Thursday, December 24, 2009
Health Care Bill
As frustrating as the entire process of health care reform has been, I feel like there is one major positive attribute of it all. Without the frequent attempts to stall the piece of legislation and the constant media attention, Americans would not be discussing the bill so frequently and would likely be less involved in politics. Not only this, I believe that the entire process that the bill has gone through has reeducated (and in some cases educated) the general public on how bills are passed into law.
As surprising as it is to note, without the senators digging in their heels and using every trick known to them to stall voting on the bill, people would not be interested and the bill would also simply pass without national recognition or involvement. Think about it, this is probably one of the most hotly debated issues among people today- and not just the bill itself, but the process it has gone through. A year ago, I doubt that I could remember back from my 9th grade Civics class and schoolhouse rock learnings how a bill became law. More importantly, I really didn't care. Thanks to the media attention garnered, and the constant stalling, I and many other Americans know and care once again. Also, I should note that having a politician boyfriend has not affected my interest so much but has more or less been an exceptional resource when I don't understand some of the terminology or just need someone to explain my views to.
Here is hoping that the newly garnered interest in American politics will lead to something positive. However unlikely that may be.
As surprising as it is to note, without the senators digging in their heels and using every trick known to them to stall voting on the bill, people would not be interested and the bill would also simply pass without national recognition or involvement. Think about it, this is probably one of the most hotly debated issues among people today- and not just the bill itself, but the process it has gone through. A year ago, I doubt that I could remember back from my 9th grade Civics class and schoolhouse rock learnings how a bill became law. More importantly, I really didn't care. Thanks to the media attention garnered, and the constant stalling, I and many other Americans know and care once again. Also, I should note that having a politician boyfriend has not affected my interest so much but has more or less been an exceptional resource when I don't understand some of the terminology or just need someone to explain my views to.
Here is hoping that the newly garnered interest in American politics will lead to something positive. However unlikely that may be.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Monday, December 21, 2009
blagoblag
This made me laugh, heartily
Make sure you read what the mother has to say.
In the life of Beth:
Christmas is coming, I'm completely done with shopping and such, I'm not looking forward to driving home in a blizzard, but whatever. I'm excited to see some people as they come back from grad schools around the country, and even the world (ha! I get to count my friend that lives in Cambridge, UK). Driving up North should be fun, MN is supposed to get a blizzard starting that day through the weekend. Good thing I will have good company!
We're having a New Year's party this year, I can't begin to tell you how excited I am for it...
Make sure you read what the mother has to say.
In the life of Beth:
Christmas is coming, I'm completely done with shopping and such, I'm not looking forward to driving home in a blizzard, but whatever. I'm excited to see some people as they come back from grad schools around the country, and even the world (ha! I get to count my friend that lives in Cambridge, UK). Driving up North should be fun, MN is supposed to get a blizzard starting that day through the weekend. Good thing I will have good company!
We're having a New Year's party this year, I can't begin to tell you how excited I am for it...
Sunday, September 27, 2009
On not dying:
I had a recent "scare": (and it's not even Halloween!! heh, heh)
Tuesday evening, while watching District 9 (so good!!!), I felt a sharp pain in my side. It didn't really go away, but only hurted when I took a breath. Therefore, I concluded it must be a tic or a cramp in my ribs or diaphragm, and it should go away with a good night's rest.
it didn't.
The next day, when it was still hurting, I decided that it might go away if I stay active and walk it off. Not only did it not conform to this belief, the pain worsened that evening. While in the throes of pain deciding whether or not to go to the ER, I figured that since I had lived with it for 24 hours now, it could wait another 8-10 and I could get it checked out in the morning.
The next morning, I took myself to an urgent care clinic. Lesson learned #1: When you have chest pain, and say so to the urgent clinic, you immediately get a lecture on how you should have gone to the ER. oops. After about 4 hours of tests to make sure nothing was wrong with my heart or lungs, I was sent to get an "echo" done of my heart due to a slight abnormality in an EKG. After the echo results came back that everything was normal, I was told that I had pleuritis (an inflammation of the lung tissue), to take anti-inflammatories, rest, and go home. About 7 hours later. Lesson learned #2: When going to the doctor with chest pain, don't expect to go to work that day.
The pain lessened, due to the anti-inflammatories and vicodin. I went to work the next day (which was Friday). At work, my cell phone (which was on silent) rang but I didn't hear it (hence: silent), which ended up being the doctor trying to get in contact with me. He tried calling my mom (my next contact) but the only phone number I gave for her was our home phone number in Hibbing. She was at work. Not being able to get in contact with either, and seeing a potentially fatal condition, my doctor called 911. I'm pretty sure cops came to my house, but there was no one here to be sure of that. He eventually found my work number and contacted me that way. Turns out a D-dimer test that I took the previous day was not normal as he had thought, but was actually abnormal. The d-Dimer tests your blood to see if it had recently clotted- commonly used to test for PEs, or heart attacks. I was sent to the ER.
After convincing my boss that I would have someone with me and that he didn't need to drive me and sit with me (I have an amazing boss, by the way), I started out to pick up Chris who had to cancel most of his busy day for me. On the way, I called my Dad, who I had supposed to be in an airplane, who picked up. Turns out he had just gotten off the flight, was in Minneapolis, and was just looking up at the screen to see that his flight to Hibbing had been cancelled when I called. Needless to say, I picked up my Dad, told Chris to un-cancel his appointments and see me later, and headed to the hospital.
At the ER, I was treated to my first CAT scan ever. Not really an experience I would like to repeat. The CAT scan came up positive: I had a few pumonary embolisms (PEs) in my lungs. This is serious, and is often fatal, and usually only occurs in people over 40. I had it, but they had been caught early, were small, and were on the edges (sides) of my lungs. Needless to say, I was admitted to the hospital.
Upon hearing the words "PE" my mom drove like a maniac down to Minneapolis in a downpour and even got lost once, and still made it to Burnsville in about 3 hours. I'm happy she was not pulled over. Lesson learned #3: Mom drives fast in emergencies.
I was put on the "fast track" in the ER to get admitted, partially because I'd already been fully checked out by a doctor, and probably mostly because a bunch of people with the flu (by the way, if you have the flu, stay the hell away from an ER unless you're dying) were sitting in the waiting area and they sure as hell didn't want me to get that too.
Once admitted, I was subjected to poking and prodding at least once every 2 hours to make sure I was still alive. I was put on a de-coagulant and blood thinners. The PEs, as I was informed, in someone my age were either a result of pregnancy (not in my case!), genetics (no again!), or birth control. I've been on the pill for about 5 years now.
At the hospital, I was monitored constantly to make sure I wasn't going to die from the PEs, and was visited by my doctor from Thursday who not only apologized, but also gave me his cell number and informed me that his clinic was taking measures so that something like this was never missed again the first time around. I was also called by my boss who was worried about me, and I was able to speak with both my grandparents, Chris' mom (who is an ER nurse), and a few friends who had called. Chris of course was there, and was so incredibly supportive. I feel bad that I ended up destroying his first weekend off. And, of course both my parents were with me the entire time. It didn't matter, I felt like an invalid and wanted out.
That night, I tried to sleep and suddenly realized that hospitals are really houses of torture. If you're checked every two hours in the day, that doesn't stop when you're asleep. Couple that with an injection that would have been nice to pair with checking me with vitals, but it wasn't, and getting blood drawn again that would have been nice to pair with checking my vitals but wasn't, and one can easily come to the conclusion that I got no more than 1.5 hours of undisturbed sleep. The doctors and nurses even seemed surpried that I was "up and about" at 6:30 AM. What the hell? It's not like they were going to let me sleep anyway, I figured it would be better for all of us if I just stopped trying. I am now really sick of the food network.
After meeting with my doctor in the morning, I was informed that if everything continued to look ok, I would be released that evening. A nurse came in later to try to tell me that I would probably stay another day, which put me into tears. Turns out she hadn't talked to the doctor- I was getting released! Lesson learned #4: communication sucks in hospitals.
After a quick lesson in how to give myself the shots I needed, I was forced to sit and wait for everyone else to let me go. After two hours, I paged the nurse to see how much longer it would be. She asked "well, when would you like to go?" . What I want to know is why that is even a question. I told her I wanted to leave as soon as possible- did she think I wanted to hang out there all day? They're nice people, but the poking and prodding had to stop. Plus, I wanted to sleep that night.
Finally, about 6PM that night, I was allowed to leave. After a happy dance, Chris and I were treated to Green Mill pizza and I said goodbye to my parents. I'm home now, and I'm on medications that people my age rarely need to take. But the moral of the story is, that I'm better, and I'm not going to die.
Tuesday evening, while watching District 9 (so good!!!), I felt a sharp pain in my side. It didn't really go away, but only hurted when I took a breath. Therefore, I concluded it must be a tic or a cramp in my ribs or diaphragm, and it should go away with a good night's rest.
it didn't.
The next day, when it was still hurting, I decided that it might go away if I stay active and walk it off. Not only did it not conform to this belief, the pain worsened that evening. While in the throes of pain deciding whether or not to go to the ER, I figured that since I had lived with it for 24 hours now, it could wait another 8-10 and I could get it checked out in the morning.
The next morning, I took myself to an urgent care clinic. Lesson learned #1: When you have chest pain, and say so to the urgent clinic, you immediately get a lecture on how you should have gone to the ER. oops. After about 4 hours of tests to make sure nothing was wrong with my heart or lungs, I was sent to get an "echo" done of my heart due to a slight abnormality in an EKG. After the echo results came back that everything was normal, I was told that I had pleuritis (an inflammation of the lung tissue), to take anti-inflammatories, rest, and go home. About 7 hours later. Lesson learned #2: When going to the doctor with chest pain, don't expect to go to work that day.
The pain lessened, due to the anti-inflammatories and vicodin. I went to work the next day (which was Friday). At work, my cell phone (which was on silent) rang but I didn't hear it (hence: silent), which ended up being the doctor trying to get in contact with me. He tried calling my mom (my next contact) but the only phone number I gave for her was our home phone number in Hibbing. She was at work. Not being able to get in contact with either, and seeing a potentially fatal condition, my doctor called 911. I'm pretty sure cops came to my house, but there was no one here to be sure of that. He eventually found my work number and contacted me that way. Turns out a D-dimer test that I took the previous day was not normal as he had thought, but was actually abnormal. The d-Dimer tests your blood to see if it had recently clotted- commonly used to test for PEs, or heart attacks. I was sent to the ER.
After convincing my boss that I would have someone with me and that he didn't need to drive me and sit with me (I have an amazing boss, by the way), I started out to pick up Chris who had to cancel most of his busy day for me. On the way, I called my Dad, who I had supposed to be in an airplane, who picked up. Turns out he had just gotten off the flight, was in Minneapolis, and was just looking up at the screen to see that his flight to Hibbing had been cancelled when I called. Needless to say, I picked up my Dad, told Chris to un-cancel his appointments and see me later, and headed to the hospital.
At the ER, I was treated to my first CAT scan ever. Not really an experience I would like to repeat. The CAT scan came up positive: I had a few pumonary embolisms (PEs) in my lungs. This is serious, and is often fatal, and usually only occurs in people over 40. I had it, but they had been caught early, were small, and were on the edges (sides) of my lungs. Needless to say, I was admitted to the hospital.
Upon hearing the words "PE" my mom drove like a maniac down to Minneapolis in a downpour and even got lost once, and still made it to Burnsville in about 3 hours. I'm happy she was not pulled over. Lesson learned #3: Mom drives fast in emergencies.
I was put on the "fast track" in the ER to get admitted, partially because I'd already been fully checked out by a doctor, and probably mostly because a bunch of people with the flu (by the way, if you have the flu, stay the hell away from an ER unless you're dying) were sitting in the waiting area and they sure as hell didn't want me to get that too.
Once admitted, I was subjected to poking and prodding at least once every 2 hours to make sure I was still alive. I was put on a de-coagulant and blood thinners. The PEs, as I was informed, in someone my age were either a result of pregnancy (not in my case!), genetics (no again!), or birth control. I've been on the pill for about 5 years now.
At the hospital, I was monitored constantly to make sure I wasn't going to die from the PEs, and was visited by my doctor from Thursday who not only apologized, but also gave me his cell number and informed me that his clinic was taking measures so that something like this was never missed again the first time around. I was also called by my boss who was worried about me, and I was able to speak with both my grandparents, Chris' mom (who is an ER nurse), and a few friends who had called. Chris of course was there, and was so incredibly supportive. I feel bad that I ended up destroying his first weekend off. And, of course both my parents were with me the entire time. It didn't matter, I felt like an invalid and wanted out.
That night, I tried to sleep and suddenly realized that hospitals are really houses of torture. If you're checked every two hours in the day, that doesn't stop when you're asleep. Couple that with an injection that would have been nice to pair with checking me with vitals, but it wasn't, and getting blood drawn again that would have been nice to pair with checking my vitals but wasn't, and one can easily come to the conclusion that I got no more than 1.5 hours of undisturbed sleep. The doctors and nurses even seemed surpried that I was "up and about" at 6:30 AM. What the hell? It's not like they were going to let me sleep anyway, I figured it would be better for all of us if I just stopped trying. I am now really sick of the food network.
After meeting with my doctor in the morning, I was informed that if everything continued to look ok, I would be released that evening. A nurse came in later to try to tell me that I would probably stay another day, which put me into tears. Turns out she hadn't talked to the doctor- I was getting released! Lesson learned #4: communication sucks in hospitals.
After a quick lesson in how to give myself the shots I needed, I was forced to sit and wait for everyone else to let me go. After two hours, I paged the nurse to see how much longer it would be. She asked "well, when would you like to go?" . What I want to know is why that is even a question. I told her I wanted to leave as soon as possible- did she think I wanted to hang out there all day? They're nice people, but the poking and prodding had to stop. Plus, I wanted to sleep that night.
Finally, about 6PM that night, I was allowed to leave. After a happy dance, Chris and I were treated to Green Mill pizza and I said goodbye to my parents. I'm home now, and I'm on medications that people my age rarely need to take. But the moral of the story is, that I'm better, and I'm not going to die.
Beth update
It's been so long since I've updated, guess the whole blogging thing hasn't been working out so much.
Especially since I've gotten a twitter account (@bkiesel). So much easier. I told myself I would only get it if I could call it "twatting".
Since my last blog:
I graduated from college. I made it! I felt so triumphant that day, except when I fell down the stairs before the pre-ceremony for the chemical engineering department. Well, at least it didn't happen in front of the entire IT class.
I went to Boston with Chris. It was amazing, we walked the brick trail going through most of the tourist sights in Boston, toured "old ironsides", visited Harvard and MIT, and had a fantastic dinner at a little Italian restaurant in little Italy.
I started working full-time at Ecolab. Since starting, I'll have one patent (from my work from last summer) and possibly another. I made a dish detergent for Europe, which will be implemented next year. I'm generally making the Earth a greener place one soap at a time, by using biodegradeable and green materials to replace problematic ones.
I started playing softball in an Ecolab beer league. We took first place in the playoffs! I managed to hit a few, and I only struck out once in the last two games. I guess it comes back quickly.
I moved! To uptown, with Towey, Denise and Scott. We live in an enormous duplex with a landlord that is very young (in his late 20's we think) and therefore can be a little... irresponsible? Nevertheless, every major issue has been taken care of swiftly. Two girls just moved in next door with three dogs. It's nice to see puppies in the back yard, however they tend to poo all over the place. It would be nice if they cleaned that up. Otherwise, great neighbors.
That's been the general swing of things, nothing too incredibly exciting. I'm depressed that many of my friends from college are no longer living nearby. It's really starting to sink in that there are people I may never see again, it seems especially real now that the UMN just started. I know I'll see the people that I stay in touch with, it's just very sad to not be able to run down the hall and grab 5-8 people and have an impromptu get-together. Fortunately, I still live with three of my friends, and there are a few sprinkled around the area that still live here. It's just quieter than I'm used to. I miss you guys.
Especially since I've gotten a twitter account (@bkiesel). So much easier. I told myself I would only get it if I could call it "twatting".
Since my last blog:
I graduated from college. I made it! I felt so triumphant that day, except when I fell down the stairs before the pre-ceremony for the chemical engineering department. Well, at least it didn't happen in front of the entire IT class.
I went to Boston with Chris. It was amazing, we walked the brick trail going through most of the tourist sights in Boston, toured "old ironsides", visited Harvard and MIT, and had a fantastic dinner at a little Italian restaurant in little Italy.
I started working full-time at Ecolab. Since starting, I'll have one patent (from my work from last summer) and possibly another. I made a dish detergent for Europe, which will be implemented next year. I'm generally making the Earth a greener place one soap at a time, by using biodegradeable and green materials to replace problematic ones.
I started playing softball in an Ecolab beer league. We took first place in the playoffs! I managed to hit a few, and I only struck out once in the last two games. I guess it comes back quickly.
I moved! To uptown, with Towey, Denise and Scott. We live in an enormous duplex with a landlord that is very young (in his late 20's we think) and therefore can be a little... irresponsible? Nevertheless, every major issue has been taken care of swiftly. Two girls just moved in next door with three dogs. It's nice to see puppies in the back yard, however they tend to poo all over the place. It would be nice if they cleaned that up. Otherwise, great neighbors.
That's been the general swing of things, nothing too incredibly exciting. I'm depressed that many of my friends from college are no longer living nearby. It's really starting to sink in that there are people I may never see again, it seems especially real now that the UMN just started. I know I'll see the people that I stay in touch with, it's just very sad to not be able to run down the hall and grab 5-8 people and have an impromptu get-together. Fortunately, I still live with three of my friends, and there are a few sprinkled around the area that still live here. It's just quieter than I'm used to. I miss you guys.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
Maybe it's just this time of year...
I feel like I'm being taken for granted by a good friend.
I have a friend, call them "Bob", who I've supported and become very good friends with over the past four years. I can tell Bob pretty much anything. We get along great, and used to hang out a lot.
I have another friend, call them "Jerry". Jerry is awesome. Bob thinks Jerry is awesome too, so much in fact that they like to hang out and study together. None of the above is in any way a problem, nor is it a problem with either Bob or Jerry. In fact, I think it's awesome.
My problem is that whenever I suggest doing something with Bob, they go and do the very same thing with Jerry. Which is fine, if I were invited, but I'm often not. It really becomes an issue when I have a great idea for a party, would really like to see a movie I've never seen, or even just really want to do something. I don't even always hear about it from Bob in the first place, either. I get to hear about the two of them doing something secondhand from Jerry who wonders why I'm so mad I wasn't invited, and is often surprised to hear that it was my idea in the first place.
It's not that I'm mad that I'm not invited to things, I've started hanging out with some of my other friends- partially because they actually leave the building once in a while, partially because I feel like I'm wearing on my other friends, and partially because I like to be with Chris- and therefore I'm not always here to be invited. It's the principle that it was my idea in the first place, that I was the one who recently brought it up, and that the thought of calling to invite me never occurs to Bob, and Bob gets irritated when I don't invite him to do things, which is pretty rare on my part.
So, in short, I feel taken for granted like I'm in a one-sided friendship. I've not approached Bob about this and I'm not sure how or that I'm actually going to. I might just be throwing myself a pity party, who knows.
Sigh, buck up: little soldier.
I have a friend, call them "Bob", who I've supported and become very good friends with over the past four years. I can tell Bob pretty much anything. We get along great, and used to hang out a lot.
I have another friend, call them "Jerry". Jerry is awesome. Bob thinks Jerry is awesome too, so much in fact that they like to hang out and study together. None of the above is in any way a problem, nor is it a problem with either Bob or Jerry. In fact, I think it's awesome.
My problem is that whenever I suggest doing something with Bob, they go and do the very same thing with Jerry. Which is fine, if I were invited, but I'm often not. It really becomes an issue when I have a great idea for a party, would really like to see a movie I've never seen, or even just really want to do something. I don't even always hear about it from Bob in the first place, either. I get to hear about the two of them doing something secondhand from Jerry who wonders why I'm so mad I wasn't invited, and is often surprised to hear that it was my idea in the first place.
It's not that I'm mad that I'm not invited to things, I've started hanging out with some of my other friends- partially because they actually leave the building once in a while, partially because I feel like I'm wearing on my other friends, and partially because I like to be with Chris- and therefore I'm not always here to be invited. It's the principle that it was my idea in the first place, that I was the one who recently brought it up, and that the thought of calling to invite me never occurs to Bob, and Bob gets irritated when I don't invite him to do things, which is pretty rare on my part.
So, in short, I feel taken for granted like I'm in a one-sided friendship. I've not approached Bob about this and I'm not sure how or that I'm actually going to. I might just be throwing myself a pity party, who knows.
Sigh, buck up: little soldier.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Unsure
So, graduation is coming quickly. In a week. I'm not ready yet! I'm really excited at the prospect of not taking exams or needing to purchase books. I'm just not ready to be a real person yet. I am, however, ready for the paychecks!
I recently received a roommate request via my friend's fiance. I am waiting on a few of my best friends to get jobs and live with me. Honestly, I don't know what to do- I would rather keep waiting but I'm not sure I want to take that chance, given the current luck of my friends and the state of the economy. I'm not ready to give up on them though, that sounds way too harsh. I don't know what to do.
I can't wait to go to Boston. I've really wanted to see the east coast for a while, and don't think being shipped to Delaware for 24 hours for an interview counts, as I was there for an interview and did no sightseeing. Really, really, excited. Next trip: NYC/Ithaca with C and Nic about this time next year. Maybe.
It's really depressing when I think about who I'll be staying in touch with after school ends. The reality of it is that I'll probably still talk to C, Kyle, Scott and Joe, Nic because he'll be with C, Becky, Molly, David and Caitlin because they'll be around here, Ben because he's living with Chris and Jill because she's dating Ben. My point is that outside of people who are convenient to stay in touch with, I'll only keep in touch with C, Kyle, Scott and Joe. There are many people here who I consider to be my friends that I'll probably never see again. Goodbye, 7th floor MBH, forever.
On a side note, I started a twitter: http://twitter.com/bkiesel
Not entirely sure that it was a good idea, but I'm conforming to society once again. Also, it's an interesting way to be fed the news in the morning.
I recently received a roommate request via my friend's fiance. I am waiting on a few of my best friends to get jobs and live with me. Honestly, I don't know what to do- I would rather keep waiting but I'm not sure I want to take that chance, given the current luck of my friends and the state of the economy. I'm not ready to give up on them though, that sounds way too harsh. I don't know what to do.
I can't wait to go to Boston. I've really wanted to see the east coast for a while, and don't think being shipped to Delaware for 24 hours for an interview counts, as I was there for an interview and did no sightseeing. Really, really, excited. Next trip: NYC/Ithaca with C and Nic about this time next year. Maybe.
It's really depressing when I think about who I'll be staying in touch with after school ends. The reality of it is that I'll probably still talk to C, Kyle, Scott and Joe, Nic because he'll be with C, Becky, Molly, David and Caitlin because they'll be around here, Ben because he's living with Chris and Jill because she's dating Ben. My point is that outside of people who are convenient to stay in touch with, I'll only keep in touch with C, Kyle, Scott and Joe. There are many people here who I consider to be my friends that I'll probably never see again. Goodbye, 7th floor MBH, forever.
On a side note, I started a twitter: http://twitter.com/bkiesel
Not entirely sure that it was a good idea, but I'm conforming to society once again. Also, it's an interesting way to be fed the news in the morning.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Underachieving?
I've heard more times than I can count from people who claim to be my friends that people who don't go to grad school are "underachieving" (although not directed directly at me)
I'm sorry if it makes me a bad person if I want to kick said people in the kidney.
ugh.
I'm sorry if it makes me a bad person if I want to kick said people in the kidney.
ugh.
Monday, February 16, 2009
so, what happened?
Thinking back over the past year, I've realized how much I've changed. Pretty much every aspect of my life, except spiritually, I've done a near-180. For example, this time in 2008 I was struggling in a failing relationship, looking toward pursuing a phD in Chemical Engineering anywhere but here, recently highlighted my hair with blonde streaks, working in classes centered around the theory of chemical engineering, starting new research with no known publications, and had no married friends.
Now, two of my best friends are married, I have three publications, I'm not doing research at all, I'm working in classes centered around applications (i.e. labs) of chemical engineering, I have red hair (much to my parents chagrin), I have a job and will not be pursuing a phD, I'll be staying in Minnesota permanently, and I'm in a budding relationship with a new guy.
Just about everything that was important to my future and my life has changed. Amazing what a year can do to someone. And still, with all this change and ups and downs, this past year was better than the one prior. I hope I'm never depressed like that again.
One thing that has not changed, however, is my lack of sleep during the school year.
On one hand, I can't wait to graduate. On the other, I'm not ready. I'm ready to move on with my life, but I don't want all the bad that comes with that. I have a feeling that the next three and a half months are going to fly by me faster than the past three and a half years have. I'm dreading that a little- graduation is happening too soon.
Now, two of my best friends are married, I have three publications, I'm not doing research at all, I'm working in classes centered around applications (i.e. labs) of chemical engineering, I have red hair (much to my parents chagrin), I have a job and will not be pursuing a phD, I'll be staying in Minnesota permanently, and I'm in a budding relationship with a new guy.
Just about everything that was important to my future and my life has changed. Amazing what a year can do to someone. And still, with all this change and ups and downs, this past year was better than the one prior. I hope I'm never depressed like that again.
One thing that has not changed, however, is my lack of sleep during the school year.
On one hand, I can't wait to graduate. On the other, I'm not ready. I'm ready to move on with my life, but I don't want all the bad that comes with that. I have a feeling that the next three and a half months are going to fly by me faster than the past three and a half years have. I'm dreading that a little- graduation is happening too soon.
Monday, January 26, 2009
New Years Anecdotes
It's the start of my last semester, and I'm already looking forward to it ending. Mostly, because the end of this semester brings my first big-girl job, a salary, and summer. Unfortunately, it also brings the end to my extremely casual wardrobe and the beginning of a single lonely life in a large city.
Fortunately for me, a few of my good friends are staying in the area, and hopefully a few more will find jobs in the area as well. Even the single thing might not be completely true anymore. *sigh, happy*
One thing still stands, however. Being in the middle of a complete wardrobe transition sucks. I am down to three pairs of jeans (unheard of!) and now I'm needing to wear nicer pants to school. On the shirts side, I'm somewhere in the middle of lots of black/neutral business-casual tops and U of M t-shirts and sweatshirts. It's an odd combination. I want my jeans back.
School has started pretty well, I'm taking two labs (yes, I'm a masochist I'm aware), a polymers course, two design courses, and a wine tasting class. Fortunately one of the labs is only an A term course and will be done in about 6 weeks, and one of the design courses will then step up as a B term course. So far, they all look interesting but also look like a fair amount of work. Something I'm used to, I guess.
...
I tried sushi for the first time last week, on a date (at least I think it was a date?). The guy I was with seemed fairly knowledgeable about it and I liked it for the most part. Unfortunately, I found out that I'm not a huge fan of crab while attempting to eat my massive California roll. Everything around it was tasty- it was a bit weird getting over the sensation of putting a slab of raw fish in my mouth at first.
This year, I finally made a resolution. I want to get out of Argyle more often. Doesn't matter where, as long as fun or friends or both are involved. So far, I've been keeping up on the promise to myself- going to Becky's for Scrubs/Cribbage night, hanging out at Joe's, and likely wearing out my welcome at Chris' house. Trivia night at the Big 10 is still a weekly thing, and hopefully I'll get the chance to go to more bars across campus and Minneapolis, not just the same ones in stadium village (even though they are fantastic staples).
It's not that I dislike Argyle, it's just that I'm getting tired of going to the same apartment every night and either watching a movie or TV, or playing rockband. As fun as those are, I do feel bad that I'm over there more than I should be.
Fortunately for me, a few of my good friends are staying in the area, and hopefully a few more will find jobs in the area as well. Even the single thing might not be completely true anymore. *sigh, happy*
One thing still stands, however. Being in the middle of a complete wardrobe transition sucks. I am down to three pairs of jeans (unheard of!) and now I'm needing to wear nicer pants to school. On the shirts side, I'm somewhere in the middle of lots of black/neutral business-casual tops and U of M t-shirts and sweatshirts. It's an odd combination. I want my jeans back.
School has started pretty well, I'm taking two labs (yes, I'm a masochist I'm aware), a polymers course, two design courses, and a wine tasting class. Fortunately one of the labs is only an A term course and will be done in about 6 weeks, and one of the design courses will then step up as a B term course. So far, they all look interesting but also look like a fair amount of work. Something I'm used to, I guess.
...
I tried sushi for the first time last week, on a date (at least I think it was a date?). The guy I was with seemed fairly knowledgeable about it and I liked it for the most part. Unfortunately, I found out that I'm not a huge fan of crab while attempting to eat my massive California roll. Everything around it was tasty- it was a bit weird getting over the sensation of putting a slab of raw fish in my mouth at first.
This year, I finally made a resolution. I want to get out of Argyle more often. Doesn't matter where, as long as fun or friends or both are involved. So far, I've been keeping up on the promise to myself- going to Becky's for Scrubs/Cribbage night, hanging out at Joe's, and likely wearing out my welcome at Chris' house. Trivia night at the Big 10 is still a weekly thing, and hopefully I'll get the chance to go to more bars across campus and Minneapolis, not just the same ones in stadium village (even though they are fantastic staples).
It's not that I dislike Argyle, it's just that I'm getting tired of going to the same apartment every night and either watching a movie or TV, or playing rockband. As fun as those are, I do feel bad that I'm over there more than I should be.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Quintessential College Experience
Recently, a friend and I took a road trip to Arizona to watch the Gophers football team lose to Kansas State in the Insight Bowl.
Having never been though any of the states we went through, with the exceptions of Iowa and Texas, it was most definitely an interesting experience. A rough overview of our trip follows:
- Iowa was boring, we were thrilled to make it to Nebraska and away from the Danish Windmill.
- Lunch with Tyler in Omaha, after that Nebraska sucked and we were happy to drive through most of it in the dark.
- Colorado is not a magical place where the terrain instantly changes to mountains, however we were able to finally see the Rockies in the distance for a couple hours as we drove towards them.
- Stop at Mile High stadium, I unsuccessfully attempt to break into the stadium. We manage to break into the hall of fame.
- Stop at Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, thanks to a hint from a friend. Best. Stop. Ever. Absolutely gorgeous, we contemplate going hiking in the Rockies instead of going to the football game.
- Made it south to Albuquerque, drove through potentially beautiful landscape in the dark.
- Driving through New Mexico was also boring, with the exception of the "Indian Village" tourist trap, with reminders every 0.2 miles, and the multitudes of casinos.
- There was snow in Arizona, we weren't sure how that happened until we realized we were at altitudes of about 6000 feet.
- We decide to take a picture with a cactus, we find one however a low lying barbed wire fence stands in our way. I make the brilliant decision to jump the fence.
- Cacti hurt. Also, their needles are hell to take out of human flesh without getting it stuck to other parts of one's body. Cactus: 1, Beth: 0.
- Shortly after taking said picture with cactus, we realize the low lying barbed wire fence ended about 20 feet from where I made friends with the cactus. We walk around the fence.
- The decent into Phoenix was gorgeous, amid palm trees and cacti.
- We check into our hotel, and nearly get lost on our way to battle of the bands. Turns out that about half of the streets are apparently not important enough to be put on maps.
- After battle of the bands, we make it to a brewery on the ASU campus. Two guys buy us drinks all night. Later, we ditch them. girls:1, men:0.
- Bowl game day: we go to the tailgating party and realize not many college age students made it down to Tempe. We go to the game and miss the student section. We do the cheers by ourselves anyway.
- Minnesota loses. Big surprise.
- Block party afterward, we begin our quest to find cute boys to kiss at midnight.
- Styx was awesome, period.
- We wish everyone back home a Happy New Year at 11 PM
- Begin the trip home, again reminded of all the casinos and indian villages.
- Texas can't pronounce Spanish correctly, makes Ruth angry.
- Oklahoma sucks almost as much as Nebraska. Also, Oklahoma City is a dump.
- We are astounded and confused by crossing the "North Canada River" in Oklahoma. Three times.
- The Ozarks were kinda pretty, would be better in spring or fall due to the multitudes of deciduous trees.
- Called Heinzen in Arkansas, didn't reach him until Missouri, for the sole purpose of making fun of the South.
- Drive home found the only precipitation we saw on the entire trip: freezing rain. 7.5 hours into a 6 hour trip, we finally make it back to Minneapolis, hoping to never hear Taylor Swift, Britney Spears, Lady GaGa, or Nickelback ever again.
The trip was amazing, and I'm so happy that I went. It was nice to see the interior of the country, and make fun of some of the quirks we found in each state. I can see now why a long road trip is the "quintessential college experience".
Having never been though any of the states we went through, with the exceptions of Iowa and Texas, it was most definitely an interesting experience. A rough overview of our trip follows:
- Iowa was boring, we were thrilled to make it to Nebraska and away from the Danish Windmill.
- Lunch with Tyler in Omaha, after that Nebraska sucked and we were happy to drive through most of it in the dark.
- Colorado is not a magical place where the terrain instantly changes to mountains, however we were able to finally see the Rockies in the distance for a couple hours as we drove towards them.
- Stop at Mile High stadium, I unsuccessfully attempt to break into the stadium. We manage to break into the hall of fame.
- Stop at Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, thanks to a hint from a friend. Best. Stop. Ever. Absolutely gorgeous, we contemplate going hiking in the Rockies instead of going to the football game.
- Made it south to Albuquerque, drove through potentially beautiful landscape in the dark.
- Driving through New Mexico was also boring, with the exception of the "Indian Village" tourist trap, with reminders every 0.2 miles, and the multitudes of casinos.
- There was snow in Arizona, we weren't sure how that happened until we realized we were at altitudes of about 6000 feet.
- We decide to take a picture with a cactus, we find one however a low lying barbed wire fence stands in our way. I make the brilliant decision to jump the fence.
- Cacti hurt. Also, their needles are hell to take out of human flesh without getting it stuck to other parts of one's body. Cactus: 1, Beth: 0.
- Shortly after taking said picture with cactus, we realize the low lying barbed wire fence ended about 20 feet from where I made friends with the cactus. We walk around the fence.
- The decent into Phoenix was gorgeous, amid palm trees and cacti.
- We check into our hotel, and nearly get lost on our way to battle of the bands. Turns out that about half of the streets are apparently not important enough to be put on maps.
- After battle of the bands, we make it to a brewery on the ASU campus. Two guys buy us drinks all night. Later, we ditch them. girls:1, men:0.
- Bowl game day: we go to the tailgating party and realize not many college age students made it down to Tempe. We go to the game and miss the student section. We do the cheers by ourselves anyway.
- Minnesota loses. Big surprise.
- Block party afterward, we begin our quest to find cute boys to kiss at midnight.
- Styx was awesome, period.
- We wish everyone back home a Happy New Year at 11 PM
- Begin the trip home, again reminded of all the casinos and indian villages.
- Texas can't pronounce Spanish correctly, makes Ruth angry.
- Oklahoma sucks almost as much as Nebraska. Also, Oklahoma City is a dump.
- We are astounded and confused by crossing the "North Canada River" in Oklahoma. Three times.
- The Ozarks were kinda pretty, would be better in spring or fall due to the multitudes of deciduous trees.
- Called Heinzen in Arkansas, didn't reach him until Missouri, for the sole purpose of making fun of the South.
- Drive home found the only precipitation we saw on the entire trip: freezing rain. 7.5 hours into a 6 hour trip, we finally make it back to Minneapolis, hoping to never hear Taylor Swift, Britney Spears, Lady GaGa, or Nickelback ever again.
The trip was amazing, and I'm so happy that I went. It was nice to see the interior of the country, and make fun of some of the quirks we found in each state. I can see now why a long road trip is the "quintessential college experience".
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