I've decided to move this blog to a new site. I hope you will all join me at the new place:

http://hamstergrrl.blogspot.com/

It's where all the action will be from now on, and where you can find out what color these mums will be:



I bought these about a week ago, specifically because none of the buds had started blooming.  They looked just like the closed buds of every color of mum for sale at the nursery, and I was looking forward to the surprise of color when the flowers opened up.  They are not in full bloom just yet, but it is only a matter of time....

I am sure, after my last post, you are all thinking:

"So Hamster_grrl, what did you photograph for a day on earth?"

I took many pictures today, but this was the winning shot:



You can see lots of other fantastic pictures from all over the world here on the Day on Earth blog.

It was a good day, albeit a long one.

I've got a breakfast meeting tomorrow, so it is an early-to-bed night tonight!

Several weeks ago, I was invited via a parisian flickr member to take part in a cool project.

The idea was that on September 29th, 2005, other flickies and I would take pictures throughout our day and post one to the group.  Flickr is a giant community now, so I have fun thinking that some 800+ people and I from literally all over the world will be thinking about the group and taking pictures on the same day. 

The idea has since ballooned from a flickr thing to a web thing, and now anyone can take part in the project!

Check out the blog here!

It's very exciting! It is about 11:30am on Wednesday where I am, but since I am addicted to Australian radio, I know that it is 1:30am tomorrow morning in Melbourne, and it's even later in New Zealand, so for them the Day on Earth has begun!!!
It is not to late to join up!! The pictures should start appearing any minute now!!!!

This weekend I went to cheer on my friend VanB as she took part in the Breast Cancer 3-day walk.

Words cannot express how proud I am of her. I am in awe of the courage and determination she showed while taking a part in this extraordinary event.
She shares her experiences in training and during the walk in her blog.

Here is a picture of one of the many amazing moments that had me moved to tears during the closing ceremonies:



At the end of the walk, the staff, walkers, and breast cancer survivors who walked were announced.  The survivors wore special pink shirts and walked through the middle of the crowd of other walkers and staff toward the end of the announcements.  As they passed, the other walkers raised their shoes to salute these amazing people, who had survived cancer and then walked 60 miles in 3 days.  We watched them go by, and the amount of love and support for these fantastic survivors moved both myself and MackAttack to tears. 
As we moved to get a closer look at the stage, MackAttack noted, "There were peope our age in the group of survivors "
(we are both under 30, but not by much).
"Yeah," I said, "cancer doesn't really discriminate". 


The walk celebrated life.
It celebrated survival.
It celebrated hope.
It celebrated love.

It was Big. Bigger than me. Bigger than you.


VanB, I am so proud of you, and don't ever forget that YOU DID IT!!! You stepped out of your comfort zone and pushed yourself past the limits you thought you couldn't pass, and you stuck with it until the end!  You ROCK!!!

In that I look like a robot when I am trying to dance! (This, however, is not the ideal style of the movements)

I had my first belly dancing class this evening, and I discovered that:

a) It is much harder than it looks and
b) I have A LOT to learn

I felt very comfortable, and I look forward to future classes and the progress I will make as the semester progresses. 
I think my first goal will be gain ability to move my arms and hips in a coordinated fashion.

Uncoordination aside, I am excited to learn. I love the music, the movements, the sensuality, and the ideas of how the dance is a celebration of a woman's body, no matter what shape, really appeal to me.

While I have had a passing interest in this style of dance for quite some time, it was my dear friend Naimah who really inspired me to take action with learning to dance.  I have known her since junior high school, and while now she is an English teacher by trade, she has started teaching belly dancing classes as well.   She shines when she dances, and I am so proud to see her taking part in something that brings her such joy!!!  If you happen to be in the Las Vegas Valley and are looking to learn more about belly and tribal dancing, check out her site: Ethnophonica

I have finally begun to get the feeling that this whole "Ph.D. in Biology" thing might just work out.
I am capable of having a career as a proper scientist.

Now, I always knew this intellectually, otherwise I would have quit grad school years ago and be working in a knitting store or in the circus or something.
But yesterday, I finally came to the realization in my soul that this is the career that I am going to do successfully for the rest of my life.
I'm becoming a proper scientist!

Yesterday I gave a talk to the department about my research for which I had 24 hours to prepare.

When I was asked to give this talk, I thought to myself "I am 5 years into my Ph.D. program, I plan to graduate at the end of next year, I should be able to prepare a decent talk on short notice and look like I actually have a brain in my head when I give it"   I should be, but I have never actually tried to do that before.  I did not feel to good about the last talk I gave in Australia for which I had a week to prepare, so I was a little nervous.

It ended up being a sort of  "greatest hits" compilation of data and questions I have gathered over the last few years here in the US and in Australia.
The talk lasted for an hour.
an hour.
I made an hour long talk in only one day.
That is as long as the seminars that visiting Ph.D.-carrying scientists present to us.
I essentially just gave a seminar

If you had asked me to give a seminar 5 years ago I would have curled up in a ball and cried in the corner of the room.

At the end of the talk there were questions.
Good questions. 
Questions that indicated that the audience really understood what I was talking to them about. And, I knew the answers to these questions.
After the talk I got plenty of positive feedback, both about the data presented and my understanding of the implications of my results on the Scientific Community.

So, not only did I essentially give a seminar, but I gave a good seminar.

Now, my advisor is a Leader in the Field, and working with her allows me to meet and collaborate with other Leaders in the Field, which I think is a fantastic opportunity, but sometimes I look around at these Scientists, and think, "How the hell am I going to becomeone of Them?". 
I feel very fortunate to be able to interact with Leaders in the Field, but as a lowly Ph.D. student, it can get intimidating.

But now, after writing my first manuscript for publication (still in revisions, but still all the parts are written), and giving this talk, I see that, while I may not be a Leader in my Field right this minute, I can become one.

I was talking about tomato soup with amazonmolly and vman today, and it inspired me to make some for dinner tonight.

During it's preparation, I wrote a song:

I love soup
It's my friend
I love soup
I love it till the end
of the can of soup

It's a slightly operatic piece, but I like it.

Avast me internet hearties!  It be Talk Like a Pirate Day!!

Here's how to be speakin' pirate-like




 

One of my best friends is taking part in the Susan B. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation 3-day walk in Philadelpha next weekend.

She walked 15 miles to another town this weekend as part of the last stages of training, I can't imagine walking that far in a day!
I am amazed and proud of her accomplishments in her preparation for the walk.   I am excited to cheer her on as she walks next weekend, what an empowering and touching weekend it will be for her!

She will walk 60 miles over 3 days, and the money she raises goes toward breast cancer research.  If this is a cause dear to your heart and you want to join me in supporting her, visit her site here, and give what you can!!

Driving into the office today, the Peeps bug passed me on the road in the other direction! I have never actually seen the thing in motion, it was exciting.I wonder how the giant peep affects gasoline consumption and the aerodynamics of the car.



I wonder how the peep-mobile specs match up to the Red Bull Bug. 



I'd pay to see those two duke it out on a racetrack!

I have been reading She Just Walks Around With It ever since Sparkle sent me a link to her site a few months ago.  Her posts regularly make me laugh out loud, and I look forward to reading them.

Recently, she wrote about her life-long struggles with weight and body image.  The story itself is touching, and the wealth of comments from other readers, sharing thier own struggles makes the stories even more moving.

Check it out, you won't be disappointed.

Last Friday's university paper had the headline: "100 alcohol arrests made in two weeks". 

Wow.

I thought I had a fair share of fun in college, but now I realize that I was an amateur.  The undergrads here are professionals.

Flickr has an amazing collection of pictures from hurricane Katrina. 

Also, there are some touching stories from an SF gate reporter in Texas trying to help the evacuees.

I was in New Orleans 2 years ago for a conference (in the very conference center where people waited for days to be rescued).  I flew into and out of the airport that was transformed into a temporary hospital.  The streets I wandered down admiring the beautiful buildings, eating fabulous food, and listening to amazing music now have no power and are full of filthy water. 

I am disgusted at the current administrations utter disregard for the lives of the poor citizens that were unable to evacuate before the hurricane hit.

I am awed at the generosity of Americans who have opened their homes and pocketbooks to help however they can.

Help is still needed, and will be for some time.

Here is a list of places to give

The last few days have been rather frustrating.
Yesterday at 9am I brought my car in to get its annual inspection and to fix a slow coolant leak.
I got my car back today at 2pm.  And, I cried at the car place.  Not my proudest moment.

I hate being without my car. It makes me feel tense and out of control.   I like being able to come and go as I please and I hate imposing on others by asking for rides everywhere (and, yes, I know my friends don't mind taking me where I need to go, but I still don't like to ask). 

Car stress is the worst stress for me, because it is money stress, work stress, and lack of control stress all rolled into a compact sedan package

Also, I fell victim to a famous blunder: Not eating anything or having any caffiene before going into a stressful situation

I ended up waiting much longer than expected for my car to be done, so my low blood sugar and lack of caffiene got the best of me, and when they did not have my key at the service desk after I paid my bill and the guy said that my car was in the back bays I totally misunderstood him.

What I thought he said: Your key is in the car, and the guy still has to check the coolant levels real quick, and by real quick I mean another hour or two, we don't really give a damn about you or your car and want to see how long we can keep you here before you break.

I started saying that I just wanted my key, and four hours ago they told me an hour and a half and I just want my car back.  And, for everyone's enjoyment, I also started crying while I was saying this.

What he really said: Your car is done and if you just walk around the building you will find it there with the key in the ignition

So after he told me *again* that the car was just on the other side of the building, it sunk in.  All I could do was go to my car and drive away, since once low blood sugar tears start flowing, they are hard to stop.  First I was crying because I was frustrated at waiting and stressed about being late to the office, then I was crying because I totally embarrassed myself by crying to the car guy.

Crying off and on for the rest of the day...for no good reasons...that's always fun.