Last night I made John take me to see The Pirates of Penzance. I've wanted to see it for years, and a professional traveling Gilbert & Sullivan group was performing in town. John got in free with his student ID, and I got a discount because I'm staff at the university, ... so we got to see a professional opera performance for $10!
Totally worth it!
If you don't know anything about the show, Pirates is just a goofy, silly opera (in English) with a crazy storyline that is written to make you laugh. You know it's silly when the largest real conflict of the performance depends entirely on the question "How old are you if you are born on February 29th?"
The singing and dancing were lively and enthusiastic. John and I laughed throughout the entire thing, and a good time was had by all.
Yesterday John and I started a month-long diet and exercise program. I've been trying to lose weight for about two years now, which honestly has been difficult because John keeps bringing home ice cream. And asking me to make cookies and cheesecake, etc. And the fact that I love bread.
Anyway, this time we're doing it together. We've decided that we're going to eat simply (meat, veggie/salad) for dinners, and go to the gym at least 4 days a week. As a reward for not cheating and meeting our goals for the week, we're treating ourselves to something on either Friday or Saturday. That treat can be ice cream or dessert, or whatever.
We're not doing a fancy exercise program or hiring a trainer or taking a class, but we're being very professional about it. We weighed ourselves yesterday, and then took each other's measurements, and we're going to see where we are after four weeks.
So, this is Day Two. Here's hoping for success!
Showing posts with label student. Show all posts
Showing posts with label student. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Monday, October 22, 2012
In which I have to choose between posting something mediocre or not posting anything. Guess which one I choose.
I have nothing really to say today.
John is starting his new lab today ... he was a bit concerned this weekend because he hadn't heard from the PI in the lab, and thought that maybe the PI had double-booked students. I haven't heard from John today except for a brief email saying he didn't know when he'd be done. So, he's in lab somewhere!
I spent the weekend baking and baking and walking and baking. Silly me couldn't for the life of me remember whether I normally follow the recipe for sugar cookies and use powdered sugar, or regular sugar. So I used regular sugar. Mistake. They still taste good, but they aren't amazing. I'm still a bit upset about it.
Not enough to remake the 60 cookies sitting in my freezer, though.
Saturday we went to the local park and took Honey for a walk - we walked about four miles. Then Sunday evening we met up with one of John's classmates and his girlfriend and their dog, and all went for another walk for about 2 miles. It was one of those situations where we really shouldn't have gone because both John and I had stuff to get done before Monday ... but we didn't want to push off the relationship that we're trying to build.
Of course, they might completely shun us after John brought up politics. But, probably not. Hopefully not.
I am thinking and writing in very choppy, incomplete sentences today. I think it's because today's Monday. Or the fact that I'm only now getting caffeine into my system.
John is starting his new lab today ... he was a bit concerned this weekend because he hadn't heard from the PI in the lab, and thought that maybe the PI had double-booked students. I haven't heard from John today except for a brief email saying he didn't know when he'd be done. So, he's in lab somewhere!
I spent the weekend baking and baking and walking and baking. Silly me couldn't for the life of me remember whether I normally follow the recipe for sugar cookies and use powdered sugar, or regular sugar. So I used regular sugar. Mistake. They still taste good, but they aren't amazing. I'm still a bit upset about it.
Not enough to remake the 60 cookies sitting in my freezer, though.
Saturday we went to the local park and took Honey for a walk - we walked about four miles. Then Sunday evening we met up with one of John's classmates and his girlfriend and their dog, and all went for another walk for about 2 miles. It was one of those situations where we really shouldn't have gone because both John and I had stuff to get done before Monday ... but we didn't want to push off the relationship that we're trying to build.
Of course, they might completely shun us after John brought up politics. But, probably not. Hopefully not.
I am thinking and writing in very choppy, incomplete sentences today. I think it's because today's Monday. Or the fact that I'm only now getting caffeine into my system.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
We Bought A House - Part Two
AKA - I had a headache when we toured this house and don't remember taking these pictures!
Picking up where we left off ....
John spent the winter months applying and interviewing at graduate schools. In March, he got accepted, and we decided that we could no longer live in the rental. As much as we loved it, and as much as we put into it, we couldn't change the neighborhood. It was getting worse. The drug dealers moving in two doors down may have had something to do with that.
So, I still did not think that we would be able to buy a house, and started looking at rentals in the area. John, however, had a different idea. He said, "Let's just check and make sure that we can't buy a house before we take that idea off the table." So, we contacted two different banks in the area to see what they could do.
Within a week, we were told we were pre-qualified for a mortgage; a higher mortgage than we had even dreamed of expecting. Of course, since we weren't expecting anything, that was even easier to get!
After recovering from our astonishment, we contacted a realtor and began looking at houses online. By now it was the end of March, and we knew that with John starting grad school in August, we wanted to buy a house and be moved in before he started. The clock was ticking!
I'm still not completely sure about our realtor. Perhaps she was a really good realtor, but John and I were so on the ball, that we never gave her a chance. We scoured the internet, and send her the links to the houses we wanted to see. She would then try to set up times to go see the houses, and we'd go out and see them.
We went with her to look at houses three times, and visited about 20 different houses in the area. Here were our *must have* criteria:
We went into that house, and I just blindly took pictures. It was a good thing, too. Without those pictures I would never have remembered the house that we were about to buy; my head hurt too badly!
We toured 2-3 more houses that night, and then John and I returned home to our rental, and stayed up far to late that night talking through everything. We uploaded all the house pictures onto the computer, and used the pictures as a reference for each house as we discussed them. Between all our house-hunting trips, we ended up having four houses we liked.
Option 1: Large 2 bedroom, 2 bath in fancy neighborhood. We loved the layout and location (right across the street from the country club!), and the view from the back looked like it belonged in the mountains. Downsides? Just a bit too expensive, no real backyard, and no place for Honey.
Option 2: Super cute 3 bedroom, 2 bath house. I adored the layout, it had both stairs and a fireplace, and a very large fenced back yard with a patio and hot tub. Downsides? Would need totally new carpeting and paint, and the lack of gutters on the extremely slanted roof was causing serious problems in the back.
Option 3: Very well kept-up older 3 bedroom2 bath house. This was one of the only houses we saw that people were actually currently living in, and it was in perfect shape. Move in ready - gorgeously large kitchen, and a good-sized fenced back yard. Downsides? A bit too far from school and work, and a worrisome neighborhood a block or so away.
Option 4: The newest house we looked at with 3 bedrooms and 2 baths. Located close to a school, this house had a uniquely open layout, and was the absolute perfect distance from work and school. It also had the fenced back yard for Honey. Downsides? No flooring in the house, appliances from about 30 years ago (even though the house was only 10 years old), and the entire house needed to be painted.
Guess which one we picked?
The main impression we got: there were no floors throughout the house. All the carpet had been ripped up, and it was just bare cement.
One nice thing: a gas fireplace. Not on our Must-Have list, but certainly an unexpected bonus!
The kitchen was really nasty - I think the fridge was from the 1960s (and looked like it hadn't been cleaned since then, either). But it was a good layout, and good counterspace.
It was a three bedroom, two bath.
And here's a quick peek into the master bedroom, looking through to the master bath and closet.
We emailed our realtor that night, and told her we wanted to put an offer on the house. She was surprised, to say the least. Although whether that was because of the house we chose, or because or how quickly we came to a decision, I don't know.
She agreed to draw up the paperwork, and the following day we submitted an offer.
Next Up: The Real Work Begins!
Picking up where we left off ....
John spent the winter months applying and interviewing at graduate schools. In March, he got accepted, and we decided that we could no longer live in the rental. As much as we loved it, and as much as we put into it, we couldn't change the neighborhood. It was getting worse. The drug dealers moving in two doors down may have had something to do with that.
So, I still did not think that we would be able to buy a house, and started looking at rentals in the area. John, however, had a different idea. He said, "Let's just check and make sure that we can't buy a house before we take that idea off the table." So, we contacted two different banks in the area to see what they could do.
Within a week, we were told we were pre-qualified for a mortgage; a higher mortgage than we had even dreamed of expecting. Of course, since we weren't expecting anything, that was even easier to get!
After recovering from our astonishment, we contacted a realtor and began looking at houses online. By now it was the end of March, and we knew that with John starting grad school in August, we wanted to buy a house and be moved in before he started. The clock was ticking!
I'm still not completely sure about our realtor. Perhaps she was a really good realtor, but John and I were so on the ball, that we never gave her a chance. We scoured the internet, and send her the links to the houses we wanted to see. She would then try to set up times to go see the houses, and we'd go out and see them.
We went with her to look at houses three times, and visited about 20 different houses in the area. Here were our *must have* criteria:
- Must be in a nice neighborhood
- Must be close to the grad school
- Must be move-in ready (or close to move-in ready)
- Must have a backyard for Honey
- Must have at least 2 bathrooms
We went into that house, and I just blindly took pictures. It was a good thing, too. Without those pictures I would never have remembered the house that we were about to buy; my head hurt too badly!
We toured 2-3 more houses that night, and then John and I returned home to our rental, and stayed up far to late that night talking through everything. We uploaded all the house pictures onto the computer, and used the pictures as a reference for each house as we discussed them. Between all our house-hunting trips, we ended up having four houses we liked.
Option 1: Large 2 bedroom, 2 bath in fancy neighborhood. We loved the layout and location (right across the street from the country club!), and the view from the back looked like it belonged in the mountains. Downsides? Just a bit too expensive, no real backyard, and no place for Honey.
Option 2: Super cute 3 bedroom, 2 bath house. I adored the layout, it had both stairs and a fireplace, and a very large fenced back yard with a patio and hot tub. Downsides? Would need totally new carpeting and paint, and the lack of gutters on the extremely slanted roof was causing serious problems in the back.
Option 3: Very well kept-up older 3 bedroom2 bath house. This was one of the only houses we saw that people were actually currently living in, and it was in perfect shape. Move in ready - gorgeously large kitchen, and a good-sized fenced back yard. Downsides? A bit too far from school and work, and a worrisome neighborhood a block or so away.
Option 4: The newest house we looked at with 3 bedrooms and 2 baths. Located close to a school, this house had a uniquely open layout, and was the absolute perfect distance from work and school. It also had the fenced back yard for Honey. Downsides? No flooring in the house, appliances from about 30 years ago (even though the house was only 10 years old), and the entire house needed to be painted.
Guess which one we picked?
OPTION #4!!
The main impression we got: there were no floors throughout the house. All the carpet had been ripped up, and it was just bare cement.
 |
| Looking into the Living Room from the Front Door. |
One nice thing: a gas fireplace. Not on our Must-Have list, but certainly an unexpected bonus!
 |
| Yay for fireplaces that you don't have to buy or chop wood for! |
The kitchen was really nasty - I think the fridge was from the 1960s (and looked like it hadn't been cleaned since then, either). But it was a good layout, and good counterspace.
 |
| Not pictured: Nasty old fridge. |
It was a three bedroom, two bath.
 |
| Bedroom #2 - no carpet and strangely spaced shelving. |
And here's a quick peek into the master bedroom, looking through to the master bath and closet.
 |
| Again, no carpet. But the room was larger than the other two bedrooms combined. |
We emailed our realtor that night, and told her we wanted to put an offer on the house. She was surprised, to say the least. Although whether that was because of the house we chose, or because or how quickly we came to a decision, I don't know.
She agreed to draw up the paperwork, and the following day we submitted an offer.
Next Up: The Real Work Begins!
Thursday, October 4, 2012
This time, it's different
I am feeling exceptionally optimistic today. I'm sure part of it is just feeling well again, and part of it is the huge coke that I drank at lunch. But another part is that it's Thursday, which means the weekend is almost here! The weather is cooling off from the normal 90+ degree weather! My job is more relaxed than it's been in over a year! And now that both John and I are bringing in a paycheck, finances are not as pressing!
John is so happy in his program right now - even with the lab rotation not being quite to his liking. He remarked at lunch today that he's been getting a lot of excellent study time in lately, and he's a bit concerned about not being able to sustain it and getting burnt out. I told him I didn't think it was a problem.
He got burnt out in medical school. In medical school he was told that he absolutely had to study every day all day - if he wasn't he was doing something wrong. He had no control over his own schedule - it was always "study, study, study or fail."
Now, the only point is to get through the classes. The classes are the basics before the labs, which are really important. He study's for the classes, not for the purpose of studying. He's in charge of his schedule. He sets aside good chunks of time to get some studying done.
Yes, he's studying a lot. But because he's keeping up with his schedule, he was not overwhelmed when he got sick last week and did nothing (school-wise) for three days. He was able to go to church, to go to Bible Study, to play some computer games, to do extracurricular things. Grad school is not ruling his life right now.
There will be times when his blocks of study time are more or less effective than others. That's normal. But do I think his current schedule is unsustainable? No. Not as long as he continues to schedule the breaks and can get up and walk away from everything; to give himself a true mental and physical break from school; and come back refreshed.
That's what is different this time.
I am so incredibly happy to see him succeeding, and being happy where he is.
John is so happy in his program right now - even with the lab rotation not being quite to his liking. He remarked at lunch today that he's been getting a lot of excellent study time in lately, and he's a bit concerned about not being able to sustain it and getting burnt out. I told him I didn't think it was a problem.
He got burnt out in medical school. In medical school he was told that he absolutely had to study every day all day - if he wasn't he was doing something wrong. He had no control over his own schedule - it was always "study, study, study or fail."
Now, the only point is to get through the classes. The classes are the basics before the labs, which are really important. He study's for the classes, not for the purpose of studying. He's in charge of his schedule. He sets aside good chunks of time to get some studying done.
Yes, he's studying a lot. But because he's keeping up with his schedule, he was not overwhelmed when he got sick last week and did nothing (school-wise) for three days. He was able to go to church, to go to Bible Study, to play some computer games, to do extracurricular things. Grad school is not ruling his life right now.
There will be times when his blocks of study time are more or less effective than others. That's normal. But do I think his current schedule is unsustainable? No. Not as long as he continues to schedule the breaks and can get up and walk away from everything; to give himself a true mental and physical break from school; and come back refreshed.
That's what is different this time.
I am so incredibly happy to see him succeeding, and being happy where he is.
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
In which I think about baking and John gets a computer
John got his computer in the mail yesterday! He'd been using a Kindle Fire that I won this past summer in a contest. Even though we both love the Kindle Fire, it's not a replacement for a computer. So, after some research, he bought a refurbished laptop from eBay. Getting that in the mail was a definite highlight for his day yesterday!
So, John is fairly sure that this lab is not the one he wants to stay in. I'm hoping today goes better (since I'd hate for him to suffer through three weeks of lab if he's miserable the whole time!), but apparently the lady in charge of his training hardly speaks any English. Which makes things a bit frustrating.
Oh well ... at least it's just the three week rotation instead of the seven week rotation!
As for me, I've offered to bake some goodies for the GSO's bake sale. The GSO is the Graduate Student Organization for all the grad students, and they've been kind enough to adopt me. Probably because I can bake better than John. I don't have any problem bribing people with my cooking!
Their bake sale is next week; and John has two tests next week. I'll spend some time this weekend baking up a storm, both for the bake sale and for John's classmates for one of their test days.
I'll post one of my tried and true cookie recipes in the next day or so. With pictures once I actually make them!
So, John is fairly sure that this lab is not the one he wants to stay in. I'm hoping today goes better (since I'd hate for him to suffer through three weeks of lab if he's miserable the whole time!), but apparently the lady in charge of his training hardly speaks any English. Which makes things a bit frustrating.
Oh well ... at least it's just the three week rotation instead of the seven week rotation!
As for me, I've offered to bake some goodies for the GSO's bake sale. The GSO is the Graduate Student Organization for all the grad students, and they've been kind enough to adopt me. Probably because I can bake better than John. I don't have any problem bribing people with my cooking!
Their bake sale is next week; and John has two tests next week. I'll spend some time this weekend baking up a storm, both for the bake sale and for John's classmates for one of their test days.
I'll post one of my tried and true cookie recipes in the next day or so. With pictures once I actually make them!
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