Last weekend was the annual Fall Festival for St. Joseph School, the school which I attended from kindergarten to eighth grade. I have always enjoyed going to the Festival, but after a certain point, there is little to be done there. Most of the games are targeted for children, which leaves mostly the food, music, and only a few more adult games. Therefore, when I started high school my friend and I decided to run a booth instead of spending all day playing.
The booth we ran was the Alumni Booth, which has varied over the years as to what type of game is played. The concept is the same from year to year, in that every person wins a prize; some prizes are great (cruises, a TV, hotel stays) and some prizes are crappy (mouse pads, key chains, pens). Since all the prizes are donated, we have no real expenses, unless we rent a gaming apparatus like a BINGO set or have to buy balloons, etc. These kinds of games attract children for their simplicity and fun factor, and attract adults for the big prizes.
For the last several years, my friend Emily and I have been running and working the booth entirely ourselves: collecting prizes, numbering/organizing prizes, setting up the booth, running the booth, taking down the booth. We have done so with little instruction and little outside help, because we're good that way. However, it is quite tiring and time-consuming to do all the work ourselves, work for nine hours, and then take down the booth in the end. Rewarding, yes, but still tiring.
This year, my friend is pregnant and is limited by how much she can do with the booth. We decided mutually at the end of last year's Festival to take a less active role in the booth, or at least find more workers to run it for us. Given Emily's condition (she is in her 8th month of pregnancy) we decided not to actually run the booth but hand over the reins to someone else. Otherwise, the workload would have fallen entirely on me, and I was not in the mood to do everything all by myself. At any rate, another woman was put in charge, and we were given the task of simply running the booth from 10 am to 1 pm, a much shorter shift than the 10-7 to which we had become accustomed.
This year was also different from years past because the location of the Festival was not at the school. SJS is building a new gym on the property, so it would therefore be an unsafe location on which to hold a Festival. Luckily my parish church, St. Albert's, has a large tract of land that would easily accommodate the Festival, so it would be held there. There were some drawbacks to this of course: a fairly unknown location (most of the students/parents of SJS attend other parishes), a residential-type area that is less-traveled and more hidden from the public, and of course many former students enjoy going back to the school and seeing what progress has been made since they last attended there. These obstacles were foreseen, and therefore the Festival almost didn't happen, but in the end people figured even if attendance was down from years past, at least some money would be made for the school.
To say attendance was down would be an understatement. When we arrived shortly before 10 am, it was in the 30s or 40s with a biting wind. As the day progressed, the weather did not improve and people seemingly decided to stay home. There did seem to be a fair amount of people there with which to make a successful Festival, but not nearly as many as last year's, when the weather was quite different (in the 70s). Emily did our three hours at the booth with moderate success, and were done right after 1 pm.
The food at the Fall Festival is usually what draws people in the most. The whole Festival is centered around delicious barbeque: pulled pork sandwiches, bbq chickens, bbq ribs, etc. Of course, being Mr. Food, I had to partake of the barbeque. In the course of that day I had two pulled pork sandwiches, one for lunch after my shift at the booth and one for dinner later when my parents decided to stop by. At some point after I had gotten my first sandwich, I went home to get out of the weather and eat in peace. By that point, the attendance was the highest of the entire day, since lunchtime is usually when the most people come to the Festival.
I returned to the festivities at 5 pm for Saturday night Mass, followed by more barbeque. By this point, the Festival was dying down, as it had become bitterly cold and windy. We got some more bbq and took it inside one of the heated parish buildings, which had better accommodations than the outdoor tents and tables.
Despite the weather and change of venue, I was still proud of the Festival that my former school put together. It does feel good to give back and work for a good cause, though I think most of us would have liked a less wintry day and a more fall-like day. The food was excellent, the entertainment was nice, and the games drew a lot of excitement, especially with the children. Emily and I have decided next year to maybe put in a little more effort at the booth; it almost didn't feel like enough to simply work the booth while someone else did all the work of organization, etc. Although, hopefully, if we do take on a larger role, there will still be workers that can take on some of the shifts. That way we can still enjoy the rest of the Festival and not be tied down to a booth all day. All in all, I had a good time.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Monday, August 10, 2009
Can I Bid a Foine?
My mom, brother, and I got back from our week-long vacation in Atlanta Sunday night, and I must blog about it! We'll get to the title later.
To start out, I wanted to mention that we rented a car this time around. My car has been well-traveled over the last four years with trips back and forth from Cincinnati (though I've never actually calculated the mileage, I'm sure it's quite a large number). To add to that, my mom's car and my car don't have air conditioning, and my brother's truck needs new tires. So, we got a rental car, a nice red Chevy Cobalt. It was a great little car, and except for the right rear tire needing air on two occasions, I enjoyed driving it. If I were in the market for a new car, I would seriously consider getting one of those, though probably not red in color.
This was a vacation to end all vacations since we were gathering most of the family together for a sort of reunion. Those in attendance included my grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins and their spouses, and even the second cousins, most of whom I had never met. Of those that had to travel to the Atlanta area, my immediate family arrived first. When we got to my grandparents' condo, dinner was waiting for us, though we had to eat by ourselves since we got there later than planned... But the other two families that live in the area (Duane's and Cheryl's) were there to welcome us, which made for a great start of our vacation.
The next week saw the arrivals of relatives both by car and by plane. Some of these people, like my Aunt Dawn's kids, I haven't seen in about 6-7 years. And then of course this was the first time that I got to meet their little ones, which was great. My grandparents' house was indeed a full house, since there were twelve people staying there at one time, and 28 people there for dinner one night. What a crowd!
This gathering of the masses was all centered around one main event: dinner on Friday. Unbeknownst to my grandfather, we had gathered the family together to celebrate his 80th birthday. Since his real birthday is in December and many of the family members can't make a trip at that time, my grandmother decided to have a get-together in the summer when most of us could get the time off to travel. It was truly a great idea, especially since he was clueless as to our motives. This was funny because there were three major clues (the biggest of which was a cake that said "Happy 80th Birthday" on it, hidden in the laundry room) that could have spoiled the whole thing, but he merely shrugged them off and paid no attention to them...WHEW!
As with any family gathering, there is, of course, great food. My one request was stuffed cabbage (golumpki), a Polish dish that my grandmother's family loves. I did help make them one night, and we ate them not only that night but a few nights later for leftover night. My cousin Duane made the main course for our celebration on Friday night which was a delicious grilled chicken dish similar to that made at the popular Italian restaurant Carrabba's. Every day with the family was filled with great meals and desserts, so I'm sure I gained at least five pounds from that week!
Another given at a Beauregard get-together is the playing of games. Card games like Foine and the nickel dice game are a must, so I made sure to bring a couple rolls of nickels to this gathering. I'm not sure how much money I ended up bringing back home, but I am pleased to say that I won a few nickels here and there in the course of those games! The title to this blog refers to a remarkable hand I received in one particular hand of Foine in which I bid that I would take a Foine, or the whole 100 points. Listen to this hand: Ace, King, Queen, and Jack in one suit and Ace and King in another suit! My grandfather said he had only witnessed one other such "Foine" bid in the last 30-40 years, and that individual took all 100 points as well. That was without a doubt the best hand (and the luckiest hand) I had ever received in that game, and it felt GREAT to win!
In addition to the stay-at-home games, we are an active bunch to boot. Every day was filled with swimming and playing outside in the hot Georgia air, so most of us came back home a little darker, too. Also, on two different occasions, my mom, brother, grandfather, and I played tennis at a community park not too far from my grandparents' house. My grandfather says that he hasn't played tennis in several years, so we did a good job of whipping him back into shape. The first day I played with my mom, and my brother played with Grandpa, and the score at the end of our real set was 4-6 (we attribute our loss to practicing too long in the beginning). The second time we played, everyone was playing better and we decided not to practice as long. However, due to an unforeseen kids' tournament, we weren't able to finish our set and ended in a tie 4-4. But it was great exercise anyway, and we had fun playing. My mom and I also attended a work-out "class" conducted by my grandfather at their complex's fitness room. Needless to say we felt much better after a work-out, and of course Grandpa is a top-rate trainer.
One other good part about family get-togethers is the chance to go on outings around Atlanta. We didn't do as much sight-seeing this time around, but we were able to get out one day that week. We decided to go to the Cyclorama in downtown Atlanta, which is a Civil War museum that showcases a 360-degree painting and diorama that depicts the Battle of Atlanta. It was truly a remarkable sight, and very informative as well. However, the most memorable part for me was the fact that there is a life-sized figurine of Clark Gable in the diorama part. Apparently he and the cast of "Gone with the Wind" attended the opening of the exhibit, and he enjoyed it so much that he wanted to have his likeness captured in the diorama. Well, it is there dressed as a dead soldier (Confederate, I believe), and the speaker makes an effort to point out this particular soldier during the course of the tour.
Also during our Atlanta excursion, we decided to go to the Varsity to enjoy a hot dog. Yes, I am Mr. Food, but this was actually Uncle Tim's idea...maybe we should call him Uncle Food... Anyway, the food was great and the atmosphere is unforgettable. "Whaddaya have, whaddaya have?!" If you haven't been there or heard of the Varsity, you should check it out.
After what seemed like the shortest week ever, our great vacation was finally over on Sunday. We were able to have a great time catching up with so many people, and had fun doing it. It has been entirely too long since we all got together, but the consensus seems to be that we want to do this kind of reunion every summer from now on. I'm not sure if that will come to fruition or not, but I really like that idea. Blogs and networking sites like Facebook are not enough at times, and the ambiance at a family gathering is like nothing else I have ever experienced. There is nowhere else where I feel more "at home" and comfortable than when I am around all those people. I just want to send out a big Thank You to everyone that helped make this vacation great, with a very special thanks to my grandmother who orchestrated the whole event. I sincerely hope we can do this again very soon.
To start out, I wanted to mention that we rented a car this time around. My car has been well-traveled over the last four years with trips back and forth from Cincinnati (though I've never actually calculated the mileage, I'm sure it's quite a large number). To add to that, my mom's car and my car don't have air conditioning, and my brother's truck needs new tires. So, we got a rental car, a nice red Chevy Cobalt. It was a great little car, and except for the right rear tire needing air on two occasions, I enjoyed driving it. If I were in the market for a new car, I would seriously consider getting one of those, though probably not red in color.
This was a vacation to end all vacations since we were gathering most of the family together for a sort of reunion. Those in attendance included my grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins and their spouses, and even the second cousins, most of whom I had never met. Of those that had to travel to the Atlanta area, my immediate family arrived first. When we got to my grandparents' condo, dinner was waiting for us, though we had to eat by ourselves since we got there later than planned... But the other two families that live in the area (Duane's and Cheryl's) were there to welcome us, which made for a great start of our vacation.
The next week saw the arrivals of relatives both by car and by plane. Some of these people, like my Aunt Dawn's kids, I haven't seen in about 6-7 years. And then of course this was the first time that I got to meet their little ones, which was great. My grandparents' house was indeed a full house, since there were twelve people staying there at one time, and 28 people there for dinner one night. What a crowd!
This gathering of the masses was all centered around one main event: dinner on Friday. Unbeknownst to my grandfather, we had gathered the family together to celebrate his 80th birthday. Since his real birthday is in December and many of the family members can't make a trip at that time, my grandmother decided to have a get-together in the summer when most of us could get the time off to travel. It was truly a great idea, especially since he was clueless as to our motives. This was funny because there were three major clues (the biggest of which was a cake that said "Happy 80th Birthday" on it, hidden in the laundry room) that could have spoiled the whole thing, but he merely shrugged them off and paid no attention to them...WHEW!
As with any family gathering, there is, of course, great food. My one request was stuffed cabbage (golumpki), a Polish dish that my grandmother's family loves. I did help make them one night, and we ate them not only that night but a few nights later for leftover night. My cousin Duane made the main course for our celebration on Friday night which was a delicious grilled chicken dish similar to that made at the popular Italian restaurant Carrabba's. Every day with the family was filled with great meals and desserts, so I'm sure I gained at least five pounds from that week!
Another given at a Beauregard get-together is the playing of games. Card games like Foine and the nickel dice game are a must, so I made sure to bring a couple rolls of nickels to this gathering. I'm not sure how much money I ended up bringing back home, but I am pleased to say that I won a few nickels here and there in the course of those games! The title to this blog refers to a remarkable hand I received in one particular hand of Foine in which I bid that I would take a Foine, or the whole 100 points. Listen to this hand: Ace, King, Queen, and Jack in one suit and Ace and King in another suit! My grandfather said he had only witnessed one other such "Foine" bid in the last 30-40 years, and that individual took all 100 points as well. That was without a doubt the best hand (and the luckiest hand) I had ever received in that game, and it felt GREAT to win!
In addition to the stay-at-home games, we are an active bunch to boot. Every day was filled with swimming and playing outside in the hot Georgia air, so most of us came back home a little darker, too. Also, on two different occasions, my mom, brother, grandfather, and I played tennis at a community park not too far from my grandparents' house. My grandfather says that he hasn't played tennis in several years, so we did a good job of whipping him back into shape. The first day I played with my mom, and my brother played with Grandpa, and the score at the end of our real set was 4-6 (we attribute our loss to practicing too long in the beginning). The second time we played, everyone was playing better and we decided not to practice as long. However, due to an unforeseen kids' tournament, we weren't able to finish our set and ended in a tie 4-4. But it was great exercise anyway, and we had fun playing. My mom and I also attended a work-out "class" conducted by my grandfather at their complex's fitness room. Needless to say we felt much better after a work-out, and of course Grandpa is a top-rate trainer.
One other good part about family get-togethers is the chance to go on outings around Atlanta. We didn't do as much sight-seeing this time around, but we were able to get out one day that week. We decided to go to the Cyclorama in downtown Atlanta, which is a Civil War museum that showcases a 360-degree painting and diorama that depicts the Battle of Atlanta. It was truly a remarkable sight, and very informative as well. However, the most memorable part for me was the fact that there is a life-sized figurine of Clark Gable in the diorama part. Apparently he and the cast of "Gone with the Wind" attended the opening of the exhibit, and he enjoyed it so much that he wanted to have his likeness captured in the diorama. Well, it is there dressed as a dead soldier (Confederate, I believe), and the speaker makes an effort to point out this particular soldier during the course of the tour.
Also during our Atlanta excursion, we decided to go to the Varsity to enjoy a hot dog. Yes, I am Mr. Food, but this was actually Uncle Tim's idea...maybe we should call him Uncle Food... Anyway, the food was great and the atmosphere is unforgettable. "Whaddaya have, whaddaya have?!" If you haven't been there or heard of the Varsity, you should check it out.
After what seemed like the shortest week ever, our great vacation was finally over on Sunday. We were able to have a great time catching up with so many people, and had fun doing it. It has been entirely too long since we all got together, but the consensus seems to be that we want to do this kind of reunion every summer from now on. I'm not sure if that will come to fruition or not, but I really like that idea. Blogs and networking sites like Facebook are not enough at times, and the ambiance at a family gathering is like nothing else I have ever experienced. There is nowhere else where I feel more "at home" and comfortable than when I am around all those people. I just want to send out a big Thank You to everyone that helped make this vacation great, with a very special thanks to my grandmother who orchestrated the whole event. I sincerely hope we can do this again very soon.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
It Has Been Too Long
I really do not have much to report or talk about in my blog, so that is why I have been away from it for so long. I hope everyone out in Blogland is doing well and enjoying the summer. I am trying to do so as much as possible.
As you should already know, I graduated from Xavier on May 16th and headed back home the next day. So far it seems like all I have done is work work work, but as my grandfather says: "if you love what you do, you never work a day in your life." Of course, this is not the case with my current job, but I still do enjoy what I do. Plus, I am so thankful to even have a job right now and to be making a fair bit more than the minimum wage (even when it goes up).
So many of you have asked me about future plans, such as if I intend to continue with my formal education or what field of occupation I intend to join. The simple answer to those questions right now is: "I don't know." I now have a B.S. degree in Biology, and I would love to continue in a scientific field. The original plan was to apply to Medical School after my undergraduate years, and I am still interested in pursuing that, only that is on the back burner for now. I have also considered the possibility of earning my Master's degree before applying to Medical School, since that looks much better on an application, and of course helps one to better prepare for professional school and careers in science.
But for now....
I am just living day-to-day. I do not have the luxury of trust fund children to sit around on the beach all summer and think about my life, but I am doing the latter in my free time. I am working about 35 hours a week as a bookkeeper at the grocery store (Ingles) that I have worked at since age 16. I am saving up as much money as possible and spending much of my free time going to the YMCA to get in better shape (I'm sure my grandfather will delight in that comment). I intend to take a year off from all academic affairs, during which time I will save up enough money to afford to go back to school and pay off debts that I have from Xavier. Also that will give me the chance to figure out what I want to do, and maybe even relax a little (God forbid I should be allowed to do that.)
As for enjoying my summer, we will be traveling to Atlanta on the first of August and staying there 9 days. As I understand it, there will be a family reunion of sorts in which most of the grandchildren and great-grandchildren will be there to visit. I'm hoping there will be plenty of time for fun outings, good meals, and of course the obligatory games! (By that, of course, I mean Foine, Catch Phrase, and nickel dice.) Not to mention that there will be lots of catching-up since some of these people I haven't seen in quite a while. I am really looking forward to that, and getting a nice week off from work.
So, as you can see, there have been a lot of things on my mind this summer. I do want to ask one favor of my readers: your support. I know better than anyone else that everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion and that my readers do not hesitate to throw theirs around. While I am appreciative of your concerns, I know what I am doing, and I know what is best for me and my life. Opinions, suggestions, and comments will be taken seriously, but ultimately it is my own decision, and my wish is that everyone will respect that. Believe it or not, I have raised every objection in the book and every possibility to the choices I make; I am not that naive. I take things into consideration before I make decisions, and I am confident that I am doing what is right.
Thank you again for reading my blog and putting up with me all these years. I intend to go back to my weekly blogging, no matter what! I will try to find something each week to write about, and, hopefully, to entertain you or at least interest you. I hope all is well with you all, and I will surely hear from you soon.
As you should already know, I graduated from Xavier on May 16th and headed back home the next day. So far it seems like all I have done is work work work, but as my grandfather says: "if you love what you do, you never work a day in your life." Of course, this is not the case with my current job, but I still do enjoy what I do. Plus, I am so thankful to even have a job right now and to be making a fair bit more than the minimum wage (even when it goes up).
So many of you have asked me about future plans, such as if I intend to continue with my formal education or what field of occupation I intend to join. The simple answer to those questions right now is: "I don't know." I now have a B.S. degree in Biology, and I would love to continue in a scientific field. The original plan was to apply to Medical School after my undergraduate years, and I am still interested in pursuing that, only that is on the back burner for now. I have also considered the possibility of earning my Master's degree before applying to Medical School, since that looks much better on an application, and of course helps one to better prepare for professional school and careers in science.
But for now....
I am just living day-to-day. I do not have the luxury of trust fund children to sit around on the beach all summer and think about my life, but I am doing the latter in my free time. I am working about 35 hours a week as a bookkeeper at the grocery store (Ingles) that I have worked at since age 16. I am saving up as much money as possible and spending much of my free time going to the YMCA to get in better shape (I'm sure my grandfather will delight in that comment). I intend to take a year off from all academic affairs, during which time I will save up enough money to afford to go back to school and pay off debts that I have from Xavier. Also that will give me the chance to figure out what I want to do, and maybe even relax a little (God forbid I should be allowed to do that.)
As for enjoying my summer, we will be traveling to Atlanta on the first of August and staying there 9 days. As I understand it, there will be a family reunion of sorts in which most of the grandchildren and great-grandchildren will be there to visit. I'm hoping there will be plenty of time for fun outings, good meals, and of course the obligatory games! (By that, of course, I mean Foine, Catch Phrase, and nickel dice.) Not to mention that there will be lots of catching-up since some of these people I haven't seen in quite a while. I am really looking forward to that, and getting a nice week off from work.
So, as you can see, there have been a lot of things on my mind this summer. I do want to ask one favor of my readers: your support. I know better than anyone else that everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion and that my readers do not hesitate to throw theirs around. While I am appreciative of your concerns, I know what I am doing, and I know what is best for me and my life. Opinions, suggestions, and comments will be taken seriously, but ultimately it is my own decision, and my wish is that everyone will respect that. Believe it or not, I have raised every objection in the book and every possibility to the choices I make; I am not that naive. I take things into consideration before I make decisions, and I am confident that I am doing what is right.
Thank you again for reading my blog and putting up with me all these years. I intend to go back to my weekly blogging, no matter what! I will try to find something each week to write about, and, hopefully, to entertain you or at least interest you. I hope all is well with you all, and I will surely hear from you soon.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Good Quote
I was going through my senior yearbook from High School and came across a quote that one of my classmates entered into her senior profile. She attributes it to Dr. Seuss, and I have become enamored with it. I think it pretty much sums up what we all attempt to do on Blogger. There are so many people out there (who shall remain nameless) who attempt to control or edit or overly criticize what is written in a blog. This quote sums up what I feel/believe in regard to blogs, and really life in general:
"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind."
There is really no impetus for this post, just something I have begun to think about after reading this awesome quote. I will be myself and share how I feel with you in all my posts. I encourage you all to do the same with your posts. I understand that everyone has his or her own opinion about things, but let's keep this quote in mind when we read anything. No specific criticisms; again just something I have had a while to think about lately.
I'm sure you are all waiting for a juicier post that I promised, but some patience is in order here. Don't worry; I haven't forgotten you!
"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind."
There is really no impetus for this post, just something I have begun to think about after reading this awesome quote. I will be myself and share how I feel with you in all my posts. I encourage you all to do the same with your posts. I understand that everyone has his or her own opinion about things, but let's keep this quote in mind when we read anything. No specific criticisms; again just something I have had a while to think about lately.
I'm sure you are all waiting for a juicier post that I promised, but some patience is in order here. Don't worry; I haven't forgotten you!
Sunday, May 03, 2009
You're Invited
Some of you out there have received "official" invitations in the mail; however, since I have limited resources and could not send graduation invitations to all my happy blog buddies, I wanted to post this electronically scanned copy here.
So, you're all invited!
Of course I don't expect that you will all fly in from your various corners of the world to attend said occasion. Also I don't want anyone to feel pressured/obliged to send cards, gifts, etc. While such things are much appreciated, I just wanted to post this on-line to make sure no one felt "left out." So, feel included!
I also wanted to take this opportunity to thank every one of my readers for the last four years that I have been blogging on here. I wasn't really sure how to do the whole blog thing, but from very helpful and critical comments, I have been able to relate to my audience while preserving myself and my own interests in my posts. Some of you have been around for the entire four years, while some of you may have only started reading my blog. No matter what the case may be, thank you for your kind comments, and especially for just taking the time to read what I have to say. You really don't know how much I appreciate that.
At any rate, the happy occasion of my graduation from Xavier will take place on May 16th. Until that time, I have five final exams to take this week, and a senior thesis to write about my research. Next week is a completely laid-back week, since there will be nothing for me to do but relax! And, well, of course, reflect on my last four years here.
Thank you all again for your readership and your feedback. I will continue to blog for many years to come, and I hope you will keep coming back for more.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Published!
Well...kinda/sorta.
This past Monday was Xavier's Celebration of Student Research, and I had the privilege of being a presenter. A requirement of all senior Biology majors is a two-semester course of research, and part of that course is to create a poster presentation to enter in the University's Celebration of Student Research. We were given guidelines and instructions on how to create said poster, and actually received a free tri-fold presentation board from the Dean's office. If I do say so myself, my poster turned out awesome! Of course I might be biased, but I felt really good about it.
As part of the poster session, I set up my poster in a specified location and stood in front of it for approximately two and a half hours to answer questions. For the most part, only Biology faculty and Biology majors stopped to ask me anything, but it was still nice that some people were interested. I even had an education major stop by and ask me questions, and she seemed extremely interested! Only after she asked me all these questions did she tell me that this was part of an extra credit opportunity for her Psychology class... Oh well, I was happy to oblige anyway.
The Biology faculty seemed to be impressed with my work and were actively trying to understand the principles and formulate intelligent questions. Some of these faculty I haven't spoken to in several years, so it was nice to get to talk to them again. Not only did they ask research-related questions, but were genuinely concerned with me personally, such as was I excited to be a senior and so close to graduating. Or even what my plans were after leaving Xavier. Wow, that was a great feeling to actually be engaged by these brilliant people. That made me respect them even more (if that was possible).
The highlight of the poster session for me came toward the very end. As the session was wrapping up, the Dean came over and was looking around at the various posters in my area. She stopped right in front of mine, looked at the poster, and decided to ask me about it. She hadn't talked to anyone from my research group and picked me out of our four groups! This was a bit of a challenge for me, since most of the people who had stopped until now were familiar with biological terms and jargon. Since I wasn't sure what her background with Biology was, I had to be careful not to go overboard, but in the same way, she is the Dean and I didn't want to seem like I was dumbing it down. She seemed to be following along and was genuinely interested, asking intelligent questions just as the Biology faculty had done. At the end of my little talk, she seemed to be impressed and congratulated me on all my hard work. WOW! Plus she was genuinely interested in me personally, asking about what my plans were and if I was going to be at Commencement in May. Well obviously I am going, so she made a point to say, "Good, then I'll see you there!" What a rewarding experience, let me tell you. It's nice to be acknowledged, isn't it?
Part of the program, at least for the participants, was to receive a booklet with pictures of all the presenters and the abstracts of their research. (We also received a certificate for our participation, as well as a commemorative book bag for the occasion.) Our research advisor, Dr. Finke, decided to take a group picture instead of submitting individual pictures, so this was the photo that appeared in the booklet.
Underneath the picture and following on the next page were the abstracts from our presentations. So technically I was published! Here is the text of my abstract as it was included in the booklet. The only change that I made for the poster itself was that I included results as a part of the abstract. (The abstract was due about a month prior to the presentation, and at the time I didn't have results.)
EFFECTS OF SODIUM SULFATE SALINITY ON NITROGEN FIXATION ACTIVITY WITHIN THE AZOLLA-ANABAENA SYMBIOSIS
Sean M. Monroe, (Dr. Linda R. Finke)
Department of Biology
Nitrogen fixation is an important process within the nitrogen cycle in which atmospheric nitrogen is reduced to ammonia by the bacterial enzyme nitrogenase. This process is typical within bacterial-plant symbioses in which the bacterial symbiont fixes nitrogen, which in turn benefits the plant symbiont. The Azolla-Anabaena symbiosis is a perfect example of such a relationship, since the Anabaena cyanobacterium provides ammonia for the Azolla fern, while in turn receiving a suitable habitat under the leaves of the ferns. Since this symbiosis exists in aqueous environments, small changes in the content of the water can have a dramatic effect on the survival and activity of both symbionts. Salinity is one cause of such problems, and was the basis for this study. In this study, the effects of the salt sodium sulfate (Na2SO4) were studied on the Azolla-Anabaena symbiosis. The symbionts were exposed to three concentrations of Na2SO4 between 5 and 15 mM and allowed to grow for several weeks. My hypothesis was that the Na2SO4 would be detrimental to the survival of the symbionts and would cause a decrease in nitrogen fixation activity. The acetylene reduction assay was performed at hourly intervals to measure nitrogen fixation rates of the experimental groups exposed to Na2SO4. Acetylene reduction data were compared among these treatment groups, and with reference to a control group of organisms not exposed to Na2SO4 salinity.
Friday, April 17, 2009
I Dreamed a Dream
This story has been all over TV and the Internet lately, but today was the first time I actually got to see it. In case you were in the minority like I was, there was a performance on the reality show "Britain's Got Talent" recently that has left everyone stunned. This woman named Susan Boyle got up to sing for the show, as was her dream, and she astounded everyone. She sang the song "I Dreamed a Dream" from the musical Les Miserables, and WOW...
YouTube won't let me embed this video in my blog, but I strongly recommend that you visit it here.
Frankly, if you don't cry when you watch this, you have no soul. I've watched it twice now, and I couldn't stop the tears from welling up. Yes, her voice is so beautiful, but I was also touched by how much the judges and the audience shunned her at first. That whole "don't judge the book by the cover" thing has become so cliche that it has no meaning nowadays, but I think it truly applies here. Why do people feel like they have to be so cruel and unkind?
I saw one girl in the audience that laughed hysterically when Susan was on-stage and rolled her eyes at the idea that she wanted to be a famous singer. These people didn't even give her a chance! I can honestly say that this was a wake-up call for me; I may not always give people the chance they deserve, but I can assure you that I will be much more aware of what I do, what I say, and what I think about people from now on. But, the biggest thing I have learned from this video:
NEVER LAUGH AT SOME ONE'S DREAM...
YouTube won't let me embed this video in my blog, but I strongly recommend that you visit it here.
Frankly, if you don't cry when you watch this, you have no soul. I've watched it twice now, and I couldn't stop the tears from welling up. Yes, her voice is so beautiful, but I was also touched by how much the judges and the audience shunned her at first. That whole "don't judge the book by the cover" thing has become so cliche that it has no meaning nowadays, but I think it truly applies here. Why do people feel like they have to be so cruel and unkind?
I saw one girl in the audience that laughed hysterically when Susan was on-stage and rolled her eyes at the idea that she wanted to be a famous singer. These people didn't even give her a chance! I can honestly say that this was a wake-up call for me; I may not always give people the chance they deserve, but I can assure you that I will be much more aware of what I do, what I say, and what I think about people from now on. But, the biggest thing I have learned from this video:
NEVER LAUGH AT SOME ONE'S DREAM...
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