One down...

I just finished my last final for the semester, who hooo!!! I am feeling drained but very relieved that it's over, and now I can have a few weeks of R&R before starting it all over again. I still can't believe that my first semester is already over, it flew by! (or at least it seems like that now). Well it's time to celebrate with my fellow first-year epi students, and I am bringing some wicked party favors... who wants some syringe jello shots??? :)

Update: Bugs

OK, so the cats still have fleas....unbelievable!! I thought Frontline was supposed to be "the shit", I guess not!! I know I said they would be tossed out with the cows, but I really can't do that since they are my babies (even in they are flea bags). So what do I do now?? Anyone have any suggestions?? HELP!

Got bugs?

We do! Well actually our cats do, and it has gotten out of control! Part of the problem is that Pookie is an OCD groomer anyway, so it took me a while to realize that her excessive licking habits were due to fleas, not just her mental issues. Her kitty Prozac didn't seem to be working (which, by the way had to be compounded into a g**damn transdermal gel so that I can give it to her since she refuses to take pills!), and I figured out why when a flea jumped onto my book while I was doing some pleasure reading (yeah right! I don't even remember what that is!) Anyway, since then I have given both Pookie and Twister 3 flea baths each (and I have the scars to prove it!). We also bombed the house on Sunday, and I can tell you that the preparation and amount of work involved in that is ridiculous, I think we should have just moved instead. Anyway, today I discovered that we STILL have fleas. I finally decided to do what I should have done in the first place, get some Frontline. That shit better work or else those lovely kitties will be living in the barn with the cows next week...

Iwwww...

You will be missed...

I have had a heavy heart this week after I found out that a former co-worker of mine died suddenly from a stroke. Dell Hilliard was only 42 when his life was cut short. I met Dell while working at the CVI when we moved into the new lab, he was the technician who was contracted to help install and set-up the four new autoclaves for the lab. The poor planning of the builders and plumbers who renovated the floor led to Dell and I spending many, many hours together working out the glitches so that we could have functional autoclaves. Even though the autoclave problems were the bane of my existence during those months, I always enjoyed working with Dell, as he always had a funny story to tell and somehow knew just what to say to help me keep my sanity when it came to my boss. I still struggle with accepting the reality of the fact that someone so young and healthy can be here one moment and gone the next. Sadly, it is only when something tragic like this happens that we reflect on the fragility of our lives, and how much we take for granted every day.

Happy Halloween

So I opted to stay home for Halloween this year, I'm just not feeling up for craziness that is Franklin Street on Halloween. While it is undoubtedly the biggest Halloween party in the country, and I had a hell of a time last year (maybe too good of a time actually...) after the week I've had with school and the endless grading that has taken over my life as a TA, I really don't have the energy or creativity to come up with a cool costume and then stay up all night with the rowdy undergrads. So.... instead I decided to have a little Halloween party of my own.....at home...with my cats....
I know, it sounds pathetic and sad (and really it is), but I don't think I've laughed this hard in a very long time. There is something cruel, but hilarious, about dressing up cats in costumes, because they are cats, and cats are independent and consider themselves to be superior to all others. So when you dress them up, not only do they look funny, but they are completely humiliated. I took some pictures so you can see exactly what complete humiliation and disgust looks like (please don't report me to PETA, I swear I only made them wear it for a few minutes...or at least until I could stop laughing at them) They may hate me for a couple hours, but after a little wet food all will be well again and they'll forget it ever happened...maybe.
I hope you get a good laugh out of it too :)
And for those who know Pookie, really, how appropriate is it that she is a witch? That was a no-brainer picking out that costume!!

When it rains, it pours....buckets

I am very happy to report that we got over 7 inches of rain over the past three days! Our grass isn't dead after all, I actually see green now! We went from record-breaking drought conditions, to record-breaking rainfall amounts...what the hell is going on with the weather patterns?? I think at this point there is no doubt that our planet is going through some major climate changes, and I can only wonder what we're in for this winter...

Mid semester update

So I have officially made it through the first half of the semester and here are the things I have learned:

-Taking exams after being out of school for 4 years really sucks
-Trying to study for midterm exams while the Red Sox are in the playoffs really really sucks
-I really don't miss being in the lab, but I do miss research
-Just because I get out of class at 2pm doesn't mean I can go home and take the rest of the day off (dammit!)
-Studying while in bed is a bad idea (osmosis doesn't work if you fall asleep on your notes, even if you drool on them)
-There are some really cool opportunites to do international travel in grad school, which I plan on taking advantage of (New Zealand here I come!)
-Epidemiology is really cool (even if most people think I am studying to be a skin doctor)

Blog slacker

Yeah I know, I've been slacking on the blog, but honestly anything I would have posted in the last 2 weeks probably would have involved discussing the finer points of when it is appropriate to use a incidence rate ratio or an odds ratio....i.e. epidemiology blather that you probably don't care about and don't want to waste your time reading. So anyway, I actually did something non-school related this weekend, which was that we finally got around to replacing the starter in my truck (better known as MissBetty). I was so sure that after we replaced it the truck would run again that when all I heard was dead silence when we tried to crank it I wanted to cry... Stupid truck, why do I keep putting myself through this agony with you? I swear she must be cursed, after the blown motor,being crushed by a tree, and now she is dead again... (Giving MissBetty a new motor last summer)


So I have come to the point now where I have to ask myself, it is time to give up and just sell the damn thing? Now that I'm in grad school I really can't afford to keep sinking $ into it... what do I do??? I have to admit that the thought of not seeing her turned into the mud truck of my dreams just kills me...hmmm....maybe I need to write in to one of those "trick my truck" shows and tell them my sob story, because that may be the only option I have left :(

Another year older

I realized today that the older I get, the younger my group of friends seems to be...hmmmm... I think this may be due to several reasons:
1. I have returned to school after taking several years off to work, therefore all my classmates are several years younger than me
2. All of my friends from college live far away and so that prevents me from hanging out with people my own age
3. I am maturing in reverse, and trying to pretend that I am still 22
4. The bad (but fun) influence of Krista (also see #3)

Fortunately, I have found that regardless of how young my friends are, there are some things that inevitably come with age, and I've found that it's perfectly fine with me to have 2 glasses of wine at home and call it a night instead of partying until the wee hours of the morning every weekend. Although when Krista is in town I will always make an exception, I just have to plan to spend several days to recover. Speaking of that....who's up for Halloween on Franklin Street this year? :)

A question for Pookie

It's raining...and it makes me so happy. I doubt that it will even make the slightest dent in our rain deficit, but I think I can already see the grass getting greener (if it's not completely dead already). Not only has this been one of the hottest summers on record, it has been the driest since they started keeping records in 1895. (See the News and Observer article). I guess I don't feel so bad for abandoning my garden in late-July, I think if we had tried to keep watering it we wouldn't be able to take showers anymore (no shower + hot weather = stinky girl).

So as I was lying on the couch being lulled to sleep by the noise of the rain on the roof (and reading about SAS programming language), I was rudely awakened by my cat, who decided to use this as an opportunity to take a bath while lying in my lap. Maybe it's just my cat, but she makes SO MUCH noise when she cleans herself it is ridiculous, all I can hear is these loud slurpy-licky noises. Does anybody else's cat do this? And not only is it annoying, but she is OCD about cleaning herself, and literally will keep licking until she has licked all the hair off her belly (which is why we call her "pink belly"). So let me ask you this Pookie, Do I look like a bathtub to you? Do I? Next time I take a shower maybe I'll invite you along and see how you like it.

The cold hard truth

This weekend I decided to run a few errands and pick up a birthday card for Shawn, and I decided to check out the new shopping center that just opened up. This is no ordinary shopping center, this baby has ALL my favorites and it's less than 15 minutes from our house...NY & Co, Ann Taylor Loft, Dillards, even a whole store of just LeCreuset (I know Natalie is jealous!). So needless to say this is very dangerous for me, a girl who despite wanting to be a simple country girl, still loves to shop. Unfortunately, reality hit hard when I realized that I no longer make enough money to be able to justify spending $100 on clothes if I feel like it, actually I now have a hard time justifying $10, and it's hard to find a cute pair of shoes for $10! I really feel like this is a cruel joke on the part of the shopping center developers...they must have known the torment I would feel driving by it every day...damn them! Oh well, I guess now I have no choice but to be a simple country girl, so don't laugh if you see me at school in my denim bibs and john deere t-shirt...OK maybe I'm exaggerating (and that is actually one of my favorite outfits, see...)

So far, so good...

I have officially made it through my first 3 weeks of graduate school, which really isn't much of an accomplishment considering that these will probably be the easiest 3 weeks I will have in my entire time here at UNC. Of the classes I am taking, one didn't start until this week because the prof doesn't believe in teaching before labor day (and apparently also doesn't believe in teaching after Thanksgiving according to the syllabus), not that I am complaining! This seems so fit with the overall attitude of the department, which is very laid back. While this is great, and I am glad not to be in a place that is cut-throat competitive, I realize this also means that I will have to be my own ass-kicker if I want to graduate in a timely manner (hopefully 4 years). I met some students at orientation that introduced themselves as "7th year students" and had a small panic attack...

But honestly I think that I am really going to enjoy grad school (don't ask me to repeat that during finals) and I have already met many students and faculty that are just down-to-earth, nice people who are so happy that we (the first-year students) are excited about the same things they are, and I have never felt more welcome. :)

Here we go...

Well I've finally decided to jump on the blog bandwagon... I thought it was appropriate as I am entering a new era in my life (graduate school) that will likely yield many thrilling experiences to write about...well maybe not so much thrilling but at least somewhat amusing. Also, as many of my friends have also moved on to new endeavors in their lives (yeah, thanks a lot for ruining my social life! Just kidding, I'm proud of all of you) I thought it would be a good way to let y'all know what I'm up to, especially since I feel like I'm getting a little too old for myspace (not that I'm willing to give it up!)

I struggled a lot with picking a title for my blog (I couldn't think of anything as witty as Natalie's), so I chose to name it after my 2 favorite things, big trucks (with really big mud tires!) and sheep, especially cute little baby ones. For anyone who doesn't know me that probably seems weird... and I will take that as a compliment... being normal is way over-rated!