avoidance

Such a flurry of blogging the past few days!

(probably because psychology reading is nearly boring me out of my mind, but alas, I already did laundry, dishes, made the bed, cleaned the living room, it's too early to make a salad for our chemistry party tonight, my French reading is done, and finishing my biochem homework is even less appealing.)

Thus here I am! Telling you all how great Ingrid Michaelson is and how today I've just rediscovered her. Her concert a few years ago was one of my all-time favorite concerts.

Also, I'm now following her on Twitter, which is pretty cool. I mean, the whole idea of twitter is pretty cool, right? I'm also now following Neil deGrasse Tyson, which is also cool (one of his recent tweets: "Royal Wedding celebrates inherited power; the opposite of America's founding principles. I'll be watching the shuttle launch." Ha! What a physicist!). I also found out that my friend Jen is one of 14 people that Jimmer Fredette follows. Wha?! Jen, you're such a rockstar!

Funny thing is, I signed up for a twitter account like 2 years ago and today I finally posted my first tweet. Better late than never, I suppose? Anyway, if you have twitter too, I'd love to follow you!
Here is my profile :)

Happy Saturday!

just in case you were wondering

picking out a birthday card for your father-in-law is not the easiest thing in the world.

In fact, picking out birthday cards in general is practically the worst thing ever. That statement is probably inspired by my chronic indecision, but still. The funny cards aren't funny and the sentimental ones are stupid so what are you supposed to do?!

I just want a card that says, "Happy Birthday!" on the front without glitter or dogs wearing clothes or ugly cartoons and nothing on the inside. Is that too much to ask, Hallmark?

nourriture

Dear Smiths,

Thanks for providing me with a Magnum Bar fix, so I can relive the glory days of wandering around England:

Too bad it cost me $4 for a pack of 3.

Now, if only I could find some decent these, I'd be all European treat happy

macaron cookies!!! Maybe you'll be more find-able outside of this state? Probably that will be my July project-find macaron cookies and a cupcake place wherever we end up. 

While I'm talking about food...I submit that pistachio is the most underrated flavor in the US. Pistachio macarons, pistachio gelato, that is some good stuff. 

And you know what else is good stuff? Cucumbers with salad dressing! And celery with peanut butter! And fresh tomatoes on top of homemade pizza! (big kudos to Amanda for the dough recipe!) 

This is just to say that I am currently starving after eating banana cream pie for lunch 6 hours ago. Can't wait for my homemade pizza to be done! And to eat magnum bars with Kellie and Laura tonight!! mmmmmm

light at the end of the tunnel

We graduated!*

Well, Aaron did, officially. I just got to dress up in all of my graduation outfit glory and walk. Aaron spoke at graduation, and he did was awesome. I am just so proud of that guy! Seriously guys, I need to brag about him right now. He graduated with a B.S. in chemistry with a 4.0, in addition to TAing over 5 semesters and doing research in spectroscopy during the school year. He got accepted into 3 of the top 5 medical schools in the country. He got the organic chemistry student of the year sophomore year, physical chemistry student of the year junior year, inorganic chemistry student of the year and outstanding senior award senior year. He worked so hard for all of this! And he did it! And I'm so proud of him!

*end bragging*

It's weird, you know, being this close to done with my undergraduate education. It all went by so fast. Seems like last week I was living in the dorms in the flooding basement and watching "Scrubs" every Wednesday night with Amanda. I guess it's sort of good this way, because it doesn't feel like I'm done with university life yet. And I'm not. I've got another 5+ years ahead of researching, taking classes, TAing, doing homework, writing papers, etc. I like that idea.


But what campus is it that I'll be wandering around? I think we'll have a video announcement coming up on Monday?


*still have three classes left to knock out this semester: psychology, biochemistry 1, and French civ

$100 later...have got to find a cheaper salon

Oh, and I cut my hair! 

And dyed it blonde again!

And it basically looks like this again, only with bangs:

And that sort of sums up how I feel right now.

i just can't take any more transcription initiation factors.

Sometimes, it is really hard to concentrate when I'm studying biochemistry because I just feel like I'm looking at a craft catalog the entire time.

Evidence:

If that doesn't just scream ribbon explosion, I don't know what does.

(figures of proteins. which ones, I don't know, which is probably why I'm going to fail my biochem final tomorrow)

arch

We liked St. Louis! We already knew the med school was fantastic, but what we didn't realize is how much freaking money they have over there, and how much they're willing to give to students, for doing medicine abroad, financial aid, awesome sweatshirts, great food, etc. Aaron's in the running for an apply by invitation only full tuition merit scholarship...so...that would be extra awesome if he was to get that, and we didn't have to pay a dime for the $200,000 education he'd be receiving. I also got to hang out at the chemistry department and chat with a bunch of professors and grad students. There are a few professors whose research interests me, particularly this one guy who does a bunch of nanomaterials drug delivery stuff. Super cool. 

And! I got the decision deadline for grad school extended by a month until May 15th (instead of tomorrow, April 15th) so that we can wait and hear what financial aid Aaron gets at Penn and Wash U. Yay extensions!

In other great news we won $450 from the chemistry department awards banquet! I got the writing student of the year award and Aaron got the inorganic student of the year and senior of the year. Yay chemistry! We love you! When we're rich in 20 years, we'll donate money for a scholarship to pay that back.  

That's what we've been up to lately. Finals are next week, and we have to make up our minds soon about where we want to be living the next 4-5 years of our life. For someone who has a hard time choosing what to wear or what to cook, this is quite the dilemma.

i think i will be too tempted by vacations in fabulous places

So New York City is 2 hours away from Philadelphia, and Washington, DC is 2 hours 45 mins away from Philadelphia...

Whatcha got to top that, St. Louis?

We shall see this weekend! (Holy cow, I am just a little traveler this semester)

the third and final continent

"While astronauts, heroes forever, spent mere hours on the moon, I have remained in this new world for nearly thirty years. I know that my achievement is quite ordinary. I am not the only man to seek his fortune far from home, and certainly I am not the first. Still, there are times I am bewildered by each mile I have traveled, each meal I have eaten, each person I have known, each room in which I have slept. As ordinary as it all appears, there are times when it is beyond my imagination."

Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri

I love this quote. Somehow I feels like it fits with the end of the semester and being almost done (in June) with college. Me graduating with a chemistry is quite ordinary, but I am bewildered by what all has gone into the past four years of my life. Sometimes it was sucky, sometimes it was awesome, but it was always worth it.

*Also, if you haven't read any of Jhumpa Lahiri's books, you absolutely need to. Unaccustomed Earth is also fantastic. I have yet to find any other writer who can describe everyday, normal life in such a beautiful way. Love love love her. (And she's a Pulitzer Prize winner, so I'm not the only one who does!)

queen of hearts

So, the other weekend when I was at Penn, Friday night was casino night. Being the sheltered Mormon girl that I am, I have no idea how to play poker or roulette or black jack, so I drank my bottled water and watched. It was super fun because I made friends with this one girl who didn't know how to play either, so we just sat there at the texas hold'em table trying to figure out what the heck a flush is. I'd heard Penn has a ballroom team, so I asked the grad student who was acting as dealer for the table if you were allowed to take other classes besides chemistry while a grad student.He asked me what kind of class I was thinking of and I responded,

"ballroom dance!!"

chuckles abounded around the table.

Oh poker playing prospective grad students, you have no idea how serious I was about that question.

a picture's worth a thousand words

We went to Disneyland, we ate at a pricey Japanese restaurant, we talked with professors we want to work with in grad school, we went to the Newport Beach temple, we presented our posters, we learned about photodynamic therapy and making supramolecular compounds, we dance partied,  we missed a lot of school.

It was awesome.

(and now there are only 8 days left of school! and I have two tests to take and a scary amount of math homework to finish. bah.)