Classes resumed on Thursday. Though the start of a new school year is always exciting, it was also strangely sad to see the university quickly fill back up with students--it was mostly upsetting because this meant I would no longer have the gym all to myself. But still, the start of every new year is always nicely energizing, nostalgic, and familiar.
To make the most of the last couple days off, on Tuesday I skipped the lab and headed downtown to meet with Cindy. We had lunch in Chinatown at a surprisingly awesome Vietnamese sandwich shop, did a little shopping for sweet buns to bring back to our fellows, then took the T to the Museum of Science. Shamefully, I had never been there before, even though I have applied for numerous jobs with them. I made a point to check it out before the end of summer and booked tickets through the public library. The museum had its strong points (like the live owl demonstration... God I love owls...) and weak points (like the evolutionary time-line drawn embarrassingly out of scale), but overall it was a fun day out, topped off with a walk along the Charles.
The first two Italian classes have gone well and I haven't yet totally failed at learning the new language. I do get really nervous in class, however, especially since it is so interactive and I am no good at participating. I also partly just try to fit in so I don't get attention for not being a Brandeis student or even for being older--hopefully I can at least pass for a graduate student. Yesterday I asked the guy next to me if he took Spanish before. The conversation went like this:
Guy: Yeah. I took it for four years.
Me: Me, too. It is kinda confusing me.
Guy: Did you take AP (a college-level class offered in high school)?
Me: No. This was... a little while ago... (*trying to hide the fact that I took my four levels of Spanish in one year, seven years ago*)
I hope I don't blow my cover.
After a long day Thursday Seth and I headed to Chrissy's place in Brighton to drop off Fishy. It was nice to visit with them and ask about their trip to Germany--it also reminded us of when we stayed with them this time last year--but I wish we got to keep the little orange guy for a little while longer :o(
One more reminder of the time of year has been the fantastic change in weather. We gladly exchanged the humid 90 degree weather for crisp and cool 70s. I hope it stays like this for a while :o) Though annoyingly, the hot muggy weather helped the poison ivy around town to get even worse (we didn't think it was possible). Seth and I trample straight through clumps of poison ivy two to four times every day, and every day I wonder if it will be the day we break out in horrible rashes. Well, miraculously we have managed to avoid it, but over the past couple days we both developed a single coin-sized itchy splotch on our left arms. Don't know why we got it on our arms and not near our ankles, but whatever. Could be worse.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Caregiving
Over the weekend Seth and I offered to watch Kate and Adah so Mark and Gina could go see the special exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts. It was the last day of the very remarkable and well received collection of works entitled Titian Tintoretto and Veronese: Rivals in Renaissance Venice. We took the long trip downtown ourselves a few weeks ago and spent hours soaking it up and wanted Gina and Mark to catch it, too.
It was our first time watching the girls during the day--we had watched them a couple times in the evening, which basically consisted of having dinner with them then putting them to bed. This time, not long after Mark and Gina left, we tried to put Kate down for a nap only to find she had made herself a very dirty diaper. It must be admitted that neither Seth nor I had ever changed a diaper before. In a panic, I voted to ignore it in the hope Kate would change it herself. Seth was more level-headed and said it must be changed, and that since I was a girl I should be the one to do it. If it were a boy, he said, then he would do it. I pulled the 'she is your relative' card. We quickly agreed to do it together. With cell phone in hand in case we needed to call Seth's mother for help, and with some direction from Kate (who just turned two and could communicate with gestures and little noises) we were able to change the diaper. It took two attempts; the first diaper I accidentally pulled off the little Velcro tab thinking it was a different type of adhesive, so we had to try again. We were not sure of the proper way to dispose of the messy diaper, or what to do with the piece of cloth on the changing table (does that get washed?), but we were able to power through that difficult and nervous experience.
When we got home late that evening I realised Fishy hadn't been fed all day and his water was too warm (we have been hit hard by the August heat and there is no AC in the kitchen). The poor guy was sluggish and lethargic and refused to eat. We cooled the water a little and after about 30min of watching him he finally snapped out of it. I felt so horrible and neglegant! We decided to move him into the bedroom, which is the only room with a window AC unit, so we don't have to worry about him overheating (even though he is a tropical fish). Unfortunately, now he seems far away and I miss having breakfast and dinner with him :o(
The volunteering at the lab is going well. They had a big shipment of 49 gerbils arrive last week so I got to sort them, play with them a little, and give them their special diets of fat and oil blends. They are so cute and much nicer than the rats. There is an extra gerbil in the batch and I wouldn't mind sneaking off with him until he is needed later ;o)
The prospect of being paid by the lab is looking slim. It may be a good thing--I won't feel obligated to be there too many hours out of the week and I can have time to audit an extra class or two. I already ordered a book for the Beginning Italian class I will sit in on. I am so excited about this class! I am worried, however, that it may end up like my Latin and Spanish experiences... which were not good and did not result in me learning Latin or Spanish. In addition to Italian I am also thinking about taking Environmental Law and Policy to see if that is a field I might be interested in going into. Policy is messy and seems unpleasant, but it could be something I enjoy and it is probably the best way to make a difference in something that I feel is imporant. I wouldn't know unless I give it a try.
It was our first time watching the girls during the day--we had watched them a couple times in the evening, which basically consisted of having dinner with them then putting them to bed. This time, not long after Mark and Gina left, we tried to put Kate down for a nap only to find she had made herself a very dirty diaper. It must be admitted that neither Seth nor I had ever changed a diaper before. In a panic, I voted to ignore it in the hope Kate would change it herself. Seth was more level-headed and said it must be changed, and that since I was a girl I should be the one to do it. If it were a boy, he said, then he would do it. I pulled the 'she is your relative' card. We quickly agreed to do it together. With cell phone in hand in case we needed to call Seth's mother for help, and with some direction from Kate (who just turned two and could communicate with gestures and little noises) we were able to change the diaper. It took two attempts; the first diaper I accidentally pulled off the little Velcro tab thinking it was a different type of adhesive, so we had to try again. We were not sure of the proper way to dispose of the messy diaper, or what to do with the piece of cloth on the changing table (does that get washed?), but we were able to power through that difficult and nervous experience.
When we got home late that evening I realised Fishy hadn't been fed all day and his water was too warm (we have been hit hard by the August heat and there is no AC in the kitchen). The poor guy was sluggish and lethargic and refused to eat. We cooled the water a little and after about 30min of watching him he finally snapped out of it. I felt so horrible and neglegant! We decided to move him into the bedroom, which is the only room with a window AC unit, so we don't have to worry about him overheating (even though he is a tropical fish). Unfortunately, now he seems far away and I miss having breakfast and dinner with him :o(
The volunteering at the lab is going well. They had a big shipment of 49 gerbils arrive last week so I got to sort them, play with them a little, and give them their special diets of fat and oil blends. They are so cute and much nicer than the rats. There is an extra gerbil in the batch and I wouldn't mind sneaking off with him until he is needed later ;o)
The prospect of being paid by the lab is looking slim. It may be a good thing--I won't feel obligated to be there too many hours out of the week and I can have time to audit an extra class or two. I already ordered a book for the Beginning Italian class I will sit in on. I am so excited about this class! I am worried, however, that it may end up like my Latin and Spanish experiences... which were not good and did not result in me learning Latin or Spanish. In addition to Italian I am also thinking about taking Environmental Law and Policy to see if that is a field I might be interested in going into. Policy is messy and seems unpleasant, but it could be something I enjoy and it is probably the best way to make a difference in something that I feel is imporant. I wouldn't know unless I give it a try.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
One step closer...
On Tuesday I went to the Watertown RMV to finally have my license converted from NC to MA. I had a hard time finding proof of residency since we get no bills in the mail and I have essentially kept my NC address for banking, etc, but to make a long story short, after an annoying encounter with the disgruntled attendent, I managed to get my Massachusetts drivers license. Does this mean I am now free to drive like a total maniac and be aggressive to a comical degree whenever I get behind the wheel? I suppose it is not my right, it is my duty.
Also this week I have started volunteering in Dr. Hayes's lab at Brandeis. Dr. Hayes was my kindly nutrition professor last semester (he said in his 25 years at Brandeis, I was his best auditor, having attended every class... which tells you something about my life...). Anyways, after I offered to help out in his lab, he informed me of an opening which may lead to a paid position. I'm not sure of the logistics yet, but my guess is he wants me to check things out to see if I like what they do before I sign on to something more permanent. As far as I can tell, lately they have been working with Nile rats to study the effects of nutrition manipulation on diabetes. They have been testing some pretty funky things, like palm fruit juice, resveratrol, Vitamin D, and foods containing varying amounts of different types of fat (remember that Dr. Hayes was the Smart Balance guy?). I have enjoyed my first two days in the lab, and tomorrow is the last day of one of the full time girls. I assume they may offer me her place? Hmm...
Even more interesting and exciting than possibly working in Dr. Hayes's lab has been pet-sitting Erik's betta fish while the family is away to Germany for two weeks. Fishy has a prominent position on our kitchen table and I spend more time watching him as he observes me than I feel comfortable saying. He is possibly the best pet EVER imagined--very clean, quiet, doesn't eat much, curious, and always happy to see us. He is surprisingly interactive and actually watches us--he will sit motionless but when one of us looks at him for a few seconds he will beat his fins fast then eventually swim to us. I don't want to give him back. Would it be too cruel to tell a five-year-old his fish died?
Also this week I have started volunteering in Dr. Hayes's lab at Brandeis. Dr. Hayes was my kindly nutrition professor last semester (he said in his 25 years at Brandeis, I was his best auditor, having attended every class... which tells you something about my life...). Anyways, after I offered to help out in his lab, he informed me of an opening which may lead to a paid position. I'm not sure of the logistics yet, but my guess is he wants me to check things out to see if I like what they do before I sign on to something more permanent. As far as I can tell, lately they have been working with Nile rats to study the effects of nutrition manipulation on diabetes. They have been testing some pretty funky things, like palm fruit juice, resveratrol, Vitamin D, and foods containing varying amounts of different types of fat (remember that Dr. Hayes was the Smart Balance guy?). I have enjoyed my first two days in the lab, and tomorrow is the last day of one of the full time girls. I assume they may offer me her place? Hmm...
Even more interesting and exciting than possibly working in Dr. Hayes's lab has been pet-sitting Erik's betta fish while the family is away to Germany for two weeks. Fishy has a prominent position on our kitchen table and I spend more time watching him as he observes me than I feel comfortable saying. He is possibly the best pet EVER imagined--very clean, quiet, doesn't eat much, curious, and always happy to see us. He is surprisingly interactive and actually watches us--he will sit motionless but when one of us looks at him for a few seconds he will beat his fins fast then eventually swim to us. I don't want to give him back. Would it be too cruel to tell a five-year-old his fish died?
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Back in Waltham
Yesterday I flew back to MA from Raleigh. It was a good trip, except it annoyingly took longer to get from airport to our apartment (about 2 hours) than time spent in the air (about and hour and a half). Besides that, it was nice escaping the Southern heat to enter Boston's heat (it actually had been pretty hot here the past week or two, but luckily that mess passed and it is back in the 70s for now, yay!).
It was fun being in Raleigh, in a nice comfortable house and having access to cars I can drive and streets that are not too terrifying to navigate. However, I get distracted by friends and family and forget that I have things to do and prepare for back in Waltham...
As another distraction, here are a few pictures of my new haircut. I didn't want to post them earlier because I wanted to wait until after returning so Seth could see in person, first. I like having it short except for the whole hair-in-the-eyes issue and also the problem of exercising without being able to pull it back (ie. hair becomes a big, wet, uncontrollable mop that splashes sweat everywhere. Totally disgusting).
It was fun being in Raleigh, in a nice comfortable house and having access to cars I can drive and streets that are not too terrifying to navigate. However, I get distracted by friends and family and forget that I have things to do and prepare for back in Waltham...
As another distraction, here are a few pictures of my new haircut. I didn't want to post them earlier because I wanted to wait until after returning so Seth could see in person, first. I like having it short except for the whole hair-in-the-eyes issue and also the problem of exercising without being able to pull it back (ie. hair becomes a big, wet, uncontrollable mop that splashes sweat everywhere. Totally disgusting).
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