Hello World! (Again) ....a year in review

So its been almost a year since my last post and a lot has happened. Part of me wants to start updating this again but we shall see if that will happen. Anyways here is a quick recap of the past year for those of you who don't know....

School and things:
well I guess the first thing is that i was able to survive my first year of graduate school and am currently half-way through my second year (kinda weird to think about). In May I was accepted in a graduate training program called PEER which not only increased my stipend from 20k to 25k (yay money!) but also provided valuable mentoring and other skills to help my succeed in graduate school and beyond. Back in July i had to make the hard decision of which lab i wanted to call home. I was torn between two different labs but finally decided on one due the medical aspect that the research contained. For the most part I am happy with my decision. The only thing that i didn't like is that i didn't get to much (if any) research last semester. I spent most of the semester reading up on my subject and writing (and re-writing and re-writing and re-writing) proposals for different fellowships, and travel awards. While this did help me to get a better grasp on what my project it was frustrating cause i felt like i wasn't really doing anything and wasn't getting anything accomplished. But I digress. I am in the lab now and doing research so that makes me happy.


Life in the Big Orange:
Its kinda hard to believe but i have been living in Knoxville for almost two years now. My how does time fly. For the first time ever I think i was able to keep my New Years Resolution for 2009, which was to have a better attitude about Knoxville, and I am glad for i truly do love it here. I love the architectural diversity here and have made a lot of good friends here. A year ago I got involved in this really cool church thats has a very large grad student/young professional group (roughly 50-60 people) that has been a large help with my adjusting to life in the Big Orange. The group is very active (typically have some sort of activity every day of the week) which is helpfully when i need a break from school and/ or research. As a result of living in Knoxville I have become more interested in college sports and have begun to adjust having bright orange everywhere i look.

The Future:
I am really excited about this semester to come. I am taking a grant writing class which will be very helpful as well as a Biology Education class that i am way excited for. The biology education class will help to teach me how to teach effectively in the college setting which is awesome since i want to be a professor. Aside from classes this semester, I also have alot of presentations to get through. I will *hopefully* be going to Anaheim,CA for a meeting where i will be doing a presentation (either oral or poster), in addition to an oral presentation in front of everyone in my program and two different poster presentations. Should be fun! :-/

Well this post is long enough and I apologize but i tried to write a whole year worth of updates in as short a post as possible. Hopefully i will keep up with this so i won't have to do this long post again. Till next time!

BACK!

So i'm back....my media fast ended actually 2 weeks ago (or so) but just haven't had the time to catch up with my journals yet. I'll give a short update on my life later but i figured i should let those (few) who didn't already know...know that I'm back :-P

M,I.A. from Media

For the next month i will be missing in action from all forms of media. if you need call me on the cell.

cya in march:-P

Please...

Only when the last tree has died and the last river been poisoned and the last fish been caught will we realise we cannot eat money. ~Cree Indian Proverb

Please Watch this video and Share with others!

update of sorts...

I am way to tired for an actual update right so you get bullet points instead....

• so far the semester has been pretty slow (classes have only been in session for a week though). It looks like it should be slightly better then last semester which i am grateful for but we shall see
• I signed up for an art class at the Knoxville Art and Fine Crafts center...I will be taking a oil painting class starting the 26th, it costs $110 but that included the paints and canvas and its a 6-week class (once a week from 6-8)
• started the my new lab on Tuesday...i am studying obesity in mice. Tuesday was really slow and i didn't really do much, but today was killer...i am so exhausted. i was in the lab from 9am to 7pm and didn't get to eat till 5:30pm ( had two pieces of toast and coffee at 8am but that's it)....but i did learn how to sacrifice the mice and how to harvest their organs so that was cool ;)
• i have decided to actually attempt to read my bible each morning before class/lab and in order to motivate myself to do this i have created a blog to describe my thoughts etc (inspired from all the exercise blogs lately) i know most of you guys aren't religious but if for some reason you want to check it out here is the site... http://broken-yet-whole.blogspot.com/
  
• I might be throwing a "party" for people in my program at my apartment this weekend since its a 3-day weekend but we shall see
  

I think that is it for now....until next time :-P

a kiss is not a contract....

so i promise i will post an actually update sometime soon...i keep thinking about what i want to write but never actually write it...ugh...well until i can sort out my thoughts i leave you all with this hilarious song from the show Flight of the Conchords (click on title to go to their website). enjoy!

Merry Christmas!

I hope that everyone is having a very Merry Christmas and that they got everything they wanted!


1In those days^(A) a decree went out from^(B) Caesar Augustus that all the world should be^(C) registered. 2This was the first^(D) registration when^[a] Quirinius^(E) was governor of Syria. 3And all went to be registered, each to his own town. 4And Joseph also went up^(F) from Galilee, from the town of^(G) Nazareth, to Judea, to^(H) the city of David, which is called^(I) Bethlehem,^(J) because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5to be registered with Mary, his betrothed,^[b] who was with child. 6And^(K) while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7And she gave birth to her firstborn son and^(L) wrapped him in swaddling cloths and^(M) laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in^(N) the inn.
Luke 2:1-7

hugs...

So i wasn't going to post anything and then i just realized something and decided to share....

I have had more hugs today from different people then i did the whole 4 months i was in Knoxville.

how sad is that....

I know i have only been in TN for all of 4 months and i have lived in VA for 22 yrs but yeah...its hard to leave your whole entire support system and everything you have ever known to get up and move to a place you have never been to, a place where you know no one...a place without hugs :(

I love hugs and i feel like they are powerful things. i feel that if i had even just one of my close friends i would have fared better this semester. I think that alot part of my stress stemmed from loneliness and longing for my friends and family. maybe as time goes by this will lessen but part of me is afraid that it won't and i dunno what will happen if it doesn't I saw this picture today and i hope it won't be in three years.....but i guess we will have to wait and see....

Where are you christmas?

I know most people don't like the Jim Carrey version of The Grinch who stole Christmas, but i do. I think one of the reasons why i like cause it shows more compassion for the Grinch and explains why he is the way he is. It reveals a whole other side to the classic bad guy and for that i like it all the more. Also i like how it points out all of the comcerialism that has overcome this holiday season and how stupid it all is. I mean i love to give gifts and everything but sometimes it seems like that is all ever anyone thinks about and nothing. Christmas is so much more than that and sometimes i feel like people forget that....le sigh.......Another reason why i like this movie is due to the song "where are you christmas" I feel like this song kinda sums up my feelings for this time of the year...and therefore i am posting the lyrics and a music video of the song for you all to enjoy :-D

"Where Are You Christmas"

Where are you Christmas
Why can't I find you
Why have you gone away
Where is the laughter
You used to bring me
Why can't I hear music play

My world is changing
I'm rearranging
Does that mean Christmas changes too

Where are you Christmas
Do you remember
The one you used to know
I'm not the same one
See what the time's done
Is that why you have let me go

Christmas is here
Everywhere, oh
Christmas is here
If you care, oh

If there is love in your heart and your mind
You will feel like Christmas all the time

I feel you Christmas
I know I've found you
You never fade away
The joy of Christmas
Stays here inside us
Fills each and every heart with love

Where are you Christmas
Fill your heart with love

its good to be home...

So today was the first full day home and it was really nice. I got to sleep in and then went shopping a bit with my mom and finally started on my Christmas shopping so that was good. On a creative note, i decided to play with a website called picnik and ended up creating a collage to show all the many facets of my support system that i have behind in Va and that i miss so much. so enjoy and let me know what you think

ps...the pics just show some of my the many many many people who i consider part of my support system...there are so many people who i wished to had but i could only do a max of 4 pics for the college :( I have a feeling i will be playing with this some more later on and maybe thinking of other ways to integrate the other important people to me into the collage...we shall see :-P

There is no place like home...

THE SEMESTER FROM HELL IS FINALLY OVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

man am i glad that its over and that i am finally back home in Va. well i am exhausted so sorry but i will write more later..night!

take home exam=life

As i mentioned in my last post.....this stupid take home exam is completely taking of my life mind and thoughts...therefore there will be no more posts ill i am done with it (hopefully Sunday night). until then adios and wish me luck and focus ;)

ummmm......

i know i said that i would try to post something everyday and try to have it Christmas-y related but my mind is sooo filled with me take home exam information so for now i am just going to post a picture of a collage that i did over thanksgiving break at my aunt's house. It was my cousin's idea and basically whats its supposed to convey is all of the things that i hope/want for the coming year in additional to just a few words that i liked and wanted to add :-) enjoy and maybe i will have more Christmas-y type thoughts tomorrow!

snow!

so it snowed here in Knoxville on Saturday ( i think it was Saturday...all the days have blurred together right about now) and it made me sooo happy...unfortunately i had to go inside and study so i didn't get to appreciate it for very long but i did take some pictures....

the leaves covered in snow

x marks the spot...lol

ah...i love how beautiful snow makes everything look...

on another note....i am completely frustrated with Grad school and hate how it has taken over my life...:(

Hot and Cold

So i am way to tired and should be really working on a extra credit assignment so instead i am going to leave with you two different "claymation" clips. One if is from one of my favorite claymation clips "The year without a Santa Claus" and the second one is from a new one that will be premiering on Saturday.



And here is the new one.... its called "A Miser Brothers' Christmas," and is premiering on ABC Family on Saturday, December 13th @8:00pm ET/PT.



I am not quite sure how i feel about them making a new movie but i will definitely be watching and then maybe posting my thoughts later :-P

its the magic of christmas

So i had my exam today (totally sucked) and then decided to take the night off to relax and recharge before i started on my take home exam and project that i left to do. Anyways i was watching the 25 days of Christmas on ABC Family (more in a future post prolly) and my roommates boyfriend walks in the room and i was like "I love Christmas, I am such a kid at heart sometimes", and he responds by saying "Yeah i love it too...especially since i was an only child as a kid." This simple and cursoury statment got me thinking.....

For me the reason why i love Christmas so much is not for the presents (although its always nice to get gifts ;)) but rather for the feeling in the air so to speak. I love being able to spend time with family anf friends, i love to give them little tokens to show that i care, I love to sit down with my family and watch the old Christmas Claymation movies, and putting up decorations...all of it. I think that is why i love the Virginia letter that i posted the other day so much. Cause it focuses on these points. That is what Santa Claus is about...not just the toys etc...but the love and joy that is spread in teh simple act of giving. That is what Christmas is supposed to be like. That is what i miss. I feel as each year passes, more and more the magic that is Christmas disappears and i struggle to hold on to the tatters that remain. If only i could go back to the childhood innocence when everything was magical and the world was good and stress-free....*heavy sigh*

Love Actually

i have to study for my exam tomorrow so for today you guys get one my my favorite quotes from an amazing chick-flick Christmas movie. No matter how many times i watch it or what my relationship status is...i always walk away from this movie feeling happy and filled with love. hope you enjoy this quote and if you haven't already seen this movie then should run out and rent it now!

"Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion's starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don't see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often it's not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it's always there - fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge - they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I've got a sneaking suspicion.... love actually is all around."

A Christmas tradition

So i am going to try something...i'm not sure if it will work or if i will be able to follow through but i want to try and post something on her either every day or every other day from now until Christmas. more than likely it will be a mixture of photos, christmas stories i love or just plainly my thoughts about this time of year. lol.

so to get things started....Here is a story that i post every year and i have loved ever since i was little. Hope you enjoy it as much as i have

Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus

Editorial Page, New York Sun, 1897

We take pleasure in answering thus prominently the communication below, expressing at the same time our great gratification that its faithful author is numbered among the friends of The Sun:


I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, "If you see it in The Sun, it's so." Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus?
Virginia O'Hanlon


Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a sceptical age. They do not believe except what they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours, man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.

He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The external light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies. You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if you did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived could tear apart. Only faith, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.

No Santa Claus?Thank God he lives and lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay 10 times 10,000 years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!!


I got this copy of the passage from this website....http://www.barricksinsurance.com/virginia.html ....Hope you guys are enjoying this time of year as well and that this passage has touched you the way it was touched me....Merry Christmas

stole from beth

So i was reading beth's blog today and she talked about this site Typealyzer in which the analyze your blog and tell what type of Myer's-Briggs personality your blog resonates. So i decided to check it out and here are my results:

ESFP - The Performers

The entertaining and friendly type. They are especially attuned to pleasure and beauty and like to fill their surroundings with soft fabrics, bright colors and sweet smells. They live in the present moment and don´t like to plan ahead - they are always in risk of exhausting themselves.

The enjoy work that makes them able to help other people in a concrete and visible way. They tend to avoid conflicts and rarely initiate confrontation - qualities that can make it hard for them in management positions.

a reminder and a plea

below is a reminder....something that i have to try and remember each and every day



and this is my desperate plea...my prayer...my desire..my all....