so this is happening

Dr. Pulsipher, coming at you April 21st, 2017. 

ahhh science

This week I have to give a presentation to my lab group about all the research I've been doing this summer. Apparently I'm a little more anxious about it than I was consciously aware because last night I had a horrible nightmare where it was right before I was supposed to present, and I was flipping through my powerpoint and all of my slides were messed up with the wrong text or in the wrong order and all of my Raman spectra had been replaced with roadmaps. When I woke up I had to check my presentation to make sure everything was okay. It was, except for the fact that I still don't actually have anything to say about my data. Maybe I'll go with a modern art feel and just throw it up on the projector and say, "Interpret it however you want!" and then run out of the room. 

I bet that will impress my professor. 

do you know any jokes about sodium hypobromite?

Today was my very first day of grad school classes. I say classes, but I actually only had one today: organometallics (carbon bonding with metals). It wasn't too bad yet...but...we got a homework assignment. And I cannot do a single problem without pulling out my sophomore o chem textbook. BAh. Oh, and we have to memorize the periodic table. No big. There are only 118 elements. (Although there is a separate class dealing with the f-block metals, and no one really does anything with elements 109-118, so that gives us 81.)

It's cool though because I AM A GRAD STUDENT AND I CAN TOTALLY HANDLE THIS.

famous last words.

But let's end on a happy note. How excited are you for this movie?!

all it takes is a little faith and a lot of heart sweetheart.

Tonight there are so many thoughts rattling around in my head that I can't decide what to say.

Today I read poetry and watched "Lost" and read the Book of Mormon out loud in French and visited friends and a sister and felt sad to be leaving this little valley in five months.

French still feels delicious on my tongue, I still like e. e. cummings, and I am still nervous about making new friends. And not having Becky around to cut my bangs or offer me clothes. Because Aaron's going to be very busy in med school. And if I don't get into grad school and have to just get a job instead, I may be very not busy. And I do not want to resort to baking cookies all day. Or start taking piano lessons. Or start watching "Lost" from season one again. Or scrapbook (although, actually, I would like to compile all my photos and ticket stubs and brochures from Europe sometime).

Thoughts or tips? I am just so terrible at making small talk with anyone. In fact, sometimes I just don't like talking to people at all. And I am generally terrible with change (even switching from glasses to contacts was traumatizing). I know that it will be a grand adventure and that Aaron won't let me become the ward/neighborhood hermit, but I can still be sad on Sunday nights.

The end.

magic*

I did it.

I started two grad school applications today:

Duke and University of Chicago.

I didn't get much further than putting in my name and address.

But I think beginning an application at all is enough scariness for one day.

*Anyone else totally obsessed with this song? You know the one, "I've got the magic in me. Every time I touch that track it turns into gold..." Because I thought it was so obnoxious for about two weeks. And now I love it and play it every time I pull up grooveshark. It's just such a confidence booster or something.

bam.

I just wanted to say that I am very proud of myself for getting an article in the Daily Universe for National Lab Day, and for getting fliers taken to 15 schools in the area.

Go VP of publicity.

And I also find it highly amusing that my lab made it into the Police Beat yesterday.
(a piece of tape on top of one of our oven started smoking and a janitor saw it, freaked out, called the fire department)

Also...I leave for Europe in two weeks from tomorrow.
Wow. Wow. Wow.
Ah. Ah. Ah.
I am simultaneously ecstatic and terrified.

Before I leave, I need to:
have another India night
write up my abstract for the paper I'm writing while I'm there (although, really? making me write the abstract before I'm done with or even started the paper? That is ridiculous and counterproductive.)

If you were leaving the country for 3 months, what would you do before you leave? I feel like I need to fill up my reserve of American-ness, eat some apple pie or something.

OH! And I saw "Iron Man 2" last week, and ohmygoshIlovedit.
The cast was great. Can I just say I am so impressed with Robert Downey Jr.'s ability to make Tony Stark, who is totally selfish and self-destructive in this movie, very charming and very likable? Pure awesome. I did think Scarlett Johannson's character was sort of unnecessary besides the fact that she had a fab scene of taking out a bunch of guys.

Anyway...please excuse the randomness of this post. If you have any thoughts on Europe, my incredible accomplishments with Y Chem (ha), things to do before I go, Iron Man 2, etc, feel free to share. :)

paper cranes

*sorry for the weird spacing/formatting. I wrote this up last night in word when I didn't have internet and the transfer to here was a little...messy.

New Goal:

Make enough washi eggs to fill a cute vessel from IKEA.

I think it’s time for Asian craft night, no?

Also, I’m rather proud of myself looking back on this week.

Why, might you ask?

1. Inner tube water polo. The valiant Deprotonators lost, but it sort of felt like a personal victory anyway, because I did something totally new and scary to me-a sport. Ahhh. But it was fun, and I was an okay midfielder, so there you go!

2. Chemistry magic show. Sara and I went to an elementary school to do two chemistry demos as part of Y Chem’s outreach program. We got to drive a Prius courtesy of the university. It was glorious. The shows went really well too. So well in fact that I am dying to do another one. Preferably at Abby’s (and my old) elementary school.

3. Late night chemistry. I spent almost every night at the chemistry building past eleven, which meant I made good use of my after hours pass (another reason why it rocks to do undergraduate research). I am still at a loss of what exactly to do for my review paper topic, but I’m narrowing it down…sort of…now it’s something along the lines of how SnO2’s surface chemistry contributes to its function as a gas sensor and catalyst.

Anyway, now I’m in Idaho doing a couple of performances with the team. It is freezing and the wind has yet to stop blowing, but the audience was great, and I got up in my shining moment of a lift at the beginning of the latin medley, so it’s all good. The above washi egg goal was inspired by the family I’m staying with tonight. They have a basket of them in their entry way, and when the wife told me her daughter-in-law and grandkids made them, I thought to myself, why not me too?

Thus my obsession with Asia continues.

triple necklace with eiffel tower charm...i think yes.

I can't believe that classes start tomorrow. Ever since I can remember I've anticipated the first day of school, starting to get myself mentally prepared weeks in advance. This time around it feels like it snuck up on me. I'm pretty sure I'm only taking physics 220 and chem 462 for my major classes this semester....but....I would really, really, really, really like to take 455. And maybe I still will...haven't dropped it yet...but probably will...I'm planning on auditioning for dance classes during the class time tomorrow. I've a million things running around in my head: what to wear (yeah, I still do the whole lay-out-your-back-to-school-outfit-the-night-before thing), what colored notebooks I want to use for which classes (I just really like color coordination), whether to shower tonight or tomorrow morning, what to pack for a lunch, what shirt to wear for dance auditions, what time to get up, how to do my hair (just as important as the back-to-school-first-day-outfit), what to take (!!!), etc etc etc.......

tehe.
I get a little silly about back to schoolness. I just like everything to go well...it's a good omen for the rest of the semester, ya know?

Fingers crossed it'll be awesome. I have a good feeling about Fall '09....