First hike! Got my feet wet! Came home covered in mud! Wooo!
I love field work. For the stream ecology class we have four weeks of field work. Four wonderful weeks surrounded by beauty and science and the most incredible creatures.
Today I held various stream-critters in my hands. Including crayfish, caddisfly larvae, two-line salamanders, dusky salamanders, dragonfly nymphs and many many more. There will be pictures up in the next couple days.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Monday, May 17, 2010
To the moon and back . . .
I don’t quite know what I want to do with the rest of my life.
Here’s what I know:
I like insects. I like catching them: going out for a nice hike and setting traps or using a net to catch these incredible critters that have been around for more than 410 million years. I like pickling them: filling up jars with little bodies with such beautiful structural complexity. I like identifying them: those that are exceptionally difficult to identify, with only minor structural differences between species are especially satisfying. I like pinning them: lined up neatly in nice boxes that will sit in a museum somewhere for the rest of eternity, there for all of history to look back on, giving a glimpse of the world we live in now.
I like school. Maybe more importantly, I like the concept of sharing ideas and spreading knowledge, especially when that knowledge can be used for good. I like having classes and research. I like to surround myself with interesting people.
I like to teach. I like to teach. I LOVE it when I see one of my students become excited about the subject. I’ll be happy if I influence just one student to make better choices for their future, to become active in their community and to start actively thinking about ways to better the world. (Although, If all of them decided to do this, that’d be pretty awesome, too.)
I want a stable, steady and secure job, doing something that I love. This is a tough one, really. I’m scraping my way by, paying for school and building up my student loans. A reliable income is important, but I would never be happy with myself if I settled for a job that I hate.
The list of jobs I would love, from “most loved” to “eh, not perfect but I wouldn’t be miserable”:
Government research scientist,
living on a remote park outpost.
living on a remote park outpost.
Museum scientist.
Museum curator of invertebrate zoology (curators have to deal with all the bureaucratic headaches, which doesn’t really appeal to me.)
University professor (at a school with a good entomology department, where I could spend my summers doing research.)
High school biology teacher.
Wow, the list is shorter than I thought it would be. Huh.
I want to travel. I’ve been to Australia. That was pretty cool, I’ll never forget it. But I want to see everything! I want to go on safari in Africa, I want to wander though Europe, I want to see the pyramids, the rainforest, a glacier and a volcano. I want to go whale watching. I want to explore the world, different cultures and ecosystems. Hell, if it was somehow possible for me to go to space I would do it, even if it was just to the moon and back.
I want kids. Yes, someday I would like to raise a child. If I do eventually meet someone I want to procreate with, I will. But if I’m forty and things aren’t looking good in the man department, I’m adopting. There are so many kids out there that need homes. I’ve always figured why make more when there are so many already? I don’t care if they aren’t infants—That just means we can skip the diapers/not sleeping thing, and any kid that can talk and tell you what they want seems a lot easier than trying to interpret the shrieks of an unhappy little person who doesn’t yet grasp the language (even though they may try.)
A year from now I hope to graduate with my master’s degree in environmental science. Right now, I don’t know what I’m going to do after that. But I’ve got a year to decide. Maybe I’ll start a doctorate program in entomology. Maybe I’ll get a job, halfway around the world. Right now, the possibilities are endless. I just have to make up my mind.
Friday, May 7, 2010
It's been a year. . .
I've just about finished my first year of graduate school.
I have a research project.
I have an advisor and an almost complete committee.
I'm going to start research very very soon.
I'm excited and terrified all at once. If I mess up I'll have to take another year. I won't mess up. I've got a lot of work ahead of me. It should be fun. Field days for my stream ecology class start May 25th.
I'll be doing all this and working two jobs. Still looking for scholarships. Hopefully going to get a car in the next few weeks. Hopefully.
I have a research project.
I have an advisor and an almost complete committee.
I'm going to start research very very soon.
I'm excited and terrified all at once. If I mess up I'll have to take another year. I won't mess up. I've got a lot of work ahead of me. It should be fun. Field days for my stream ecology class start May 25th.
I'll be doing all this and working two jobs. Still looking for scholarships. Hopefully going to get a car in the next few weeks. Hopefully.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Sunday, May 2, 2010
UG!
hellish week.
Between the funeral, classes, interviews, meetings and getting hit by "the sick" again, this week has been quite hellish.
Lets start with school.
Ah. Graduate school. Its a love hate relationship, really. I've effectively buried myself in student loans, spend hours in the library studying stream ecology and the finer points of technical writing, I've read over 400 research papers on parasitoid wasps and am now trying to organize that information into a sort of review paper (more for my own good at this point than anything.) I don't have a stipend or a scholarship, (not for a lack of trying here though.)
This summer I'm planning on getting some actual data, but I can't do that without a car.
So I'm planning on purchasing a car. Probably a very used, not always reliable, inefficient one at that. (see note about no stipend and student loans above)
What I WANT is a smart car. (of course) As I'm struggling to make rent as it is, that's highly unlikely.
Funeral: A close family friend passed, peacefully, this past week. The service was Wednesday, at the church I grew up in. It was the first Catholic funeral I've ever been at, surprisingly enough.
Thursday I went to an on-campus employment fair held by the new tutoring center (TASC.) Interestingly, it was the first job fair of any sort I've been to. There was an hour long presentation about the tutoring center, then an initial interview. If you did well there (and I did) you were asked to evaluate your interviewers and wait for a second interview with someone higher-up in the department. So I waited, and was then interviewed by the director of the program! That went well too, I'm hopeful. I may have good news sometime tomorrow or Tuesday.
Friday I sat in on a board meeting. It was long and tedious and I came out of it feeling a bit defeated. I'll leave it at that.
And now I've got "the sick" again. I don't know if I have some recurring sort of flu or I've got perpetual food poisoning or what, either way, I've got a bit of a fever and can't keep anything down. Maybe it's the stress, or some combination of stress and bad luck. Either way, I've got to get over it soon, I've got too much to do!
Here's to hoping--
Between the funeral, classes, interviews, meetings and getting hit by "the sick" again, this week has been quite hellish.
Lets start with school.
Ah. Graduate school. Its a love hate relationship, really. I've effectively buried myself in student loans, spend hours in the library studying stream ecology and the finer points of technical writing, I've read over 400 research papers on parasitoid wasps and am now trying to organize that information into a sort of review paper (more for my own good at this point than anything.) I don't have a stipend or a scholarship, (not for a lack of trying here though.)
This summer I'm planning on getting some actual data, but I can't do that without a car.
So I'm planning on purchasing a car. Probably a very used, not always reliable, inefficient one at that. (see note about no stipend and student loans above)
What I WANT is a smart car. (of course) As I'm struggling to make rent as it is, that's highly unlikely.
Funeral: A close family friend passed, peacefully, this past week. The service was Wednesday, at the church I grew up in. It was the first Catholic funeral I've ever been at, surprisingly enough.
Thursday I went to an on-campus employment fair held by the new tutoring center (TASC.) Interestingly, it was the first job fair of any sort I've been to. There was an hour long presentation about the tutoring center, then an initial interview. If you did well there (and I did) you were asked to evaluate your interviewers and wait for a second interview with someone higher-up in the department. So I waited, and was then interviewed by the director of the program! That went well too, I'm hopeful. I may have good news sometime tomorrow or Tuesday.
Friday I sat in on a board meeting. It was long and tedious and I came out of it feeling a bit defeated. I'll leave it at that.
And now I've got "the sick" again. I don't know if I have some recurring sort of flu or I've got perpetual food poisoning or what, either way, I've got a bit of a fever and can't keep anything down. Maybe it's the stress, or some combination of stress and bad luck. Either way, I've got to get over it soon, I've got too much to do!
Here's to hoping--
Sunday, April 25, 2010
time keeps passing
The week has been. . . . interesting. The job hunt continues-- I'm hoping to find something relevant to science, another teaching job or tutoring or working at CSU, maybe. But if I don't hear back soon I'll be going to tower city to fill out applications for ::gasp:: RETAIL!! That's not a beast I want to awaken, but a girl's got to survive!
I'm ready for the hikes to start. Coming home muddy, drenched and exhausted and possibly with bug bites and poison ivy-- but life drenched in nature, life throughly integrated with life-- and the prospect of earning a degree while I'm doing it-- sends chills of excitement down my spine. The anticipation is killing me.
My Minor Brush with the Law (Tuesday)
It was the end of an unbearably long day. I had just spent the last hour toiling over minor points of technical writing in my review paper on parasitoid wasps and was ready to go home. So I hopped on the bus to ride the six blocks to my apartment from the library. Alas, I forgot my bus pass on my desk in my office . . . And the RTA cops caught me. Blast.
Now, an RTA cop is a few notches above mall cops and rent-a-cops. They can give tickets but can't take you to jail. So I hop off the bus, apologize, explain that I left the ID in my office at school and will be heading back to retrieve it. After they check out my license and ask where I live and why I have an office if I'm a student they let me go. At least I didn't get a ticket.
Turns out my ID wasn't in the office at school, I had left it in the lab. Which was locked. So I walk home, past the RTA cops. It was nice out, so I didn't mind too much.
Now, I fully appreciate the need for cops to enforce the rules of the RTA, but I realized when I was walking home that these guys had tasers, right next to their ticket books on their utility belts. Given some of the horrifying things that can happen on a bus, this too is understandable. But what happens when an RTA cop has a bad day? Is he quick to use his taser? Are RTA cops required to have a mental-health evaluation before they get their taser? Are they trained to use them?
The remainder of my week was typical, Thursday night after stream ecology I taught my environmental survey class. This group is all women, and much more talkative than the previous groups. I prefer an interactive, curious class than one with half of the students sleeping or texting or staring out the window.
This weekend I spent at the homestead, cooking and making music with my family and playing with the dogs (bullmastiffs.) It's been long overdue, and I'm loving every second of it.
Off to bake a cake!
I'm ready for the hikes to start. Coming home muddy, drenched and exhausted and possibly with bug bites and poison ivy-- but life drenched in nature, life throughly integrated with life-- and the prospect of earning a degree while I'm doing it-- sends chills of excitement down my spine. The anticipation is killing me.
My Minor Brush with the Law (Tuesday)
It was the end of an unbearably long day. I had just spent the last hour toiling over minor points of technical writing in my review paper on parasitoid wasps and was ready to go home. So I hopped on the bus to ride the six blocks to my apartment from the library. Alas, I forgot my bus pass on my desk in my office . . . And the RTA cops caught me. Blast.
Now, an RTA cop is a few notches above mall cops and rent-a-cops. They can give tickets but can't take you to jail. So I hop off the bus, apologize, explain that I left the ID in my office at school and will be heading back to retrieve it. After they check out my license and ask where I live and why I have an office if I'm a student they let me go. At least I didn't get a ticket.
Turns out my ID wasn't in the office at school, I had left it in the lab. Which was locked. So I walk home, past the RTA cops. It was nice out, so I didn't mind too much.
Now, I fully appreciate the need for cops to enforce the rules of the RTA, but I realized when I was walking home that these guys had tasers, right next to their ticket books on their utility belts. Given some of the horrifying things that can happen on a bus, this too is understandable. But what happens when an RTA cop has a bad day? Is he quick to use his taser? Are RTA cops required to have a mental-health evaluation before they get their taser? Are they trained to use them?
The remainder of my week was typical, Thursday night after stream ecology I taught my environmental survey class. This group is all women, and much more talkative than the previous groups. I prefer an interactive, curious class than one with half of the students sleeping or texting or staring out the window.
This weekend I spent at the homestead, cooking and making music with my family and playing with the dogs (bullmastiffs.) It's been long overdue, and I'm loving every second of it.
Off to bake a cake!
Sunday, April 18, 2010
What a beautiful day. . . .
I've put aside my stress. It's not productive.
Today was beautiful--- I spent the day reading Dry Storeroom No. 1 -- since I've spent some time in the natural history museum here I thought it might give some insight into how museums work, from the perspective of a museum curator. So far it's been informative and entertaining.
I attended a composition recital at CSU that Carol was playing in. The music was really interesting, a combination of various percussion pieces, some done on percussion instruments and others created digitally--after the concert there was a nice reception, I helped Carol put away instruments, got to play with the vibraphone (sort of like a xylophone, but with resonating chambers underneath.
Tomorrow starts a new week-- here's to hoping its better than the last.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Game day in Cleveland
I love Cleveland. I live downtown and can see into progressive field from my apartment. During baseball season now have a front seat to free fireworks every Friday night and every time the team wins. I love the sound to the city, especially on game day. Guys hawking tickets yelling all day, drunk fans shouting and cheering as the walk down the street in giant mobs, the fearless traffic cops, standing in the middle of the street, unflinchingly staring down city buses. Even the out-of-towners, who don't know which streets are one way or how to respond to the homeless out collecting change, are endearing to a true city dweller.
Game day--- brings everyone out to interact and mix-- the homeless, the street musician, the fans--all combining to celebrate America's greatest pastime. Today couldn't be more of a Cleveland day, either-- the sky is gray, the clouds are hinting at rain with a greyish-purple warning, the wind blowing southeast of the great big lake Erie.
Sure, I'm stuck in my apartment reading research papers on every aspect of parasitoid wasp ecology, but I can crack the window a bit and glance out at the filling stadium, smiling everytime someone crosses home plate. . . . .and the crowd goes wild.. . . . .
I still don't own a jersey. . . .
Friday, April 16, 2010
The week from hell
It's been a tough week.
At work:
1. The medical ethics course I was supposed to teach was given to another teacher because the program director "forgot" about telling me to teach it.
2. How I found out: I went in to teach the new class and another teacher was setting up.
3. I spent the previous two weeks writing all the lectures for the course. All of them.
4. Lesson learned: Insist on a contract before doing anything. (Looking back, this seems obvious, I'll chalk it up to being young.)
5. My new environmental survey class has 1 that doesn't believe in evolution and 2 that are conspiracy theorists.
At school: Can't complain too much here, just have alot of work to do.
So. I'm looking for another job, I've renewed my online tutoring accounts.
Know anyone who needs help with science?
I'm worried though, rent and bills are enough alone, but I still haven't gotten my textbooks for my stream ecology class either. Oy.
Life usually ends up working out though. Hopefully soon.
Friday, April 9, 2010
TGIF
Ahhhh Friday! Nothing like sitting down at the end of a killer long week, sipping tea and thinking about the precious few days you have off before it all begins again!
It was an odd week-- sunny and beautiful on Monday and snowing today, but that's Cleveland for you. Hoping it warms up again soon, I'm working on fixing up my bicycle (need This!
) and eagerly anticipate a good ride. Until then I'm happy to lace up my hiking boots and get good'n muddy!
In the world of research I'm getting ever closer to getting my data--- the real work will start in June, but I'm looking forward to it after so many months of planning. I'm working on getting my advisory committee together now, tracking down signatures to make spoken agreements official and what not.
Employment-wise I'm going to be teaching at the ACRT again-- this time one course on Medical Law and another Environmental Survey. I'm still surprised at how much I enjoy teaching--but I suppose if it's teaching something I care about than it works.
I'm hoping to put the finishing touches on some poetry this weekend-- haven't posted anything substantial Here in a while.
I'm growing a single, solitary tomato plant named Greg. One of my students gave me a pack of seeds, so I thought I'd try and grow one in the sunshine-filled apartment I now live. Greg is about four inches tall right now. I see an excellent future from him.
I'm trying to convince my land-lady to let me up on the roof so I can garden up there, but she's convinced I'll jump or something. It could just be a matter of liability, not sure how to argue against that. Maybe I'll throw my science at her and see if that works.
Kyle is playing solo at the Beck Cafe in Lakewood tomorrow night, acoustic originals and possibly some classical. (He's pretty awesome)
Some books I've been reading lately:
It was an odd week-- sunny and beautiful on Monday and snowing today, but that's Cleveland for you. Hoping it warms up again soon, I'm working on fixing up my bicycle (need This!
) and eagerly anticipate a good ride. Until then I'm happy to lace up my hiking boots and get good'n muddy! In the world of research I'm getting ever closer to getting my data--- the real work will start in June, but I'm looking forward to it after so many months of planning. I'm working on getting my advisory committee together now, tracking down signatures to make spoken agreements official and what not.
Employment-wise I'm going to be teaching at the ACRT again-- this time one course on Medical Law and another Environmental Survey. I'm still surprised at how much I enjoy teaching--but I suppose if it's teaching something I care about than it works.
I'm hoping to put the finishing touches on some poetry this weekend-- haven't posted anything substantial Here in a while.
I'm growing a single, solitary tomato plant named Greg. One of my students gave me a pack of seeds, so I thought I'd try and grow one in the sunshine-filled apartment I now live. Greg is about four inches tall right now. I see an excellent future from him.
I'm trying to convince my land-lady to let me up on the roof so I can garden up there, but she's convinced I'll jump or something. It could just be a matter of liability, not sure how to argue against that. Maybe I'll throw my science at her and see if that works.
Kyle is playing solo at the Beck Cafe in Lakewood tomorrow night, acoustic originals and possibly some classical. (He's pretty awesome)
Some books I've been reading lately:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)