And there is time to kill today
Isn't "anal retentive" supposed to be hyphenated?
Oh yeah! I almost forgot...
Has anyone else noticed that we're on the brink of June and it's less than 60 degrees outside today? What crumby weather we've had lately. Today I had to wear a long-sleeved shirt, a sweater/hoodie, jeans, and closed-toe shoes. Granted I'm required to wear the latter two because I work in a lab, but what gives? I hope it starts acting like summer soon outside - tornado watches and no flip flops is not my bag, baby.
Well, nothing new on the homefront besides the fact that I've been seriously slacking this week on my running. I've successfully used my big fall on Saturday morning and subsequent scraped knee as justification for not over-exerting myself since then, but now I'm starting to feel a little cruddy about it. I'll go tomorrow and Friday morning. Also, I've been so sleepy for some reason these past few days and I can't seem to shake it. My eyes are heavy and my contacts burning by about 6 pm without fail, so maybe I'm due in for a glasses day tomorrow. Other than that, not much else is new. I'm hoping for good weather this weekend in Minnesota for the wedding since my pals are driving out there and since I'll be wearing a sleeveless top and open-toed shoes. Hmmm...interesting how I can be concerned with both safety and fashion in the same thought.
My love and awe of the Oscar Mayer Weenie Mobile (and miniature whistle made in its likeness) dates back at least 10 years. It has always brought me good luck and, with the help of a little toot toot! on my weenie whistle before exams in both middle and high school, I've gotten through many an impossible test. My sister sent this in the mail to me today:
One last thing. My mom is so quotable.
I've been seriously weblog negligent these last few days. I guess a lot has been going on; a lot of fun and not enough studying, that is. *Cue that stream-of-conciousness in list form*
Sheesh. This week just flew by - I can't believe it's Thursday already! I guess my days have been pretty busy and getting out of work late makes week days go in a flash.
I've been super down lately. I think it's a direct result of all of the unknowns about my future...*surprise surprise* I wish I could be one of those people who can just roll with the punches and go wherever this crazy ride takes them. Instead I have nightmares if I don't know when, where, and how frequently the punches will be thrown. Oy. I'm at this weird point where it hasn't quite set in yet that I won't be in school for a calendar year and a half yet I'm also having a lot of trouble concentrating on studying for the DAT. Hopefully a little sunshine and a regular schedule will cheer me up a bit. In a short week and a half is Michelle's wedding and after that come longer days and the promises of beach weather that accompany June. *sigh* I need a pick-me-up. Maybe studying asexual reproduction in plants will do the trick. Riiiiiiiiggghhhht.
One last thing.
This weekend has been non-stop action. From Friday night's adrenaline rush Pistons game to a wedding, boat party, and graduation party all in 24 hours, I've been quite the social butterfly.
After 3 overtimes in the making of a new NBA Playoffs classic, the Pistons had a tough loss tonight in Game 5 to the Nets. It's been a very emotional ride tonight for Pistons fans, and since Josh's neighbors one floor down are probably sick of hearing us yelling and stomping for the past 3 hours, I guess I'll call it a night. I will say, however, that the series is not over yet and that I have faith in my Pistons in Game 6 on Sunday. Goodnight.
Now that I've newly re-acquired the status of car owner albeit temporarily (read: borrowing my mom's car until further notice), this comic struck me as funny. Gas prices = serious ouch, baby.
So I'm sitting at work right now and my DAT study books are lying open next to me (I know, typical Sonya fashion). I've already studied a little bit today and I'm here for another hour and a half, so guess what the plan is...I just thought I'd kill a few minutes with my pal Blogger :)
Yay. Today I had a *much* better day at work. Instead of sitting on my duff for 5 hours, I was busybusybusy the entire time and actually ended up leaving 15 minutes late in order to finish all of my work today. We got a lot of blood samples from the clinic and a tumor came in about the size of a walnut...eww! Also, I split my first cells today and now have my own line of cancer cells to feed and take care of, so that was pretty exciting. I'm glad things were more encouraging today :)
Quote of the evening:
Wow. I'm so frustrated right now. I've been working for a few days now and although the research my lab is doing is interesting, I'm not really a big part of it. Being a laboratory assistant, I have to handle the blood, serum, and tissue samples that come in, but am not doing my own research or anything. Of course I didn't expect to considering I have zero (employed) lab experience up until this point, but it's exactly that that is making me feel down. There are so many kids in my lab that are the same age as me but at such incredibly different points in their pre-health careers. It doesn't help that a few of them haven't really acknowledged my presence in our not-that-big lab yet, but it's also somewhat discouraging for me to see these people that are right around my age writing their own papers on progressive and exciting cancer research and getting published. Hello?! I'm still trying to figure out how to pipet without getting bubbles in my sample and it takes me about 15 seconds to put on my gloves every time. Basically, I feel as though these kids all knew exactly what to do when it came to preparing for and applying to med school and although I'm not a potential med student, I feel as though I'm in the know too late. I didn't even know about doing research and getting letters of rec from science professors until late sophomore year, let alone decide to pursue dentistry, and I'm even still struggling to do those now post-graduation. I'm certainly not saying that someone should have handed me a neat package entitled "How to get into Dental School and Everything YOU Need to Do These Next Four Years to Be Prepared" at my orientation 4 years ago, I just wish that something could have been different. I've taken a year off to sort out some of those things but that just leaves me wondering whether or not I'm cut out for this kind of academic goal (cue simultaneous anxiety about being "smart enough" for dental school...NOW). *sigh* I'm just suddenly feeling insecure about not having the experience or guidance to be successful from here on out.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot.
Wow. Sorry I haven't posted in a while, things have been pretty fast-paced for me lately. Most significantly, I started my job this past Thursday albeit somewhat unexpectedly. Nevertheless, it was very interesting and exciting to finally see the lab where I'll working for the next year or so. It is located in the Cancer Center on the U of M Medical Campus because all of the research is being done on oral cancer cells. It's not as though I'm doing my own research at this point, but it's cool being a research assistant in such an important field. Basically, my job is to get the whole blood and tissue samples from the Clinic and OR of people having surgery on oral tumors, separate and prepare the samples, and then catalogue them in a vast database for cancer cells from which researches from all over the country can request specific cell lines. In that case, I have to thaw the cells and make new cell lines to send to them. Interesting! :) It's a little intimidating for me, having kind of poor lab technique (shhh - nobody needs to know that!), to be working so closely with such important and valuable blood and tissue samples. Each tiny 1.5 mL vial costs the University something like 500 buckaroos, which makes me nervous, but I'm sure I will become much more comfortable and confident with a little practice. Anyhow, it feels good to be starting work and...I kind of like taking the bus...but keep that one under your hat.
Howdy folks. Today I had a productive day for the first time in about a week. I ran this morning, went out for sushi with Josh and Andy for lunch, went to the post office, finished my passport application, did some Master's programs research (*just* poking my nose around for back-up plans...I'm being REAListic, not pessimistic), went grocery shopping, finished some emailing AND talked to my cousin! Hooray! It feels good to scratch things off of my to-do list which keeps growing and growing now that I'm in supposedly in the "real world." I think I'll sleep well tonight :) Tomorrow I meet with the professor whose research I'm working on - hopefully tomorrow we'll figure out when my first day in the lab will be. Here's hoping I start next Monday so that I can head back to GR for the weekend and spend some quality time with the parents...and get cooked for! Yesterday morning I attended a U of M "New Hire" orientation at which a variety of programs and benefits were explained to those of us who are joining the U of M team this spring. I heard about MFit, the employee fitness and well-being program (sign me up!), the Employee Assitance Program which provides free and confidential psychological counseling (sign me up, again! Hehe!), parking fees and permits (Oy. Thank goodness for mass transportation), all about my medical and dental benefits AND finally, the retirement plan through U of M. I'm not kidding, I got SO pumped yesterday to start saving for my retirement, like, this second. They really did a wonderful job of presenting and selling the U of M retirement plan to 20-something schmucks like me; that's certainly not to say that it's not a wonderful thing to start thinking about, it's just that I need to pay my cell phone bill and rent before I can start deciding in which funds I wish to invest. My Dad said that I must have heard them incorrectly and that they were actually encouraging me to start saving for my parents' retirement. Ahhhh - I'll be sure to keep a little piggy bank on the side for you and Mom, Dad! *wink, wink* I'm excited to start my new job :)
Not too much exciting news today. Surprise, surprise, right? Well actually, I *finally* heard back about my research position and I should be starting in the lab sometime in the next week, so I'm very excited for that. I have a U of M orientation early tomorrow morning to go over my salary, health benefits, and the like. Hooray for my first ever salary! :) I should hit the hay soon so that I can be up with the sun. Also, I went for a run this morning, so I'm proud of myself for that. It didn't go as poorly as I was expecting it to so I'm not feeling as anxious about starting up again. I guess I should take it one day at a time, though - let's see how tomorrow goes.
Today was pretty uneventful. I wrote a few emails and cards, browsed the bookstore, and made myself dinner for the first time in a while. The one exciting event of today, however, was watching the Bermuda Triangle special on the Discovery Channel. Sheesh. That stretch of the Atlantic Ocean is creeeeeepy, let me tell you. They discussed a few of the most prominent disappearances and really put some of the theories of the Bermuda Triangle's "power" to the scientific test. One of the theories was that methane bubbles released from known sea floor vents in the suspicious areas could contribute to waves capable of capsizing and sinking ships and gas in the air that could disable plane navigational devices and engines. Hmmm. I think it's much more exciting to chalk the weirdo disappearances up to either a.) a giant and insatiable sea creature, most likely some pre-Cambrian type of squid or b.) anything very, very paranormal. Either way, a lot of the research for the show was conducted at U of M and it was so cool to see the Marine Hydrodynamics facility on TV - Go blue! :) Methane or no methane, the show was very interesting and spooky...in a good way.
Well, today I graduated from college. What a weird feeling. It still hasn't set in that I'm officially a U of M alum now, but today was certainly fun and exciting. Here are a few cute pics:
