Sean - Staying Upbeat and Positive

Day 2 - Fried Green Tomatoes

2011-09-04T23:01:00.000-04:00

After getting a good night's sleep, one I regard to be one of the best in my life (thanks to Mr. Tylenol), our Tuesday started off with breakfast and discussion about what we would do that day. There were some places my grandmother had suggested visiting, including a local brewery that allowed tours and taste testing. Unfortunately, that location was only opened on weekends and at certain times, so that was out. One other idea came up, and it was to visit the filming location of the movie "Fried Green Tomatoes," which was only about an hour's drive from where we were.

I had never seen the movie or read the book, so I was viewing everything for the first time. Of course I had heard of the movie, which is now 20 years old, but just had never gotten around to seeing it. Having the opportunity to see the place it was filmed sounded interesting to me, since I had never been on a movie set, current or prior.

The small town where a great deal of the shooting for that movie was set is Juliette, Georgia, and it's about as small a town as I've ever seen! It's practically in the middle of nowhere, and many of the roads are dirt or gravel, with the exceptions being the highways that got us there. The actual "set" is made up of several small houses and shops in a row about six or seven deep on each side, and trails off to a few more shops down the line. Toward the end and on the left is the Whistle Stop Cafe, which is the largest of the buildings in the area. There is a train that runs nearby, and it came through as we were visiting as well.

It was pretty quiet around there, but there were several other cars worth of people walking around and enjoying the day. We parked and walked around into some of the shops, but there was an overwhelmingly delicious smell issuing from the cafe; mental note - must get something to eat soon! One of the more memorable stores we visited was one dedicated to everything honey. The man running it harvests the honey himself from several hives he runs on his property, and it must be paying off for him. He has the plain honey bottled for sale, but also has other food items, soap, clothes devoted to bees and honey, and other commercial products. It was pretty interesting, but not cheap. There was one lady that was visiting who informed us that his soap was the best soap in existence. She bought it all the time and loved it, and didn't mind paying about $5+ a bar; my grandmother remained skeptical and rolled her eyes at the woman.

We walked through a few other stores, but the urge to get something to eat was bearing down on all of us (Grandma, my parents, and myself). The Whistle Stop Cafe, which is the same name used in the film, is only open for lunch, and it was just about that time. Upon sitting down, all four of us decided to get the barbecue sandwich, named "Bennett's Bar-B-Q." (To understand that reference, you'd have to see the movie/book.) Unfortunately, it was nearing the end of lunch, and there was not enough barbecue remaining for four large sandwiches. So my mom ended up getting the last sandwich, and the rest of us got hamburgers. In the meantime, we got to try the famous fried green tomatoes, which were served with a zesty onion sauce. Let me tell you, they were delicious! They were just the right texture to be crunchy, yet still juicy in the center. The breading was just spicy enough to give a little kick, but not too overwhelming. It was a little bit salty, but there's very little in the culinary world that I don't find too salty. Add in the zesty, sweet sauce, and it made for the perfect appetizer.

Once the main dishes came out, we were ready to chow down. My mom was kind enough to offer each of us a bite of the bbq, which they had piled both on a bun and in a dish in case she wanted to share the excess. The bbq was so tender and delicious, and the sauce only enhanced the wood-smoked flavor. Mmmmm! The burgers, on the other hand, were a little overdone and crispy/burnt on the edges. I still enjoyed mine, but both my grandmother and dad were none too pleased. At this point, with the shortage of bbq and the burnt hamburgers, the place was losing a bit of its appeal. The fried green tomatoes were still a success, so everything came down to the dessert to decide the fate of this meal. They had several choices that piqued our interest, but it turned out that all but one were sold out. The only one left was a warm chocolate cake with hot fudge and ice cream; yes, please for me! I was the only one that ended up getting dessert, so the rest of my party ended the meal a bit disappointed. I, however, wouldn't mind going back someday, but maybe getting there earlier would be a good thing.

After visiting a few more stores, we decided it was time to head back. It was early afternoon and very, very hot, so it was definitely time to get somewhere cooler. We managed to take a wrong turn at one point, but after awhile we made it back to the main road and back to I-75. By the time we got back to the house, it was definitely time for a nap, so that's what I did!

Once we were rested and comfortable again, it was time to think about the next meal! (Imagine that...) We had originally decided to prepare a roasted pork loin, but decided against that when it was taking forever to defrost. So the plans changed. Since we had spent a great deal of time driving and adventuring, we decided to make something easier, and heated up some ham and cheese croissants. In addition, since I had never seen the movie, and the rest hadn't seen it in a while, we decided to run to Blockbuster and see if they had "Fried Green Tomatoes." After searching for some time to actually find a Blockbuster that was still in business, they had it! So while we ate our croissants, we were able to enjoy a classic film, which I thoroughly enjoyed! It was great to see scenes shot at a place we had just visited, kind of like we were a part of it all.

Thus the second day ended on a high note, following a nice meal and an excellent movie, not to mention great company. Stay tuned for the third day, which will hopefully not take as long to produce as this post has!

Day 1 - On the Road

2011-08-15T22:43:00.001-04:00

The first day of our vacation began as a vacation usually begins: traveling. But prior to actually getting on the road, there were several last-minute things that had to be accomplished. One of the things I wanted to do before leaving was get a haircut. This did not happen. I had gotten up early and drove over to the barber shop, only to find that it was closed so that the owner could take care of some personal business. Since I really didn't have time to wait for him to come back, and I really didn't want to drive around town trying to get in somewhere else, I decided that was a commodity that could wait. Who cares about hair anyway? Well, I guess most people do. At least my problem at this point is too much instead of not enough.

The second major thing we needed to accomplish was dropping off our indoor dog, Halo, at the kennel. My brother would be staying home, but with his work schedule, he wouldn't be home enough to make sure she was taken out enough, fed at a decent hour, etc. The outdoor dog, Skye, basically just needs to be fed and watered once a day, and obviously doesn't have to be let out several times a day; he was able to handle that. Since we board Halo only a couple miles from home, this errand took only minutes, and we were on to other things.

Once we got the car loaded and picked up some refreshments, we were ready to hit the road. We took my car, which was fresh from receiving a brand new $700 set of brakes. I have made four-hour drives so many times in the past, so this one would be a piece of cake as usual. Most of those I made straight through without stopping, though I knew with my passengers, this would not be possible. But, even allowing for a stop or two, the trip should take no more than four and a half hours.

The first third or so of the ride went well. It was sunny and warm, which normally in a non-air conditioned car would mean temperatures fast approaching that of hell, but with three windows down and cruising at a good 70 mph, it felt great. We ran into several spots of rain along the way, some of which was heavy, which caused some slow moving traffic for a while. The windows, however, stayed down, which felt quite refreshing. It was that kind of rain that fell straight down and stayed completely outside the car, even with the windows open; that's the kind of rain I like! There was the occasional mist of water every once in a while, but it felt great and it greatly cooled off the hot summer air.

We made pretty good time, and got to our destination (about an hour south of Atlanta) in four and a half hours. The two or three stops that we made didn't slow us down much at all, and it was great for once to arrive before it got dark! We got to my grandmother's house and were greeted warmly, of course. It was then time to play our family's favorite game: find the new furnishings in Grandma's house. None of us can visit without finding at least one thing that is different since our last visit, and most of the time, there are a fair few changes! But my grandmother has great taste in furniture and art, so it's always a change for the better (though I think most of us will admit that before the new additions, everything already looked great).

That first meal on vacation turned out to be beef short ribs, which we got to share with Grandma, Cheryl, and Scott, and it was delicious. Afterwards there was a lot of catching up and talking, and a little bit of TV watching as well. Personally, I was pretty tired and could barely keep my eyes open; plus I had developed what I'm guessing was a migraine headache, which was making it difficult to stay awake and alert. So, I headed to bed, and had probably one of the better night's sleep that I've had in a long time....but then I've noticed I always sleep better after taking some Tylenol. (On a side note, does anyone else have funny dreams when taking Tylenol before bed?)

So Day 1 was mostly a day for traveling and eating, plus some very important catching up. Day 2 would bring a bit more travel, a bit more eating, and some interesting history. Stay tuned for Day 2 - Fried Green Tomatoes.

Family Vacation

2011-08-11T22:41:00.001-04:00

Well, it's only taken me a week and a half, but it's time to blog about our vacation! I think I'll take a page out of Kathy's book and separate each experience into a separate post, in this case each individual day. There were seven days of vacation and family reunion, so look for seven new posts coming up!

Just to give a bit of background on the reunion itself: there were four generations of people all together, and it was great to have so much family all in one place. Here are the four generations:

1st: Marcel and Pat
2nd: Karen & Steve, Cheryl & Scott, Duane & Debbie, Dawn & Mark, Tim
3rd: Sean (me), Tracy & Robert, Amber, Kelly & Paul, Tarren & Pete, Jean Pierre
4th: Alex, Aaron, Micah, Lucas, Grace

While it was great to see all these people, there were several notable absences. My brother, Ryan, did not attend, and none of my aunt Cheryl's children were there. My cousin Duane and his family had prior engagements, and also did not attend. My mom's youngest sister, my aunt Colleen, went Home to be with the Lord several years ago; her children all live in California and did not attend. But we also had the blessing of having family visitors: John Gaughn and his grandson Austin joined us for a few days, so we had a bit of extended family present!

Look for my other vacation posts coming soon. I'm hoping to get those cranked out in the next week, so stay tuned!

Mission Accomplished!

2011-06-30T22:23:00.000-04:00

Well, I did it, thirty blog posts in thirty days! This experience brings to mind something my fifth grade teacher, Sister Jolita, told us in reference to any book we would read, but is also very appropriate now. She would always ask us, when writing book reports, to write about what we learned from the book. Sometimes this was difficult for me, since I didn't really understand how I was supposed to learn something from a work of fiction. But Sister said there was always an opportunity to learn something from any experience, and this is true of my June Blogging Challenge.

Thing 1 that I learned is that people are opinionated; actually I already knew this but this experience has hammered that down quite well. Dr. Phil always says that opinions are like butts: everyone has one and they all stink. That might not be exactly true; in my opinion, my opinions never stink. :-) I have gotten some very interesting comments, and I appreciate that you all have shared them with me. I enjoy getting feedback, and I'm glad you are actually taking the time to comment on (and sometimes criticize) my blogs. That being said, there are some opinions and comments that I don't appreciate. Thankfully the only opinion that matters on this blog is mine, so you may say what you want, but keep in mind that this is my rodeo!

Thing 2 that I learned is that I can be creative and come up with a variety of topics about which to blog. I was afraid when I started this challenge that I would run out of ideas just a few days into it. Thankfully I was able to come up with thirty different topics and write a post of reasonable length every single night. This was so much more difficult than I thought, but at least I was able to come up with them! There were some nights I didn't have my post finished until almost 11:30, but I stuck to it, thought it out, and was able to produce a topic when I needed it.

Thing 3 that I learned, and this is probably the most important, is that I will never do this again! I thoroughly enjoy blogging, but this has been so much work for me. I really don't want to go back to blogging only a couple times a year like I have since I graduated from Xavier, but blogging every single day is too much! Once or twice a week would be ideal, so hopefully I can get on a schedule where that is feasible. Unless the outcry from my readers is so intense as to change my mind, the monthly blogging challenges are over!

So, I just wanted to say to all who have read my blog this month, Thank You! This experience has brought more hits than ever to my blog, which means that so many new readers are looking every day. I'm glad that there are people out there that find my writing interesting, and I'm glad you have come back over the last thirty days. I hope I can keep everyone interested in the future, and that you will keep on coming back! So I just have to say, Mission Accomplished!

International Eating

2011-06-29T22:17:00.000-04:00

The list of foods that I simply won't eat is probably pretty short. And most of those foods are over-processed "American" dishes that contain lots of salt, mayonnaise, or vinegar. I wanted to bring up some different types of food on my blog today, because my day was filled with two very different flavors from two very different cultures.

For lunch at work today, we had Mexican food from 3 Amigos here in Powell, which I would highly recommend for people in this area craving Mexican food. My favorite to get from there is the chicken chimichanga with rice and beans. Most of the time chimichangas are fried to a crisp and topped with various condiments like sour cream, pico de gallo, cheese (either solid or a cheese sauce), and guacamole. I prefer to get the chimichanga un-fried (or should that be fried-less), and the combo I get comes with just a simple cheese sauce. Mmmm. The restaurant also throws in a bag of chips, a cup of salsa, and a few pieces of sopapilla for dessert. It's great stuff!

For dinner tonight, my mom decided she wanted Chinese food, and we usually get ours from a local restaurant called China Jiang. I would also highly recommend this place to my local friends and family. My "usual" is to get sweet and sour chicken with an egg roll (mmmm), but today I decided to change it up a bit, since my lunch was so heavy and filling. This time I got chicken with mixed vegetables and an egg roll, and it was delicious! The portion size was so large that I'll be able to get at least two more meals out of it, which makes it economical too. More good stuff!

Of course my all-time favorite cuisine is Italian, and you can read about my most recent Italian experience on my Olive Garden post. I think I like Italian food so much because so many dishes are tomato-based, and I love tomatoes. Obviously there are Italian dishes that aren't tomato-based, but I like those too. Pizza is always a favorite for me, since you can change it up with whatever kinds of toppings you want. So, I could probably eat Italian food every day!

Obviously I didn't cover every single type of cuisine, so there are many more than I enjoy. What kinds of food do you enjoy the most? Are there any that I didn't mention that you find delicious? And are there any "weird" food likes that you have?

Harry Potter Time!

2011-06-28T22:31:00.000-04:00

Well, not quite.

In case you have been living in a cave or under a rock, the last Harry Potter movie is coming out July 15th. I really don't think I can impress upon you how excited I am about this! And I don't think I can impress upon a non-Harry Potter fan the magnitude of this event coming in just over three weeks. But let me try. This franchise has completely changed my life; for one thing, it actually got me interested in reading. For another, it opened me up to a world of creativity that I have never seen before, and will probably never see again. I have such a great amount of respect for J.K. Rowling (the author), and I can't thank her enough for creating this amazing story for us.

I have written a blog post in the past explaining my relationship with the Harry Potter franchise, both the books and the movies. In case you didn't read that post back then, I came across the movies before the books. Yes, I had been introduced to the books first, but never really took an interest in them back then. It wasn't until the sixth movie came out that I really wanted to get into the books. I enjoyed that movie so much, and I wanted to know what happened next so badly, that I wanted to start reading right away. So I went to our local library and checked them out, one by one, until I finished them. I had set a goal for myself to finish the books before the second-to-last movie (representing roughly the first half of the seventh book) opened in November of last year, giving me more than a year to finish them. I figured with my busy schedule and my general dislike of reading at the time, I would have just enough time to finish. Little did I know that just three months later, I would have read all seven books, which for me was a real accomplishment!

At any rate, I am on the edge of my seat waiting to see the last movie. Of course it comes out on midnight July 15th, and there's no way I can go to a midnight premier, sit through a two or three hour movie, and still get up for work in the morning. Yes, it's tempting, but it's just not feasible! But you better believe it that I will be seeing that movie that weekend! And although I'm thoroughly excited to see the end of the story portrayed on film, it's still going to be sad that the whole thing is over. The great thing is, though, that the books and the films will be around forever, much longer than I will be. I, for one, will continue to re-read the books and re-watch the movies until the pages fall out and the DVDs don't play any more!

Who else is excited for the newest Harry Potter movie? What kind of Harry Potter "collections" do you have? I have the box set of the books in hard cover, as well as all the movies on DVD, for example. Will you be seeing the midnight premier of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2?" And how will you feel once the last scene is played out and the movie-making is over?

Missing Tennis

2011-06-27T22:00:00.001-04:00

Wimbledon is going on this week, and I am missing it! Most of the matches are televised during the day, and of course I work during the day. Of course nowadays one can watch anything online, but I don't want to sit on my computer for hours watching tennis after work. I guess there are re-cap shows on at night, so I'll have to see if any of those come on tonight.

I've been so out of the tennis loop lately that I don't even know who the players are! Nadal and Federer are still at the top of the men's sport, of course, and the Williams sisters on the women's side (though I heard they are both out of the tournament now). There are a few others that I know, but all the up-and-coming players that are new within the last two years, I have no idea who they are. That's really unfortunate, because tennis is one of those sports that has a pretty frequent turnover of players usually. Some players stick around for decades, but that is rare. For our sake, however, I hope Nadal, Federer, and the Williams sisters stick around a good long while (among others).

Is anyone keeping up with Wimbledon? I know that Kathy is an avid tennis fan, but she has yet to post a Wimbledon blog! Who's looking good this year? And could someone please inform me about who are the top players now? I'm hoping to at least see the finals, since those are at least played on the weekend. But it would really be nice to know what is going on before the very end!

Weeding the Garden

2011-06-26T21:58:00.000-04:00

I enjoy gardening. Maybe I should rephrase that though, because there are parts of gardening that I enjoy. I enjoy planting flowers, shrubs, trees, and other plants in a garden, or in the ground in general. I enjoy watering and fertilizing plants when needed. I don't mind getting my hands dirty in the process, and I don't mind the hard work involved in digging, tilling, or any other preparatory process. But there is one step of the gardening process that I hate, HATE: weeding.

This is very unfortunate because our garden is badly in need of weeding. I did do some weeding last week, but with all the rain we've had this past week, I'll need to keep on top of it. We put down some plastic to stop the weeds the year we bought mulch, but it can only do so much. It does prevent weeds from sprouting up through the ground. Unfortunately, grass clippings, seeds, and spores got into the mulch and sprouted in the mulch layer. Then it's only a simple step to grow a few inches into the actual ground, and have a strong root. AHHH you weeds!

I guess the reason I don't like weeding is because it's a never-ending process. Yes, watering and fertilizing are never-ending, but they can take of themselves at a certain point. A little bit of mulch can provide enough nutrients for a couple of years, and rains such that we've had lately provide more than enough water. Weeding is hard work, and sometimes the weeds grow in among the regular plants. It's frustrating to me that I might accidentally pull out part of the healthy, desired plant just to get rid of the weed! Plus, those weeds are so resilient that if you don't get the entire root out, it will grow right back! Argh!

We did have a tiny helper in the garden today, though. I was looking outside prior to writing this blog and saw a baby rabbit hopping and sniffing around. He was only about the size of my fist, and seemed to enjoy eating weeds! Now if we could only get a few more of those, the entire garden would be weed-free! I only wish that I could have gotten a picture before he hopped away. That little bugger was adorable!

What parts of gardening, if any, do you enjoy? Do you mind pulling weeds? If the answer to the second question was "no," when can you come to our house and pull our weeds?

Olive Garden

2011-06-25T23:11:00.000-04:00

Since most of us were working on the actual day of my parents' 25th wedding anniversary, we decided to go out to dinner this weekend when we were free. Ryan did have to work, so it ended up being just my parents and myself, and we chose to go to the Olive Garden. This apparently has some historical significance, since my parents have gone out to Olive Garden to celebrate many a wedding anniversary.

The first thing we noticed and enjoyed about our dinner was our excellent seating. We were given a booth in one of the back rooms of the restaurant that sat in a cozy corner. It made for an intimate gathering for family appropriate for an anniversary dinner. The food, of course, was delicious! My mom had a chicken and pasta dish with white sauce, spinach, and tomatoes, which I tried and found excellent. My dad had a garlic Parmesan tilapia dish with Mediterranean-style veggies; again I tried it and liked it. I had stuffed chicken Marsala, which was grilled chicken stuffed with tomatoes and cheese, topped with Marsala sauce and mushrooms, and came with garlic mashed potatoes. Mmmmm... We added in a bottle of wine (which we finished), and topped it all off with a chocolate cake dessert that we split. Delicious!

One highlight of the evening came after the dinner and wine were finished. My mom had made a joke that we should get to take home the silver wine bucket, since it was indeed their 25th (silver) wedding anniversary. My dad said this jokingly to the waiter, and he very sincerely agreed to do so! He didn't give us the one we used tonight, but did have one that had been given to him by the restaurant that he very graciously gave up! What a nice gesture, don't you think? So now we have a genuine wine bucket for the future. Whether or not the bucket is actually made of silver is still up for debate, but of course, that is completely irrelevant.

All in all, it was a great dinner, and we all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We may have over-indulged a little bit, but you don't celebrate 25 years of marriage every day! I took a couple of pictures while there, including one of the wine bucket we took home, and one of my parents sitting together, which I have posted below. Great job, Olive Garden!

My Saturn

2011-06-24T21:23:00.000-04:00

As I was driving to work today, thinking about what topic I would use for my blog tonight, it occurred to me that I should write about my car. Cars in-and-of themselves are not especially interesting; sports cars and convertibles might be something better to blog about. My car is by no means extraordinary. But maybe that's why I wanted to write about it.

I got this car right after I turned 18. I hadn't gotten a car on my own, since I wasn't able to do so without a co-signer; I really didn't want to bring anyone else into the picture. So I waited. And luckily for me, a used car lot not to far from us had several good deals to offer. My dad knew one of the salesmen, so he was willing to go out of his way for me. As it turned out, the car I now own was being re-possessed due to the then-owner's late or non-existent payments. However, at the time I first saw the car, it was not yet for sale, since the business was not yet in full possession of it again. The salesman said we would be the first he called when the car became available, and he kept his word! I got first dibs on this green '97 Saturn SL2, and I was so excited.

Something that made this purchase even more interesting was the fact that my friend Aaron had the exact same car, a green '97 Saturn SL2! His was slightly more up-scale than mine, since he had a sunroof, but mine was hooked up to hold a CD player in the trunk, so we were about even. My dad came to pick me up from school one day, and drove up in the Saturn! He had gotten the salesman to lend him the car for a test drive, and when we got back to the office, we would draw up paperwork! I had no idea this was going to happen, so it was a little overwhelming at first. But after the papers were signed and the deals were made, the car was mine! I got to drive it home that night, and my days of car ownership began.

I have been through so much with this car, for better and for worse. The "worse" has been all of the work I have had done on it. I have replaced a fuel filter, a radiator, several air conditioning repairs, an entire engine, several sensors, and a set of tires. In all, I have far exceeded the $3500 I paid for the car initially! I'm sure I have blogged about most of my car troubles, and they have all been frustrating. Probably the most frustrating was the story of my radiator going out as we pulled in to unload my things on my first day at Xavier. Just imagine clouds of smoke issuing from under my hood as I wait in line with the other freshmen! Luckily I have a great support system in my family, and was able to get that all fixed up and worked out.

That little car has been back and forth to Cincinnati at least 20 times (a low estimate), so it was my life line while in college. It has been on family vacations, grocery store trips, trips to the gym, drives around town, and to and from work. It gets me where I go, and for the most part is a solid transportation vehicle. Sure, I've had my frustrations, but in general I get what I want out of my car. I could have bought a brand new car after my engine went out, but who wants to have car payments? I hated payments when I had them for this car, and was determined to pay it off as soon as possible. That came in less than two years, so I was very wary of taking that on again! No, this way I could hold onto something that was already mine, and instead of getting something I couldn't afford, I would just manage with what I had. That mentality has really come in handy for me! Ahh my little Saturn...

What was your first car? Was it something you grew to cherish, or did you just want to be rid of it as soon as possible? Do you have any good stories about one of your first cars, or even your cars now?

The Y

2011-06-23T22:48:00.000-04:00

We have been members of our local YMCA for the last several years, thanks in part to the time we spent at the Y's in Florida at which my grandfather teaches. Attending his aerobics classes got us motivated enough to look into joining and starting our own exercise regimens. Of course, this wasn't the first time we had been Y members. When we were younger we had a Y membership which we used mostly for swimming. Our Y has an indoor-outdoor pool that was perfect for us kids at the time. The canopy stays up year-round, but they pull of the sides to open it up to the outside. That way lounge chairs can be placed outside so that the adults can lay in the sun.

Since we started going back a few years ago, I have developed my own work-out routine that I have pretty much stuck to ever since. First, I do a cardio work-out for 30 minutes on an elliptical machine. I set the resistance up to a setting of 8, which over the years I have determined gives me the best work-out without tiring me out too much. The machine takes my age and weight so that calories can easily be calculated, as well as measuring my heart rate and determining how well I am performing cardio-wise. The machine then adds an additional five minutes for a "cool down," in which it drops the resistance to about 4 or 5. In the course of 35 minutes, I usually stride about three miles, and burn about 350 calories.

After the cardio portion of my work-out, I move on to the weight room. I am not too skilled with free-weights, so I choose to use the weight machines that target the various muscle groups. We were given a thorough tour and demonstration of all the weight machines, and since then I have been able to easily set the machines to my specifications. The number of sets and the weight used varies based on what machine I use, but I always use the same rotation in machines: chest (pectorals), triceps, biceps, calves (gastrocnemius and soleus), and abs. Lately I've been doing my sets and then starting over to do one more set on each machine. That way I'm completely maxed out on each machine and can feel it in each of the muscle groups.

One perk of my health insurance (which started in February) is that they will reimburse me for attending a fitness center. I signed up for the Healthy Track plan, which is cheaper and provides this perk, among others. The stipulations are that I have to provide proof of membership payment and a list of the dates that I attended said fitness center, which must both be obtained from the center itself. The insurance company will only pay out anything if I can prove I have attended my fitness center 100 times in a year, or 25 times in a quarter. If I have met those qualifications, I can receive quarterly payments of $25, or a yearly payment of $100, whichever I prefer. Since that averages out to about two visits per week, and since I have been going an average of three times a week, I can easily meet those requirements.

I actually went to the Y today after work. Though I don't usually like to go after work, since I have to work this Saturday, I was needing another day to go this week. I usually go on Saturday and Sunday, and pick a day I get off earlier to go as well. Since my schedule changed due to our hours being cut, most days I get off work at 6:00 or 7:00, and I'm finding it more difficult to get to the Y, though not impossible as can be seen from my trip to the Y today. I find that going to the Y helps me relax and generally makes me feel better, so I enjoy going. Obviously the health benefits are huge, since the insurance companies and physicians so highly recommend it. This lowers one's overall health expenses and helps keep us in shape.

What do you do to stay in shape? Do you have a health membership at a place like the Y, or do you have your own exercise equipment? Do you like to go running, walking, biking, or anything else outside instead of the comfortable air-conditioned room of a gym? And are you given any incentives to work out at a place like the Y, as I am?

Rain, Rain, Here to Stay?

2011-06-22T23:07:00.000-04:00

Would you be surprised if I told you I love rain storms? I think it's pretty obvious by now that I love snow, what with all the snow-related posts on my blog over the last several years. But perhaps my real love is for precipitation in general. I guess there's just something about the power of water that interests me.

I am one of the few people I know that enjoys it when it rains. This year we have seen many record storms with record rainfall in the course of a day. The amount of rain we have received has been so excessive that most people are sick of it. But not I! Obviously I want to have some sunny days too, but the rainy days can be just as enjoyable to me. This is especially true on days when I am working, because if I'm going to be stuck inside anyway, it might as well rain. Plus there are so many things that one can do stuck inside on a rainy day: play board games, watch movies, read good books, and the best thing to do during a storm is NAP! I always sleep better when it rains, and taking a nap while it's raining can be pretty refreshing.

Probably the top reason I enjoy rain is because it sustains life. Many people don't think about that when the constant precipitation "ruins" their well-laid plans. It's funny to me that the basis for all life causes so many people to cease living! I don't change my plans just because it's raining, unless of course the plans were to be outside the whole time. The way I see it, it rains somewhere every single day, so we might as well accept that today it's raining here. Not to mention that the beautiful flowers and plants that we love to see in spring and summer rely on that supply of rain to grow so beautifully.

Today has been one of those days when the rain has come down as a deluge. We've had two or three straight days of rain, and many thousands of people have lost power during the course of the latest storms. Luckily our power only flickered for a short time last night, and there has been no real damage to this property or the ones immediately surrounding it. All of the destruction, the lightning and the thunder, and the power of it all just amazes me. To witness something so much more powerful than myself, and something completely out of my control, is simply astounding. I encourage all of my readers to think this way regarding the rain, instead of a major inconvenience. The weather doesn't care about your plans, and it will do what it has to do! Just remember that we need the rain and that rain is a GOOD thing!

Do you all enjoy thunderstorms? Or are you one of those people that hides under the bed when storms come through? Can you see the beauty in the rain? Do you cancel your plans when it rains (including travel or indoor plans), or do you embrace the rain and enjoy yourselves anyway?

25

2011-06-21T23:02:00.000-04:00

This post is coming pretty late tonight, so hopefully it will get posted before midnight! We had some pretty strong storms blow through tonight, which included some short power outages. But all is good.

Today my parents celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary, and I am so proud! They were married June 21, 1986, and what a time it has been so far. I was an early development in this marriage, coming only nine months later! (I guess that makes me a honeymoon surprise!) My brother came along three years after I did, and we remain a family of four. There have been lots of ups and downs, but obviously the ups have outweighed the downs, or we wouldn't be all together right now.

I have been so blessed to witness what it is like to have married parents for all of my life. I can count only a few of my friends whose parents are still married to each other; I guess that's just a sign of the times, but it's still kind of sad. Obviously married people are going to fight and have problems, but you don't stay together for 25 years if you don't know how to resolve conflicts. I can attest to the fact that this has been a key to my parents' marriage, built on a foundation of trust and unconditional love.

I feel doubly blessed to have a set of grandparents who have been married for close to 60 years, which is truly remarkable! Both sets of couples have shown me great examples of what good marriages are like, and as a product of those marriages, I can honestly feel the love they bestow both on each other and their families. I do paint a pretty flowery picture of marriage, which I know isn't true of all marriages. It also isn't true of the good marriages all the time, as I'm sure my married readers will agree. But what does make a good marriage is being able to overcome the odds together, to make compromises, and just stick it through together. Both my grandparents and my parents have shown that they have what it takes to make good marriages last, and for that I am so blessed.

So the main point I wanted to make with this blog post is to wish my parents a Very Happy 25th Anniversary. I am so happy to be a part of this family, and I thank God every day for each and every person who is a part of it. I hope that 25 years from now I can post about my parents' 50th anniversary, and be even more proud!

Windows Down, Radio Up

2011-06-20T22:23:00.000-04:00

I had mentioned a few weeks ago on Facebook that I had experienced one of my favorite "life moments." My mom and I were talking one evening and for some reason she started laughing. As she tried to explain why she was laughing, I started laughing too. When all was said and done, we were both laughing hysterically and couldn't breathe, and tears were streaming down our faces. I've never really figured out why we cry when we laugh really hard, but it was a great feeling anyway.

At any rate, I bring this up because another one of my favorite life moments has to do with music, which has been a topic for a couple of blog posts lately. That moment happens when I'm driving along and a really good song comes on the radio. However, it only works out if I'm driving along really fast and there's no traffic ahead! At that moment, the windows get rolled down and the volume gets turned up high. Sometimes people may look at me and think I'm crazy or annoying, but honestly, I don't care!

The choice of song usually doesn't matter; any really good song can do. The only necessities are that it has to be a good driving song and must sound great when turned up loud. A sad love song simply will not do. That being said, though, the song doesn't have to be happy. Basically it must be something you can sing along too, meaning you know all the words, and it makes you happy to sing it. Yes, it may be embarrassing to rock out to a certain kind of song, but if it makes you happy, you should do it anyway. Music is all about tastes and preferences, and just because someone else doesn't understand your choice in music, doesn't mean it isn't great to you.

Personally I like to blast music from the 70s, 80s, and 90s the most. Those were the decades of loud rock 'n' roll, power ballads, and epic guitar solos. Sure, there have been some before and since those decades, but in my opinion, they were the best. Many of the songs I enjoy with the windows down and the radio up have particular memories associated with them that I relive every time I hear them. Maybe I heard a particular song during a fun trip or a memorable summer with family. Or maybe friends and I heard a song while we were just hanging out, and had a particularly good laugh about it. All those memories come back to me, and it brings a smile to my face, which is what music is supposed to do, after all.

Are there certain songs you like to blast with the windows rolled down and singing at the top of your voice? Or are you a stick in the mud that doesn't like to have any fun??? And if you are the former, is it more fun to be driving along alone, or singing along with friends and family to back you up?

Car Registration

2011-06-19T18:38:00.000-04:00

I decided to take a break from the music posts because of something else that came up recently that I wanted to post.

I renew my car tags every year in June. The state usually sends a renewal letter the month before the registration expires as a convenience. Of course, not getting a letter does not exclude one from renewing one's registration, since it all comes down to personal responsibility (hey, remember that other blog I did??). I usually take advantage of the fact that the Knox County Clerk has several offices around the county, including one at a local mall. I pick a specific weekend or a day off during the week to drive down there and pay for my registration. And while I'm there, I can walk around the stores and maybe get some lunch.

This year is a little bit different. Since I don't get week days off anymore, and my weekends are becoming increasingly busier, I don't have as much time to get across town as I used to. The mall is about fifteen miles from home, so round-trip that's about thirty miles; with gas at $3.48 this week, I would end up burning just about that $3.48 in that one trip. In years past, it was always more cost-effective to drive to the County Clerk's office to register, but this year, that $2.00 fee for mailing it in was looking good to me. Our registration is $60.00 a year, so an extra $2.00 is not a huge deal.

But then I saw on the literature that I could register online! Hot dog! That would be simpler and quicker than mailing it in, and I figured they wouldn't charge me the $2.00. Well I was wrong. Not only do they still charge $2.00 to mail the new tag, but they also charge a "convenience fee" of $2.48! So on top of the $60.00 I was going to fork out, they add $4.48 just to do it online. Thanks, but no thanks! I opted to send in my check through the mail, pay the $2.00 extra, and wait for the tags by mail. Oh, I guess I forgot to factor in the cost of a stamp, but then again, I can't remember how much I paid for the book of stamps I purchased several months ago. At any rate, I figure I saved about $1.00 registering by mail versus driving to the mall (or another equivalent County Clerk satellite office), and saved $2.00 versus registering online. I guess I can still call that "coming out ahead," right?

What are car registration costs where you live? Do you have emissions testing where you live (because we do not)? Do you have convenient ways to register your cars, or do they charge you extra like they do here?

Stevie Nicks

2011-06-18T21:09:00.000-04:00

I'm sure I'll get a lot of clever comments from Uncle Tim about this post...

It's no secret that my favorite musical artist of all time is Stevie Nicks. There is just something about her voice that is totally unique, and it is pleasing to my ears. She is a very strong, independent woman, and pretty much every song she has written reflects that. Of course there are also songs where she shows her vulnerability and tenderness; some of those are the ones for which she is most famous.

I really "got into" Fleetwood Mac and Stevie Nicks when I started college. Before that time, I had heard their songs on the radio, and enjoyed them. They also played on the store radio at work, though at the time I didn't know who sang those songs. Once I got to college, the songs piqued my interested even further, and I was able to access everything I wanted to read, see, or listen to regarding Stevie Nicks on the Internet. One of the first music videos was to a song called "Gypsy," which soon became my favorite Stevie Nicks/Fleetwood Mac song. I will post the music video at the end of this post.

There is just something about Fleetwood Mac and Stevie Nicks music that just makes me happy. Maybe it has to do with how mellow and laid-back the songs are, and how interesting the lyrics are. Or maybe it has to do with how artistic the music videos are for the songs. Or maybe it has to do with the on-stage personas of the artists themselves, especially Stevie Nicks' as a mythical witch figure. I think it's probably all of the above! Whenever I was having a particularly stressful day, I could turn on the Stevie Nicks music and it would calm me down and relax me. The "Gypsy" music video in particular cheered me up because of how artistic and happy it is. I hope you all will find it that way too.

Is there a Stevie Nicks or Fleetwood Mac song that you enjoy?

The Power of Music

2011-06-17T22:08:00.000-04:00

My last two posts were dedicated to a rant concerning proper use of the English language. The next couple of posts will be dedicated to the art form that most inspires me: music. I don't know a single person that doesn't enjoy at least one type of music; even deaf people can enjoy the vibrations from the sounds, or the other artistic portions of a musical act.

Just this morning, I realized how eclectic my musical taste is. On my way to work, I have a very limited time to listen to music, since the trip is only about three miles, or around ten minutes. I turned on the radio and instantly found a song I liked on the soft rock station. When that song finished (it was only on for a minute or so), I turned the station to the classic rock station, and found a song I liked. Once again, I joined it about half-way through, and changed to the pop/contemporary station once it was finished, and found yet another song that I liked! When that song finished, a sort of hip-hop/pop song came on that I liked, which I got to listen to all the way through. And finally, when that song finished, I turned to one of the "mix" stations, and found a song I liked! How unusual it is that I instantly heard songs that I liked on a radio station! And even more unusual, given that all the stations play different genres of music.

The song that I wanted to share today is a very inspirational one to me. I very much enjoy music from the 70s and 80s when listening to the radio, but religious music has a very high appeal to me as well. I don't generally listen to Christian or other religious stations on the radio, since it's not exactly my cup of tea. Most of those stations reflect opinions and worship styles of certain denominations, and as a Catholic, I enjoy some of the religious music we use in our worship. There are some exceptions to this, of course, but in general, the type of Christian music played on the radio doesn't appeal to me.

I wanted to share a YouTube video with a song based on Psalm 23 today. Anyone who has been to any kind of Christian church (especially during a funeral) is familiar with this psalm. The lyrics are very comforting to those who are grieving, but is also inspirational and hopeful to those who are not. This particular rendition was the theme song for the British TV comedy called "The Vicar of Dibley," which used to be shown on our local PBS station on Saturday nights. It's a hilarious program, but the theme song is spectacular. It's a choir version of the psalm that is so beautiful, and I hope that you all will enjoy it. After you watch it, let me know what you think, and also what kinds of music you like.

There Their They're

2011-06-16T22:08:00.000-04:00

Last night I expressed my frustration at the way some people speak. Tonight I wanted to discuss one of my other pet peeves: the way people write.

Once again, I am an educated person, and I try to write like I am. Blogs, e-mails, letters, papers, etc. should always have excellent grammar and spelling. I even carry this over to text messages, which for all intents are purposes are supposed to be less formal. That being said, I still like to use proper grammar and spelling, just because. The English language is our tool, and like any tool, can perform most effectively when used correctly. Let me go over a few of my spelling/grammar pet peeves that really grind my gears.

There, Their, They're
This is on of the most popular offenders that I see. "There" is a pronoun referring to a place. "Their" is a possessive adjective that reflects ownership by more than one person. "They're" is a contraction of "they are," referring to a quality of more than one person. I can't stand it when people don't get it right! To me, it's pretty simple, but so many people seem to have a problem with this one.

To, Too, Two
This is a common occurrence online and in text messages. "To" is a preposition, "Too" is an adverb, and "Two" is the spelling of a number. I frequently see people leaving off an O when trying to convey "also." I don't know if it's just too difficult with the keys or what, but again I think they are pretty simple.

Your, You're
This is the one that grinds my gears the most! "Your" is a possessive adjective, and "You're" is a contraction of "you are." So often I see "your welcome," or "your so funny," or a phrase similar to that. Come on, people! I think it might frustrate me because "you're" is made from two words, and it just doesn't make sense to use the other phrase. At least in the second case I presented (to, too, two), all three words are spelled so similarly, and it is a simple mistake to make while typing. This one just gets on my nerves the most.

Plural nouns used as singular, and vice versa
One of the first things I learned as a science student was how to write a scientific paper. Proper grammar and spelling were essential to conveying one's point, and care should be taken to do so carefully. "Data" is a plural noun, and therefore the subject/verb agreement must be as such. I have heard so many people say "the data is..." as if "data" were a singular noun. Grrr! As one of my professors used to say, "The data are the data."

The converse of that is a word like "none," which is singular. A common phrase begins "None of us..." and usually ends with the person using a plural verb. A correct phrase would be, "None of us has had lunch yet." These are a little less obvious, so I'm a little more forgiving when I hear people use this one incorrectly. Now, however, everyone who has read this blog should know how to use these words and phrases correctly!

Are there any words or phrases that you see misspelled frequently? What are some errors that frustrate you, either at work or in everyday practice? Do you think that proper spelling and grammar are important even in everyday uses like e-mails, text messages, and social media?

Speaking English

2011-06-15T22:29:00.000-04:00

In the course of my life, a lot of money has been spent on my education. My parents sent me to private Catholic schools from K-12, and I went to a private Catholic college for four years. That's a whole lotta money! Why do I bring this up? Because as a person who has been well-educated in great places of learning, I should speak as such. To not do so would be a complete waste of those education dollars.

I live in the South, and just like in any region, people speak in a specific manner. Accents are one thing, and colloquialisms are funny and sometimes endearing. I have no problem with these things. What I don't like is when the phrases or ways of speaking go against the normal rules of the English language. One of my favorite words to use is "y'all," which is a contraction of "you all," and therefore follows the rules of English. Most phrases and sayings are the same way.

Let me give you a specific example of something that drives me insane. One person I talked to on the phone recently said something that sounded like fingernails on a chalkboard to me. When referring to her husband's medication, she said "his'n." AHHHH! The last time I checked, his'n isn't a word; it makes no sense! I also believe I have heard the same woman use the word "ain't," which is a pretty common occurrence around here. It drives me mad when people say it! She could just as easily have said "his" instead of "his'n," and could have said "isn't" instead of "ain't." I honestly believe that some people don't think before they open their mouths.

In my opinion, you don't have to be well-educated to speak the English language correctly. You just have to surround yourself with people who do, and you will, too. Obviously I am not perfect, and I'm sure there are things that I say that are not grammatically correct. The point is that I always try to speak (and write) in a way that reflects the quality education I have received. I do hope that my blog posts reflect that also!

Are there any specific phrases that drive you mad? Are there any specific people you want to rat out that say things you can't stand? Or are you guilty of saying certain phrases you aren't proud of?

Ummm...Weiner

2011-06-14T22:39:00.000-04:00

I don't profess to be a current events expert by any means. In fact, other than what I can find on our local news or what I hear from my peers at work or on social media, I don't pay much attention to it. I am so busy most of the time that I don't get around to checking the news. Obviously being ignorant is not an option, but I try to be as informed as I need to be without being overwhelmed but all the bad stuff out there.

That being said, I have been discussing "Weinergate" a lot lately, mostly at work. I can't open a webpage, or turn on the TV, or check Facebook without seeing a status, a story, or a video showing something about Anthony Weiner's weiner. It has been a topic of discussion at work lately with one of our pharmacists, especially since he was just in Washington, D.C., when the story broke. I have to plead ignorant to some of the details of the whole thing, but I know enough to form an opinion and to share it with you.

The man is obviously a slime ball, which is only part of why I have a problem with him. The fact that he was attempting to send that picture to one or more women to whom he is not married is pretty despicable. And how embarrassing to put his wife through such a mess! She obviously doesn't deserve that, and he should be ashamed. Sexting is just as bad as cheating; actually I would say sexting is cheating. I'm sure we'll find out soon enough whether that was all that was going on with said women, but for now that is despicable enough. Then to make matters worse, he mistakenly sent the picture to Twitter, where it was sent around the world instantly. And once you post something online, it never goes away! (I admit though, that's a pretty good thing for my blogs!)

What I really wish is that this would quit making the rounds on the news. Do I think he should resign? I honestly don't know the answer to that question. If he were my representative, I would probably say yes, but I think that's up to the people of New York. I have heard that the top Dems have said he should step down, so obviously he has become a laughing stock of the party. I wouldn't want such an embarrassing figure as one of my representatives to Congress.

But now, what's the deal with him checking into a rehab program??? Is that really going to make a big difference in the greater scheme of his career, or are people going to see right through that? I don't know the answers to those questions either. Does every person in the limelight go to rehab whenever there's a problem? That's something that has always puzzled me, because when normal people get into trouble, they face the consequences and admit they messed up. What are your opinions on the Weiner matter? And do you, like me, wish that Weiner would go away?

Peanut Butter M&Ms

2011-06-13T22:46:00.001-04:00

I love peanut butter. There's really no simpler way to say that! So you can imagine how much I must like any kind of candy that has peanut butter in it too. Chocolate and peanut butter are a match made in heaven, and it's great that so many companies have capitalized on that concept! My favorite candy is Reese's peanut butter cups, but a very, very close second is peanut butter M&Ms.

Despite the fact that these candies are so popular and delicious, they haven't been around for all that long. Reese's pieces have been around for quite a while, and I can remember enjoying those as a kid (not that I don't now, just saying). But peanut butter M&Ms are a little bit different than Reese's pieces. The M&Ms are larger than the Reese's pieces, but as far as I can tell that's the only difference, apart from the obvious marketing. You can't miss all the clever M&Ms commercials that appear day and night on television, and why would you want to?! These tiny, delicious spheres of chocolaty-and-peanut-buttery goodness are what it's all about.

During my days at Xavier, peanut butter M&Ms were mainly a treat I reserved for laundry nights. When I lived in the dorms, the laundry rooms were in the basement, and were usually adjacent to a recreation room. They also contained snack and drink machines, and right on the top row were the peanut butter M&Ms. I would start my laundry, buy some candy, take them back up to my room, and relax in front of the TV while the laundry finished. I couldn't stand doing laundry, and couldn't bear to sit in that room and wait. The M&Ms were a small comfort that helped me relax after a long week of class and studying, and I probably ate way to many of them during that time! But hey, they are delicious after all.

At the top of the page you can see a picture of the unopened bag of peanut butter M&Ms that I obtained today. Obviously it doesn't stay unopened for long (see below). I try not to over-indulge nowadays though, since I know candy like this must be enjoyed only occasionally and not all the time. Now that I've gotten my lab results back from the doctor, and my cholesterol was a bit higher than we would like, it might be time to put these (and other desserts) off to the side for a while...but hopefully not for too long! Moderation is key, after all.

What's your favorite candy? Are you a peanut butter fan as much as I am?

Pasta Carrabba-ish

2011-06-12T21:36:00.000-04:00

My all-time favorite sit-down restaurant has to be Carrabba's. We first ate there in Florida when visiting my grandparents, and I have loved it ever since. I could literally eat Italian every day!

One of the dishes that I used to get on every occasion we ate there was Pasta Carrabba, which is basically fettuccine alfredo with chicken, mushrooms, carrots, and peas. The veggies are tossed in with the pasta and sauce, and the chicken is grilled and served on top. Mmmmm! What makes it even better is some freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Since that was one of our favorite dishes to get when we went out to eat, we liked being able to eat it at home too. It's not a difficult dish to make, though it never quite turns out like the restaurant version. That was on the agenda for dinner tonight, and yours truly was in charge of the cooking! I wanted to go over how I made it, just as a way to get all of my readers a little bit hungry...

First I cut up some boneless, skinless chicken breasts and cooked it in a pan with some olive oil until well done. While that was going, I boiled some water to get the fettuccine pasta cooking, since that is the rate-determining step of the whole process (about 11-12 minutes). I also added some salt and pepper to the chicken and set it to the side for later. The alfredo sauce was made using a seasoning packet from Knorr, and we used two of them to have enough sauce to cover a box of fettuccine pasta. The sauce is really easy to make, and only requires some milk, margarine, heat, and constant stirring. To the sauce I added one can each of mushrooms, peas, and carrots, and heated them through. I drained the pasta, added the chicken to it, poured the sauce with veggies over it, and mixed it all together. Et voila!

It was delicious, if I do say so myself. All the colors together really made it an attractive dish. I served garlic toast with it, and though the Parmesan cheese wasn't fresh, it was still the perfect addition to the pasta. Like I said, it wasn't exactly the same as the authentic Carrabba's version, but it was a close match. If we had taken the time to grill the chicken, it would have been even closer to the restaurant's, but this way it's simple and takes less time. So, it's a great idea when you want something that is quick, cost-effective, and tasty without going out! Here's a picture to help get all your mouths watering; let me know if you try it and what your results are!

Working on Saturday

2011-06-11T22:01:00.001-04:00

I don't work a lot of weekends now that I work full time, which I consider a perk! This Saturday was a different story, but for good reason. I had my doctor's appointment set for Thursday, so I switched off with one of our other technicians. I just have to say though, I hate working Saturdays!

The weekends are usually our least busy days, due to the fact that most doctors' offices are closed. There are no prescriptions sent in, which cuts down on our volume. Most of what we do on the weekends is fill refills and ring people up as they pick up their ready prescriptions. But what about all the "free time" we have??? Trying to find something to do can be frustrating, since we like to keep everything in check at all times. So when we do have a spare moment, there's not much to choose...

Saturday is usually project day, the day when we work on things we didn't have time to do during the week. This usually entails a thorough cleaning of the entire pharmacy, and any other projects that need to be done. Today's project for me was re-setting the shelves, which we usually do every few months. It's boring, tedious work, but at least it's something to do! Did I mention that I don't like working Saturdays?

Even though on busy days I might not admit it, I prefer working on busy days. Of course, we'll be having a lot more busy days now that corporate cut ten hours from our weekly labor budget. Luckily, my hours won't be affected, but that does mean less help when we are busiest. Summer is usually less busy that fall and winter historically, mostly due to the fact that people aren't getting sick as often. Also, patient compliance goes down due to vacations, nice weather, and kids being out of school. But still, there are times when we need that one extra person so that we don't go crazy running around with four or five things to do! Oh well; hopefully by the time flu season rolls around again, we'll get our hours back. I just hope I don't have to work a bunch of Saturdays between now and then...

Pizza

2011-06-10T21:51:00.000-04:00

I'm actually finding it difficult to stay awake tonight, so forgive me if this post isn't as lengthy as the other ones!

I think pizza is something that all people can agree they like. Of course, each person will say that he or she enjoys certain toppings, and detests other toppings. Personally, I have never had anchovies or pineapple on a pizza, but I know people who like them. I also know people who like no toppings at all, that is to say, they like "cheese pizza." In my opinion, and to paraphrase something I saw someone else post to Facebook one day, cheese is not a type of pizza, but an essential ingredient in all pizza. There's nothing wrong with eating a pizza with no toppings, but at least admit that cheese is not a topping!

We have a special deal with Papa John's in our area in which we can get a discount on lunch when we order at work on Fridays. So, obviously, it's always a good idea to get pizza for lunch on Fridays, which we did today. Our favorite to get is the Garden Fresh, which includes onions, green peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms, and black olives. Since I detest black olives, and since we like to have some extra protein on there, we take off the olives and add pepperoni. Yum! Papa John's has some of the freshest-tasting pizza that I've had from a large chain, so I enjoy getting pizza from there. The veggies are fresh, the crust is perfect, and they put just the right amount of sauce. Excellent!

As it so happens, we also had pizza for dinner (I had forgotten that we had already discussed what was for dinner tonight). Since Papa John's is a bit farther from us than it is from work, we usually get ours from Pizza Hut or Domino's when ordering from home. Tonight we got Domino's, much to the chagrin of my father, I'm sure, since he prefers Pizza Hut. On my pizza, I got chicken, tomatoes, mushrooms, and onions. It was delicious! For me, the toppings are very important, but the most important parts of a pizza are the crust and the sauce. If there's not enough sauce, I'm unhappy. If the crust is too thin or underdone, I'm unhappy. Luckily, neither occurred tonight! I also enjoy how Domino's seasons their crust with garlic and herbs, since it adds that extra flavor that makes it great.

One very successful pizza place in the Knoxville area that isn't a chain is called Big Ed's. It's probably my favorite pizza of all, but since it's a bit of a drive from us, we don't go there that often. It is always loud and busy, and you usually have a pretty long wait to get in if you don't get there early enough. The sauce is excellent, the crust is excellent, and the atmosphere is definitely something else. Big Ed's is an heirloom of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and has been around for many, many years. The pictures that line the walls include some famous people that have dined there (if I were better-prepared, I could have mentioned some of those names here, but alas, I am not), as well as pictures of the larger-than-life founder, the real Ed. It's a great place to go with friends or family for dinner, and I would definitely recommend it for anyone interested in it.

What kinds of pizza do you all like? And what is your favorite chain, if you have one? Or even better, what's your favorite all-time pizza, whether it be hole-in-the-wall, or upscale? And do you have guilty pleasures or unusual toppings that you crave?

Waiting

2011-06-09T15:47:00.001-04:00

It's amazing how much time we spend waiting in the course of our lives. As I wrote this, I was waiting in the doctor's office to have my yearly physical. Personally, I don't like waiting very much; I can get impatient if I have to wait longer than, say, ten minutes for something. Obviously waiting in the doctor's office is a norm that everyone has to endure for the good of their health.

But there are some places that I absolutely hate HATE waiting! One of those is waiting at traffic lights, but really it only bothers me on my way to work. There are a total of five stop lights on my way to work, and if you hit them just right, I can get to work in less than ten minutes. However, if you hit it just wrong, each light can add 2-3 minutes to my drive time, and it's amazing how often that does happen!

Another place that requires waiting that drives me insane is any kind of fast food restaurant. I should be happy that I can get cooked food so quickly, right? Well for someone that only gets a 30 minute lunch, waiting in line can eat a great chunk of time. Obviously I should be glad to even get a lunch break (as was pointed out by Aunt Debbie, who spends her lunchtime playing referee in the grade school lunchroom), but it still makes me mad!

Our patients at work are always playing the wait game, and I hate that for them! Most of the time it takes us about 10 to 15 minutes to complete each prescription, if there are no problems. We give ourselves enough time to fill the prescription and also handle patients picking up at the counter or drive-thru, and also answer the phone. Sometimes the wait times can get long, if there are several patients waiting or picking up, especially on days when we do not have enough help. I hate telling people they will have to wait longer than a few minutes, since I hate doing it myself! So I try my best to work quickly, efficiently, and precisely to make sure our patients get the best care we can give as quickly as possible.

What are some pet peeves you have when it comes to waiting? And how do you deal with the time spent waiting?

Ice Cream

2011-06-08T22:17:00.000-04:00

In general, I don't eat a lot of ice cream. Don't get me wrong, it is delicious, but most of the time it's too rich and heavy for me. There are, of course, exceptions to that rule. Case and point: tonight!

As I already mentioned in one of my earlier blogs, it has been unseasonably hot here in East Tennessee lately. Our normal highs are in the mid-to-upper-80s for this time of year; I would kill for those kinds of temperatures right now! (Well, not necessarily kill, but you know what I mean.) Our highs have been in the mid-to-upper-90s over the past two weeks or so, and several days have had their temperature records broken. Those kinds of temperatures make it much more appealing to me to eat ice cream!

I have worked in a grocery store for 8 years, and I can speak with authority that ice cream is a major seller, no matter what season it is. There is always a brand of ice cream on sale during any given week, and people will stock up when it is! There are also several ice cream businesses that make great money, mostly in the summer. Some of those are Dairy Queen, Marble Slab, Brusters, Cold Stone Creamery, etc. (Which is your favorite?) But for me, I like to keep it simple.

Lately a lot of brands in the grocery store have rolled out single-use or single-serve containers. They package all your favorite flavors in single serving cups and sell them separately. In our house, it works out great, since none of us likes the same flavor all the time. For example, my dad likes plain chocolate, my mom's favorite is Turtle Tracks, and my brother and I like cookie dough and peanut butter cup (or Moose Tracks) flavors. This way, we can each get a flavor we like without having to buy three or four quarts of ice cream. Each one costs about a dollar, which would be equivalent to buying a quart of ice cream and splitting it between the four of us. My mom likes that it portions it out for you, so that you don't over-eat. That may be true, since I've never eaten more than one at a time, but the convenience of it is even better.

Tonight, I enjoyed peanut butter cup ice cream, and it was delicious. I try not to make a habit of it, but there's nothing wrong with enjoying it every once in a while. And if the weather is going to stay in the 90s for yet another week, I'll need some more ice cream. Bring it on!

Personal Responsibility

2011-06-07T22:10:00.000-04:00

A recurring theme at work for as long as I have worked in the Pharmacy has been a lack of personal responsibility on the part of some of our patients. We had a patient today (and she is one of many) who will pretty much take whatever drugs her doctor prescribes without question, but who also has no earthly idea what it is she is taking. I guess it's nice that she trusts her health care providers (her doctor and her Pharmacy), but ignorance is not bliss when it comes to your health.

Personally, I always want to know what kind of chemicals I am putting into my body. If I am prescribed a drug (and I have thought this since before I started working in a Pharmacy), I want to know everything about it that I can. I want to know its name, its purpose, possible adverse effects/interactions, etc. But maybe I'm alone in wanting that...

It's understandable (to an extent) to be unable to spell or pronounce the names of your drugs. The names are difficult and sometimes convoluted, and they can be difficult even to those of us in health care. Also, for someone taking multiple medications for the same purpose (for example, sometimes people can take multiple blood pressure medications if just one does not do the job), it may be difficult to keep up with them. However, as I said before, it's important to know what is going into one's body.

A person's health care is ultimately his or her own responsibility, with the obvious exceptions of minor children and seniors who can't take care of themselves. It is frustrating to think that some people give so little thought to their own health care, and expect that someone else will figure out what is best. Yes, we in the health care professions are charged with doing what is best for our patients. Yes, we will do just about anything in our power to make sure our patients get what they need. But without that underlying understanding and sense of responsibility, our work is for nothing! We can't force you to take your medications, we can't control every aspect of your care, we can't help you if you can't at least try to help yourself.

One of the most common requests we get on a day-to-day basis is to contact a physician to authorize refills on medications. Most doctors' offices have a process for authorizing refills, and in general get back to us with an answer in 48-72 hours. Blood pressure, cholesterol, and other "maintenance meds" are usually approved without question. Others require that the doctor check blood work or obtain an office visit, which we in turn convey to the patient. Sometimes, however, the office takes longer to respond, which frustrates the patient. Several times, we have been scolded by our patients because we haven't gotten a response. First of all, the fact that we contact the doctor's office in the first place is a convenience that we offer our patients. We don't have to make that call, but we do to expedite the process and provide good customer service. Second, we can't control what the doctors do or don't do, and to suggest that we have any say in the matter is ridiculous. Third, and most importantly, the relationship in play here is not that of the pharmacy/doctor, but that of doctor/patient. If you aren't happy with how your doctor is responding, make the call yourself; most of the time, the offices want to hear from the patient anyway to see how they are doing and if they are being compliant. It all comes down to personal responsibility.

One last thing I should say is that by no means am I saying we won't provide excellent care and service to our patients. Obviously that is our job and we want our patients to be healthy and happy. That being said, take some responsibility for your health, and it will make everyone's jobs easier, and we'll be able to give more time and attention to you and your needs. We enjoy what we do, and it can be fulfilling work; we are in a caring profession and intend to stay that way. As they say (whoever they are), an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and this can be a vital part of taking responsibility for one's health care.

Hummingbirds...Or Lack Thereof

2011-06-06T22:00:00.001-04:00

That is a picture of our completely full hummingbird feeder that I took yesterday. We've kept it out for at least a month now, and have yet to see the fluid level drop significantly. Hummingbirds, where are you???

Yet another of the perks of summertime is the opportunity to watch the hummingbirds feed outside our window. They have to be the most interesting birds in creation, at least in my opinion. They are so tiny and cute, you just can't help but watch. The fluttering of the wings always amazes me; I don't have a factoid about how fast the wings beat, but you can always Google that. I like watching them take a drink at the feeder; sometimes they land with their tiny feet on the perches, and sometimes they just hover and feed at the same time. There have even been times I've been outside when one or more of the birds have been hovering, looking to get a drink. The noises that those tiny wings make sound like an approaching car up close!

Needless to say, it's been disappointing that the hummingbirds haven't made a habit of visiting our feeder yet. As of today, I have seen a total of ONE hummingbird, and he didn't stick around for very long. However, he did happen to be the most vividly colored hummingbird I have ever seen! (I know he was a male because the males are more brightly colored.) He had a dark green body with a white underside, and a bright red belly that matched the color of the feeder. Beautiful! Hopefully he will make a return visit, and tell his friends too.

Am I the only one missing out on the hummingbirds this year, or has anyone else noticed their absence? I know several of my family members have feeders in their yards or on their porches, so let me know what the hummingbird activity has been like lately. I'm hoping that it's just been a little too early to see them in full form, and that the best of this summer is yet to come.

Easter Lilies in Bloom

2011-06-05T21:21:00.000-04:00

Lilies are my all-time favorite flowers. I don't really know why it is, they just are. They smell great, come in many vibrant colors, have a unique shape, and are just all-around beautiful. Easter lilies are the ones that I see the most, but of course they are only sold commercially around Easter. I have seen some bright red ones and some yellow ones in person, but I have seen pictures of many other colored lilies. Awesome to behold!

A year ago, I bought some Easter lilies from the store to bring home for Easter. Usually at the end of their blooming cycles, the leaves start to die and eventually the whole plant collapses into a pile of nothing...or at least that's what usually happens at our house. Last year, however, we decided to plant them before they died off completely. They lasted for a few extra weeks, but soon succumbed to the hot summer and lack of rain.

Fortunately though, lilies are bulb plants, and the bulbs survived the hot summer, the lack of water, and the cold, icy winter! What a surprise it was to see those unique leaves poking out of the ground this spring! We only planted two plants, but from those bulbs came four new plants this spring. And what was an even bigger surprise was that they bloomed! I had read that it might take several years to bloom again, but apparently ours are super lilies! Not only did they bloom after only one season in the ground, but each plant has 5 or 6 blooms!

I took some pictures today, since the flowers have started to open to full capacity over the last several days. They are attracting bees, butterflies, and other insects, so they must smell great! I haven't gotten close enough to smell them due to said bees, but they do look great! Hopefully these blooms can stick around for a while, since they really do add to our garden right now. Most of our other flowering plants have already bloomed once, and are now in the losing-their-color stage. It really can be rewarding to get your hands dirty in the garden every once in a while!

White Beans and Bow Tie Pasta

2011-06-04T20:04:00.002-04:00

Here's the first food blog of my June Blogging Challenge!

We were wanting to do something light and "summery" the other night, and I thought of this recipe. It was something we first tried many years ago at my grandmother's house, and we've been enjoying it ever since. It's actually very simple, and yields great results with very little effort. The great blends of colors and flavors gives it a summer feel, and since we've had summer weather lately, it seemed appropriate.

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp. olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups cooked Navy/Great Northern/Canellini beans
1 large tomato, chopped (~1 and 1/2 cups)
1/4 cup fresh parsley or basil, minced
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (2 oz.)
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 box bow tie pasta

Directions:
In a 12" skillet, heat olive oil over low heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, for 4 minutes or until lightly colored and fragrant. Stir in beans, tomatoes, and minced herbs and cook for 7 minutes, or until heated through and tomato has released its juices. Sir in the Parmesan cheese and lemon juice. Serve over cooked bow tie pasta. Serve hot or at room temperature. Will keep for 2 days. Garnish with basil leaves, if desired. Serves 4 as a main dish, or 8 as a side dish.

See, simple! And it tastes great, too. I will have to admit though, this time we used fresh basil (we usually use a combination of dried parsley and basil) and it wasn't as flavorful. I would say use a combination of the two as opposed to just one or the other. And if you use fresh instead of dried, you'll need a little extra. Just my opinions, but judge for yourself! And check out this picture of the final result of our meal, which included a salad and garlic bread as side dishes.

Blackberry

2011-06-03T23:14:00.000-04:00

My new favorite possession is the Blackberry I bought right before my birthday this year. I had been unhappy for some time with my then-current phone, so I decided it was time for a change. Sure, a Blackberry is pretty expensive, but I knew that many people had them and loved them. After looking at several different phones, I had pretty much made up my mind that the Blackberry was for me. I have Virgin Mobile phone service, and since they had a Blackberry for what I deemed an affordable price and an affordable plan, I got it.

The one issue for me with buying a phone plan is that I'm not particularly talkative when it comes to phones. I feel that texting can be much more efficient at times, since most things that I need to talk to people about only require a short answer. Plus, I can't always engage in a full-on conversation at work; that would be inappropriate. But for a question that doesn't require an immediate answer, and can be posted in a certain amount of characters, texting is perfect. So I was able to find a plan with unlimited texting and a fair amount of anytime minutes. I may not be talking for hours a day, but I at least need some to make all the calls I have to make in the course of the day.

The other major perk for me was the many applications that Blackberry offers to its users. Facebook and Twitter were a must for me, since I like to keep in touch with what's going on in social media. If someone posts to my Facebook profile, or else comments on the same feed I did, I can find out instantly on my phone. An icon appears on the desktop to let me know how many notifications I have, so I can check them at my convenience. And with a full keyboard, it's simple to post statuses and Tweets without having to sit down at a computer. (And since our Internet access at work is heavily blocked, if I want to post something online from work, I can easily do so from my Blackberry.)

One final perk that I have enjoyed so far is the camera feature. The camera on my old phone was good, but took small, fuzzy photos. This camera takes full-size photos with great resolution, and can store hundreds of them. Plus I now have a video feature that was not available on my old phone. These photos and videos are easily accessible, and easily shared via e-mail, text, or uploaded to Facebook/Twitter.

All in all, I'm glad I made that investment to get the Blackberry. There are still many, many things that I have yet to learn, but I try to figure these things out as I go along! The features I would like to better utilize would be the calendar (right now I only have people's birthdays and my mostly constant work schedule), Twitter (I post to and check Facebook almost exclusively right now; it's the one I'm more familiar with and used to), and the Internet browser. Until such time as I can completely master all the features, which I don't expect to be any time soon, I will just muddle through with what I know. For now, that's plenty, and I'm enjoying the new conveniences of having a "smart phone."

The Fuzzies

2011-06-02T22:24:00.000-04:00

There are some days when I prefer the company of animals to the company of humans! Ok, actually that would be most days. People are rude, obnoxious, and selfish. Now, don't get me wrong, I still have a great deal of faith in humanity; there are so many more good people in the world than those to whom I just referred. But on busy days at the Pharmacy when every little thing takes a great deal of time and energy, I appreciate animals so much more.

Over the course of my life, we have had four dogs, two of which are still with us. Ever since the age of three when we got our first dog, I have been a dog lover. I couldn't say for sure whether or not I am a cat lover, since we never have had any, but I have always enjoyed being around other people's cats. My love of these cute little fuzzies has spread to other animals, both wild and domestic, so that now I am just an all-around animal lover.

Obviously it's easier to love cute, fuzzy, small things because hello, they're adorable! It's harder to love something that's scaly, feathery, or slimy. Now to be honest, I don't particularly like snakes, spiders, and many other "bugs," but I still value their place in the animal kingdom, of which we are part! Each animal has a unique role in our world, whether they are pollinators like birds, bees, or bats, or as food for larger animals. I'm not as extreme about animals as someone in PETA, but I will always stand up for fair treatment for those that have no voice.

At any rate, I wanted to devote this blog post to our two current dogs, Halo and Skye. We got Halo right after I started the eighth grade, from the local shelter. She was only a few months old, and had been a stray on the streets of Knoxville. She was a very shy puppy, and we believe that at one point she was abused due to how she behaved around humans at first. Any time we would go to pet her, she would cower as if we were going to hit her. But after we spent some time with her and saw how sad she looked in that cage, we had to have her. Her personality came out soon after that, and she began to trust us and behave naturally around us.

At first, and I hate to admit this, I didn't want another dog. One of our dogs at the time had died, and I wasn't prepared to replace her. But now I couldn't imagine my life without Halo. She sleeps with me, I take care of her, and she gives me the unconditional love only an animal can give. She is always happy when any of us comes home, even if it has only been a few minutes since we left. She is now eleven years old, but she still acts just like a puppy! Sometimes caring for a pet can be a challenge, but oh now rewarding having Halo has been!

The other dog we currently have is named Skye, and she is a full-bred border collie. She came to us after our neighbor bred her border collie and gave away/sold the puppies. We were lucky enough to get the chance to get Skye when she was only a few weeks old, and she was still able to visit with her mother and the remaining brothers and sisters. Of course, having a brand new puppy has it's many challenges: chewing, whining, and most especially leaving messes all over the place. We were spoiled by the fact that Halo came to us house-trained, and had to figure out how to get Skye to be a good girl. We knew from the get-go that having a border collie would be interesting, given that those dogs are so smart and extremely energetic! We soon found that there was no way she could stay inside.

Although Skye isn't as lovey dovey as Halo is, she still has her ways of being affectionate. We now keep her in an outdoor pen, and give her the chance to run around and play whenever we can. On those opportunities, or whenever we go out to feed her, she affectionately lays her head on us and looks up with her big brown eyes. She is very playful and spunky, and acts like the stereotypical border collie. We call her the "border baby," and even though she is an outdoor dog, we still try to include her whenever we can. She's a little wild, but I guess that's what happens when you live outside all the time! Plus, she is the perfect watch dog, and she barks to let us know whenever anyone comes near the house. Even though she can get noisy at times, I still enjoy having her around; watching her fetch a toy or a ball is just a fun experience.

In short, I love our fuzzies! I couldn't imagine my life without them, and I'm so glad we have these canine companions. It's such a rewarding experience to own pets, even though it can be difficult and tiring at times. It's especially rewarding to come home after a long, frustrating day and see those happy faces and wagging tails. How can you be mad at that cute little face???

The Heat Is On...Again

2011-06-01T21:57:00.001-04:00

Welcome to Day 1 of my June Blogging Challenge! I hope that I'll be able to stick to it and bring some interesting posts to all my readers this month!

Even though summer doesn't officially start for three more weeks, we've been having some majorly hot weather here in East Tennessee lately. Highs in the mid-90s make for some muggy, sweaty days! Anyone who knows me at all knows that I enjoy snowy weather most of all, but there are some perks to hot weather, too. Some of my favorites are lounging outside (and getting some sun), swimming, and playing tennis.

But one perk above all speaks to my status as Mr. Food, and that is grilling. Once it gets warm enough to start cooking outside, our family grills out at least once a week. More often that not, we end up doing so two or three times a week, since my dad loves grilling so much. As a matter of fact, we ate grilled chicken for dinner tonight! And Monday night, we grilled steaks to celebrate Memorial Day.

Pretty much anything tastes great on the grill. We do hamburgers, chicken, steaks, fish (usually salmon - our favorite), kabobs, etc. Yes, it does take a lot more work setting up the grill, getting the charcoal ready (which apparently tastes better than when using a gas grill), actually cooking the food, and cleaning up afterwards. The rewarding part, of course, is the great taste and the time spent around the family during the whole process. Time well spent, yes?

So despite the fact that I detest going from air conditioned house to dripping sweat by the time I get to the car, there are good qualities about summer that I will miss come winter time. Although, the whole car-without-air-conditioning thing is really a problem. But that's the topic for another blog post! Stay tuned for Day 2...

June Blogging Challenge

2011-05-29T22:41:00.000-04:00

Wow, have I really been away since October?

Here's my plan for the month of June: I intend to post to my blog every single day! I'm not really sure how well this will work out, since I know it's hard enough to come up with blog topics on a weekly basis (like I have tried), let alone on a daily basis. My topics will be many and varied things; I have already gotten requests to post about food, since, after all, I AM Mr. Food. But I don't want this to be exclusively a food blog event. I will post topics that come up at work, on the news, and things that just come to my mind during the course of the day.

I'm hoping this will be fun and entertaining, but also informative and discussion-rich. Obviously some things that come up on the news will be controversial and people will have many different opinions. Other things that come up will be simply light-hearted. Some topics may just be my way to vent over something that happened at work or at home. Hopefully I'll always write something that my readers will want to read, and if not, well that's just too bad, because I'm going to write it anyway!

I hope everyone is well; I am friends with many of you on Facebook, so for the rest of you who aren't, just send me a comment to let me know how you are doing/what's new in your lives.

Anyway

2010-10-07T23:25:00.001-04:00

Many years and many more digressions ago, Kathy posted about "The Paradoxical Commandments" by Dr. Kent M. Keith on her blog. I can't remember when it was or even what the title of the blog post was, but maybe she can enlighten us with a comment later.

At any rate, I have been reflecting on those sayings a lot lately, because they really do speak to me. In pretty much any profession, one is able to see the first line in action, "People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered..." Since I have worked in a customer service oriented field my entire working life, I have seen many examples of this. But then that statement is followed by a profound challenge: "Love them anyway." WOW! Now if that doesn't speak volumes, I don't know what does.

Is it easy to do? Of course not, I would rather people be logical, reasonable, and selfless. But it is a challenge I try to live up to every day. It's really difficult to love someone who is cursing, yelling, or otherwise making you feel like dirt at the Pharmacy counter, and most of the time I fail the challenge. Until, of course, I actually think about what is going on and how I would feel in the same situation. Most of the people I deal with are older with many health problems, treating someone with many health problems, or are dealing with a painful or embarrassing illness that they would like to get over with as soon as possible. In the end, I might still have a few choice words to say about those "illogical, unreasonable, self-centered" people, but I still try to treat them with the dignity and respect we are all due as human beings. And I think that is something that the author of these Commandments would agree with.

Sometimes I am the one that needs reminding of the Commandments, because I am the one that is being "illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered." What can I say? I am human after all, and we all have those moments of indiscretion. But the important thing is that we try to live out our lives as good people; it is my challenge to live as a good Catholic Christian person, but that can apply to any religion since humanity and goodness transcend religious views. The point of it all is to challenge and motivate us to look beyond the exterior and see people in a better light, and really, who can argue with that?

You can find the whole selection from "The Paradoxical Commandments" here, but I also wanted to share a YouTube video today. Not only have I been enamored with these quotes, but also with a song that is based on them. Martina McBride has a song called "Anyway" that goes into a few of the lines, and even gives a different perspective or new understanding of what the Commandments are trying to accomplish. Personally I feel enriched and touched to experience both the written words and the song version, and I hope you do too. But the challenge I give to you all is to actually live out the Commandments, as I strive to do every single day.

Frustration

2010-07-28T22:44:00.001-04:00

Maybe it's just the heat that's getting to me, but I've been getting frustrated by many, many things lately. If you'll humor me for a few minutes, I'd like to vent my frustrations. Then, I'll try to lighten the mood a little with some things that have happened that have made my frustration either go away, or at least make me forget that I am frustrated.

Probably the thing that has made me the MOST frustrated is, indeed, the heat. I don't have a problem with cold weather, because heat is easier to come by than cold. Let me explain what I mean. Houses and cars that either don't have air conditioning or have inefficient air conditioning will most of the time have functioning heat. Since all machines (including our human bodies) produce heat, staying warm indoors is easier than staying cool indoors. Also, in the summer, one can only remove so much clothing to remain decent in society. In the winter, one can add extra layers both under and over our clothes to stay warmer. There are, of course, exceptions to this, but in our temperate climate in the Southeast, that will suffice.

The main reason I am frustrated by the heat is because I don't have air conditioning in my car. My car is older (1997) and has a fair few problems, but for the most part I can overlook those and get everywhere I want to go. When the temperature outside is above 90 degrees, however, not having A/C is almost unbearable. To remedy this, I have had my car fixed two summers in a row several years ago to recharge with freon. This was not a permanent fix, however, because I obviously had a leak, since the next summer the A/C would not work. I took my car in yesterday to see if I could have the same relatively inexpensive fix, only to find out that I would need to replace my compressor, a fix that would cost around $1100. I don't exactly have $1100 that I can throw around, so I guess I will go without A/C for another summer. Isn't that frustrating?

Another thing that has been frustrating to me lately is something I'm sure my avid readers will have noticed. Normally I would be so delighted to receive comments on my blog, the more the better! In recent posts, I have gotten many comments from people I don't know that are obviously written in some Asian language. This is frustrating because I don't know what these comments are saying, and they are clogging up my comments with odd characters. Luckily, this is easy enough to fix. I am now moderating my comments, meaning that I must approve all comments before they are published to my blog. If any spam-related comments or comments in a foreign language come in, I will have the option to keep them from posting. So, to my devoted followers, don't become frustrated if your comments do not show up right away; as long as they are in English and not spam, they will be posted ASAP.

Ok, that's enough venting for today. In happy news, work has been going well, and I am looking forward to the day when our store renovations are finished so that I can be full-time. It hasn't been especially eventful, but then that's not a bad thing. I have learned so much since I started this job, and for that I am grateful. It has been frustrating to just float along day-to-day, wondering when I would get the benefit of being a full-time employee, wondering if this job was worth the frustration that sometimes I deal with. But then I have days where I thoroughly enjoy even the most mundane things that happen, and spending time with some really awesome pharmacists! Now that's a good day.

Another thing I have been looking forward to is our visit to Atlanta starting this Saturday. Family is extremely important to me, and I always enjoy our visits. Not only are these visits a break from work and the ordinary routine, but they allow me to return home relaxed and refreshed. Food, games, and interesting conversation: what else could you want?! So, if you will be there next week, I look forward to seeing you and enjoying my time there. For all my other readers, I'll see you when I get back. I hope this blog doesn't frustrate you, and that you stay "upbeat and positive!"

Retirement

2010-07-18T22:51:00.001-04:00

People always say that it's "never too early" to put aside for retirement. Well, how about at age 23?

I've taken two steps in the last 6 months to ensure that I'll have enough money set aside for retirement, whenever that might be. I'm in no hurry to retire; I would find myself bored without something to do every day. Plus, right now I enjoy going to work, and couldn't imagine a time (right now) when I wouldn't have to work. But, I digress. (Sorry Kathy, I just thought it was appropriate.)

Around the first of this year I started making contributions to a work-sponsored retirement 401k account. The bank in charge, in cooperation with the company, takes a portion of the weekly pay check prior to taxes and invests it. The company gives an incentive to employees by matching 50 cents for every dollar invested, up to 3% of the weekly pay check. I elected to contribute 4% of my earnings every week, but of course that is supposed to increase the more money I earn. But for now, it's a fair percentage. I am investing back in the company and the bank, and in return I receive free money from the company and the interest it all earns in the market.

A couple weeks ago, I decided to open an IRA account through Discover Bank. I have had a Discover credit card since my first year of college, and it has been a very positive experience working with Discover. I wasn't really sure if I wanted to invest in an on-line bank; the idea of not having a brick-and-mortar building to go into was a little strange. But hey, you can do that with renting movies, and a lot of people get their prescriptions by mail order; how different is this? I wouldn't have just picked any old bank though; I picked Discover because I have been a customer of theirs for over 5 years, and have come to trust their practices. Not only that, but their rates are so much higher than any bank I had found around here, so that was a major bonus. Their IRAs are invested similarly to CD accounts, so I chose a 10-year ROTH IRA CD account. The 10-year CD had the highest interest rate, and since the money invested was taken out of my "don't touch this unless completely necessary" savings account, I figured I could do without that money for at least 10 years, if necessary.

A thought that kept occurring to me when I considered investing in retirement was that I didn't want to end up like one of those elderly people that still had to work. It's one thing to want to work at that age, but to rely completely on that income was a little scary for me. There is so much talk about Social Security not being around when I reach retirement age, and I have to admit that's a little bit scary. But, I choose to be proactive instead of reactive, and these two options I chose are my ways of doing so. I don't want this blog to turn political, but I know some of my readers choose to do so; I just hope that our lawmakers do something to fix the problems associated with Social Security to ensure that my generation and my parents' generation can still rely on that money. And that's as political as this post gets.

By the way, this is my 150th post on Blogger! I just wanted to send a most sincere Thank You to all the readers that I have gained in the last 5 years. Most of you are family and friends, some of whom I have never met or haven't seen in years. This is a great way to keep in touch and to let everyone know what's going on and what I'm thinking about. I hope you have enjoyed all these post as much as I have, and I look forward to many, many more to come! I'm not sure if I'll ever catch up to Kathy, but I do intend to try, so see you soon!

The Heat Is On

2010-07-07T23:59:00.000-04:00

I am not a fan of the heat. I only like the hot months because it means I can go swimming and get some sun to this pale skin. Also, it's nice to step outside and see plants in full bloom and animals frolicking everywhere. But I do NOT do well in the heat.

As if anyone needed reminding, many areas in the country are seeing record high temperatures. As a result, this is putting a strain on the aging power grids, especially on the east coast. According to the news tonight, many cities are seeing record energy usage, most of which I can imagine is being used to keep everyone cool during those 100-degree days. Here in Tennessee, we haven't seen any 100-degree days yet, but with today's high being 98, I'll bet those days are coming soon.

In our house, we set the thermostat to 78 in the summer and 68 in the winter (at least that's what I set it as; sometimes I find it changed to accommodate someone else's "need" for a little extra air or heat). Since we got a digital thermostat, we have been able to control our energy usage a little better. As compared to years past, we are saving about 10-15% on our energy bills every month, which really does add up over the course of a year. I (almost) always turn off lights if no one is in a room, and don't leave electronics turned on if I'm not using them. While we don't have compact fluorescent bulbs in all our lights, I have two lamps in my room that use them, and when our current ones run out, I intend to get the energy-efficient ones. Yes, they do cost more initially, but they last so much longer than the traditional incandescent bulbs, and therefore save money in the long run.

So what was the point of this post? I'm sure I won't be influencing anyone to do anything different or to enlighten anyone with novel ideas. My point, and I do have one, is to share what I do to conserve energy. I truly believe that if every household were to follow similar principles, there would be so many fewer problems with energy, not to mention saving everyone a little bit of money. Personally, I have never witnessed a blackout (knock on wood), and I intend to never experience one, but I think we can all agree that preventing those would be a plus. Even small steps can make a huge difference, so I guess I'm challenging everyone to do what they can in their own lives to make a difference nationwide. What do you think?

Work in Progress

2010-06-12T00:49:00.000-04:00

Most of my readers are my "friends" on Facebook and already know most of the goings-on in my life, but for those who do not, here is some more information about the work that has been going on, well, at work.

I passed my PTCE (Pharmacy Technician Certification Exam) on May 1st, and got my results about two weeks later in the mail. I earned a weighted score of 830 out of 900, which when compared to a standard 100-point scale gives me an A-! I was really proud of myself for doing well, since I obviously was well-prepared and had great mentors (my two pharmacists) to help me.

Now that I am certified, I can do more within the pharmacy. I am now able to take prescriptions over the phone from doctors and give/receive transfer prescriptions from other pharmacies. Of course, everything I do is still overseen by the pharmacist-on-duty, but just the fact that I can be more helpful is a good thing. I am learning a lot more about the various and sundry drugs that exist out there in the pharmaceutical world, and let me tell you, there are a lot of them.

One of the problems, however, that arises when taking prescriptions over the phone is trying to understand what the person is saying. The actual doctor will almost never call in the prescription themselves (I have only gotten one from the doctor herself), which means you are usually talking to the nurse or the receptionist. Nurses are, for the most part, very knowledgeable about drugs, but receptionists, on the other hand, may or may not be well-informed. Now, there are three types of calls that we will take regarding phoned-in prescriptions, whether they are taken live or from voicemail (I have only taken voicemails so far):

1. The caller speaks clearly and slowly, spelling out the patient's name and the drug(s) prescribed, and perhaps the doctor's name if it is difficult, and leaves a phone number or other contact information. These messages I usually have to listen to twice to get everything since I am still new to this, but that's still pretty good.

2. The caller is a "speed demon" that wants to get everything done fast and NOW! This is usually because there is a stack of scripts that need to be called in and the person is either getting ready to leave or to go to lunch. This person speeds through everything quickly, usually in less than a minute, and I will need to listen to this message a minimum of 4 times to get everything.

3. The caller is uninformed or otherwise ignorant about the drugs being prescribed, and perhaps even the patient for whom they are prescribed. The name of the patient and the name of the drug will be mispronounced, the person stutters when reading off the SIG codes (the abbreviations used to describe the dosage schedule, etc), and perhaps the drugs and directions are utterly incomprehensible. This might take two of us listening to it several times to decipher what is going on there.

So, I am learning more about how to take these messages effectively, and for now am having the pharmacists review my written scripts, since everything must be written down in order to have a hard copy and paper trail.

Recently, I was given extra hours in the pharmacy as a result of our increased business. I had originally been given only 10 hours a week, in which I spent just a couple hours during my five-day work week in the pharmacy. The remainder of my hours I got from working a cash register or whatever else the managers needed me to do. I hate, HATE that arrangement! I wish I could get all my hours in the pharmacy (and I will this fall once our store's renovations are complete), but for now I have to run around like a chicken with it's head cut off to find something to do. My hours were increased to 20 per week, so now I have two 8-hour days and three days with the same "normal" schedule. I just need to be more patient about the hours, since I really do want them, but as Kathy would say, I digress.

The other major task I took within the past few weeks was to incorporate all of our inventory into alphabetical order. Before our manager started, everything was shelved according to alphabetical order of the brand name drug, which was difficult since many of our drugs haven't been brand name for a decade or more. The inventory was then changed to straight alphabet before I started in January, but there were still special sections for liquids, injections, inhalation drugs (mostly for asthma), trans-dermal systems, and drugs used in the ears, eyes, and nose. I incorporated everything but the ears, eyes, and nose drugs (since it is easier to keep those together) into our shelves, which was a great undertaking, but also helped the pharmacy manager create a hormone/prenatal vitamin section, since those products change so quickly and have so many various forms. By doing all of these changes, we hoped that any visitor (fill-in pharmacist or technician) would be able to find exactly what they needed quickly to serve the patients.

So, as you can see, there has been a lot of work in progress for me. The next chapter in this story involves filling in at one of the other Ingles pharmacies in the Knoxville area for a few Saturdays this summer, while their technicians take vacations. Fortunately for me, this will take away the amount of hours I will spend running a cash register, etc., I will get more experience, and I will also be paid mileage for my travel (approx. 25 miles one-way)! Win, win, win for Sean. At any rate, I am looking forward to finally being full-time this fall, and I am thoroughly enjoying my time in this new position. Who would have thunk it that I would enjoy a job so much that I didn't even know I wanted?!

Harry Potter

2010-05-22T19:33:00.001-04:00

I never really understood why people said things like, "The movie was good, but the book was better..."

...until I started reading Harry Potter.

I had seen all the movies based on the first six books before I ever read the books all the way through. We had gotten a paperback version of the first book many years ago, but I never got passed the first few chapters back then. (Why that was, I couldn't tell you. Maybe I just had this thing against reading back then...) After the sixth movie came out, and I saw it in theaters twice, I decided it was time to start reading the books. I had become so swept away by the story, and I wanted to read the last book before the last movie came out. I just wanted to know so badly how the series ended, and I wasn't patient enough to wait a year and a half to find out.

So, I set a goal for myself: read all seven books before the first installment of the last movie comes out in December 2010. When I set this goal last summer, I had every intention of taking my time, and needing the year and a half to finish all seven. After all, several of the books surpass 700 pages, and my history with reading is such that I wasn't confident that I could finish in less time. However, I must have underestimated myself!

What I had set out to do in a year and a half I finished in less than three months. I would work my 4-11 shifts, come home, and read chapter after chapter, sometimes as late as 2:00 in the morning! I was so enamored by the subject matter that I could literally not put the books down. If I had any spare moments during the day, I read. Before I went to bed, I read. After I got up in the morning, I read.

This was also when I discovered just how great the library is. I didn't want to go out and spend money I didn't have on books (if I was going to buy them, I wanted brand-new books in hardback covers), so I came to the realization that the library was the perfect place to get them without having to spend a penny out of pocket! I was re-discovering something I had known as a child: that the library is a great place. I could pick up a book, take my time to read it, bring it back, and pick up the next one! If my local library didn't have it, they could get it from another library in the system. What a great system!

Now that the release of the last movie is approaching, I have decided once again to read all the books before it comes out. This time around, however, I have less free time to read now that I am working more "full-time" hours. But, I am determined to finish to make sure all the details are fresh in my mind when I sit down to watch the last movies. So far, the movies have not disappointed me after reading the books, though of course now I can truthfully say, "The book was better." I cannot recommend these books more to anyone out there that hasn't read them, and I am so glad there are people out there that have such great imaginations to come up with great literature like Harry Potter.

And the Winner Is...

2010-02-24T00:29:00.000-05:00

Thanks to everyone who commented on my last post, and especially to everyone who suggested a title. I have decided to use my grandfather's idea (actually, they were Adrienne's words!) for me title, so the title of my blog will now be "Sean - Staying Upbeat and Positive." Even though the title will make little difference in the content of my blog, a good title is always important, since that is the "catch" that draws in readers. I hope that the new title will better reflect the theme of my blog posts, in that I try to find the "silver lining" (thanks, Uncle Tim!) in even the hardest of circumstances. To all my loyal readers, stay tuned for a "real" post coming soon!

Your Opinions???

2010-02-07T16:08:00.001-05:00

Recently I changed the title of my blog to "Sean - Living and Laughing It Up." I just wanted to know what my opinionated readers thought of that change. The reason I wonder is because I'm still not sure how I feel about it! If you don't particularly like it, would you have any suggestions as to what it should be titled? Any suggestions would be welcome, so give it your best shot. Maybe I should think up a prize for the reader that suggests the best title...

God's Country

2010-01-30T14:01:00.002-05:00

It's no secret to anyone that I am a snow lover. This is unfortunate because I live in the South, and snow is hard to come by most of the time. However, we get these few instances when the temperature is right and a good storm system moves in to produce that glorious precipitation!

This occurred just last night, and of course I couldn't have been more excited. The tricky part about this snowstorm was that I was at work while it was snowing, and this area is not equipped to deal with ice and snow as well as others. There are several hills between where I work and where we live, so that would become difficult should the roads ice over. Luckily, we received only a little bit of ice, and I was able to maneuver all the hills easily; I was born to drive in the snow! (That's snow, NOT ice...)

I was also fortunate to have Saturday and Sunday off this week, so I am able to enjoy all the beauty from the comfort of home. And what would a good snowstorm be without a few pictures, you say? My sentiments exactly, so enjoy!

New Job Opportunity

2010-01-06T01:29:00.000-05:00

Several months ago, my Store Manager asked me if I would be interested in a Pharmacy Tech position if one were to ever become available. I said that I would indeed be interested in that opportunity, though at the time I figured that I wouldn't be sticking around long enough to be offered that position. I figured that it would be at least a year or more before such a position would come around. I wouldn't want to wait around forever, since I have more things that I want to do than count money in a grocery store for the rest of my life.

But I didn't have to wait around forever! Just a couple weeks ago, my Store Manager again approached me and said that a Pharmacy Tech position would become available at the beginning of 2010, and that the job was mine if I wanted it. Well I really didn't know what to say at first, because I hadn't been expecting to hear that at all just a short time after realizing the possibility. But after thinking it over and talking to the lead Pharmacist, I decided to accept the position!

So what will be happening in the near future? Our work and pay week begins on Wednesday and ends on Tuesday, and my first day in the Pharmacy will be Thursday. I will be trained on the Pharmacy's computer system and taught the ins and outs of working in a Pharmacy. At some point I was told I will need to memorize or at least learn all the medical abbreviations used when doctors write prescriptions, and I will also be learning brand names and common drug names that we dispense. I will also be charged with running the cash register; since I have worked with these kinds of registers for several years, this will not be a difficult task, however it will need to be synched with the Pharmacy software that keeps track of all the medications. I also expect that Customer Service will be a large part of this job, as well as communicating with doctors' offices and perhaps even suppliers. These are all things I will no doubt find out about on my first days of training. I will also at some point need to be certified through the state or whatever governing body oversees Pharmacies and the like, which I have been told involves a test; it is advisable to become certified since that enables one to both do more in the Pharmacy and make more money.

The down side of starting this new job will be that I have to train a replacement for my current job. I say this is a down side because I hate HATE training people to do my current job! It is a very daunting task that involves standing over some one's shoulder constantly to watch out for mistakes. The first day, I do pretty much everything myself the first time (since many tasks are repeated throughout the night) and allow the trainee to assist me or perform one of those repeated tasks on his or her own. By the second day, the trainee should be doing most of the tasks alone, all the while asking questions and getting help from me when needed, which I am prepared to step in at all times. By the third day, the trainee should be able to do just about everything, albeit at a slower pace than someone with more experience, but with minimal help and asking questions.

After about one work week of training, all the tasks should be routine, but by that point troubleshooting and problem solving strategies might need to be reinforced. Usually these nights run over our normal shift time, but in the end it pays off if the trainee is able to do all the tasks the job entails with little or no help from others. However, it can sometimes be frustrating to the trainer to deal with time constraints when the trainee is not up to speed yet. On one hand, if I do the work, it will be done on time and I can get home at a reasonable hour, but the trainee learns nothing. On the other hand, the trainee does everything while I stand and do nothing and I get home very late, but the trainee learns how to do the job better. A good balance of these two scenarios leads to an efficient and manageable training session.

So how do I feel about this new opportunity? I am very excited! For one, this opportunity allows me the chance to get experience in a field related to my degree. This will allow me to be a better candidate when applying to schools in the future, and will also help in future job endeavors. Secondly, this can be a perfect opportunity to obtain a professional reference and a personal contact with registered Pharmacists should I need such references or contacts with future school or job endeavors. Lastly, this will mean more money in my paychecks since a move to this job will involve a pay raise, and who can really argue with a pay raise when someone wants to give you one?

Well, there it is, my new job opportunity! I am really looking forward to it, and am excited to see what is in store. Something I should also mention is that this position is only allotted 10 hours a week right now, so after I am trained I will be spending 2-3 hours a day in the Pharmacy for as many days as it takes to fill those 10 hours. My remaining time will be filled by going back to the front and running one of the regular cash registers. This is the plan for the near future, until such time as our store and Pharmacy are expanded and the number of hours allotted increases to a full-time level. I will, of course, keep everyone posted about the developments in this new experience, and I hope you will all keep me in your prayers that I can do all of my new duties to the best of my ability.

Thanksmas?

2009-11-28T01:40:00.001-05:00

I love Thanksgiving. I enjoy all the different foods that we eat. I enjoy the fact that families and friends get together. I enjoy all the Thanksgiving traditions such as the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. I like setting aside a day during the year in which to give thanks to God for every blessing that I have been given during the last year. Some things for which I am thankful: life, freedom, friends, family, technology, a job, a warm home in the winter, and the beauty that exists in nature.

What I do not love is the fact that people are trying to take all of that away from me by starting Christmas at the end of October. I worked Halloween this year and on that very night, before all the Halloween candy had been sold, the Christmas merchandise went out. What is going on here? Thanksgiving has become merely a marker for when we should start Christmas shopping. Many families spend Thanksgiving Day decorating their homes for Christmas: putting up trees and lights, baking Christmas cookies, etc. Does not Thanksgiving deserve it's due? Especially with people who have the wrong idea about what Christmas is, we need a day set aside that is devoted entirely to friends, family, and food in which we give thanks for all of those very things.

Now, don't get me wrong, I do love Christmas, but Thanksgiving is a favorite of mine too. However, people have apparently forgotten what Christmas is truly about. Heck, people seem to forget when it is that Christmas actually starts! The Twelve Days of Christmas is not just a song; the Season of Christmas (yes, season) starts on the 25th and ends on the Feast of the Epiphany in January. Why, then, are people putting up Christmas trees on Thanksgiving and taking them down on the 26th of December??? To do it the traditional way, one would put up his Christmas tree on Christmas Eve and take it down after Epiphany in January. I'm not saying that's what my family does, since we usually put our tree up the first or second week of December, but we do leave it up until the Season of Christmas is over.

The commercialism revolving around Christmas nowadays sickens me at times. People trampling each other and getting into fights while Christmas shopping? And for what, to save a few dollars on a potential gift? Give me a break... You will never see me waiting outside of a store at 5 A.M., that's for sure. You would think that the people who try to extend Christmas would at least have the right mindset for doing so: peace on Earth, the spirit of giving (as in giving for it's own sake, not for "exchanging" gifts), and the closeness of friends and family. Not to mention, of course, the religious significance of the holiday. Christmas still has the word Christ in it, so that's what I will be celebrating. Otherwise people should be celebrating "Winter Holiday" or something similar.

At any rate, this post is about Thanksgiving. My family and I enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving, which I had a much larger hand in this year. Since I was off work, I was the one that prepared the turkey, and, if I do say so myself, the turkey was extra delicious. I will definitely enjoy the leftovers for many more days (I have already made myself another plate for lunch and a turkey sandwich for a snack). So, if you want any advice from me, and I know that you do, keep Thanksgiving where it belongs and keep Christmas where it belongs. November should be focused on Thanksgiving and December should be focused on Christmas. You won't see anything in our house related to Christmas until December 1st at the very earliest. No more Thanksmas!

Fall Festival

2009-10-23T12:05:00.002-04:00

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.

Can I Bid a Foine?

2009-08-10T13:33:00.005-04:00

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.

It Has Been Too Long

2009-07-19T13:42:00.003-04:00

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.

Good Quote

2009-05-27T23:23:00.000-04:00

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!

You're Invited

2009-05-03T23:54:00.007-04:00

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.

Published!

2009-04-26T14:39:00.001-04:00

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.

I Dreamed a Dream

2009-04-17T19:06:00.000-04:00

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...

Uncle Tom

2009-04-15T19:40:00.000-04:00

I know I have shared this information with many of my readers through other media, but in case you are one of those who did not, I wanted to post something here. My dad's brother Tom passed away at around 3:00 AM last Wednesday. He had been diagnosed with a brain tumor about two years ago, which was subsequently removed; unfortunately, the tumor returned in greater numbers recently, and had spread to various parts of his brain. These tumors had affected the language and personality centers, which caused difficulty speaking and understanding. I have been told that his last days were peaceful and without pain, and that is definitely something for which I am thankful.

Although during the last several years our families have not been close, we were very close when I was younger. Today I find that most of my familial communications are with my mom's family, but this was not the case when I was a child. We visited with my dad's family almost every week or every two weeks for family cookouts or meals of some kind. Plus there were occasional "reunion" type meetings; I can remember the most recent one (sad to say that 10 years ago was recent) was held in Gatlinburg, TN, in the beauty of the mountains. We always had a good time, and I always felt welcome and included.

My uncle Tom was always glad to have us over to the old house; he and his wife Carolyn took care of my mamaw and papaw in their last years. Though sometimes I felt out of place among all the adults (most of my cousins are several years older than I), Uncle Tom always made sure I was happy by giving me something to do or, with my parents' and Aunt Carolyn's permission, a little treat. I can remember very well how fascinated I was by the little M&M machine that they had, and always loved pulling the arm and getting some of those candies right in my hand! Of course, he warned me that candy is not to be eaten any time I wanted it, but when the times were right, we snacked away.

Over the years we also received special packages from Tom and Carolyn with decorations or toys for the holidays. Christmas and Halloween were the ones that I remember most vividly, and I was impressed because no one else had thought of anything like that. I looked forward to the goodies that we would get in the mail and it made the holidays that much better. In fact, I'm sure we still have some of those decorations stored away somewhere...hmm

Unfortunately over the years, our families drifted apart and we did not see each other or really communicate. Even though Uncle Tom was our closest family member in distance, we were probably the furthest apart in practice. We did send Christmas cards and other by-mail communication occasionally, and sometimes saw him around town. I can remember on several occasions, my brother Ryan saw him at antique car shows that came to our area. Uncle Tom loved antique cars, and attended these kinds of gatherings whenever he could.

I also found out only recently that he was very involved in charity work through his church. Although I did know that he was an active member of his church, I was not aware of his work with the Mission of Hope. This charity helps people who live in rural Appalachia by providing clothes, food, toys (usually at Christmas), and decent homes for the poorest of the poor in that area. It was all the more appropriate then that at his funeral, a passage from Matthew 25 was read; this is the passage that you may recall regarding "whatever you did for the least of my people, you also did unto Me." How appropriate indeed!

I was fortunate to be home for Easter break and able to attend his funeral. Since I was working, I didn't get the chance to meet with the family and friends at the receiving, but I did get the chance to pay my respects and talk with some of the family. I hadn't met with Aunt Carolyn or Tom's two daughters in many years, and I had the opportunity to meet with Carolyn and the younger daughter Erin and give my support. It was a sobering experience, but I was still glad to have been there.

Despite the fact that I have lost another family member, I am still reassured by the fact that he passed away so close to Easter. After all, Easter is all about life coming out of death! Jesus had to die to ensure eternal life for us all, and now my uncle Tom is experiencing that eternal life in Him. I know that is comforting to me as I try to understand just why things happen the way they do.

Uncle Tom, pray for us...

Law of Diminishing Marginal Returns

2009-04-07T00:22:00.000-04:00

Rarely do I learn something in my classes that can actually be applied to something in everyday life. One of these lessons I have had the "privilege" of experiencing first-hand on several different occasions. (You will see why I placed the word privilege in quotes later.)

As my die-hard readers know already, I decided to take some business courses this semester, since I needed electives to complete my degree. One of these is Microeconomics, and I have been surprised to find it fascinating! One of the principles we have learned lately is the law of diminishing marginal returns. The textbook definition, as I have recorded in my lecture notes, is "as more of a variable resource is added to a fixed resource, the margin will decrease, and even become negative." The margin to which I am referring is the marginal product, which is "how the total output of a firm changes with the addition of one more unit of the variable resource." I know that's a lot of jargon mumbo-jumbo nonsense, but please bear with me.

Let's look at the example to which I was referring at the beginning of this post. Every Sunday night after I get out of Mass, I proceed to the Subway in the student center here at Xavier. I order my sandwich and pay for it, and then am on my way back to my apartment. Usually this is a quick transaction that lasts only a few minutes. However, I began to notice that there were certain occasions where I was waiting a lot longer than usual. No, this was not due to an increased volume of customers. No, this was not due to a shortage of workers. In fact, the increased wait was due to a SURPLUS of workers! Now how does that make sense?

Actually, it makes quite a bit of sense, and the law of diminishing marginal returns helps explain that. With each increase of inputs, in this case an increase in labor, the marginal product will decrease. As I have witnessed, the more workers there are on any given night, the fewer sandwiches they can make in a given time period. This illustrates that law perfectly! The increased amount of workers have to be crammed into a tight space and must share responsibilities. The sharing of these simple responsibilities leads to redundancies and inefficiency. Also, having more employees leads to goofing off and inappropriate conversations when they should be working.

So you see, this Subway restaurant works best when there are only 2-3 employees behind the counter. On nights when there are four or more employees, the service suffers, and the customers end up waiting longer to get their food. I have pointed this out to other people on several occasions, and it is quite frustrating to watch the employees goof off and carry on personal conversations when I am hungry! Thankfully, though, these incidents have been less and less frequent lately, so my eating has not been adversely affected. (Not that it ever was, of course.)

Did any of that make sense? I tried to explain it as best I could, but the concept is a little bit challenging to explain. In reality, it is quite simple and makes complete sense. Isn't it great to apply what you learn in a classroom to the real world??? That's one thing that makes Economics a fascinating subject.

Cheese

2009-03-19T22:56:00.000-04:00

In my Bacteriology Lab course, we are studying bacterial preparations of food. I must admit, these topics are really interesting! Learning about a real world application of the morphology and physiology of bacteria really does make it more fun.

One of the most interesting food preparations we have studied was that of cheese. If you didn't already know, cheese is created by the fermentation of milk sugars by specific bacteria. The type of milk and the type of bacteria are ultimately what cause the different kinds of cheeses, and there are a lot of them, as you know. Other than that, the processes are pretty much the same. The bacteria ferment lactose and break down the proteins in the milk, causing solid particles to form within the liquid. After a while, the solids are numerous and are separated from the liquid; the solids are called curds and the liquids are called whey. "Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet eating her curds and whey" comes to mind here...

The mixture is poured through cheese cloth and allowed to drain for a while. In some cheeses, this is all that must be done. In others, the cheese cloth is tied up and allowed to hang to further allow for drainage of the whey. In others, weight is put on the cheese to extract out any moisture and keep it that way. Ultimately when the cheese is dried it comes out slightly creamy yet overwhelmingly solid, and should be refrigerated to ensure it stays fresh.

In class, we were allowed to make one of four types of cheese: mozzarella, queso fresco, yogurt cheese, or lactic cheese. The mozzarella and the queso fresco were the most time-consuming as far as that particular class time, but required no additional work. The yogurt cheese and the lactic cheese took much less time in class, but required that we come in the next day for further treatment. Since the mozzarella and queso fresco groups filled up quickly, I chose to work with some people at my lab bench on the lactic cheese. I must admit, that name was a bit of a deterrent to me at first, but I went in with the attitude that I would try it anyway and make it as good as I could.

The lactic cheese process was extremely easy. First we poured a half gallon of milk (I think it was 1% or maybe whole...it had a red label, if that means anything to you) into a saucepan and heated it over a hot plate. The temperature had to be 30 degrees C (around 86 degrees F), since that is the optimum temperature for the bacteria involved. A small amount of a starter culture of bacteria was added and stirred, and allowed to heat with the milk. Once the temperature was reached, we added a small amount of the enzyme mixture rennet, which allows for the formation of curds. After this was stirred up thoroughly, the mixture was poured into a large container, covered, and set out overnight at room temperature. My official part of this section of the cheese making was that of stirrer. However, two people were needed to check on the cheese the next day: one in the morning to filter and hang the cheese, and one in the afternoon to take it down, stir it up, and refrigerate it. Since none of the other group members could come in during the morning, and I had a free hour after my 8:30 class, I decided to be the morning person.

When I got there in the morning, I checked the consistency of the cheese. For some reason I was anticipating that the cheese would still be liquid and not form any curds, but thankfully I was wrong. I poured the mixture through the cheese cloth and allowed it to drain for a while in a colander. Then I tied it up with string and made several unprofessional knots to hang it for further draining. Then I left it for the afternoon person making sure she knew which cheese was ours and when I had hung it to drain.

Today was judgment day: time to taste the cheese of our labor. It's always a little nerve wracking to try things you have made yourself in lab, since you are well aware of how things can go wrong. But hey, this is cheese, a food we all love. So we tried it all. And we loved it all! Despite the name "lactic cheese," everyone tried it and it was the biggest hit of them all. By itself it was a little bland, but with the recommended addition of spices and salt, that turned into an awesome spread for crackers. At the end of class, some of us were asking to take some of it home (including myself), and mixed our own combinations of seasonings. I did try it all, and the lactic cheese and the mozzarella were the best of all; I have some in my refrigerator waiting for me.

So now I have a much better appreciation of one of my favorite foods. Maybe some day I'll show y'all what it's all about. I know I enjoyed doing it, and of course the end products are mucho delicioso...

What Spring Break???

2009-03-11T16:28:00.000-04:00

Last week was my Spring Break, but unfortunately there are a couple of problems with using that phrase for the week I was off from school:

1. It was not Spring.

2. I did not get any real "break."

The end of February and the beginning of March are by no means spring-like. In fact, some of those nights were the coldest it has been this year! Fortunately enough, the last few days I was home on my "break," we had weather in the 60s and 70s, which was a welcome change for me.

I had no real "break" because this time home was a working vacation from school. Of the ten days I was home, seven of those were spent working at Ingles. Of course if you take away the day I arrived and the day I left, I actually worked seven of the eight full 24-hour-days that I was home. What can I say though? I'm a college student nearing graduation that needs moolah!

I did take off from work on Monday the 2nd for my dad's birthday, and the family and I went out for that. I also got together with some friends for lunch one day, and the time I wasn't working I spent at home with whomever was around that day. All in all, it was a productive vacation as far as the income game goes. The school work game...well, let's just say it was a TRUE vacation from school!

We Rise Again from Ashes

2009-02-25T00:01:00.003-05:00

Ash Wednesday is the official beginning of the season of Lent in the Church. For the next forty days, people will be "giving up" things as a form of sacrifice and holiness to prepare for Easter. More importantly, this is also a season of prayer and penitence; while giving up things is a good way to get there, prayer, fasting, and alms giving are important too.

While it is not important that you know what all of my Lenten sacrifices will be, since each person's plans are personal, suffice it to say I will not be satisfied by simply giving things up. Below you will find YouTube videos of a prayer I have elected to say every day whenever I have the free time. This set of three videos shows the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, which is just an overall great prayer. If you want more information about it, go here. It is simply a beautiful prayer, and praying for mercy and peace for myself and the whole world is a great way to prepare for the season of Easter. (Not to mention that the prayer was first revealed to the recently canonized St. Mary Faustina Kowalska, of Poland. A shout out to all my Polish family!)

Happy Ash Wednesday to all; I for one will be getting my ashes tonight.

It's Paczki Time Again!

2009-02-24T16:10:00.001-05:00

Happy Fat Tuesday to all...

Since I have blogged about these delicious Polish donuts called paczki in the past, I felt it was not necessary to go into any detail this time around. If, however, you are so inclined to read up on them from my past post, and a post my aunt Cheryl wrote, go here or here. Suffice it to say, they are delicious, even the store-bought ones. I would like to get my hands on some fresh-made ones sometime though.

Plus, as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. Enjoy!

Gas Chromatography

2009-02-16T19:57:00.000-05:00

A major component of the research I am doing as a senior in Biology involves the use of gas chromatography. The gas chromatograph uses heat and a long metal tube to separate gas (or even liquid) components of a mixture in order to determine concentrations of the components. Based on the size of the component (molecular weight) and retention time within the tube, different components "come out" at different times. All the while, a recorder is keeping track of what components are "coming out" of the machine by marking peaks on paper. The heights of the peaks are proportionate to the relative concentrations of each component, so by measuring the peaks, you can determine concentrations in the sample you injected.

It all sounds very complicated, but in practice is quite easy. For the research I am doing, I am measuring acetylene reduction activity by an enzyme (nitrogenase) present in certain bacteria, in my case, a bacterium that lives in a symbiotic relationship with plants. Acetylene is a gas with the formula C2H2; the nitrogenase enzyme "reduces" acetylene to ethylene, a gas with the formula C2H4. After injecting a measured amount of acetylene into a vial containing the plant/bacteria symbionts, the vials are set aside to allow for photosynthesis and acetylene reduction to occur over time. At certain time intervals, a small amount of the gas phase is removed from the vials and injected into the GC to measure the relative concentrations of acetylene and ethylene present in the sample.

Below I have scanned in a print-out that I recorded during an acetylene reduction assay that I performed this past Friday. The first peak shown is that of methane gas (CH4), which is apparently present in the tank of acetylene already. The second peak is that of ethylene, the peak in which I am most interested. Finally, the third peak is that of acetylene, which is so large that our graph cannot fully capture it. There are two sets of peaks shown in this print-out. Sorry that the image is so straining on the eyes; the lines on the paper ended up standing out more than the red peaks.

Even though this whole process is very time-consuming, according to my professor/advisor, I had excellent data from my acetylene reduction assay. Apparently the bacteria in my plants are readily reducing acetylene, and increasing with time, a good indicator of the nitrogen fixation activity that the nitrogenase enzyme actually performs. Nitrogen fixation is the process by which nitrogen gas (N2), the largest component of air, is "fixed" by the bacteria into ammonia (NH3), which can be used up by the plants as a nutrient. So, you see, the good results from the acetylene reduction outweighs the amount of time that I spent in the lab.

I can imagine that at least several of you have no interest whatsoever in this information, and may find this information boring and useless. I can admit that it is a little bit boring to read about this stuff; science has to be experienced, not just read. So, believe me when I say that it is much more interesting in practice. Wanna try sometime?

VIPs

2009-02-08T13:49:00.000-05:00

Let it be known to all that today, February 8, 2009, two Very Important People have birthdays!

The first VIP celebrating today is my mom, Karen. Unfortunately I will not be home to celebrate and spoil her on her day, but what can you do? More unfortunately still, she will be spending her day working and doing paperwork. Happy Birthday anyway!

The second VIP celebrating today is Adrienne. Unfortunately I have not grown the ability to spontaneously fly, so I can not make it to sunny CA to celebrate and spoil her on her day either. More unfortunately still, she will be working too! Happy Birthday anyway!

I hope both of you have a great, happy, hopefully somewhat relaxing day, and that you both have many, many more Happy Birthdays to come!

Round Two: It's for the Birds

2009-01-28T15:57:00.000-05:00

The second round of our major snow storm came last night and early this morning first in the form of ice, and later turned into snow. I would say we have about a 1/2'' of ice covering the streets, grass, and trees, and we got an additional three inches or so of snow on top of that. That means we had total accumulations of about eight inches!

I did some more walking around today as I went to the cafeteria for some lunch, only to find the beauty that is ice-covered plants. I snapped a few pictures on my way, but when I came back, I came across such a surprise. A few of the fattest, happiest birds I have ever seen were playing in the iced-over trees! All of the trees they were "playing" in had bright red ripe berries for the picking, so of course they were looking to score some delicious food. I can only imagine their dismay to find out that the berries were all frozen, but I got a great picture of them! I'm sure they'll have a nice little meal anyway, as soon as the ice goes away...

Even Big Kids Love Snow Days

2009-01-27T16:48:00.003-05:00

It may be true that in the working world a snow day is an infrequent occurrence, and usually an unwelcome one. Well, here in the academic world, snow days are very welcome, including by the faculty! The students, including myself, enjoy having a day off from classes and studying, if only for a short while.

Some people, not really myself (any more), enjoy playing in the snow. I could be happy just walking around in it and taking pictures, which is lucky for you, since here are the pictures I took on my walk! I'm sure doing snow angels or having a good-natured snowball fight would be fun, but I'm just enjoying the beauty right now. I hope you enjoy it too, and that you can do so from the comfort of either a warm climate or a warm home.

Waiting

2009-01-26T19:03:00.000-05:00

The talking heads and the powers-that-be are really hyping the up-coming snow and ice storm that will be causing problems all along the Midwest and the Great Plains. Around here, we are expecting mostly snow tonight with accumulations of 3-4 inches by tomorrow afternoon. Class cancellations for tomorrow? Possible but not probable.

Round two begins Tuesday evening with additional snow accumulations of about 1-2 inches, but the likelihood of seeing ice is much greater. We are expecting from 0.5-1 inch of ice between the two snow events, which as many know will be the more dangerous form of precipitation. Class cancellations for Wednesday? More possible and highly probable.

Obviously if you know me at all, you know that I love the snow (or even the prospects of getting any of it). And, as you already know, I love to take pictures of it and post them on here. So, if the situation warrants itself, and we do indeed receive as much snow as they are hyping, I will do my duty with the picture-taking. I for one will be praying for tons of the white stuff. The class cancellations? Just an added bonus.

Monopoly

2009-01-22T00:59:00.000-05:00

Recently, in my Accounting class, we started discussing the four major accounting documents used in any business:

The Balance Sheet
The Income Statement
The Statement of Retained Earnings
The Statement of Cash Flows

In order to illustrate how these documents can be used, my professor brought in several sets of the classic board game Monopoly and gave us specific instructions for game play. We were broken into groups and played as pairs in our own "business partnership." Each pair was given $1500 in stock and $500 in a bank loan (equity and liability, respectively) and was told to purchase any property on which we landed, and to build a house on that property. All along, we were to keep account of everything we bought, paid out, or collected, listing every monetary transaction as either an increase or a decrease in cash.

By the end of the game, an arbitrary time decided upon by the professor, we were to match up the amount of cash in our hands with the amount of cash in the paperwork. Being naturally gifted with math and everything numerical, I was able to come up with that accounting very easily and quickly and precisely. Following this, we were to create a beginning and ending balance sheet to determine our ending assets and equity (the liabilities, the $500 loan, did not change). Our ending assets (property and cash) totaled $2188, and our ending equity totaled $1688. Upon finding this value, we created an income statement to determine whether we had a net gain or loss. We obtained a net income of $188. Success!

We did not get to the other two statements during the Monopoly game, however we did discuss them in class this past Tuesday. We have been practicing creating these statements and calculating the respective values in order to get used to reading and interpreting financial accounting statements. So far, I am enjoying this class. I will be sure to blog more about my experiences and learning as the semester progresses.

Surreal Day

2009-01-20T23:30:00.000-05:00

Today was Inauguration Day, and boy what a day it was. I am still having a hard time believing all that transpired today, and over the last several months.

I had Bacteriology Lab during the swearing-in ceremony, but luckily for me (perhaps unluckily for some students), my professor brought up a live feed from CNN.com and projected it on a screen in our laboratory classroom. That whole process had to be one of the most exhilarating television experiences of my life (save for maybe the night Obama was elected). The bands playing, the speeches, the sea of humanity, the look of excitement on peoples' faces, the piece by the classical musicians... It was all too much. Too much I say!! Need I describe to you the joy and excitement in my heart and soul, and the tears in my eyes? I think not.

Apart from the fact that Chief Justice Roberts messed up the Oath of Office (which my professor was quick to point out and say, "Shame on him" for), the whole Inauguration process went off very well. To my knowledge, this is the first one that I have gotten to watch at any significant length, so of course this will be the one I remember the best. Maybe to some this is just a routine thing, but to me it really was a magnificent experience, and you can't take that away from me (that means YOU all you doubters and pessimists!).

I for one will be watching the next four years with great interest. I have a lot of hope and faith that this president will do what's right for this country. Despite his many critics (several of you read and comment on this very blog), I believe and hope that President Obama will bring this country into a new era of prosperity and wealth for ALL Americans. Mr. Obama, you and the great US of A will be in my prayers daily...

Raclette

2009-01-07T00:23:00.000-05:00

Except for perhaps a bowl of chili or some chicken soup, I can't think of a better dinner on an incredibly rainy day than raclette.

In case you have no idea what raclette is, I shall enlighten you. Apparently it is a Swiss dish (as explained to me by my all-knowledgeable mother) that is made on a special raclette grill. My parents received a raclette grill for a wedding present from Aunt Lori, and boy have we gotten some good use out of it! Anyway, raclette is a dish that contains potatoes, bacon (or I would imagine some other fancy Swiss pork meat), and an easy-melting cheese (Gruyere is apparently very popular, but very expensive). We use monterrey jack cheese due to the tastiness and ease of melting.

May I just say, mmm mmm mmm. It does take some time to cook as you wait for the bacon to cook before adding the cheese to melt. But the finished product...oh my... Just pour over the potato and enjoy! Of course, you should also have a side dish or a salad while you are waiting. Plus, since I'm sure the meal itself is not particularly healthy, you should probably have some leafy greens to counteract the fat that you are consuming. At least then you don't feel so guilty for indulging...

I have not really researched how easy it is to obtain a raclette grill, but from what I can hear, it is not easy. Apparently the one my parents received was bought by Aunt Lori on a trip to Switzerland, and I would imagine they are sold almost exclusively there. But still, if you can make it for yourself, I'm sure you will not be disappointed. Just be sure to have a nice workout the next day...

Hap---py New Year!!!

2009-01-01T00:11:00.002-05:00

I'm sure that I'm not the first on the Blogger network to do so, but I wanted to wish everyone a very, very Happy New Year 2009!

As I sit and type this post, I am the only one awake in the house to welcome in the new 2009. Oh well. Guess I'll have champagne all by myself, if I can find any that is.

At any rate, I hope everyone out there in blog land has a very happy and healthy 2009. May your year be filled with wealth, health, success, love, and above all HAPPINESS.

Finished!

2008-12-19T13:20:00.000-05:00

As of about 12:20 PM, my Fall 2008 Semester is over! I took my last final exam (Biochemistry) and all is well! I have sold back all but two of my books (interested parties should search Amazon.com for an Animal Behavior book and a History of American Popular Music book with CDs). I am currently in the process of packing up my stuff and heading home. Yay!

Since I know how much everyone misses me when I am home, I will make every attempt to give a little update every few days. I will be working every day until Christmas starting tomorrow, and will be taking a much-needed vacation to visit my dear family in Atlanta starting the 26th.

In case you are one of those dear family members to which I am referring, I'll see you soon!

To everyone else, who may still be dear friends and family members, I'll see you in blog world!

Happy Birthday!

2008-12-15T15:22:00.000-05:00

Let it be known to all blog buddies out there that a very important person has a birthday today! I am writing this post as a way of sharing my warmest wishes, since I did not send a gift or a card, or make a personal visit or phone call. (Some might call me a cheap you-know-what, but that's just fine.)

At any rate, Happy Birthday Grandpa! May your day be filled with every joy and blessing that you desire, and may you have many, many more to come!

Magnificat anima mea Dominum

2008-12-13T18:34:00.002-05:00

Here's some more Latin for you!

This past Monday was the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, a holiday where the Church recognizes that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was born without the stain of original sin. I have to say it is my favorite Mary holiday, but then I might be a little bit biased. The church I was raised in is called Immaculate Conception, and that holiday is of course always a big deal over there.

A lot of people, mostly non-Catholics, are confused about the term "immaculate conception." I can admit that as a child I was also confused, but I have seen the light! Many people still believe (incorrectly) that the Immaculate Conception is the belief that Jesus was born to a virgin. That belief is in fact called the "virgin birth," which is also a dogma of the Church. So, the phrase "it must have been an immaculate conception" that is thrown around regarding unexpected pregnancies is totally false.

The Church proclaimed the Immaculate Conception as dogma in 1854, though this was definitely not the first time people believed in this. (Consequently, the first Catholic church in Knoxville came about just a few years later. Guess what it was called???) Until that time, people could believe what they wanted regarding the IC, only in 1854 it was established as a universal truth within the Church. To paraphrase something I have read, at this time the Church decided that in order for Mary to become the Mother of God, she had to be free from sin from the very moment of her own conception. This is not merely something that the Church came up with, but something that had been passed down for centuries through Tradition. Not to mention the allusions to this very fact that are found in Scripture. (Sorry that I don't have specific Scriptures to quote, for all you scholars out there. But believe me, they do exist!)

I have always felt a special devotion to the Blessed Mother in my own life. Don't get me wrong; I know very well that nothing can replace the worship and honor given to God the Father and God the Son (Jesus) and God the Holy Spirit. The Church clearly distinguishes honor given to God and honor given to Mary and the saints. To briefly go over this, there are three Latin terms for honor in the Church: latria, which is defined as worship (God only); dulia, which is honor for the saints; and hyperdulia, which is honor for Mary. As you can see, Mary is given the hyper- prefix, meaning she is given the greatest honor out of all the saints. God is still the only One that can be worshipped.

Back to my own life, since grade school I have felt a special connection to Mary. Perhaps this was due to the devotion a certain teacher of mine had for Mary. My fifth grade teacher was Sister Jolita (yes, a real religious sister), so of course her life was dedicated to God and living a life devoted to our Blessed Mother. To only further my own faith, my high school principal, Dr. Montgomery, had a very special devotion to Mary as well. Though she was not a member of the religious life, she often prayed for Mary's intercession in school events or world events, and that was always a comfort to me. Isn't it great to have a comforting motherly figure watching out for you? That is perhaps the greatest reason for a devotion to Mary. Now granted that God is both Father and Mother of us all, but putting a real live person as a mediator between us and God is always a good thing!

At any rate, that's really all I wanted to say about this subject. Oh wait, I didn't mention the meaning of the title! This line is taken from Luke 1:46 (yesss! Scripture citation!) from the Canticle of Mary commonly known as the Magnificat: "My soul proclaims the greatest of the Lord." Magnificat anima mea Dominum literally means "my soul magnifies the Lord." So there you have it! Your Latin and ecclesiastical lesson for the day!

Mary, Mother of God, Immaculate Conception, pray for us...

I Will Give Thanks, for I Am Thankful

2008-12-07T00:34:00.002-05:00

This is getting here a little late, but Happy Thanksgiving to everyone out there! I had a great time at home with friends and family for my holiday, and I hope everyone was able to enjoy that time with someone, food or no food.

When I pray at night, I always list some things that I am thankful for, just as a way to make my prayers not all about me me me and what I want/need. Most of the time these things are somewhat trivial, like doing well on a test, or having a nice day weather-wise, or just making it through a day of classes. However, I always try to be thankful for something in the "bigger picture." That's why today I wanted to blog about some of those big things that I am truly thankful for, especially now during Thanksgiving and the days leading up to Christmas.

I am thankful for the gift of life, and all it has to offer.

I am thankful for the gift of friends and family. They love me unconditionally and support me in whatever I do, even if they don't always agree with me. I show them love, and they show it right back to me, and that's just a great thing.

I am thankful for the gift of living in this great country. I could not imagine living anywhere else, and I am truly thankful for all the freedoms I enjoy here. I am especially thankful for everyone living and dead that have allowed me those freedoms.

I am thankful for the gift of a good education. I know that a college education will prepare me for the working world and ensure that I can be successful in life. I know that so many do not have this opportunity, and I am thankful that I was able to earn that education.

I am thankful for the gift of a comfortable place to live. Whether here at school or at home, I can be safe from the elements both in the summer heat and in the winter cold. I know that so many do not have that luxury, and I know how privileged I am in that regard.

Obviously there is an infinite number of things for which I am thankful, but that would take forever to list and explain them all. A statement I say every night in my prayers pretty much sums it all up though:

I thank you God for a roof over my head, clothes on my back, food in my belly, and love in my heart.

I pray that I will continue to be blessed with all these good things in my life. Given that I am also so very thankful to have all you blog buddies out there reading and commenting, I pray that you too will be blessed with every good thing you could ever need.

Cogito ergo sum

2008-11-22T14:27:00.001-05:00

Sorry, Uncle Tim, I had to put Descartes before the horse :-D

As I sit here about to start my eight-page paper for Philosophy class, many thoughts are going through my mind. Mostly those thoughts are about Rene Descartes... Hmm, could that be because that's one of the people that will be written into my paper??? Could be.

At any rate, anyone who has had a Philosophy class is probably familiar with the quote "Cogito ergo sum." My professor calls it a "cocktail party quote," since it is one of those things you can say at a party to impress people with your infinite knowledge of things (or so he thinks). I am not so convinced that I could use that at a party, but I digress.

For anyone who is not familiar with that quote in Latin, you are probably familiar with it in English: "I think, therefore, I am." Descartes is proving that we exist by the fact that we can think. We are immaterial thinking things; that which we believe makes us human (the human body) actually has very little to do with who we are. The mind is separate from the body, and we merely take the form of a body to be a part of the material world. This intellect separates us from the rocks, the plants, and the animals, since they only have material bodies and no mind/intellect. Descartes would say that therefore, we have dominion over all other things, paraphrasing Genesis: "to be masters and possessors of nature." Very powerful stuff, if you ask me, though I do not agree with it all.

From the way I have learned in many a Theology class, both here and in the past, nature was not created merely for our own use. Yes, I do believe that humans were made in God's image and likeness, and that we are the superior beings due to the intellect we have, but that doesn't mean everything in nature is ours to control. The Bible suggests that we have responsibility for the Earth, not necessarily that we have free reign over everything. Descartes would have us believe that all things were created simply for our sake, and not for those things in and of themselves. For example, the cow was made to give us food and milk, not to be a cow. The tree was made to give us shade and furniture from it's wood, not to grow and live as a tree. Et cetera, et cetera...

Why don't I believe in all of this? Let's just say I can't believe in a God that would create things just for us to exploit them. Yes, I enjoy eating meat and plants, and burning those fossil fuels in my car, and otherwise using nature to continue my life. However, not recognizing that those things that I am using were precious and good before I used them is just plain wrong. In that way, I tend to agree more with St. Thomas Aquinas, who coincidentally is also going to be in my paper. He would have us say that something is good before we use it for our own good. For example, "This is an oak tree, and it is good. Now I will make a table out of it." Or, "This is a cow, and it is good. Now I will make hamburgers out of it."

I think, therefore I am, disagreeing with Descartes on a couple things. He has a lot of good points that I would agree with, but this one just did not sit well with me. What do all the other masters and possessors out there think?

Aunt Paulette

2008-11-17T17:52:00.000-05:00

The beginning of November is always a special time in the Church. The first is All Saints' Day, which celebrates all men and women who are officially declared to be in heaven by the Church. The second is All Souls' Day, which celebrates the men and women who, though not officially declared saints, have gone before us into everlasting life. This includes those souls already in Heaven, those in purgatory, and even also we the living. It is, after all, ALL Souls' Day.

November is also the month that we remember in a special way those that have left our mortal realm in the last year. Naturally when I reflected on this, my mind shifted to Aunt Paulette. I made a point to write her name in the special book in the Chapel here at Xavier. I have been thinking about her a lot lately, and those thoughts have been both sad and comforting at the same time. Since I really didn't have a chance to reflect on her and her impact on my life in blog form, I decided this was as good a time as any to do so.

The first time I can actually recall meeting her (take into account that this is the only meeting I REMEMBER) was at my cousin Kelly's wedding about five or six years ago. We all made the trip to Jacksonville for this occasion, and it was going to be interesting to finally meet all of my Grandpa's brothers and sisters, who unbeknownst to me, I had probably already met. At any rate, Aunt Paulette instantly made an impact on me. I am not just saying that just to prove my point that I miss her, but because I can actually remember what the first thing she said to me was. Here is an exerpt of our conversation, more or less, as I remember it:

AP: (already in a conversation about being nice)
SM: Hi, I am Sean, Marcel's grandson.
AP: Well, are you nice, too?
SM: (uneasy) Umm, yes?
AP: Well, good, I'll get along well with you then.

Obviously you can tell that I wasn't ready for such a question, but we got over that awkward introduction. Later on it came out how I was the one that got left behind at Grandpa Beauregard's birthday party when I was three. Once that came out, Aunt Paulette knew exactly who I was. Unfortunately, I will always be infamously remembered that way by my extended family. It was a topic of humor during the course of the visit, and I have to say now it is quite funny to me as well. Of course, at the age of three, it was a horrific experience, and I can still remember it quite vividly. Well, that's a topic for another blog.

After that summer of getting to know her through discussion and games (and all of my grandfather's siblings for that matter), I was very intrigued and wanted to keep in touch with her. Unfortunately that only really started happening two or three years later when I got introduced to the blogging world. And as you know, once I started blogging, I got hooked on blogs in general. I was introduced to so many family members that I never even knew I had. It was truly refreshing to know that there were people out there that had interesting blogs, and who were genuinely interested in what I had to say.

Aunt Paulette was something else when it came to the blogging world. Not only did she post interesting things to her own blog, but she was a diligent commenter on everyone's blogs. This included mine. I could always count on her to post something on each and every one of my posts, or at least a majority of them. Even if she didn't agree with what I said, or even if the content was boring, she made a point to comment. I always enjoyed reading her comments. She posted praise, advice, information, personal anecdotes, jokes, and shared in my joy if I had something good to report. I was very glad I had found her through blogging.

On top of her comments, I thoroughly enjoyed reading her own blog. I went all the way back to the beginning of her blog (about 4-5 years prior to now) when I started reading blogs, and she was an excellent writer. I was amazed at what an awesome memory she had, being able to recall people's names and events from sixty years ago. What a woman! Not only did she remember what happened, but she remembered specific details, and could then use her storytelling skills to set the scene for all the rest of us. I especially liked her retrospective posts on her own childhood, and the posts on all her siblings as children (especially the ones about my own grandfather). I could not get enough of her blog, and I started checking it every day for new pearls of wisdom.

Unfortunately, my new-found blogging relationship did not last long enough. That saddens me to an extent, knowing that I won't suddenly find a new comment from paulettevanh. BUT, I know that she continues to live on through her family, and she will always be present on cyberspace. I still go to her blog to get to everyone else's; come on, she did have the most comprehensive list ever. Going to that blog every day, I start to think about those fond memories, and how thankful I was to get to know her. I do truly miss her, but I do hope to see her again sometime. God willing that won't be anytime soon, and I will live a long, healthy life in which I remember everything so vividly as she did.

Aunt Paulette, pray for us...

Who I Am

2008-11-08T15:18:00.000-05:00

As per the request of some readers, and due to my overwhelming need to try to please everyone, I decided to write a post to tell you all who I am and what I believe. I know that no one agrees on everything, but this is what I believe, and I hope everyone can respect my decisions. Contrary to popular belief, young people do come about their own decisions without coercion of others, and that is the case with me. I don't believe in something just because that's what I am told to do; I weigh things very carefully and make decisions that best represent who I am and what I feel is right.

I am a Catholic.
I think this is one of the most important "I am" statements that I can make. I was born and raised in the Roman Catholic tradition, and I could not imagine living with any other faith tradition. Yes, I guess you could say I was more or less "forced" into believing these things as a child, but I have made my commitment to the Church by myself. It was I that chose to be confirmed as a senior in high school, and that is a decision I stand behind whole-heartedly. I love all the good things the Church stands for, and I defend her in her stances on things. I chose to attend a Jesuit Catholic college, not because someone told me to, but because that is what I wanted. I choose to attend Mass every Sunday and Holy Day not because someone tells me to, but because I want to. I believe that Jesus is my Lord and Savior, and that all that I am and do reflects Him in my words and actions. I believe in an everlasting reward in Heaven that hopefully I will achieve someday. I believe that all people are born with a common goodness and decency, only that we are corrupted by the sin and destruction of this world. That's not to say the whole world is corrupt; there is so much beauty in creation and God reveals Himself/Herself through all that we can see (and for that matter, things we can't see). I believe that all faiths are good ways of achieving the same end. I know that the Catholic faith is the right way for me, but I would not take away from any other faith and say it is less Godly than mine. Faith is that relationship with God; religion is only a way of expressing that faith in a structured environment. I believe in the equality of all people: rich or poor, old or young, black or white, gay or straight, educated or uneducated. These are my beliefs and who I am, and I stand behind that.

I am a Democrat.
Given the recent election, I think it is also important to make this statement. If you have looked in the Blogger world lately, you will probably see that quite a few of my relatives are Conservatives. Obviously, then, I did not choose to be a Democrat because someone told me to. In the same way, I did not choose to be a Democrat just to spite them; that's not who I am at all. I have always believed in certain things, but only in the last few years have determined that many of my views seem to fit in nicely with the Democrat way of thinking. However, that is not to say I don't hold some Conservative values and beliefs, only that I choose to align myself more with Democrats than I do with Republicans. First of all, I believe in our right to choose our own religion, and not to be a country of only Christians. I choose to be a Catholic, but that does not mean everyone else must make the same choice as I made. Our Constitution allows us to practice whatever religion we want, even if that entails not practicing one at all. I can respect any choice of religion, whether it be Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, any other organized religion, or even the choice of "no religion." I believe in a strong federal government that takes care of its citizens and looks out for their welfare. I believe that we need federal programs to help people find jobs, to help people get out of tough situations, to help people raise their families, to keep us safe at home and abroad, to help us keep our freedoms that we enjoy. That being said, I believe that these programs are under-supervised and under-regulated. People can easily take advantage of the system, and there should be more oversight in these avenues. There are many other things that I believe that correspond with the Democrat way, but I will leave you with just those few for now. These are my beliefs and who I am, and I stand behind that.

I am pro-life.
Some might say that a pro-life stance is contrary to the ways of a Democrat. I say that they are wrong. Being pr0-life encompasses much more than just the issue of abortion. Yes, maybe I disagree with my party on abortion rights, but in the same way, I am not sure I believe that the government should have a say in whether or not someone chooses to have one. That being said, I did march in Washington during one of the Right to Life Marches while in high school, and boy was that an awesome experience! I would just prefer someone choose life and to give their child life, even if that means adoption. I am pro-family, anti-death penalty, pro-gun control. All of these stances show a pro-life belief; all humans deserve the right to life. Yes, it is controversial to think that criminals deserve to live just as much as we non-criminals, but that is what I believe. The legal system sometimes has holes in it that keeps innocent people from being declared innocent (or i suppose "not guilty"), which means some innocent people end up dead by the hands of their government. I believe that convicted murderers should face life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, and that their lives should be confined to a small room with only necessary food and other provisions. I believe that gun control should exist to a greater extent. Think of Virgina Tech; that yahoo was able to buy guns even though he had obvious psychological problems. Yes, maybe the Constitution allows for us to "bear arms," but I believe that the greater good of our country depends on us not arming certain citizens with guns (felons, people with psychological histories, or people with non-felonious criminal histories). I believe that the family is the most important group in our country. I love my extended family more than life itself, and I would do anything to defend it. The family is the foundation on which this country is built, and I am prepared to stand behind those values. These are my beliefs and who I am, and a stand behind that.

I am a college student.
This is not a belief statement, but merely a major part of my life. I chose to come to Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio, and I stand behind that decision. I wanted to have a college experience that was away from home, and yet comfortably close enough that I could easily make it home for holidays. I needed an experience that emphasized learning and growth in areas other than my major (which, by the way, is Biology). I am becoming more well-versed in Theology, History, Spanish, Philosophy, Music, English, and other subject areas that perhaps other colleges might not focus on as much. Yes, I am becoming very well-versed in Biology as well. I chose a Biology major because I wanted to pursue medical school in the future. Is this still my intended path? You betcha. I just know that for now, that is not in my immediate future. Perhaps after I finish undergraduate I will get a job in a medical or research field to build up a resume. Perhaps I will continue in my pursuit of knowledge and attend graduate school back home. Perhaps someday in the not-to-distant future I will decide to apply to medical school. But, I have ultimately decided that if medical school is not a reasonable possibility for me, I can live with that. There are so many more things that a Biology or science-minded person can do, and if medicine is not for me, I know that I can have a fulfilling career and life in something other than that. These are my beliefs and who I am, and I stand behind that.

I am "green."
Being pro-life and a Biology-minded individual, it should obviously follow that I believe in conservation and promoting a healthy world. I drive a very fuel-efficient car that on average gets 35 miles per gallon, and I therefore only buy gas every three weeks or so when I am driving a lot. Here at school I hardly do any driving, so I only buy gas when I am about to make trips home. I believe in reducing our carbon footprint and being good stewards of our earth and its resources. I try to reduce my energy usage both at school and at home whenever I can. If I don't need the light on, I leave it off. I turn off my computer and unplug other electronic gadgets that don't need electricity at night. We turn up our thermostat at home during the summer, and turn it down during the winter to not waste energy. I recycle anything that can be recycled; luckily the school provided me with a separate recycling can for this year. If you looked at my room right now, you would find cans, bottles, jars, plastic jugs, boxes, papers, newspapers, and other things waiting to be taken to the curb. "Waste not, want not" is a good motto for me, and I believe in making good use out of everything I own. These are my beliefs and who I am, and I stand behind that.

These are just a few things that describe who I am and what I believe. I encourage everyone to write about their own beliefs and who they are and why they believe/are that way. Also, I welcome opinions and comments on my belief systems; let's keep in mind that everyone is entitled to their opinions and that every opinion is a valid one.

YES WE CAN

2008-11-05T18:50:00.001-05:00

It doesn't matter who you are or what your politics are. This is America, and we are one in our patriotism and our pursuit of liberty. Even if you don't like the man, you have to admit that President-Elect Obama is an eloquent speaker. In case you haven't seen it already, here is his victory speech from last night. I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning watching all the coverage, and I have to admit, I had tears in my eyes from this speech. God Bless America!

One Last Time

2008-11-03T15:54:00.000-05:00

Today was my final registration day here at Xavier. If you all have seen my previous posts about registration, you will know that this is a most rewarding day for me, as I will not have to do this again here at Xavier! I'd go into all the details of my registration woes again, but I'd pretty much be copying and pasting things that have already happened in the past. In that case, you can just check out the old blogs or simply ask if you are so curious.

At any rate, here are the classes I will be taking next semester:

Introductory Financial Accounting
Neurobiology
Bacteriology
Bacteriology Lab
Methods of Biological Research II
Microeconomics Principles
Philosophy of Religion

I decided since I needed a few electives to graduate that I would take some business classes, hence, the accounting and economics. I have not taken any college business classes, and they have always interested me. I took one semester of Economics in high school, but lack of an adequate teacher left me with little to no knowledge of that subject. As some of you already know, my job at the grocery store is as a bookkeeper; this is not the typical position one thinks of when the word "bookkeeper" is mentioned, but close enough. At any rate, I have become a whiz at our store accounting program, so I wanted to see if this class would elaborate more on what I was actually doing for the store. Plus, I'm sure the information found in those classes would have useful, real-world applications that I will deal with in the future.

As compared to past years, I would say this final registration went much more smoothly. Of course, no registration is without incidence, but I am used to it by now. I'm just glad to finally say, "Thank God it's the last time..."

Who Went to the Zoo?

2008-10-26T15:33:00.002-04:00

That's right, I went to the zoo!

For my Animal Behavior class, we were given a ticket to the Cincinnati Zoo in order to observe wild animals in captivity and study some of their behaviors. I went yesterday and took quite a few pictures of the animals I saw. I won't share my actual assignment today since loading these pictures is enough work by itself; today I'll just let you see my pictures and maybe I'll report on what I observed and comment on the pictures tomorrow.

I Voted

2008-10-18T15:13:00.000-04:00

That's right, I voted! Since I won't be in my home state for Election Day, I requested a by-mail absentee ballot. I received it on Wednesday, filled it out, and sent it off yesterday. I have to say, it was pretty exciting! This was my first time voting in a presidential election (not my first time voting, mind you), so that is a big deal.

On top of the presidential election, Tennessee is also electing one of our U.S. Senators; my area is also electing a U.S. Representative, a county commissioner, and a couple of other positions. Also, there were four or five Knox County charter amendments and a liquor referendum. Wow, so many things to consider! But I read over everything carefully and voted what I thought was right.

Okay, so now where's my "I Voted!" sticker???

The Twenty

2008-09-22T16:50:00.002-04:00

Anyone that has talked to me in the last few days knows exactly what "the twenty" are. For all of those who feel out of the loop, did you think I wouldn't explain it to you, too???

As you probably already know, I am taking a class called Biochemistry. This is a class that is concerned with biomolecules (such as proteins) and their structures, functions, and importance to the organism in which they are found. The basic building blocks for proteins are the amino acids, of which there are twenty that are found in all life forms. Those amino acids are "the twenty" of which I speak; lucky me, I get to memorize them all! My first test in that class was on Friday, so it was my task to memorize all of the amino acids before then. Luckily I was able to do so, after making flash cards and practicing drawing them ad nauseum. For you curious readers out there, here they are, in all their glory! (Made possible through the contributions of my own pen, paper, and artist's hand.)

My favorite, if only for sheer enjoyment in drawing it, is tryptophan. And yes, that is the amino acid that you hear about at Thanksgiving time that is found more abundantly in turkey. Though, that is not really the reason why people get sleepy after Thanksgiving dinner. Anyone want to conjecture why? (Or does anybody already know why?)

At any rate, I hope you enjoyed your little Biochemistry lesson for the day. If the interest is there, I may have another lesson some day. If there is no interest, you may see some more anyway!

No Words Necessary

2008-09-16T00:03:00.003-04:00

Okay, so I needed to say something to go along with this. In case you have been living in a cave and for some reason haven't seen at least part of this clip, here it is for you. This is a skit from the season premiere of Saturday Night Live starring Tina Fey as Gov. Sarah Palin, and Amy Poehler as Sen. Hillary Clinton. This has to be the funniest thing I have ever seen on tv... Enjoy!

Happy Labor Day!

2008-09-01T16:30:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I did something that I had yet to do while here at Xavier: attend the Labor Day fireworks in Downtown Cincinnati. Boy, was I glad I went this year! I have been to fireworks shows in Knoxville, and a very cool laser/fireworks show at Stone Mountain in Georgia, but this was something else. These fireworks lasted approximately 40 minutes, and they were spectacular to say the least! I was fortunate that Xavier rented buses to take us Downtown, and very fortunate to find a great spot on the Riverfront that faced the fireworks. I took a few pictures, and here are the ones that turned out the best.

Unfortunately, my camera's batteries ran out before the Grand Finale, but that was definitely the best part. They pulled out all the stops on that one, shooting off rocket after rocket with brilliant colors everywhere. This was truly a remarkable experience that I will never forget.

Once Again, All Over Again

2008-08-29T22:40:00.001-04:00

I am back once again, hopefully for good this time! I don't really have too much to blog about tonight, but I just wanted to let everyone know that I was back.

I have already completed a week of classes, and so far, so good. Here are the classes that I am taking this semester:

Animal Behavior
Biochemistry
Methods of Biological Research
Studies in Fiction
Music: Now!
Theory of Knowledge

This semester is somewhat different from the past, since I don't have ANY 8:30 classes! My Tuesdays and Thursdays don't start until 10:00, and my MWFs don't start until 11:30... Ahhh, what a relief! Since I'm not really a morning person, I'd say this semester will go quite well.

The other difference this year is that I have a roommate in my apartment. It was by shear happenstance that I had the apartment to myself last year, so now it is the way it should be (apparently). So far, that is working out well, although it's been hard for me to get used to living in this place with another person. But as time goes by, that should become easier and easier to tolerate.

Other than that, I really don't have too much else to say tonight. I wanted to blog a little bit about my summer, since y'all haven't heard from me in almost four months! I think I'll take some time over my long weekend to do that, so look forward to that soon.

Do You Have What It Takes?

2008-05-05T11:43:00.001-04:00

Whoopi Goldberg recently mentioned a practice Citizenship Test that contains some questions asked of citizens who wished to be naturalized in the United States. That piqued my curiosity, and I had to find out about this test for myself. Upon searching the Internet, I found one such test on the MSNBC site:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13442226/

Not to brag or anything, but I did score a 100%! There are about 20 questions regarding the Constitution, national symbols, American history, and roles of elected officials. Go ahead and try it out, and feel free to post your scores as comments on this post. Seriously, it's fun! Would you pass the test and be allowed to become an American citizen???

Happy Easter!

2008-05-02T11:49:00.000-04:00

Well, obviously today isn't Easter, but technically Easter lasts until Pentecost (this year, May 11th). As most of you know, I was home for Easter, and I got to spend some time with friends and family. I had a great time (after all, I got to be home for my birthday, Spring Break, and Easter...what a combo!), and really got to enjoy my time off and relax. I took just a couple pictures that I wanted to share, so here they are...

Part Two

2008-04-29T15:14:00.000-04:00

As promised, here are my thoughts and explanations of the other parts of the "turn the other cheek" passage in Matthew's Gospel. Sorry that it has taken so long, but with finals and other school things going on, I haven't had as much free time as I would have liked...

The part about the coat and the cloak is again a cultural reference that the author is presenting. A coat, much like today, was a garment worn outside the rest of the clothes. If a person owed someone else a debt, it was a common practice for the person owed the debt to seize the coat of the one owing the debt. Sometimes this was a legal matter that involved a lawsuit, since the person who owed the debt may not have been forthcoming about paying up. However, Jesus throws in the notion of having the debtor sue for your cloak. To give up one's cloak at that time, when he already had given up his coat, would leave the person naked. Nudity at the time of Jesus was a huge no-no, and very shameful. Not so much shameful to the naked person, but shameful to the person who made that person naked. So in this case, the debtor would be the one shamed by everyone else. Jesus is saying this to show how greed and selfishness can lead to shame and humiliation.

Finally, the part about walking the extra mile is a reference to the Jews under Roman occupation. If a Roman soldier were to come upon a Jewish citizen and ask to have his things carried, the Jewish person had an obligation to carry the soldier's items for one mile. Upon completing that mile, the Jewish man had fulfilled his obligation and was free to go. In this instance, Jesus is saying that instead of going on their way after one mile of service, stay for another mile. Again, this is a cultural reference with which most of us are not familiar. For the Jewish man to take up the Roman's stuff for another mile, he was keeping another Jewish man from undergoing the same humiliation. Instead, the humiliation would fall on the Roman soldier, since it would seem as if he did not have "control" over the Jewish man as he should.

So, you see, what Jesus is saying in this passage is that no one is superior to another person in God's eyes. We are all equal, and there is no reason to feel entitled to something that others are not. What Jesus was doing in saying these things was giving hope to the people to whom he was speaking. At this time, the Jesus-believers were being persecuted by their Roman occupiers, and by the traditional Jews, so Jesus is saying this to give them hope. His use of these situations is a way of explaining this concept to the people of that time, in ways that they would understand. Sure, these people think they are hot stuff, but they will get their justice. He urges them, and us today, to be the bigger/better person, and just maybe those that were out to get us or make us look bad will get what's coming to them.

Turn the Other Cheek

2008-04-01T16:55:00.001-04:00

"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one to him as well. If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic, hand him your cloak as well. Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go with him for two miles. Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow."
--NAB Matthew 5:38-42

Most of us are familiar with the "turn the other cheek" statement. But does any of us truly understand what this means? The way I always interpreted it, and probably the way most people do, was that Jesus was telling us to be subordinate and not stand up for ourselves. Well, this isn't exactly true. Taking into account the context of the time, you might say that Jesus was the original proponent of nonviolent resistance.

Back in the days of Jesus, most people in that region were right-handed, or at least used their right hand for most tasks. The left hand was used almost exclusively for "bathroom duties." When a superior or some other antagonist set out to punish someone else, it would almost always take the form of a slap. And this was no ordinary slap; this was a back-handed slap on the face. Since people were right-handed and the left hand was only used for one purpose, the only way to slap someone with the back of the hand was to slap them across the right cheek. This was seen as the ultimate punishment to put someone "in their place."

For Jesus to say "turn the other cheek" was more controversial than it seems. If a person were to turn their left cheek to their superior, the superior would be unable to back-hand slap him with the right hand. Instead he would have to slap the subordinate with the palm of the hand. This, instead of signifying putting someone in his place, would signify that the subordinate was instead an equal. Equals slap each other with the palm of the hand. For a subordinate to turn his left cheek to the superior was seen as the ultimate insult, and the ultimate way to stand up for oneself without using violence. So, you see, Jesus was much more revolutionary than we sometimes give Him credit.

This was just one section of Matthew's Gospel that was recently explained to me in my Christian Scriptures class. I must say, this is all very interesting to me, since I have been hearing some of these stories all my life. I am now getting a better explanation about what they mean, and just how much we can benefit from learning the Scriptures in their original context. What a beautiful thing! In case you are still curious about the rest of this passage, I will give my explanation of the cloak part and the "walk two miles" part soon. And I will continue to share my new-found knowledge of these things for the rest of the semester, so look out!

I Go A-Walking

2008-03-08T14:30:00.002-05:00

Knee Deep

2008-03-07T23:03:00.004-05:00

Well, not just yet. There is a massive snow storm that has been moving through Cincinnati since about 8:00 this morning, and it has a history of some major accumulations to the south. Classes starting at 12:30 or later were cancelled; this had no bearing on my schedule, since I am done by 11:30 on Fridays. But nonetheless, I will enjoy the snow.

As far as accumulation predictions, the meteorologists are using the B word: b-b-b-blizzard! They are calling for between 8-12 inches, with some areas even seeing 15 inches by Saturday afternoon. Being the snow lover, I, of course, am extremely excited about these high amounts of snow! I have nowhere to be this weekend, so I will just enjoy being toasty warm and getting some things done around here. Well, then again, I might take a little walk to survey the beauty around me (I know how much y'all love my pictures! haha)

One other thing I wanted to mention, I had the experience of driving around in the light snow this afternoon. By the time I got out of classes, we had already gotten an inch or two of snow. I always go to the grocery store on Fridays after classes, and today was going to be no different. Well, a little bit different. After spending ten minutes clearing off the windshields and getting everything warmed up, I slowly made my way to the store, which, by the way, was where everyone and his brother was this afternoon. I made it there and back safely, albeit with some minor problems along the way. Traction is an issue with snow on the ground, so I had a couple incidents with wheels turning and judging how to accelerate and brake. But, I think I now have a better understanding of how to navigate in snow: slow and steady wins the race, as they say.

Everyone keeps saying that Spring is just a couple weeks away. Kind of hard to believe given the Winter Wonderland outside. Oh well, this is life. Maybe if I get out tomorrow, I will take some pictures and share them with you fine people.

PCR

2008-02-19T12:55:00.001-05:00

Y'all may be familiar with the "We Are the World" song that came out in the 80's. Well, this is a parody of that song that my Genetics professor Dr. Engle showed us last week. (My longtime readers may notice that this is the same professor that I had as a freshman. She was the one that said to thank your mitochondria!)

At any rate, the song parodies "We Are the World" on the subject of PCR, the polymerase chain reaction. PCR is a way of rapidly amplifying and replicating DNA, and we have been studying that in my Genetics class. It involves heating, cooling, and reheating until new strands of the desired DNA have been put together. While the video below is supposed to be humorous (oh, and it is!), it is still somewhat informative. So, I hope you can learn something! (Personally, my favorite part is the "who's the daddy" part...haha)

Paczki Are Baczki

2008-02-05T11:16:00.000-05:00

C'est Mardi Gras!

Many of you may recall a blog by Aunt Cheryl a little over a year ago concerning the Polish doughnuts called paczki. They are traditionally made and eaten in large amounts for today, Fat Tuesday, the day before the beginning of Lent. In keeping with that tradition, I recently bought a box of four paczki. Kroger just so happened to have them on sale last weekend. (Coincidence? I think not...) The ones I got were Bavarian creme-filled and have a chocolate icing on top. I have already eaten two of them, and let me just say, mmmmm. I saved the other two just for today, so that I can indulge and "get rid" of them before Ash Wednesday.

For those of you that thought my title was CLEVER, thank you, but the idea was not original. I mentioned in a comment on Aunt Cheryl's blog recently that a bakery close to Xavier was advertising paczki on their sign. Just a few days ago, they changed their message to the phrase, "Paczki Are Baczki," and that was just too clever to go unnoticed. Naturally, I couldn't resist using that as a title for this blog! So in case those kind people are reading this, I give credit to the Busken Bakery on Montgomery Road in Norwood, Ohio. Perhaps I'll stop by and get some fresh paczki before tomorrow???

Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys their Mardi Gras, and be sure to eat some paczki if you can get your hands on them.

The Ringing in My Ears

2008-01-23T19:54:00.000-05:00

Sorry that I've been away for so long, but I am back and better than ever! (You can judge for yourselves...)

This past Wednesday in my Physics Lab, we looked at sound waves. Well, we didn't really LOOK at them; sound waves are, after all, invisible. Ahh, but what technology we have! We can detect the sound waves using a microphone hooked up to a receiver, and look on the screen to see how strong the signals are. By changing the frequency or the distance the microphone is from the speaker, we can notice changes in waves. When the waves have the highest peak on the screen, we can tell how many sound waves are present in the closed chamber. After achieving these high peaks, we alter the frequency or distance again until the peaks appear again. Then we know that there is one more wave in the chamber.

At any rate, the title of my blog is very appropriate, since this experiment involved sound. The sound waves were emitted by a function generator, and believe me, it is not a silent procedure. In fact, the entire time the generator was producing sound waves into the chamber, a high pitched beep was heard throughout the room. One by itself was bad enough, but imagine 8-9 of these things going off all at the same time! I would equate it with being in the front row of a rock concert; yeah, it was that loud. Fortunately enough I only had to endure that for about an hour and a half, and once I got outside the ringing was finally gone.

You know what, this Physics stuff isn't that bad sometimes...

Snow, Snow, Wonderful Snow

2007-12-16T17:52:00.000-05:00

Sorry, Grandma, I had to take your idea for a blog title! I hope you can forgive me...

Well this weekend has been the time for the first major snow of the season. We were expecting between 2-4 inches here in Cincinnati by this afternoon. Notice that I said "expecting." The snow started yesterday at around 9 AM and continued for about three hours. Then it turned into rain for the rest of the day, washing away the 1-2 inches that fell (quite quickly, actually) that morning. Then the meteorologists were telling us that we would get another 1-3 inches today, since the rain would turn back into snow. Well, that snow started around 5-6 AM today, and ended just a few hours later. That snow didn't amount to much at all. Now, it seems like all we have is wind and a few flurries. Still, that's better than nothing!

So despite the fact that we didn't have significant accumulations (and I'm sure some of my readers in the great state of Michigan did experience those), I was still happy to see that wintry precipitation. It wouldn't have made a difference to have school called off this week, as it is finals time! They obviously wouldn't have cancelled finals, but I would have liked a little bit more to walk around in and take pictures. But alas, Mother Nature wasn't fulfilling my dreams this time around. Oh well, winter hasn't even started yet, so there will be plenty of time.

In other news, Happy Belated Birthday to my Grandfather! For those of you who didn't already know, his birthday was yesterday. If you, like myself, found yourself forgetting to send him a greeting for whatever reason, I'm sure he would appreciate even a late call, e-mail, or card. Or then again, you could devote a part of your blog to him :-D. Happy Birthday!

Finally, as you read above, this week is Finals Week for me. I have one final each day Monday through Wednesday, all at 8:30 AM. I also have one paper that is due by 1:00 PM Wednesday (a great alternative to another final). That means I will be busy busy busy, but also that I will be going home come Wednesday! I will try to blog again before Christmas (no promises), but in case I don't, I wish you all a Very Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year! God Bless!

It's That Time

2007-11-13T15:45:00.000-05:00

Registration time that is...

Today was my day to register for classes for the Spring 2008 semester. If you have been reading my blogs for a while, you will remember how much I hate, HATE registration days! Well, this one was like all the others, except only to a lesser extent. I got most of the classes I wanted; there was one that I wanted to take but couldn't, because I had to take a different section of a lab that would have conflicted with the time. I was shocked to find earlier today that all the lab sections for Genetics had been filled before the lecture had been filled. Later I discovered that they added spots in each lab section, giving me the impression that someone had made a mistake. A BIG one... So, it worked in my favor that they changed the number of seats, since I was able to register!

So, here's what I will be taking next semester:

Genetics
Genetics Lab
U.S. History II
College Physics II
Introductory Physics Lab II
Introduction to Christian Scriptures

I will be most interested in the Genetics and Scripture classes. I have had some background in Genetics from high school, but nothing compared to what I'm sure I will experience here. Also in high school, we were required to take Scripture our Sophomore year, but that class focused mainly on the Old Testament. I will be interested to go more in-depth into the New Testament, since I have relatively little experience, outside of what I have read and heard at Mass over my lifetime. What do y'all think???

Fall Colors

2007-11-06T13:32:00.000-05:00

I was walking around campus today and couldn't help but notice all the beauty around me. I took a few pictures of all the color I found around where I live, and figured I would post them on here as well. Nothing else to blog right now, just look and enjoy!

Wheelchair Football

2007-10-21T14:08:00.000-04:00

The last activity for my Cultural Diversity class was to attend a wheelchair football game hosted by the Department of Occupational Therapy. My professor would be there as would most of the people in that class. We were only told to wear comfortable clothes since we would most likely be asked to participate in the game... Boy did that make me nervous! So I went there only intending to watch.

I got there a few minutes late since I really didn't know where to go, and the game was already underway. The two teams were headed by actual disabled people; one was in a motorized wheelchair and the other was in one of those specialized ones with the slanted wheels for easy movement. After sitting and watching for a little while, my professor, who was taking pictures of the action, came up to me and started talking to me. She said, "You need to let them know that you want to sub in!" To that I said, "Do I have to???" And she replied, "Oh, you want to!" So I just sort of laughed that off and continued being a spectator.

A few minutes later, one of the girls playing came to sit out since she had been playing for quite a while. She came up right to where I was sitting and asked if I wanted to play. I told her no. She asked if I was sure, really trying to get me to play. I said I was sure and just smiled as she rolled away. Then, not more than five minutes later, another girl sat out and rolled over to the set of bleachers where several students and my professor were sitting. She asked if anyone wanted to play, and right away I saw my professors arm pointing right over in my direction. I heard "Get Sean to play! Come on Sean, it's your turn!" Oye, now I have to play, I thought to myself. I couldn't with a good conscience say no after drawing all of that attention, so I agreed and took that girl's place.

I was on the team of the younger boy, who as it turns out is very skilled at playing football in a wheelchair. I actually had a lot more fun that I had expected, and all those nervous feelings went away after awhile. Though I didn't score a touchdown on my own, I was successful in blocking for the person with the ball, and I almost made an interception when the other team had the ball. Our quarterback did try to throw me the ball on two occasions, and I was so close to catching them. Probably a good thing that I didn't, since I'm sure I wouldn't have known what to do after catching it! I managed to leave the game without any cuts or bruises, and I didn't run into any walls or obstacles this time! I did however get too close to another player and got one of my wheels caught on his chair; what a predicament, let me tell you! I could only imagine if I had been really handicapped and not able to stand up and maneuver the chair around. But other than that, I really had a great time.

Though this was probably something I would never do again, I am glad that I did actually participate in the game. I most likely would have regretted not playing afterwards, since it seemed like everyone else was having fun. So, no regrets for this experience; I just wish I had been able to score a touchdown on my own...

A Wheelchair Experience

2007-10-08T17:53:00.000-04:00

Recently I had a wheelchair experience that was part of my Cultural Diversity class "E Pluribus Unum." The class focuses on "The Disabled as a Discriminated Minority," so part of our assignments was to go to a public place and spend at least two hours in a wheelchair. Since I already wrote a paper for this project, I'll just copy and paste it here for you to read!

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This past weekend I had the interesting experience of shopping at Kenwood Town Center in a wheelchair. I took my friend Megan along as moral, and at times physical, support. The first thing I noticed about this experiment was how difficult it was for me to get the wheelchair into my car. I had intended to put the wheelchair in my trunk, but found that it would not fit. I had to maneuver the equipment around several times before realizing I needed to fold down the back seats. However, this turned out to be one of the least of my problems. The second problem was finding a place to park that would not be too far away from the entrance. I was successful in finding a spot very close to the Dillard’s entrance, but found it frustrating that there were no cuts in the curb to get up on the sidewalk. I eventually was able to roll myself up to the entrance, where a middle-aged gentleman held the door open for me. I was feeling very good about humanity in general at that moment!

Upon entering Dillard’s, I found it fairly easy to navigate through the aisles and winding walkways. Most of the people I encountered coming the opposite direction moved over or stopped to let me cross; this was another good thing. Since the entrance I used was in between floors of the main mall, I had to take an elevator to the first floor to get to the food court. I had to consult a store map to find where the elevator was, and it turned out to be in a far corner of the store. However, the elevator itself was very quick and roomy; I was even able to turn around completely before rolling out upon our arrival. We found the entrance to the main mall very easily, and I was able to navigate to the food court.

Upon arriving at the food court, the first thing I noticed was that the tiles made it a very bumpy ride up to the food counters. I chose to get some Chick-fil-A, and I was able to reach and handle everything, until it was time to roll away and find a table. I had to hand off my food to Megan until I got situated at the table. I managed to find a round table with enough room to get my body right up to the table, which was very convenient. I did notice some children and their mothers looking over in my direction, but no one said anything or did anything to make me feel especially discriminated or uncomfortable. Eating in the wheelchair was quite similar to eating while in a regular chair, and I found it very simple to do so. However, I noticed that I needed to lock myself in place to keep me from rolling away while I reached for my food.

After eating we went towards the smaller shops, since we already knew that the larger department stores were easier to navigate. We went inside American Eagle, Eddie Bauer, Aeropostale, Brookstone, and the Hallmark Store, and all five were just about the same in their setup. Eddie Bauer was the easiest of the stores to navigate, since there was a good amount of room between clothes racks. American Eagle was about the same, but the fact that there were more people in the store made it more difficult. I did purchase some items from there, and I found it fairly easy to do this as well. The cashier that checked me out was helpful in leaning over the counter to help me, which was very nice of her. Also, no one said anything or asked me anything, which made me feel more comfortable with the situation.

The other stores were a little more difficult to navigate. Aeropostale was the hardest to navigate, since there were people standing in line everywhere. The way the store was situated, there was an area of clothes up front, fitting rooms and the checkout stand in the middle, and more clothes in the back. I was unable to get to the back of the store due to the people in line for the fitting rooms. They just stared at me as I tried to wheel by, and no one moved or offered to help me. This was rather frustrating, so I simply left the store and waited outside. The Hallmark Store was not as difficult, but there were breakable items on low shelves where I was trying to navigate. I was very careful in not hitting any of these items, but it was difficult to turn and stay away from them. Brookstone was the same way, but the plus for that store was that there was ample space to turn around.

Before we left, I made a point of stopping in the mall restroom to see how accessible it was. First of all, I noticed how difficult it was to open the door to the bathroom. I stayed “in character” the entire time, and a kind person behind me held the door open for me. I was able to get to the handicapped stall easily, but getting into it was another story. Once I finally got situated in there, the front of the wheelchair was wedged up against the toilet, and the back of the wheelchair was wedged up against the door. There was also very little room to the sides of the chair, so even I had a hard time getting around that. I was able to get out of the chair and maneuver around it, but this would have been very difficult for anyone with a real disability. Upon leaving the stalls, I also noticed that the sinks, and in particular the paper towel dispensers, were very high up. However, I stayed in character and reached for everything myself. I had the sore arms and the back pain to prove it! I also found it difficult to open the door on the way out, since it opened inwards. As I was reaching for the handle, a man walked in and almost hit me. Luckily he was kind enough to hold the door for me to exit.

After the bathroom incident, we went back to Dillard’s to get to the car. We had spent a little over two and a half hours in the mall, and I was completely exhausted! My arms were sore, my legs were sore from not walking, and my hands had blisters and were numb. Once I got to the car, I was able to reenter the world of the “non-disabled” and was able to use my legs again. After reflecting on this experience, I realized how difficult a person in a wheelchair has it. Even though no one made comments or asked about my “disability,” it was emotionally stressful and somewhat embarrassing to require special treatment. And although I only had one run-in with a clothes rack, it was still hard for me successfully maneuver at first; I was lucky to have Megan with me, which then made me think about those that have no one to help them. All in all, this was a very enlightening experience for me. I now have a better appreciation for the disabled lifestyle, and the obstacles they must face. I think now I will be reevaluating how accessible certain businesses are, and perhaps making suggestions on how to improve accessibility.

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So, as you can see, I had a very enlightening experience! It definitely gave me a difference perspective, and I will appreciate the little things a lot more now...