Winter Term 2012-2013, Week 8: Exams and Parties and More, Oh My!

Well, another hectic week has passed, and I am just that much closer to graduation, affectionately referred to as the "G word" by a couple of my more clever and hesitant peers. You know that I am actually looking forward to it. I have enjoyed my undergraduate career more than I can express, but it is a chapter in my life that must end if I am to achieve my dream, so I am totally okay with it. Will I miss people and the experiences and everything about it? Yes. But that's okay, too. I'm so glad that I got to share this time in my life with you through blogging (well, the second half of it, anyway).

Wednesday was our big environmentally-oriented Symposium Day. The speaker was indeed much better than last time. She encouraged us to think outside the box and pursue what we want to do, regardless of our backgrounds. She spent more of her time, though, just going over the green features of the recently-rennovated Phipps Conservatory in Philadelphia. It was interesting in itself, but her talk could have been so much more; I was hoping it might be more personal as to how each of us as individuals can have a positive impact on the environment. But c'est la vie, I suppose.

Thursday was my second Microbiology exam as well as our Team Teaching day in Animal Communication. They both went okay, I think. The entire Microbiology class was pretty tired out, though, by the time we went to lab. We were basically just analyzing samples from last time, which turned out okay because my table was just slap-happy and hamming it up like nobody's business. I feel fortunate to have landed with the lab partners that I did. They are just a great bunch of people!

I received some very nice compliments this week, too. A couple of the students in the Organic lab I proctor have expressed their thanks to me for being so helpful, one of them even going so far as to say she is going to miss me next term. I just love hearing things like that because it lets me know that I am doing a good job. In addition, my Microbiology professor really, really likes the extra-credit poem I wrote and wants to feature it in some samples of creative work done well. Here is the poem if you would like to read it (it's supposed to look like the T4 phage it describes):

The

T4 phage

is a virus, just

DNA in a protein

coat, that “eats”

the bacterium

E. coli,

a

facul-

tative

an-

aer-

obe

and

meso-

phile.

T4’s

                                                                 prey    can    sur-

                                                            vive        with        oxy-

                                                         gen             or               with-

                                                     out                and                   likes

                                               the                    tem-                      pera-

                                         ture                          in                                 the

                                    mid-                             dle                                     range,

                              not                                    that                                              T4

                       cares                                        too                                                    much.

 

Friday was another busy day, too. I had my second exam in Human Physiology, and that went much better than my Microbiology exam (at least I felt that way). Later, Sarah had a little going-away party since she will be on her way to Ireland in about a month or so. I went to anothe Ireland-themed party on Saturday, which was also pretty enjoyable. I guess it's good for me to get out now and again, though.

Well, that about catches you up with my week. I'm not looking forward to this next one too much. I have two more group presentations that are kind of stressing me out. But I'll be okay. This is just the final uphill push before I can be home again, and it will feel much better to be home if I know I did a good job now. I know I've said that a million times before, but it's one of my deepest convictions. Anyway, I hope you have a fantastic week, and hopefully I'll be here next Sunday to blog about it (you know, assuming I make it out alive...).