I'm back!

Wow, I haven't posted in so long! I missed the whole month of October. It was an extremely busy month with lots of homework, a visit back home, and a visit here from my family.

The visit from my family was absolutely wonderful. We did lots of sightseeing, which I never have the time to do by myself, and we ate lots of amazing food!

On Friday of their visit we went to Domilisce's-- this little po-boy shop that the Manning brothers used to go to when they were children. They had pictures behind the counter of the Manning boys throughout their career and one of the owners even gave dad a picture of Eli and Payton. I'm pretty sure it was one of Dad's best experiences that weekend. Friday night we went to a jazz club and got to see Ellis Marsalis perform with his quartet. My parents went back to my apartment following the show and Rachel and I met up with some of my friends on Bourbon. We had a really great time! Lots of dancing, some karaoke (not by us!), and hanging out. I think Rachel got the true Bourbon experience!

Saturday was dedicated to walking the French Quarter, visiting the awesome Audubon Aquarium, and eating beignets. That night we went to dinner at Palace Cafe and had wonderful food, yet again! (I think we all dieted after that weekend.) After dinner there was a Halloween parade and we got beads from the floats... we even persuaded my Dad to wear beads in public. I don't think any of us expected my mom to be so competitive about the beads--but she was a pro! :) After the parade we went to Harrah's Casino and Rachel learned an important lesson on the slots. Walk away when you are ahead. Consequently, we all learned an important lesson about Rachel that night. She has no self control. She also has no money, so the loss wasn't that big. :) It was such an amazing weekend that I can't wait for them to come back and visit soon!!

With mid-terms over I'm going to post more! Hope all is well up north!

It's over!

Today is by far the hardest day I've had yet. And now it's over!!!!

I had an exam in my public health in developing nations class AND the biological basis of disease. I can honestly say I've never studied harder in my life! Everyday in the library. Notecards, study guide, practice exams, the works. And I really think it paid off. Both tests were difficult, but I don't feel like either of them kicked my butt. I'm actually really proud of myself for successfully finishing my hardest day to date. Grades to come soon!

Now, I'm relaxing on the couch, watching Seinfeld, and giving myself a night off from the library. Never has doing nothing felt so good!

It's almost fall!

It's almost fall! I'm so excited! Trees won't change colors and it won't cool down a whole lot, but I'm so excited that it's almost fall!

Classes are going really well. I have 2 exams next Tuesday though. One is for my Public Health in Developing Nations course (not too nervous about that test...) and the other is for the Biological Basis of Disease. The disease one might kill me. DNA, RNA, Immunology, Organelles... all basic bio 101 things that, somehow, never manage to stick in my mind longer than 10 seconds. 

Work is still great. Don't know if I've mentioned that, but I have a job working in the office in my department. It's pretty basic, but I've gotten to meet a few professors and a few friends too. I fill the copier with paper, answer the phone, email prospective students, and greet people as they walk in the door. Essentially.... not very much. :) But, it pays and I'm a poor grad student!

The best part of today, by far, was booking Rachel's plane ticket to come visit me in October! My parents are coming down too and I can't wait to have them all here. They are all going to stay in my apartment (it will be tight!) but it will be so much fun! I miss them all so much. I've started planning restaurants and activities and all of those other things that my grad school budget doesn't include but that I can't wait to do!

Off to bed... another long day of classes and studying tomorrow!

Life Lessons

Yesterday I went into the bathroom to find a puddle on the floor. Thinking I must have dripped after my shower, I ignored the puddle and continued on. Then this morning I flushed the toilet and found another puddle. And a leak coming from under the toilet. And a stream of water pouring from the back of the tank. Completely unamused, heading out the door to the library, and thoroughly disgusted I stopped by the security desk to ask to have someone come fix it. The conversation went something like this:

"My toilet seems to be leaking... is there someone I can call to have it fixed?"

"Today?"

"Yes, please."

"Um, no."

Silence.

"Oh, um, then what am I supposed to do?"

"Did you turn it off?"

"No. I don't know how to do that."

And then the security guard looked at me. Stared really. Up and down. And said "You don't know how to turn off a toilet?" and gave me the worst look. Like I was an idiot! I was furious. It is one thing to not help me (I get it... it's a holiday...) but to also make me feel stupid? I was NOT amused. But, after a tutorial I did in fact learn how to turn off the toilet and felt pretty accomplished. Life lesson #1.

Finally, 25 minutes after trying to leave I make it to the library. I sit down and start to unpack. My cell phone rings. It's a Tulane #. Sigh. I answer.

"You need to come back. There is someone at your room to fix your toilet."

AMAZING! I go home, let the man in, try to act as NICE as humanely possible since it is a holiday, and he looks at me and says. "Ok. I see what's wrong. I'll fix it tomorrow."

WHAT? Life Lesson #2. Nothing, and I mean nothing, is urgent in the South. Ever. Not a broken toilet. Not being on time to class. Not the streetcar schedule. Nothing. I've seen ambulances blaring sirens and not speed up. This very well might take some getting used to...

1 week in!

Well, I'm one week in and I'm busier than I thought I would be! My classes are going great, despite being a TON of work. I'm absolutely loving Contemporary Issues in Maternal and Child Health. It's just a great feeling to be in an environment where people care so much about health care in our communities and want to discuss all of its facets.

Health care has been in the media a lot lately, and while I'm frustrated by so much of what I hear, I'm excited to be on the front lines of a national issue. We will define ourselves as a country by how we deal with this issue. It's huge and it's going to take a lot of change and a lot of hard work, but we can't continue to allow our neighbors to suffer without the care they need and deserve.

(Steps off soap box...)

Outside of school things are also going well. I've met a great group of friends and am truly having a wonderful time here in the sunny, sunny south. Things are SO different from the north that I feel like I'm still in culture shock after 3 weeks. Somethings, however, are coming to me fairly easily. For instance, today it was 90 and I wore jeans! It's sooooo cold in the buildings here it is absurd. My own apartment is so cold that I keep a down blanket and a sweatshirt in my living room. The building I live in requires you to keep the AC on year round to prevent mold from growing in the stagnant, moist air. Gross.

Somethings I'm fairly certain I'll never get used to. The top of the list? Roaches. Once it becomes dusk they skitter around the streets with the nastiest little clicking sound. For the first week I didn't know enough to look down while I was walking, but now I'm keenly aware of where I'm stepping. The roaches are HUGE. Each are at least an inch long, some are longer.

Each day continues to be a new adventure. It's been hard to remember to update this when I get home from the library at night, but I'm going to try harder!

Hope all is well up north. :)

It's my first day of school!

So, I realized last night that tomorrow is my first day of school--but furthermore, its the 1st time in 6 years (when I started at Smith) I've gotten to have a First Day of School! I have my new notebook, my favorite pens, a snazzy pencil case, a $120 textbook, and a serious case of butterflies in my stomach.

Go ahead and think back to your time in undergrad... when you, or a friend, took *gasp* a graduate level course. It was going to be SO hard. So very hard, in fact, that rumor was if your friend got a B- her dad in the bow tie and bike shorts wasn't even going to be upset! (Clearly, this is just a hypothetical friend...) Being here a mere 4 hours from my first class has my asking myself what have I done in the last 2 years to even slightly prepare me for this? The answer is all to obvious. Nothing at all. (Well, that is not entirely fair. I bet if you gave me 15 minutes on the phone we would end the call with your credit card number. If only they were still offering Telemarketing 703 this semester.)

I've learned great life skills, lived in a city on my own, met amazing people, had the time of my life in Boston, got closer yet to my sister, made friends I will always have and developed stronger friendships with the ones I'd already met at school. But, unless my professor asks us this afternoon to describe our perfect Saturday night in Harvard Square, or write down the recipe for their favorite blizzard food (nothing tastes better than macaroni and cheese when its too snowy to leave the apartment) I'm feeling a bit discouraged.

Butterflies aside, I AM excited. I definitely don't want to come across as being terrified and immobilized by my first day. I'm excited to jump in and learn new things and further my understanding of maternal and child health. I'm excited to prove to myself that I can handle epidemiology and biostatistics and the biological basis for disease. I'm excited to take on the challenge of a full time graduate student.

On a different note... For all of my northern friends and family--today is billed to be one of the nicest days in August with only 87degree weather AND humidity that is not expected to pass 60%. In fact, in similar weather yesterday, a native New Orleanian described it to be 'brisk' to my friend Jennifer. BRISK. We northerners might need to sit down and have a workshop on Weather and Adjectives. All are welcome. Please bring a pen and paper.

Get Excited, Get Involved, Get an Umbrella

Orientation has been going on in full force for the last 2 days. It's been non-stop meetings and trainings and I think all of the incoming class is feeling the effects of information overload. Undergraduate orientation was definitely more geared towards how to be an adult, a student, and a part of a community. Graduate orientation, I'm learning, it more about nuts and bolts. Here's the library. Here's the bookstore. Here's a bill for $80,000 dollars. Oh, and you probably won't graduate on time. I think the most practical advice I've received so far is "Get Excited. Get Involved. Get an Umbrella."  This was during the SPH SGA president welcome address where he welcomed us to the "Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Storms".  But he was right--not a day has passed yet where it hasn't rained.

My parents left on Tuesday and I'm definitely feeling a tiny bit homesick. I realize how far away from home I am every time I watch the weather map. New York is just so far from here! Before they left we did have the chance to set up my apartment and get me settled into my new place. I'm living in an on-campus apartment and it's hard to ignore the dorm-ish feel of it all. Linoleum, fire proof doors (not complaining about that one--they're just heavy!), industrial furniture, etc. It does have build in AC though that I can regulate, so thats a huge plus. Pictures will be coming soon! We made it as "homey" as we could.

New Orleans has been great so far, although I haven't seen much outside of the French Quarter. The music and food have just been overwhelmingly good. Everywhere you go there is a show, a new dish to try, and a bar. It's a good thing I have to start studying next week or I'd wind up gaining 50lbs by September 1. 

Still registering for classes and trying to get all of those details worked out. I think I have my schedule finalized, but will have more details at the end of next week, once my classes have begun in full force. I know I'm definitely taking epidemiology and am not looking forward to it!

So begins my first weekend in New Orleans. I'll keep you all posted!