecting for contact. Sounded pretty fun; and I think I'll make a point to check it out next time.

This weekend my roomate and I, along with some other friends went to the St. Paul Orchestra Chambers. The tickets were FREE.99 for students! Since I got my seat later than everyone else, I sat separately. But I was front and center; I could see the expressions on the musicians' faces. The sets were beautiful; there was also a world premiere of If he died, what then.by the Irish composer Donnacha Dennehy. My favorite piece was Divertimento on "Sellinger's Round" (1954) by Upshaw. Following the event, club 2030 (http://www.thespco.org/concerts-tickets/club2030) hosted a happy hour event across the street in the Music Room of the SPCO center. Here they served red/white wine, sparkling water, along with an assortment of desserts :) The composer Dennehy was present to celebrate his new piece!

Last semester or so, my roommate and I hosted a Ladies Night among our friends This weekend we had a follow up gathering; however, we extended the invite to all of our Biostat friends. I'm so glad! Thanks to everyone who came. We will have to do this again.

When I first moved here, I missed my puppy at home so so so much. I got in contact with a woman from the local Humane Society (who surprisingly worked at U of M). Cats had always scared me before, but as they are the only pets allowed in my building I was intrigued by the thought of adopting a cat. The woman there said they were overwhelmed with the amount of cats that need homes and she had a couple 'nice' cats that had just been rescued. When I saw my cat GG, I was hesitant at first. Within a few days, I had already fallen in love with her. She's a scaredy cat and takes a while to come around. But she is the sweetest pet I have ever known. Anyways... if you have the resources/space/love for an animal - you should consider helping one find a home. AND always spay and neuter your cats and dogs folks.

Oh next Tuesday Biostat Division is hosting a recruiting event, all current students are invited. See you there.