A Procrastinating Grad Student Does It Again

Since I just figured out which microbes produce enzymes that let them metabolize uric acid in poultry manure -- these guys are probably the culprit in producing the toxic ammonia gas around which my research centers -- it's obviously time to take a break and write about life. Then it's back to the grind.


Life in Blacksburg has been great so far. Devin and I both got into grad school at sister departments here and even get paid to go to school. It turns out that we are still poor, but at least we have enough to go camping and treat each other to dinner out at least once a week. Hey, it's better than temping in DC. My commute here is about 15 minutes to anywhere - and somehow I manage to complain - but it's so much better than 1 hour each way on the metro.

I love living in the mountains, too -- it's just prettier here. Our professors and advisors have some pretty amazing digs - 100 acre plots by a national forest complete w/a stocked pond, to name one. Country activities are much more encouraged, which is fun - and funny. I learned to fish and we go out fairly often to see what we can catch; but people on campus also walk around w/their hunting gear like they're heading off just after class lets out. Pig roasts are common and corn hole (like bean bag toss) is the highlight of many a weekend, aside from the obvious -- drinking.

Work/school also keeps us super busy. Every Monday I have a meeting with my advisor where I suddenly realize I'm behind on the goals I set for myself the week before. The next three days are taken up by homework, researching and struggling through journal articles, dragging my self and up to two computers all over campus in hot pursuit of answers, and some lab experiments too. Then Friday comes and we are usually shopping online or planning a weekend camping trip. It's the simple joys -- I discovered down jackets and sleeping bags around the same time as I got some amazing $130 shoes, so our modest salaries aren't going too terribly far yet. Then there's laundry and grocery shopping - and Sunday night arrives and it's time to do it all again.

The other 12 hours a week (where do I find the time??) I'm a Teaching Assistant for an experimental lab class that involves lots of electric circuits and misbehaving MATLAB programs. It's truly a black hole -- there's no limit to the energy I could put into it; in fact the more I do, the more I get frustrated and feel obligated to put MORE time in so the experiments will go more smoothly. But that's a pointless viscious cycle. I'm not solely responsible for the class, so when things go poorly, it really isn't my fault -- so why should I get frustrated like it is? The other fun part of my TA-ship is grading lab reports on a borrowed dinosaur-ific tablet computer. Somehow some students manage to write 20 pages of C minus-worthy blather. I am investigating the staircase distribution method of grading, however. I love being a hard-ass when grading, but if the undergrads continue to ignore my sagely advice, then f--- it.



Hobbies: I got super excited and dug my knitting needles and a pretty purple ball of manos de uruguay yarn out of my craft bag when a friend introduced me to ravelry.com and their bonanza of knitting patterns and projects. The purple yarn is on its way to becoming a cabled cap - for me - and after that, Devin wants a hat so I'm going to do a fancy one with fleece lining so his ears will be warm and itch-free. I will probably work my way up to a sweater at some point, but I'm not quite ready to invest in a giant pile of $$$ yarn. We also came into a bunch of reading and fishing equipment recently, so there are plenty of activities to take up our extremely rare free time.

Thanksgiving is coming up and we're going to go spend a week in sunny CA. Neither town there will be particularly warm -- San Luis Obispo, where Devin is from, nor Chico, where the fam holds the holiday meal and celebration. But it'll be pretty and a happy visit back to the loving and politically active folks that raised Devin, as well as a return to solar power, Jack in the Box, year round farmers markets, and agricultural fields as far as the eye can see.

The other excitement on my horizon is chickens - helping with a friend's experiment by counting/weighing them; as well as designing my own experiments on chicken manure. That brings me back to the microbes and ammonia I mentioned up top - so maybe it's time to get back to work.

Catch you all next time!

So Many Ways to Enjoy

A lot of good things have sprouted up this spring.

Still A Nature Girl

- I got an ipod app called "LeafSnap" from UMD/Columbia University tha

t has been teaching me a LOT about leaf and flower identification. Everytime I go for a walk or drive around, the greenery around me is popping with life because I know the names of what I see. We have also gone morel mushroom hunting - less successfully than GROWING them, mind you! -- but learning to hunt helps necessitates easy spotting of may apples and tulip poplar trees. Found some beautiful, leaflike yet showy flowers while hiking in Patapsco State Park up in the McKeldin area -- introducing the cobra lily:

Best part of our hike? My bum knee wasn't hurting after 5 miles. Physical therapy is paying off!

Trees (in America) I can more or less identify in nature now, thanks to LeafSnap:

Sycamore, Elm, Cherry, Mulberry, Maple, Japanese Maple, Oak, Beech, Dogwood, Pear, Magnolia, Tulip Poplar, Ginkgo, Sassafras ... but I'm still working on learning the variations better!

PS. Did you know Ginkgo trees are also called Maidenhair? Go figure. My hair doesn't look anything like a fan!

Still Crafting One Knit Wonders

- I've been mixing craft mediums for variety: I made a friend a yarn jellyfish for her Birthday, then crafted a gift bag to give it in!

- My loud, printed Malawian fabrics have finally inspired me to sew them into something useful. Thanks to $1 pattern sales at my local sewing store! Here's a shirt I made recently.

3rd Goal? Check! You Have Fostered World Peace.

- I went to my high school to speak with 3rd graders about Peace Corps. Come again? McDonogh has pre-K through grade 12, though I was there for upper school only, I have some connections in the lower school. Those little 3rd graders were pretty excited to hear more about what 'helping people' in action is, as well as contributing to a toothpaste/toothbrush drive for Dental Hygiene Month (October) my friend Mary is conducting in Malawi. Those who want to contribute should do so before July 15th!

One thing that stood out: kids in America are SUPER sharp. I was absolutely overwhelmed by the degree of engagement these kids showed. When I asked, "What language do you think they speak in Malawi?" one girl gave an answer that was a great guess - Swahili. Great because that's what they speak in Tanzania next door, and because it's what a huge majority of people DO speak in Africa. What a difference for these 3rd graders to learn in their native language -- and private school education doesn't hurt, either! Walking in, their hallways were absolutely crowded in achievements, inspirations, and arty creations coming from every classroom, not just Joan's art class.

Cultural Outings Etc.

I love going out to dance, and I like to get silly too (but you wouldn't know it - I drink much less than most people I'm social with), but I suffer existentially past the hour of 9pm when it's impossible to have a real conversation at a bar or a club. Thank goodness for events with actual content:

- The AVAM's Kinetic Sculpture Race! Gotta love Baltimore for wacky, fun exhibitions. This one took the form of an overland/overwater parade. Check out some of the moving sculptures that made it through water and mud:

- Nerd Nite at DC 9. Nerdy but fun! 200 other young geeks and I learned about microscopes and dinosaurs, competed to win fake mustahces, and laughed nervously about the legend of a paraguayan god with a 10 foot penis. We lucked out and got some live music out of it - an indie pop band from Brooklyn. Thanks to Jen for the tip!

- Passport DC Embassy Tour. Last Saturday, we traipsed around the Dupont Circle area in rain and shine seeking to gain entrance into some of the elite and well-guarded 1900s-era mansions now occupied by foreign consulates and embassies. Botswana was definitely the coolest, keeping it low-key yet inviting and informative. Leather mini-skirt wearing ladies stomped a familiar dance while older, rounder women ululated and I couldn't help but join in. We went up to the fourth floor to get some food and tried the staple - mealie pap with cream and oil, which was quite nice - with some pulled pork relish and doughnut morsels. Sound like a more sophisticated version of Malawi? Precisely. Cool fact: Their word for rain is 'Pula' (sim. Mvula), which also doubles for the name of their currency.

Other embassies we went into were high tech, including their security setups (the Japanese physical therapy robots were totally worth it!), tasty (Haiti had some passion fruit punch that was out of this world), and laden with tourist eye candy (beach after beach in the Croatian vacation pamphlets).

Next weekend: Asian street festival!

More Productive Things

- I've got a temp opportunity brewing for the summer. I won't jinx it by naming names, but it's a chance to come back to one of the places I've temped at and do some necessary office caretaking for them for a perfect 2-5 days a week. I'll help fill in for people taking vacation, and staff the front desk and phones Friday evenings (most people leave early.. but I'm happy to work it!). Huzzah! Sounds like I'll be doing more around town - it's high season for free stuff! Movies on the lawn, jazz in the sculpture garden.. give me my summer fun.

- Volunteer (Wodzipereka: one who gives themselves): I'm going to get involved at ECO City Farms, an urban farm I heard about from one of the girls in the soil lab Devin works in. They do a lot of things we do at home, but on a bigger scale: vermicomposting, mushroom cultivation, etc. Should be fun!

"This is my own trip, you understand..."

The colder weather is rolling in so I'm back to my hot tea-drinking habits. This palette of teas is pretty, no? Last night I enjoyed gazing into (and sipping) a beautiful scarlet tisane before bedtime. I think the infusion had strawberries and flowers in it.

Yesterday was a lovely Sunday afternoon bike ride around Elkridge. It's good to see that, over a period of 20 years, the routes where my Dad once rode to be 'in the country in the middle of the city' have mostly evaded suburban sprawl. The Patapsco/Rockburn park area has some great bike-riding roads, though the uphills were a bit brutal. Check out other rides listed under 'Elkridge' on Bikely for more ideas.

This weekend was also a good one for cooking, another cool-weather pastime! There's nothing like a warm, browned and fragrant something emerging from the oven. Of course, all the fresh veggies and fruits of summer are great, too - but they work more for lounging and crunching than for comfort.

Here's a recipe for a Spinach Chicken Wreath [tested and confirmed as yummy]:

Preheat Oven to 375 degF; serves 8.
Ingredients:

• 1 can/10 oz chunk white chicken (drained)
• 1/2 C red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 pkg/10 oz frozen choped spinach (thawed and drained)
• 1C shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/3 C mayonnaise
• 1t lemon zest
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/8 t ground nutmeg
• 2 pkg refrigerated crescent rolls (8oz each)

Directions:

• Flake chicken into a medium bowl. Add all ingredients except rolls and mix together.
• Unroll crescent rolls and separate into 16 triangles. Arrange them in a circle on a 13" round baking stone (wide edges should overlap in the center, acute-angled points toward the outside); leave a 5" diameter opening in the center.
• Scoop chicken mix evenly onto the widest end of each triangle, all the way around the circle.
• Bring the outside points up over the filling and tuck under the wide ends at center of ring; there will be filling visible through openings between crescent dough.
  
• Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. If bottom of rolls are soggy, bake a few more minutes on bottom rack of oven [to cook without over-browning].
  

And one more, for Milk Chocolate Florentine Cookies [also confirmed delicious]:

Preheat Oven to 375 degF; makes 3 dozen cookies.
Ingredients:

• 2/3 C butter
• 2C quick oats
• 1C granulated sugar
• 2/3 C all-purpose flour
• 1/4 C light or dark corn syrup
• 1/4 C milk
• 1t vanilla extract
• 1/4 t salt
• 1+ 3/4 C/11.5 oz milk chocolate chips

Directions:

• Melt butter in a medium saucepan, remove from heat. Stir in all ingredients except chocolate chips and mix well.
• Drop level teaspoons of mixture on a greased baking sheet, 3 inches apart. Spread them thinly with a rubber spatula.
• Bake 5-8 minutes OR until golden brown. Cool cookies completely on sheets or wire racks.
• After the first batch comes out, microwave morsels uncovered at 70% power for 1 minute; stir. If needed, nuke at 10-15 second intervals until you get an even consistency.
• Spread chocolate onto half of the cookies, on the flat side. Top with the remaining cookies with the flat side again contacting the chocolate.
• Cool and serve or store! See Néstle's website, the finished cookies looking scrumptious.

I started knitting again. I'm going to try a simple pattern from the Japanese website, ABCs of Knitting: the 'first socks,' which will be rendered in a bulky grass green. I love how precise and thorough their website is, and I think some warm socks will do me well to foster even more cozy, indoor activities. Maybe after that, I'll try knitting in color; how to pick between intarsia, fair-isle, or stranded color knitting? This may require some reading up.

PS. Who knows who said the quote in my title? Clue: a member of Kesey's merry pranksters. Yes, I'm reading the electric kool-aid acid test.
PPS. Awesome, easy-to-follow instructions for kitchener stitch (very important in making a comfy heel!) at Knitty.