Thesis Defense

Yesterday, I finally defended my thesis. It's official, I'm a master of biology. I presented my thesis work to to the biology department (all graduate students and professors were invited to attend). After the presentation, it was opened to questions. Anyone could ask me anything. Somethings I knew...some I didn't. Then I went into a separate conference room with my committee members and they asked me specific questions regarding my thesis work and made suggestions for improvement. After the 2 hour ordeal (an hour to present and an hour with my committee), they asked me to leave the room as they discussed among themselves. Dr. Watson called me back and stretched out his hand and said, "Congratulations, you passed. You're a master." I shook hands with rest of the committee members as they congratulated me. And then...I think I flew home. If I didn't actually fly, I certainly felt like I could have.

The journey of graduate school has been the best educational experience of my life. I started off clueless hardly even able to read a scientific paper. I began doing experiments I didn't even understand, but slowly the things started to become clear. My mind began to comprehend at the level of a protein and the discovery of very small pieces of a very big puzzle became so exciting. The final process of analyzing the two years of data I'd collected was more difficult but more rewarding than I expected. I began to see patterns in the different aspects of my research and produced a model for how all the pieces could possibly function coherently. Yesterday, I had a coming out ceremony in the scientific community. But for me, It was so much more. It was the culmination of a journey that has produce in me a way of thinking that I didn't know existed. I'm so grateful for the past three years. I started graduate school for many different reason, one of which was I didn't know what else to do. Looking back it was the right thing to do. I'm better for it.

Throw Me Something, Mister!

Today we celebrate....for tomorrow we shall repent. Our new house is in the center of the festivities. More cars parked on our street than is safe or legal. People were everywhere...walking back and forth to the parade. Jeff, Melissa, and Ethan came in to check out our new pad and hang for the holiday. Charles and Amanda came over for the day. Mike and his posse were in and out. We bbq-ed, hung out, went to the parade. It was a great day.

For some very hilarious unknown reason Jon decided to dress up as a French Fry to attend the parade. He convinced Jeff to dress as a can of 7-Up. Ethan came prepared with his ninja turtle costume which was jacked by Charles at some point. Needless to say we had some serious bead action coming our way. Mardi Gras is a great holiday. What other holiday does everyone gather in the streets to dance and catch colored beads?

you can call me the lady with the very large straw hat and green thumb

i've been wanting to take up gardening for while now. living in an apartment made it slightly difficult. since the move i've been planning to get started. my favorite christmas present was some gardening gloves, seed packets, and a shovel (from joi*). i love people who have hobbies and i kinda want to be one of those people...and i'm tired of buying onions and tomatoes. today, jon and i went visit some gardening professionals (aka sue and ken-thanks!) to get some info and tips. they grow sage, oregano, rosemary, cilantro, lemons, blueberries, onions, green beans, bellpeppers, tomatoes, etc. i want it to be a communal thing. once it gets started i'd like to have whosoever will come and help keep up and take whatever produce they need. if you haven't noticed i haven't posted in a while and i haven't posted about teaching...well, i'm realizing that i'm an idealist who through the help of the public school system has swallowed a very large dose of reality.