What I've Been Up To.......

My third semester of grad school is winding down..... it's hard to believe that by this time next week I will be back in my parents' house, hanging out with my family and squishing my sister! I've been spending alot of time up at school working on various projects, but I've been up to other things too! Namely,

.... making things.....

.... and trying my hand at fashion photography.

I'm so thankful that eventhough I'm a scientist by training, I have so many opportunities to dabble in the arts. I love my life! :)

Dusty......

I realize that it's been an age and a half since I last posted! Every time this page comes up I think, Hmm. It's been a loooong time since April. I really should post something. And it's not the summer anymore.... the banner needs changing.

But alas........ my days were absolutely full, neglect has piled on top of neglect, and before I had time to take it all in, Thanksgiving is nearly here (NEXT WEEK). And then final projects are due. In a few short weeks I will be back in Canada! Where does the time go?!

At least I'm being a bit better about processing the photos that I take, so at least if you go here or here, there is a visual record of what I've been up to. Maybe now that I've bit the bullet and posted again (7 months later?! Oi), Shards will see more activity? We'll see. ;)

For now, I wanted to post a photo of the beautiful aspens in Colorado that I took while on a field trip this fall...... yes it's been so long between posts that I've gone BACK to CO since April:


Bracketing this long hiatus with the gorgeous Rockies...... it gives the blog a sense of symmetry, don't you think? If Shards doesn't have content, at least it's got symmetry!!

Right?

Return to the Mountains

I'm in Colorado. About to make my debut presenting my research at a national meeting.

EEPS.

For today though, it was all about savouring being in the Rockies. And it was sweet. :) Look, isn't it beautiful?


We arrived in Denver early this afternoon and took our time settling in. Our day was perfectly ended with dinner on the patio at this little gem. The food was local, organic, and seasonal.... the servers were friendly.... the restaurant itself had a great indie flair and the atmostphere was comfortable and groovy. It was such a fabulous meal... we might be back for seconds before it's time to go home!

Just a quick note

Spring break has come and gone.... hardly a blip amongst my days. Let me make this statement:

SCHOOL IS EATING ME ALIIIIIIVEEEE.
I so should not be here right now.... considering that I should be reading, or writing, or grading, or mapping, or maybe doing dishes/showering/sleeping (optional these days!)......

And yet I still don't hate it (watch me eat my words shortly!). Ha. This only from a dorky career-student! But y'know.... it's been nearly a month since my last post so I figure it's time to drop in here!

Really, spring break FEELS like it never happened, but it did. And it was important. And good. It was an adventure involving many airports and flight itineraries, and I got to see my family. My immediate family. I got to squish and poke my siblings, and got loved on by my mum and dad.

And - most importantly - I got to see my grandma:

It was very good to see her and spend some time with her. Honestly we don't know how much more time she has.... as she says, she is certain that Jesus keeps her alive every single day. Oh that we would be so aware of this reality!

Amongst the photos taken with Grandma that I so treasure, I think this last photo is one of my favorites. A part of my larger family that I don't get to see nearly enough:

It was really sweet to get time with the family. I enjoyed getting loved on by extra people, and hearing stories from my dad's youth (like how my aunt's convinced Dad to take the hit when they were all responsible for breaking Grandma's plate... and how she didn't buy the story and grounded them ALL) as well as more recent stories (like how my 80-plus grandma correctly diagnosed my uncle's heart condition when all the other specialists that he'd gone to said he had asthma.... the woman is still one kickass radiologist!).

Waking up.

I woke up this morning on the couch.

Still in street clothes.

With the lights still on.

With last night's leftovers still waiting to be put away thrown out now.

With the laptop still staring blankly at me.

With my grant proposal still unfinished.


Question du jour: Why can't grant proposals write themselves?

Uncharacteristic

It's been snowing in Waco. Not that it never snows here, but it's certainly not a usual occurrence. I hear that this winter has been uncharacteristically cold and snowy. It's hardly anything by standards at home, but since I've never been an enthusiastic fan of snow, this is just right for me. And it seems like Baylor students like it too! I think everyone and their dog is outside making snowmen or playing with the white stuff:

It got us half a snowday.... which really just means a couple extra hours of procrastination work time for us in-over-our-heads-busy grad students, but it's still pretty sweet if you ask me. :)

Woman without a country

I've loved experiencing the south side of the border as more than a tourist.... the transition has overall been easy and very blessed. Gotta say though.... being a foreign national has its interesting parts. I have become the reference for all jokes and questions related to the north (I have been asked multiple times about curling since the Winter Olympics started!), and being teased about my Canadian-ness has become an established part of the relationship between my advisor and me. It's pretty entertaining, although one really has to be able to laugh at herself and be secure about who she is! I found this a few weeks ago and thought it was clever:

I couldn't resist showing this to Dr. Joe (my advisor), even knowing that this would be giving him more ammunition for his teasing! He uses this every chance he gets. :p

All this teasing about my "foreignness" has all been well and good.... until this past week. During a phone call home with my parents, my dear dear sister, who was watching the Olympics men's halfpipe event, yelled out, "Your country is killing us!!!"

Ex-CUSE me?!

All the Canadian jokes I have endured since moving here could not have prepared me for this heated accusation. I was shocked! Offended! What a thing to come out of such a darling mouth!! Since when was my Canadianship revoked without my notice??

Somehow, I have become a woman without a country.... because as Dr. Joe put it when I told him about this incident, "your country has disowned you, and we have not yet accepted you."

Reeling from the loss,
Steph.

Divine Romance.

I can't get enough of this beautiful song right now..... (and I sure wish I could play like that! :p)



The fullness of Your grace is here with me
The richness of Your beauty’s all I see
The brightness of Your glory has arrived
In Your presence God, I’m completely satisfied

For You I sing I dance
Rejoice in this divine romance
Lift my heart and my hands
To show my love, to show my love

A deep deep flood, an Ocean flows from You
Of deep deep love, yeah it’s filling up the room
Your innocent blood, has washed my guilty life
In Your presence God I’m completely satisfied

- Phil Whickam (c) 2006

Christmas photos!

Yea they're sorta late, but here is the start of them! Lots will be added, but here are the first few. It's actually nice to be going through these awhile after the holidays have ended.... it brings back so many sweet moments. :)

Act I: Bubblicity date with Karen and Sonja.

hit the ground running

Geesh I've been gone from here a long time..... Helloooo 2010 (and half of January)! The second half of last semester really got consumed by school (merely "consumed" is an understatement). Before I knew what to do with myself, my first semester in grad school was over, and I was on the way home to CanEHdia! I used to think the geezers were nuts when they said this, but truly: time flies by soooo fast. I got to spend three wonderful weeks in Ottawa with friends and family, and all-too-soon it was time to come back. We've all dived right back into the thick of school and two days in, I had to remind myself that it was only the second day of school. You know it's crazy-insane when you can't even keep that in perspective!! But you know.... at some point a gal's gotta get the rest of her life somewhat back in order (right?) so I'm back, with a new layout and banner, hopefully holiday photos soonish, and hopefully with regular-ish updates. :)

For now, I leave you with a passage that turned up several times for me at the start of the new year:

Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old.
Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
The wild beasts will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches,
for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert,
to give drink to my chosen people,
the people whom I formed for myself that they might declare my praise.
(Isaiah 43: 18-21, esv)

This is so good.... it's something to carry into the new year with you. It bathes the new year in such hope, don't you think? :)

Miracles by Kenny G.... AKA Because-It's-Late-and-I-Couldn't- Resist-Wasting-My-Time

RULES:
1. Put your mp3 player, iTunes, Windows Media Player, etc. on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS.
4. Tag 10 friends (make me #11 so I can see your results). --> I always ignore instructions like this....
5. Everyone tagged has to do the same thing.
6. Have Fun!

IF SOMEONE SAYS 'ARE YOU OKAY' YOU SAY?
The Look of Love - Diana Krall

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF
Tu Bondad - Kari Jobe

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Indelible - Brooke Fraser

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
Hesitation - Stacie Orrico

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
Looking Up - Paramore

WHAT'S YOUR MOTTO?
Disappear - Jars of Clay

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
The Way I See You - Bethany Dillon

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
Returning the Smile You Have Had from the Start - Emery

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
Grace - William Joseph (oh good one....)

WHAT IS 2 + 2?
Defiance - Joshua Bell and James Newton Howard

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Love Letters - Diana Krall

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
Should've When You Could've - Skillet (oh nos.)

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
Learn You Inside Out - Lifehouse

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Vapor - Skillet (hahahahaha..... sometimes. Definitely wish it sometimes.)

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
I Climb - Thousand Foot Krutch (so romantic!!)

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
Tennis Court Soundtrack - Daphne Loves Derby

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
Catch a Falling Star - Perry Como

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR?
The Blues - Switchfoot

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
I'm Not Ashamed - Hillsong (that's RIGHT!)

WHAT DO YOU WANT RIGHT NOW?
Les Aventuries - Joe Hisaishi

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Tonight (I Want to Live in Your World) - Glassbyrd

WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
Miracles - Kenny G

--

In other, not-so-pointless news, I got to go to my first live hockey game eeeever last week! I had been missing (and whining about it!) hockey for the past two weeks, and it just so happened that a friend of a friend offered her two free tickets to a game in Dallas. So after class last Wednesday we booked it to Dallas to watch the Stars school the Predators. Live games are so much fun! And eventhough I first hesitated at the thought of cheering for the Stars (um, archenemy!), I couldn't help it..... it was a home game and we were destroying the other team!

Click through for more photos....

Oh man. Did I just say "we"?? As I was told earlier this weekend,

"Good golly you've already been corrupted."

Texas is subversive, I tell you. Sneaky.

"All by myself..... don't wanna be all by myself......"

This is the sight I woke up to this morning (minus the white car):


Tornado looked so lonely out there all alone. It's fall break today, and everyone seems to have gone home! :( Oh the life of an international student.

First time for everything.....

You know that a certain week is less stressful than the last when you find time to do this:

I dunno why..... but all of a sudden I just felt like painting my toe nails purple. My toes have never worn such a bold colour before!! (That time when my sister painted every nail a different colour not withstanding.....) It's kinda growing on me though, what do you think? :p And lookit those pasty tan lines.... attractive, no? Haha.....

Favorite time of year

I love autumn weather..... I love the refreshing change from the oppressive summer heat. I love crisp, bright, autumn days. I love that the invigorating air makes it perfect for hiking and soccer. I love the colour change in the trees.

And I really miss that about home right now.

Autumn in the Gatineau Hills

But lately we've been having our own version of autumn down here..... no crisp bright days, and no Fall Rhapsody, but it's definitely cooled off a bit. Today it was actually cold enough for fleeces and close-toed shoes, and I realized with a sinking heart that 1) I did NOT bring enough warm clothes down with me, and 2) if 15C weather has me running for a jacket, I must have acclimatized to Texan conditions far faster than I thought possible (and it's aaaaall downhill from there, I know it!). Plus it has been raining like nobody's business. But hey - no more oppressive summer heat. I'll take it.

Here are a few shots I took right outside my house on a rainy Sunday.... I love how "enchanted forest" the shots feel, and the fact that all the shooting I did was basically within a square foot (mebbe two?) area. Sure doesn't take much to entertain me, does it? *laughs*

When grad students get bored.......

..... they might do impulsive things.



..... and......



..... they can't be held liable for their actions.

*snip*

*snip snip snip*

How does it look? I had to stop myself before they got way to short. :p

A first

Today, for the first time ever, I sat through a college football game. I'm hoping to go to a game one of these days while I'm here..... and it's free! But this was a good start. And considering that I never saw ANY Raven games when I was at CU (besides parts of basketball games on TV), and that I'm not much of a sports fan in general, that's saying something. It was fun to spend the afternoon with a bunch of geo friends.... and to top it off, the Bears won! First road win in years, I read somewhere. Sic 'em bears!!

ps: I've seen our mascots (we have real bears for mascots!).... they don't look anywhere as fierce as that! Cute brown fluff balls, more like. :p

And so it continues.....

I've already gotten rid of 4 of our little insect friends this afternoon.... and I am perfectly aware that there is another one in the living room at the moment, but I am choosing to ignore him.

Hannah's gone out to get Raid.

Chirp, chirp.......

I have caught and thrown out no less than 4 crickets tonight. And counting. Black, hopping, big, crickets. Hannah (my housemate) HATES the buggers, and I don't want to deal with messy bug guts, so it's up to me to catch them when I see them.

Our theory is that they've been crawling into our flat through the gap between our balcony door and the sill. We had put in a request to get that weather-stripped because we didn't want to be spending extra $$ on AC, but let me tell you: we are high-tailing it to the manager's office on Monday and making this an urgent priority! In the meantime I thought a strip of strategically-placed tape over the gap might help a little.

Ok, gotta go.... I left Crickey IV in the container where I caught him and he's chirping miserably. Guess I better go deal with him.

- 5 minutes later -

Make that 6. *SIGH*.

Losing my mind.....

Today was the day.... The day I've been waiting for all week! The day I was scheduled to apply for my social security number! That will never expire! With which I could get paid! And FINALLY get a cell phone with a plan that can call long distance! And make all my dreams come true! (Ok maybe not that last one.) The social security rep even came to campus, so that we poor souls wouldn't soujourn to their office way out in the middle of nowhere (ie, I have no idea where it is). Problem was, where she was holding application sessions on campus required a long walk from my building.... which isn't so bad (exercise, anyone?), except that being outside meant being out under the sweltering sun during the hottest part of the day.

Oh wells.

What must be done, must be done, right? Just think of the walk as exercise AND being in the sauna, all at once. Suck it up and all that. So I grabbed the reference letter I was supposed to bring (Paulette our office administrator MADE me promise I wouldn't lose it or forget to bring it), made sure I had my sunglasses, and set out. I hugged every shred of shade I could find along the way, squinting and wincing at the sun when none was to be had. Finally, sweaty and fed up with Texan weather, I made it to the teeny tiny International Studies office a few minutes before my scheduled appointment, cooled down a bit................... then realized that I had forgotten my passport in my office, AND my student visa documents at home. Plus I had a meeting to get to! So I checked with the lady to make sure she was going to be around for the entire afternoon, planned to return after my meeting, and booked it as fast as I could back to my end of my campus..... got in my car (praying the whole way that God would let me find another parking spot when I got back), sped home, grabbed my visa, and got back to school just a few minutes late for my meeting.

After our meeting, I steeled myself for yet another trip through the oven to the International Studies office. I even brought a sweater this time to shade myself a little during the walk. I got there, disgustingly sweaty but glad I was one walk closer to finishing this application (and never having to make the trip again! I was so naive....). I waited until the applicants before me finished, got in the room, sat down, got out my passport and visa forms......................................... and realized that in my haste to finish my application and return in time for my lab, I had forgotten the reference letter on my desk (that I wasn't supposed to lose or forget, remember?).

UUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGH.

So I heaved a sigh, collected my things, apologized to the lady, and made my way back to my office - thinking the whole way:
1. what had happened to my BRAIN,
2. telling myself that one's response to adversity says much about their character (I have good character! I do I do!! Just not when things don't go the way I plan. Errrrrmmmm.... yes.),
3. wondering what lesson God could possibly want me to learn through this, and
4. why did it have to be so dang HOT out?!

Back at my office, I stuffed EVERYTHING besides my textbook and lunch containers into my backpack (Lord help me if I had to go back a FOURTH time), let my TA know that I might be late for my lab, and once more made the trek to the International Studies office. On my third try (sigh), I finally got it right. The application form was straight forward, and before long I was back in my lab, only having missed a few minutes'-worth of introduction.

--

Later on in the day, I ran into Dr. Joe (my supervisor) and told him my sorry tale.

"You need to be more organized," he commented.

"Yeah, maybe I need an iphone too," I joked. His iphone is his newest toy.

Meanwhile I was thinking, But you don't understand. I AM organized. Freakishly so. Just ask anyone. I remember obscure details and I have a planner that I actually use. You don't understand. This type of thing just doesn't. Happen. To. Me.

I still don't get it. Texas brainwashed me and tossed out the memory part of my brain with the wash water.

Or something.

Poll of the day

I'm trying to decide which Baylor decal to get for my car. I can't decide, so I thought I would ask all of you! Comment and let me know what you think.... pro's, con's, all of it. For you car purists (yes, you know who you are!), NOT having a decal isn't an option here. I may decide not to declare school loyalty via my car afterall, but that's a poll for another day.

Without further ado, your choices are the following:

A. A raised chrome (like your standard Jesus fish decals) "BU", on the bottom right under the fish:

B. A standard plastic, white "Baylor" decal, to go on the bottom of the rear windshield:


What do Y'ALL think? (NO I do not actually talk like that.... yet.................)