May I begin this blog by celebrating the birth of eleven baby duckies in Prexy’s pond! It is quite the event to have some new life swimming around on campus! Moving on…
This past weekend we moved my boyfriend into his new home just two blocks West of Concordia and what an ordeal that was! We were moving mattresses, putting together end tables, replacing lightbulbs and the list of items to clean went on and on. All of the hard work payed off though when dinner on Saturday night came straight from the grill! There’s something about the smell of a barbecue that just screams SUMMER!!! After pulling the burgers off the grill, we accompanied it with a little potato salad, chips, and some refreshing raspberry iced tea. Hehe… why are all things more memorable when they are attached to a good meal?
This week in the office began with Summer Orientation! How exciting it was to hang out with incoming freshman and their parents! It was surprising how many questions and stories everyone had to share. There were some students who would have liked to move to campus on Monday if they could have, and other students getting a first taste of adult hood and what it would be like living away from home. Either way, registration is one of the first steps towards a new academic year. The funniest thing about the day was how many questions I got about the beanie tradition here on campus. Some incomers were skeptical of just how cool they would look with a small golden hat atop their heads for a couple days. Not to worry, beanies are the coolest fashion sensation to ever sweep the midwest…and it’s always great to look back at the pictures!
The rain continues to poor, if someone were to collect donations on behalf of the sun shining I would most likely contribute. Next week I’ll be helping out with registration in the cities! I hope all goes smoothly 
-Hopey
Hello future Cobbers!
This week was registration week at Concordia! I go to hang out with some incoming freshman Cobbers. I was the leader of the Yellow group in the PM session of June 9th. We had some good times, with the exception of getting soaked in the pouring rain! Of course, this was a great opportunity for group Yellow to bond. I met students of all different backgrounds, from different places, with different majors and co-curricular interests. And yet, we all got along swimmingly…in the rain.
This week is going to be a pretty busy week with our second day of registration coming up and all. Next week is sure to be the same. I need some down time, so today I am getting a pedicure. :o)
In other news, my roommates and I have decided to “Cat-Sit” for a few months! Her name is Bunker; she is an orange tabby (which is very unusual since only 15% of tabbies are female) and she is energetic! She has been cuddling up to me every night right next to my face which is just adorable! The only downside to this is that her whiskers tickle my face. Her hobbies include playing with string, eating bugs and dairy products, and looking super cute.
I am looking forward to next week at this time; pay day! All of the student ambassadors are planning on going to the Hu Hot Mongolian grill. Because we’re getting paid, we decided we deserved a night of Mongolian. I can’t wait!
Wish me luck in the coming days; registration is fun, but busy too!
Hello everyone! It has been a while since my last blog. I’ve been preparing for my MCATs and for coming to MA to do an internship at Partners AIDS Research Center (PARC)….needless to say quite a crazy month. In the end I didn’t feel ready to take the english section of the MCATs so I chose to postpone the exam and i’ll keep working on my studies throughout the summer. Additionally it was a crazy last few days in moorhead trying to get enough things packed for the summer and trying to find shirts for work. I decided to go shopping but when I got into the store there were too many shirts to chose from. So I came home and brought back the peeps to help me chose:) Thanks y’all!
I got to MA and tried to find the place where I’m staying now. I took a taxi since I didn’t know how to get around but the driver wasn’t “sure” of where the place was so he drove me around in circles for a while and what was supposed to be a 15 minute ride turned into 35…and $40 (which funny enough was all the money I had in my wallet!)…. I couldn’t be ripped off on my 1st day so I spent some time quarreling for a fare reduction… it worked out! good times:)
Afterwards I chose to risk the bus to work to meet with my supervisor. Everything went well and i found the place without much trouble.
Though I officially started on Monday I was there last week meeting people and observing some techniques that I’d be using this summer.
So far my experience at PARC has been fantastic! The people are incredible and the atmosphere is definitely enthusiastic:) The work being done there is also quite amazing but I’ll write more about my particular project in a later blog (can’t give it away in one go now can I?). For now I’ll say that I’m working with mutations of HIV.
Besides the lab, Boston and the surrounding areas seem to be quite beautiful, and an exciting place to be. I’ve spent my free time and a bit of the weekend getting lost in the city and trying to find my way back…hey it’s my idea of fun, don’t judge! :p
Also I’ve been hanging out with many of my co-workers going out to many places around Boston. There is quite a lot of diversity in this city.
On Sunday morning I was able to participate in the Boston AIDS walk where they raised $ for awareness/research. We walked around for just over 6 miles and got to see many interesting places and gather differing views on the pros/cons of becoming a researcher. I was also able to visit Harvard University (whose Medical school is affiliated with PARC) for a bit. They still have their decorations from commencement around campus.
Now you may be thinking “where are all the cool pictures?” Well…at the moment I can’t get my camera’s card to be read by my laptop, nor can I find the connection cable for the camera…quite convenient really. Also I guess I haven’t really taken out many photos since I’ve been at the lab for most of my time here so far. But do not be discouraged! I’m sure I packed that cable in my suitcase somewhere but i’ll search for it tonight…it’s already 3 am so I should probably sleep!
Oh did I mention that most of the researchers get in after 10am? I couldn’t ask for a better time:) Oh I love sleeping in:P:)
DR
- I found the cable! This is a picture of me at my desk in the lab.
Hello future and current Cobbers!
It’s been a great week since the marathon. My boyfriend, Ben, came home from college (Wharton) and we celebrated our birthdays together at Sarello’s restaurant, I got to go to the lakes with my friend Rachel (even though it was FREEZING) and tonight the Admissions Student Ambassadors are having an “Enchanted” Party! We are watching the movie “Enchanted” with Amy Adams and Patrick Dempsey. My sister, Zan, and I have seen it a few times. However, many of the admissions team hasn’t seen this fabulous movie yet. We have all picked finger food to bring to the shindig at Campus Visit Coordinator Krisanne’s house. I chose to make ham, pickle and cream cheese wraps. They are far more difficult to make than I thought! Ben and Zan helped me make them last night, but I had to wrap and re-wrap all of the little treats many times. It was a challenge indeed. Zan made spinach artichoke dip, and we discovered just how much mayo is in this delictable dish. Erica is making deviled eggs, Grant is making tomato pie, Brandon is making mini cheesecakes, Hope is making Puppy Chow, and Krisanne is making taco dip. Doesn’t this all sound so fabulous? I just can’t wait. It’s going to be fun!
And all the while we will be serenaded by the beautiful soundtrack to a classic Disney film.
It’s going to be a great night! I will be posting pictures next week!
So the saying goes, “Practice makes perfect.” Well, I’m getting the impression that when it comes to golf the saying should be, “Practice, a little more practice, a lot more practice, and then a whole bunch more practice makes for not so bad.”
Summer is pracitcally here, or at least it’s trying, and at the first sign of a beautiful day this week I thought I would shake the winter dust off of my golf clubs and start warming up my swing. Now, golf seems like an easy enough concept- line up your feet, swing a large medal club at a ball that isn’t moving, and follow through. Simple right? It’s not like the ball is being thrown at you at high speeds, or that there’s another competitor trying to steal the golf ball away before you hit it, but for some reason it just isn’t as easy as it seems! I mean that golf ball is pretty small, and all the clubs have different numbers, not to mention being able to aim with that funny looking putter.
My life-long golfing adventure began about a year ago. My boyfriend is an avid golfer and he cordially introduced me to the sport. At first I just started out by driving the cart, or getting in a putt every now and then. For my birthday last summer, my parents gave me my own set of golf clubs. Keeping in mind that golf was half about the cute visors and matching gloves for me at the time, my parents got me a PINK set of golf clubs! What’s even cooler is that they have my name on them! I was in heaven, and from that moment on I was determined to take my golf game seriously.
Unfortunately, my first nine holes this summer at a course in Fargo did not show any remnants of that serious golfer I wanted to be. I was lucky if I even hit the ball at my first attempt, and then I was lucky to not hit somebody else on a completely different hole with my second. All in all the round provided some good laughs and a great memory. Not golfing all winter is like taking three steps forward and then two steps back. Oh well, the summer is young and there’s just a little rust that needs to be shaken off. Before you know it I’ll be counting all my hole-in-one’s with my fingers and toes!
