Friday, August 31, 2007

Dad and I hiking pictures Lake Serene, Mt. Index, WA


Dad and I before starting our hike Dad in front of a rock with cool carvings into it

Hope and the girls Summer 2007

Hope and the girls


Infinite confidence!

For all of you who have expressed your confidence in me (via posted comments and emails) I thank you and then say "harhar! yeah right!" Today I had my first real content related physics class. I feel as though I have been hit by a large moving vehicle (possibly a Mack truck). I think the problem is I understood the content (or thought I did) until I got there. Vectors are just movement in a direction. After the prof was done with me, adding letters upon letters to my vector understanding, I no longer knew which direction I was going. My displacement was zero though my distance traveled was huge (that is my sad attempt at a physics joke!). Point being I am still at the starting point in understanding having chased my tale in circles.

The surprisingly less than bright spot is the weekend coming. Today is Friday. I have one more class to go then freedom. Tonight I will see my cousin Hope and her family, daughters Payton and Hailey, and husband Terry. I am excited to see them and the dog, but they are leaving tomorrow morning for the coast and I will be house and dog sitting while they enjoy the wonders of North Carolina's Outer Banks for a week. Am I jealous or what! It promises to be a lonely holiday weekend, so anyone feel free to call. Often. I am going to outline a rigorous course of study and try to stay way, way out ahead of my classes, but still, disruptions are wonderful!!

Harley is my bright spot. The dog (who is delightful little pain in the rear) should give me some company. I think I am adjusting a little more roughly this time to returning to DC. After all, when I first came there were so many things to work out, places to find and observe, etc. Now I have my location mapped, all the good grocery stores found (though restaurants I still need to scope). Plus having just been home with a whirlwind social calendar that was utterly exhausting and wonderful and overwhelming, I find the silence of my apartment a little . . . sad. This too shall pass, however.

Pray that I don't use this opportunity to cook and eat myself into oblivion!

Thursday, August 30, 2007

Today biology, tomorrow the world

So today I start my biology class. I always forget how much I absolutely adore biology. Even when I am struggling to learn something particularly difficult, I still like it. Which probably says that I am crazy. But it also speaks to the fact that I had a very excellent teacher for my first ever biology class in high school who taught me to love the subject.

For some reason, too, I think most biology teachers are slightly crazy, in the best possible academic sense. My new prof actually encouraged us to talk to the dean when we did not feel a professor was doing an adequate job teaching. I mean, how secure do you have to be in life to recommend that a student complain? I think it is really cool. I can see the prof getting boring on occasion. There is something of the monotonous tonal element, but he seems aware of that and does interesting things to engage attention. I feel very hopeful that I can do really well in this class and even enjoy it.

Now that I have seen all my profs, I feel . . . cautiously optimistic. The second day of school where all is laid out in front of you, where you aren't behind on any assignments or feeling lost yet. Opportunity is ahead to do well. (One should not however that my feelings WILL change. Being me, I am waiting for the shoe to drop!) But today is good.

On the home front, I returned to my lovely little studio yesterday after a more than a little overwhelming day and brought out my America's Test Kitchen recipe cards (completely with mouthwatering pictures) to decide on a dinner that would bury my worries in fun cooking and great taste. I must say it is a rather effective and enjoyable way of putting aside worries. After all, you have to eat! So there is no guilt for time spent! Plus in the end you get a sesame sauteed chicken dipped in peanut sauce and that is happiness right there! Some times I wish I could be happy just being a cook. I would really gain weight there!

Well, I am off to study!

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Getting started

Today seemed an auspicious day to start a blog. Today is the first day of school for me! Georgetown University's version of the quick and the ugly pre-med science year. All science, all the time.
I am trying, sometimes more successfully than others, to be excited about this next year. My organic chem prof posted advice from previous student of the class. One pithy commenter noted "Pray! If you don't believe in God, start." I am hoping that with an relatively good attention to detail I will be able to survive reasonably in these courses.
It is difficult. During summer the class was relatively small and access to the prof almost unlimited. Partially because the prof was good but also because the class was small enough that break times were free-for-alls of interaction, creating good basis of communication. This semester . . . well, we shall see!