Fall Term 2012, Weeks 4 & 5--Two-fer

Because I didn't have to write about week 4 last week, you are going to be treated to a double blog post! Lucky you! You're even luckier because I will try to just include the highlights so that this thing doesn't stretch on forever.

On Tuesday of Week 4, my aerobics class got to send a special Happy Birthday message to our instructor's guy friend Domingo, who lives in the Dominican Republic. Kind of ironic. But anyway, she happily showed us his picture and gushed about how attractive she thinks he is. Then, we performed one of our Zumba routines for him and videotaped it so the instructor could send it to him. I felt really silly, but if it made her and him happy, I'm glad I could be a part of it.

During Cadaver last week, we got to dissect the posterior thoracic wall, observing the intercostal arteries and veins as well as the sympathetic trunk near the spine. We noted the azygous vein and greater splanchnic nerve, as well.

On Friday, I submitted my Lincoln Laureate application, so it is currently being reviewed. I probably won't find out whether I have been selected until late October or so. In the afternoon, I checked my mailbox, and waiting for me was a package from home with a book and some DVDs in it. I love my family.

The book on the right is from home. It's The Rise of Nine, the third book in the Lorien Legacies series, of which I Am Number Four is the first (they made a movie of it). The book on the left is Vet Tails, a collection of short stories from a small-animal vet that I found on the library website and ordered from Joliet Junior College to be delivered here for me to check out.

 Later that night, Sarah and I went to see the Olin movie again. This time, it was Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, which was an okay movie. I really enjoyed the last half-hour. Before that it was kind of stupid and ridiculous because everyone in the movie was just doing drugs and stuff. But it got poignant near the end when the main character goes to reconnect with his estranged father and seeks his true friend for the end of the world. After the movie, Sarah and I went back to her place to watch more Big Bang Theory, but I didn't stay long because I had to get up the next day for Mutt Strut.

I would say that Mutt Strut was a pretty decent success. We sold about $50 worth of items. The day was very sunny and warm, and I got to pet lots of dogs. I even bought myself a cute dog magnet from among the wooden magnets we were selling. Probably my favorite part of the day was watching four Dachshunds riding in a red canvas wagon. I called it the Wiener Wagon. I also liked rocking out to the music they were playing with my fellow vending-table partner.

My new puppy magnet!

Wiener wagon! They were so happy!

I did a lot of studying that weekend for my midterms, so that took up a lot of my time, too. I think all of my midterms went well, though, so it was worth it to spend all that time going over notes and such. In fact, I got my Physics midterm back on Friday (as in, two days ago), and I got 90%! Normally, I would think I could do just a bit better, but it's mechanical physics, which is not really my strong suit. Plus, 85% in that class is the bottom line for an A, so I think 5% above that is pretty great. I will take it without complaint. I'm still waiting to get my Immuno test and Biochem test back, but if they went as well as Physics, I'm not too concerned.

Luckily, this past week was much better than Week 4. I didn't stay up as late as I had to Week 4, so I felt a lot less stressed. Not much happened during the week. Yesterday, I didn't have much to do because I thought I'd be going to Bishop Hill. It turns out that the Fall Festival isn't until next weekend, so I had to quick find something else to fill my day with. I did have a bit of reading to do for Immuno, but I felt like I needed to reward myself for a busy couple of weeks. I figured first, though, that I should volunteer since I probably won't be able to next weekend when I actually go to Bishop Hill. Luckily, there was the Walk for Babies, which is like March of Dimes only in the fall instead of the usual spring time period. I helped set up tables for passing out water along the route and basically sat in Westerlin (a residence hall) until 11 AM, which was when people were supposed to start coming around. I guess the power went out in certain campus locations earlier on Saturday because the lights were all off and the dining hall and C-Store at Westerlin were closed. A bunch of confused freshmen and sophomores were wandering the halls asking each other if they wanted to go to the College Center for breakfast instead. A security guard had to come disable some alarms that were blaring. It was a pretty comical scene. The power eventually came back on, but by that time, it was near 11 AM, so my Circle K companion and I headed out near Pepsico to start getting ready for the walkers. I walked into Pepsico to toss out some plastic from unwrapping the ice and bottled water for the walkers, and while I was inside, the whole group of walkers passed by. I was gone 30 seconds and missed the most important part of my job! Figures. I have such bad timing...

On Saturday night, I went to a magic show with my junior friend Sarah (it's funny because both she and my best friend Sarah both have last names that start with "Ma," so I can't even distinguish them that way, and I don't know their middle names, so that doesn't help, either). Anyway, it was mind-blowing! The magician was Mike Super, the winner of the TV magic competition The Phenomenon. He is fairly young--I'm guessing just a couple of years on either side of 30--and hilarious. It was like going to a comedy routine on top of a magic show. But this guy is good! He took a dented, empty Coke can and fixed the dents before re-sealing it and filling it back up with Coke. Amazing! He also had us help him shatter a pitcher with our minds. Another incredible trick was when he took a napkin, folded it into a bird, and made it dance on his hands and on his arms. He then refolded it into a rose. He lit the rose on fire, and when the blooming flame subsided, a real rose had taken its place! Perhaps the most incredible thing was a trick where he performed voodoo on a sophomore boy. He took a piece of the boy's hair and tied it to a voodoo doll. Then he did a weird dance and "connected" them. When he tapped twice on the doll's shoulder, the boy could feel it on his own shoulder. When Mike lit the two hands of the doll with a lighter, the boy could feel his hands warm. What's more, the boy showed us his palms, and they were singed! How did that happen?? The scariest thing was that Mike took a pin and poked it into the doll's stomach. The boy immediately leaped up from his chair because he could feel it too! I'm wondering if he was somehow hypnotized. Dad explained a lot of the illusions to me, but it was still a great show.

Later this evening, I am going to a Hobbit Birthday Party with Sarah and the Tolkein Society. We are celebrating Bilbo and Frodo's birthdays, which are both on September 22nd in the books. I'm looking forward to food and laughs with the crazy nerds of the Tolkein Society.

Well, that about catches you up with my life. Tune in next week for an exciting account of my trip off-campus for the Fall Harvest Festival and much more! I leave you with a picture I took this morning while I was out for a run near the house (which I've decided to call 39 House because the first two digits of the house number are 3 and 9).

A Quick Note

Hey all! Sorry I wasn't able to blog this weekend. Life has been so crazy I can hardly stand it. I hope to get a combined Week 4-Week 5 blog post up this weekend when I might actually have time to catch my breath. Those midterms, I tell ya...

Fall Term 2012, Week 3: Quality over Quantity

Although this past week was a shorter school week than most, owing to Labor Day, it certainly made up for that lost day. The result was a week no less busy than any that has come before, and that baffles me completely. It felt like a normal week even though it was only four days long. How does that work?? But I'm wasting time contemplating something that cannot be contemplated.

This little blog post was brought to you by way of a study break. I wish I didn't still have things to do at 8:30 PM on a Sunday, but such is life. It makes me a bit nostalgic for my high-school days, when I would have time to do all of my homework on Friday night and then was free for the rest of the weekend. Granted, I didn't have much of a social life then, and I guess I still don't, but those were simpler times. Anyway, onward and upward, as the saying goes.

Secondly, happy Grandparents' Day! I am blessed to still have all four of my grandparents, and they are all incredible people who have supported me from Day 1 (as in, the first day of my life in this world). How much more can you ask for? Not much, my friends, not much.

I also need to give a shout-out to my amazing mother, as today is her birthday! I won't say how old she is because I suspect she would not like that very much. (Even though you don't look it, Mom.) I'm hoping she's curled up on the couch watching a good movie or relaxing with the Sunday paper right now, maybe sipping some tea.

I will attempt now to summarize my week's events without going into excruciating detail because, quite frankly, it takes too long, and also, you probably don't want to hear all of the minutiae of my life.

Tuesday was my first BBB meeting of the year. I was hoping it wouldn't take too long because I basically had to go straight there from aerobics and straight from BBB home to shower before Circle K. Gotta love Tuesdays. To my joy, it was quite abbreviated. We were basically just informed of some changes to the membership requirements and such, and then we were free to go.

In Cadaver on Thursday, we spent a lot of time dissecting the heart. Our heart was pretty mangled from previous dissection, but we were still able to see some of its more important structures, including its coronary arteries, left anterior descending artery, chordae tendineae, papillary muscles, and some of the valves.

In general, all of my classes are still going well. I just continue to get more comfortable with everything and to gain confidence again in my ability to manage my time effectively and to do well in my studies. I know none of you doubt me, but I'm always afraid of what might happen if I got too cocky.

I'm basically done with my Lincoln Laureate application at this point. I just need to revise my statement of interest. Dr. S, my letter writer, told me that she submitted the letter early in the day on Friday, so I am very happy about that. I just went to Cool Beanz, the local coffee shop, to get her a gift card as a way of thanks. I'm hoping she enjoys it!

Friday night, I went to the free movie showing again at Olin. This week, it was Snow White and the Huntsman, which I have wanted to see for awhile because it was supposed to be pretty good. Well, it was okay. I enjoyed watching it with Devon and Sarah, and it was a good way to have some fun on a Friday night, but it definitely is not the best movie in the world. Kristen Stewart is just not that great of an actress. After the movie, I went over to Devon and Sarah's apartment, and we talked for a bit before watching a few episodes of The Big Bang Theory. Man, I forget how much I love that show until I watch it again. We also made some cookies and ate those while we watched our show. Good stuff!

On Saturday, I got up and went for a run. Feeling a little silly, I decided to run near Lincoln Park so that afterwards, I could swing on the swing set, my favorite piece of playground equipment. I thought I would be artsy and take a picture to remember my little adventure, and this is what I got thanks to Instagram (I think I used the "1973" filter, if you're curious).

I call it "Nostalgia at the Park."

 In the afternoon, I volunteered at the East End Neighborhood Fair, a little carnival at St. John's Lutheran Church just seven blocks from school. I spent an hour running a game where kids threw beanbags at ducks and tried to knock them over. They got six tries to hit all six ducks, and the prizes ranged from tattoos (for one or two ducks) to plastic rings (for three or four ducks) to plastic High School Musical headsets, Chicken Little toys, or little bottles of bubbles (for five or six ducks). I don't need to tell you how worn out I was after just that short amount of time. There was never a break in that full hour. The kids just kept coming! Some of them came back four or five times, trying to win one of the big prizes. For some reason, these silly lip-shaped kazoo things were a big hit with them (there were a few in with the plastic rings). Some of the kids hardly threw the bags at all and stood like six inches away from the ducks, basically knocking them over with their hands. Others wanted do-overs when the beanbags accidentally got stuck in between the ducks or if the kids accidentally threw two beanbags at once. Of course, I am a pushover and let them do whatever they wanted. After all, it was just supposed to be a fun way for the church to give back to the community and probably raise a little money, and I'm not one to be mean to children, even if they aren't my favorite things in the world. I was jealous of the people who got to run the petting zoo, though. I mean, come on! I'm pre-vet for crying in the mud! I didn't even get to pet the animals. Sad day. But, luckily, the hard part lasted only that hour, and then Heather and I got to help tear down and such. That wasn't so bad. I guess I did feel good about helping the kids have a good time. It was never about me, anyway. Heather did manage to get a picture of me working the game, but unfortunately, it is not up yet, so I will have to get back to you when I see it.

Later that night, I went to my third Second City performance with Sarah and my roommates. It was hilarious, as usual. I missed it last year because I was in London (boo hoo, right?), so I wanted to make sure I saw it one last time this year.

Today I had my first Mortar Board meeting of the year. We were briefly reminded about what Mortar Board is and what we as members must do, and then we broke off into our respective committees. The Fundraisers discussed doing a possible "Trick or Treat" fundraiser near Halloween where people could send their friends messages and "tricks" or "treats" in their campus mailboxes. We did something similar in Circle K last year, and I'm proud because I was actually the one who suggested the campus mailbox thing for Mortar Board (someone else thought it would be cool to do it for Halloween). All in all, I think I'm really going to like working on the committee, especially since it gels so nicely with Circle K. Plus, I can steer both groups away from doing things that the other group is doing, so we avoid stepping on other people's toes.  Yay.

I'm looking forward to this upcoming weekend. I finally get my first paycheck of the school year, so that's pretty cool. On Saturday, I get to be one of the drivers for Mutt Strut, an event benefiting the QCAWC. I guess the FIV room is still closed, which makes me really sad. I wonder who could be so sick still...Anyway, Mutt Strut is where people bring their dogs to the QWAWC, and they walk with their dogs. I assume they get pledges, kind of like March of Dimes only it's for animals. I and my fellow CK-ers will be selling those crafts we made (I'll be working the vending table) and working some of the games. I am excited to see dogs and hopefully pet a lot of them! Oh, man. The things that make me happy. Unfortunately, I will be studying for three tests next weekend, but Mutt Strut should hopefully make up for.

In a couple of weekends, I am going to Bishop Hill, Illinois, a small town about 45 minutes from campus with a Swedish influence. Sarah and her Swedish Language classmates are going for the Fall Harvest Festival, and Sarah invited me along. We wanted to go to Bishop Hill last year after Sarah had such a great time with her Swedish class, and now we have our chance because they're all going back. It is going to be so much fun! We also want to find a week to go to an apple orchard because I don't think I've been to one for a good four or five years or so. Now that I have an awesome means of transportation, literally anything is possible! We could even go to Chicago for the weekend if we wanted to. Ooh. That would be fun.

Thanks for reading again! I hope you found this post much less cumbersome than the last one. I'll try to keep them short and sweet from here on out. Ya know, all the necessities with a bit of Hannah Wit thrown in for good measure. Until next week!

Fall Term 2012, Week 2: Work Hard, Play Hard

Happy Labor Day to everyone out there!

I have delayed my normal posting until today because of the extra day in my weekend. Once again, it was a very busy week, and this weekend has been very relaxing and much needed. However, I felt much better about everything this week than I did last week. I am becoming even more used to the dynamics of off-campus living as well as even more accustomed to my schedule of classes and activities and working out how to fit homework in between all of them.

I am still really enjoying all of my classes. In Immunology, we have been studying innate immunity, something that we are all born with, and we are just now transitioning to acquired immunity, something our bodies develop as we encounter pathogens throughout our lives. In the class, we have group quizzes each day (well, those days that aren't devoted to review or exams), and so far, I really like my group. Unfortunately, we have to switch groups halfway through the term, but I'm sure I will find some other cool people to work with when the time comes. Also, I can't remember if I told you yet or not, but part of the class involves end-of-the-term group presentations on some immunological topic. My group will be covering immunodeficiencies, so I'm looking forward to that. It will be tad difficult because the groups comprise seven people, and it's no picnic trying to arrange a group meeting where all seven college students can make it. We're all so busily involved in other things. But necessity is the mother of invention, so I'm sure we will work out some way to get our work done despite our other obligations. We always do.

In Physics, we are just starting to cover velocity, acceleration, and force, all very basic concepts. I had forgotten since high-school physics that mechanics is actually the most difficult part of physics for me, probably because it is the area of physics that most fully contradicts popular beliefs about the way the world works. For instance, if you throw a ball upward, at the top of its path, its velocity will be 0 m/s, but it's still accelerating due to gravity. Most people would figure that something that is not moving is not accelerating, but that's just not the case. Things like that. I had my first lab of the term on Thursday, and that went pretty well. I worked with a girl who is in my Biochemistry group (see below), so I'm glad about that. It always helps to have a friendly, familiar face.

My partner and I got a little farther on our cadaver this week. We removed the anterior thoracic wall and dissected some of the internal thoracic (mammary) arteries on the posterior aspect of the ribcage. Then, we removed the lungs and identified various vessels embedded in them, namely, the pulmonary arteries and veins in addition to the primary bronchi. We also learned to distinguish the right lung from the left lung (the right lung is larger with three lobes, and the left lung is smaller with two lobes--due to the position of the heart more to the left in the chest). This week, we will be doing a more complete dissection of the heart and identifying its major external and internal structures. Obviously, my least favorite part of Cadaver Lab is the smell of the embalming fluids. I could even detect the distinctive odor on the camisole I was wearing under a fairly thick t-shirt when I went to take a shower afterwards. Ick. But it's just one of those things that only bothers me after I leave the lab. While I am in the lab, I don't mind it so much because I am concentrating on my work and trying not to make my cadaver look like shredded chicken.

Personal Finance is going okay, too. I submitted the early draft of my cash-flow assignment to the professor, and he said it needed some work. I was disappointed because I thought I had followed the guidelines well. I was afraid that I was not understanding the assignment and that I would do poorly in the class as a whole because money doesn't make much sense to me. However, I looked more carefully at my work and discovered a few discrete areas of error, which I was able to fix quite readily. The assignment isn't due until next Tuesday, the 11th, but I think I'll submit it again tomorrow to see how much work I still need to do before the deadline.

Finally, Biochemistry is looking to be much more manageable than I thought. Although it is strongly chemistry-oriented, its principles are fairly straightforward. I have noticed that it draws a lot on Organic Chemistry, so I guess I'm glad I paid attention in that class. Right now, we are learning about acid-base chemistry and proteins, especially enzymes. That is kind of the major focus of biochemistry because proteins control almost all biological processes in living systems. I'm hoping this class will help me understand Human Physiology more when I take that class next term. So far, I have aced both of my quizzes, although one of them was a Cell Biology review quiz. Still, I'll take it. I happily found a group to work with for an assignment called PEP--Parenting an Enzyme Project--where we will study an enzyme and then make a poster about it to share with the class during the last week of the term. I am not too worried about it because I am a poster-making pro from last year, when I had to make one twice (once for Botany and once for Molecular Genetics--my Senior Inquiry class). I'm sure you all remember those good old days. Anyway, our enzyme is glucansucrase, which bacteria use to turn the sugars that we humans ingest into long chains on the surface of our teeth (called a biofilm). That's not a really good description, but it's accurate enough to give you some idea of what we will be doing this term. Coincidentally, the other two people in my group are also pre-vet students, so I can assure you we will have one awesome poster!

This week was my second week of proctoring, and that went pretty well again. Like I said before, it's hard not being able to do homework, but I do stay pretty busy, especially toward the beginning of the period, so I don't mind too much. I'm actually looking for more work on campus because I'm going to be a little cash-strapped this year (well, when am I ever not cash-strapped?) than I expected. The school recently introduced restrictions on the number of hours students can work per week (no more than 10), so since I am already working four hours a week, I need a job that will get me just six more hours per week. Even that would make a big difference.

This week was also my first real Exec Board meeting for Circle K, so I had to give an update about how our fundraising situation looks. It was a little nerve-wracking, but I really enjoy being "behind the scenes" and having more say in the organization than I have in the past. On Wednesday, I participated in my first service event of the year, which was making crafts to sell at the QWAWC (Quad City Animal Welfare Center) Mutt Strut on September 15th. I am already signed up to be a vendor at our table! I made a couple of tie blankets and a couple of cat toys, so it was pretty fun.

Now on to the fun stuff! I found out on Monday that I have been nominated for the position of being Augustana's 2012 Lincoln Academy Student Laureate. The Lincoln Academy is a prestigious organization that recognizes significant contributions to the state of Illinois, either by native Illinoisans or simply by those who have lived in Illinois for an appreciable amount of time. I guess being at Augustana for the greater part of the past three years qualifies me as an Illinois "resident." Anyway, there are lots of other students nominated, too, so it's a competition. I have to submit another letter of recommendation (I feel so bad), plus a current CV and a statement of interest. One of my vet-school letter writers has graciously agreed to write me another letter, so I'm hoping I'll have a pretty solid application. Augustana is full of plenty of amazing people, though, so the competition is going to be fierce. I should find out sometime in October or early November, which is about the time I might start finding out about vet-school interviews, too. So much waiting!

I'm continuing to really enjoy Aerobics, even though my schedule gets really packed when I add it in. It's just really something that I don't think I can ever compromise on because physical fitness is really, really important to me. I get such great satisfaction out of every workout session, and I know that it helps me stay focused and charged and relieves a lot of the stress that builds up on me everyday.

On Wednesday, Hannah invited me to have dinner on her at the College Center, and I was so grateful for the fresh vegetables after not having them for awhile. We had a great conversation, and I felt so much better about things after getting some encouragement from her. I tell ya, that girl helps me think straight sometimes.

On Friday, in order to relax, I decided to go to Olin to watch The Avengers for free. I went by myself, but I was delighted to meet up with my friend Tyler and some of his buddies when I was there. He gave me a hug like he always does and said he wanted to sit by me. We proceeded to have a very nice conversation until the movie started. It is always better to have friends to watch movies with you! I really liked the movie, by the way. I thought it was a little light on plot, but it's one of those summer blockbusters, so I can't complain too much. It's really funny and has Jeremy Renner in it, so it's gotta be good.

On Saturday, I absolutely had to go grocery shopping because I ran out of fruits and vegetables. I had gone almost a week without fresh ones, and my stock of raisins was out. Two of my roommates were gone for the weekend, taking their cars with them. And Sarah and Hannah were also gone, and they would have been my ride, too. So, needless to say, I walked to Aldi instead of Hy-Vee because Aldi is closer. But I am so glad that I did! I bought all of my essentials for just under $30! Go, me! Aldi has cartons of blueberries right now for just $1.49, and I paid the same amount for a gallon of milk at Aldi as I would for just a half-gallon at Hy-Vee. Four roma tomatoes are just $0.99, too! I don't know how I'll ever be able to go back to Hy-Vee now...Later in the evening, for some entertainment, I went to see another comedian. Now, Augustana usually does a really good job with who they invite, so I'm usually pretty stoked. But this guy was not funny at all. His main shtick was to talk about all the drugs he did, how he's a recovering alcoholic, and how bad his love life is. Sex and drugs. That was his deal. He didn't even have any good routines. He just talked to the audience and tried to come up with funny things to say that weren't really that funny. I was very disappointed, but I guess that's what you get for Labor Day weekend entertainment. One cool thing about Saturday was that I was sitting at my desk doing some homework when a hummingbird flew past. I think it was a female ruby-throated hummingbird because she was a very muted olive green with a pale beige stomach (kind of funny that she's a ruby-throat with no red on her). I was happy enough just with that momentary glance, but an hour or so later, she was back and hovering right in front of my window! She "stayed" there for a good five or six seconds. So, I think I have a new friend! Mom and Dad encouraged me to buy a hummingbird feeder, and that's what I was going to do today, but the hardware store was closed. I will have to go back next weekend, maybe.

This is basically what my little hummer friend looks like. Photo courtesy of rubythroat.org

I didn't do much yesterday except clean the bathroom and my room plus work on some homework and go for a run at Pepsico, so it was your average Sunday.

Today I had to trek to Walgreens to buy a carbon monoxide detector for the house, and then I realized we needed more toilet paper, too. I found a cool purple water bottle while I was there, and it was only about $4, which is great because my blue one was getting really old. The blue paint was chipping off in patches, and it looked really ghetto. Of course, when I got back, I got text from my landlord saying we already have two CO detectors in the house. Now, where they are, I don't know, because I've looked everywhere for them, and I don't see them. But I guess I trust her. So I'll have to go get my money back whenever I make it back to the hardware store (since Walgreens and True Value are so close together here).

Anyway, that's enough about this week. I'm sure you're tired of me yammering on about every tiny detail of my existence here. I guess I just have a lot to say.

I don't need to tell you how busy this week looks. I'm sure you already assumed it was. It'll be nice to have the shorter week, though, even though I'm just coming off a three-day weekend. The first BBB meeting of the year is Tuesday, so that will be my busiest day because I'll have to go straight from Aerobics to the meeting and then basically straight to Circle K after that. I might faint after that, but we'll see. Not much else is going on during the week, but Saturday is something called the East End Fair, where Circle K will help run games, a petting zoo, and face-painting for kids. You can guess where I want to work. I'm not the biggest fan of kids. Then there's a Second City performance in Centennial at 8 PM. Second City is like the Chicago version of SNL, and indeed, many Second City alumni went on to SNL, including Tina Fey. Anyway, it's sketch comedy, and it's always really funny. Sunday is my first Mortar Board meeting of the year, so that should be interesting, too. Also, in about a month, musician Andy Grammer is coming to Augustana for a concert. I am so stoked because he is such a great artist! His music is fantastic! Give him a listen if you haven't already. He sings those songs "Keep Your Head Up" and "Fine by Me" that have been playing on the radio, at least in the Twin Cities. I'm so lucky!

Keep it real, peeps!