Thursday, November 5, 2015
You'll never guess what I saw on the road the other day...
Friday, October 16, 2015
Been a while...
Hello All! It's been a super long time. I have much to tell, but I'll settle for the immediate moment.
I had two exams today and, despite my crazy amounts of studying for the past two weeks, they really were not that bad. In Biochemistry, I'm learning about DNA sequencing and PCR. In Kinetics, I'm learning about the statistical side of reaction rates. In Quantitative Instrumentation, I'm learning (yet again) about HPLC. In Intermediate Organic Chemistry, I'm about to learn how to predict NMR spectra. Finally, in my Undergraduate Research I'm learning how to get LabView, MathLab, and Tektronix software all to talk to each other in an attempt to fully automate microwave spectroscopy instrumentation. It's definitely keeping me busy.
I was contacted by Cargill for a second-round interview yesterday. They wanted me to reschedule a test, schedule two flights the night before my two exams, and respond to their offer in less than 24 hours with my response. I felt it was a little too much to ask in such short notice and told them as much. Surprisingly, they are claiming to contact me when another position more fitting to my resume arises. I'm taking as it is, but I was rather flattered they chose not to simply pass me up.
J has filed her paperwork for ending her term with the Army, so she is now looking for work with the hope of finding something before she is completely done in June. She found something interesting in Kansas City, but feels in limbo about it after a recent followup. We are both relieved that she is at least finally authorized to send out her resume to places now.
The little man took his first four steps earlier this week, and took three more today! We're expecting in a few weeks that he'll be both walking and running. After several weeks of not feeling well, he has now had two weeks of good spirits and health. He actually fell asleep tonight on his own without any coaxing on our part.
Apparently Jupiter and Mars are going to be very close together around 5am this Sunday. I might get to Missouri S&T campus at the recently repaired astronomy telescope to see them, but that might be a bit early for me on a Sunday :) Perhaps Monday and Tuesday, they will still be quite close for a special look.
These past several weeks have been insect mania here. Walking sticks, huge spiders, and this past Wednesday a swarm of lacewings. It must be the last hurrah before winter. The trees are starting to change color here, and it is a reminder of how fast my last semester will come to a close and the next stage of our lives begins.
I sadly have no theme for this post, but I'll give you a few of pictures I took this past summer in St. Louis. I'll hopefully post again before the end of the semester.
Tuesday, August 25, 2015
Saturn
Hi everyone! Somewhat random post today, and again sadly no pictures, but did any of you get to see Saturn in the sky last night? My first time ever seeing it in a telescope, and I was even able to see to rings! Way cool.
Tuesday, March 3, 2015
Stuff just got real...
Hey loyal blog readers! I have been hideously behind on blog posts. I managed to get a handful of minutes today so I can at least let you know that I'm alive.
I TON has been happening these past few weeks. I will try to be brief, as I need to be :)
First, I got accepted at Missouri University of Science and Technology to complete my Bachelor of Science in Chemistry. I'm a special case there as I am a transfer student, already have a degree, and nearly have all the required coursework and also have in-field experience. Long story short, they setup a program for me to get my degree in only two semesters. This is good in that it will work relatively well with J's work schedule.
This is bad in that my schedule is now insanely busy. My first semester, this semester, is very lab-heavy with four labs, two of them time-intensive. It's one hour driving one way to get to campus each day. I have to drop the little guy off at day care, and then pick him up at the end of each day. I have 8am class five days a week. I also average about 4 hours of sleep a day now. My spare time is almost completely dedicated to travel, homework, and child care. Depending on the day, J and I may only see each other for one or two hours. Walking the dog has even taken a hit, as I just don't have the time walk her twice a day as I ritualistically do.
As bad as it sounds, I do like the environment. S&T is very experiential heavy, the students are very welcoming and collegial in their work ethic, and it feels more at home because everyone is a science geek. This actually makes me a more valuable student because of the very diverse background and experiences I have. I'm constantly learning all the time and having little difficulty connecting both equally to students and staff. I truly look forward to next semester, which is not supposed to be as difficult as this semester.
The current game plan is to find an internship over the summer and full time employment in January. Time will tell if this works out.
J's schedule has also ramped up a LOT. She's currently doing required training and conferences that require travel. She has the largest number of soldiers of all TC's (trial counsels) and is going to be picking up even more soldiers because of recent personnel change ups. This also translates to less time at home.
The stress of not having spare time at home to dedicate to regular maintenance of items like groceries and home maintenance can be daunting at times, but we make it work. I keep reminding myself that this is only for one and a half more semesters. I can't believe that it's almost halfway through the first semester already. I feel like I actually haven't produced that much in relation to how much I've learned.
The little man has really increased in his alertness and interactivity the past several weeks. He's starting to reach for things, he babbles a lot, he's acquired an eagle screech and a weight-lifter's groan, and he loves to jump in his bouncy chair. The poor guy got a virus-caused runny nose two weekends ago, and he's only just now recovered from it. He didn't like it, but we did learn how to treat it should it happen again.
In other news, J's dad R built and installed a very nice coat rack and cat box/bench for us here. I'll post a picture so that you can see for yourselves, but it looks really cool and is very nice for what we need.
Sorry. No pictures today. I gotta hit the hay. I haven't forgotten to make posts. I actually have dictations on my phone for posts I meant to make but was on foot at the time. Hopefully, in a week or so when I have spring break, I can get you all up to better speed. Thanks again for the patience. I know I've been pushing the limits lately. Love you all! I'll post again before the end of the month.
I TON has been happening these past few weeks. I will try to be brief, as I need to be :)
First, I got accepted at Missouri University of Science and Technology to complete my Bachelor of Science in Chemistry. I'm a special case there as I am a transfer student, already have a degree, and nearly have all the required coursework and also have in-field experience. Long story short, they setup a program for me to get my degree in only two semesters. This is good in that it will work relatively well with J's work schedule.
This is bad in that my schedule is now insanely busy. My first semester, this semester, is very lab-heavy with four labs, two of them time-intensive. It's one hour driving one way to get to campus each day. I have to drop the little guy off at day care, and then pick him up at the end of each day. I have 8am class five days a week. I also average about 4 hours of sleep a day now. My spare time is almost completely dedicated to travel, homework, and child care. Depending on the day, J and I may only see each other for one or two hours. Walking the dog has even taken a hit, as I just don't have the time walk her twice a day as I ritualistically do.
As bad as it sounds, I do like the environment. S&T is very experiential heavy, the students are very welcoming and collegial in their work ethic, and it feels more at home because everyone is a science geek. This actually makes me a more valuable student because of the very diverse background and experiences I have. I'm constantly learning all the time and having little difficulty connecting both equally to students and staff. I truly look forward to next semester, which is not supposed to be as difficult as this semester.
The current game plan is to find an internship over the summer and full time employment in January. Time will tell if this works out.
J's schedule has also ramped up a LOT. She's currently doing required training and conferences that require travel. She has the largest number of soldiers of all TC's (trial counsels) and is going to be picking up even more soldiers because of recent personnel change ups. This also translates to less time at home.
The stress of not having spare time at home to dedicate to regular maintenance of items like groceries and home maintenance can be daunting at times, but we make it work. I keep reminding myself that this is only for one and a half more semesters. I can't believe that it's almost halfway through the first semester already. I feel like I actually haven't produced that much in relation to how much I've learned.
The little man has really increased in his alertness and interactivity the past several weeks. He's starting to reach for things, he babbles a lot, he's acquired an eagle screech and a weight-lifter's groan, and he loves to jump in his bouncy chair. The poor guy got a virus-caused runny nose two weekends ago, and he's only just now recovered from it. He didn't like it, but we did learn how to treat it should it happen again.
In other news, J's dad R built and installed a very nice coat rack and cat box/bench for us here. I'll post a picture so that you can see for yourselves, but it looks really cool and is very nice for what we need.
Sorry. No pictures today. I gotta hit the hay. I haven't forgotten to make posts. I actually have dictations on my phone for posts I meant to make but was on foot at the time. Hopefully, in a week or so when I have spring break, I can get you all up to better speed. Thanks again for the patience. I know I've been pushing the limits lately. Love you all! I'll post again before the end of the month.
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