NaBloPoMo #6: Keep Calm and Graduate

A graduate student in our lab had her PhD thesis defense today. It's been a long hard road for her (as it is for most graduate students) so it was wonderful to see all of her hard work pay off. A couple of years ago, when was at a really low point, my husband drew a dinosaur with a cap and gown and diploma to encourage her to hang in there. He had been drawing dinosaurs with my niece so that's how it came about. She framed it and said today she was going to hang it on the wall.

A few photos from her defense:

My boss introducing her:

Popping the cork!

Congratulations Dr. Bargiacchi!!

NaBloPoMo #5: Life Lessons

From today's writing prompt: What is the most important lesson you learned as a child, and who taught it to you? 

The most important lesson I learned as a child was the value and importance of education and I learned it from my parents. My parents were always very involved in my education - such as from what school I attended, to speaking to teachers when needed, to giving me feedback on my homework. My mom was an English major so she made sure my grammar was always correct and my dad was always there to give me a hand when I needed help with math or physics homework. I am thankful that I had parents that were always there to support and encourage me, especially during stressful times such as exam times during college and graduate school.

NaBloPoMo #4: My Dad's Job

From today's writing prompt: When you were a kid, did you want to have the same job or a different job than your parents when you grew up?

My mom has a teaching degree but chose to stay home with me and my sister. My dad is an electrical engineer and worked at Sandia National Laboratories, a contractor for the United States Department of Energy. Sandia has programs in international, homeland and nuclear security. They also conduct research and develop technologies for risk and threat analysis, for nuclear materials monitoring and detection, and for incident response and recovery.

Sandia labs is located on Kirkland Air Force Base and while I was allowed to go onto the base with my parents, I wasn't able to go see where he worked because the area was classified and only those with a security clearance were allowed in. A few times they had an open house called Family Day and we were allowed in. Eventually they stopped having them, likely because it was a lot of work and expense. 

So I grew up not really knowing what my dad did until I was older. He traveled a lot (nearly 40 trips to Russia) and I thought that was neat. He also used to bring home books for me. First, The Bobbsey Twins mysteries, then later Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, which started a lifelong love of mysteries. 

When I was in a senior in high school, I took an Intro to Engineering course at UNM where we learned about different types of engineering majors. I came away deciding that I didn't really want to be an engineer, but I loved biology and chemistry. Even though I didn't end up with the same career as my dad, I did end up a scientist so I think that his career did have some influence on mine.

NaBloPoMo #3: My Job

Using the writing prompt for today: What did you think was the coolest job in the world when you were younger? Do you still feel that way now? 

My junior year in high school I took an advanced biology class and I loved it! I especially loved the unit on microbiology. Unbeknownst to me, my teacher recommended me for a summer internship at the nearby university (University of New Mexico). I got it and that internship changed the course of my life. I was fortunate that I was asked to stay after the internship ended, and worked in that lab throughout college. We studied Reye's syndrome, a serious but rare condition that affects children and teenagers recovering from a viral infection. 

After I graduated from college, I went to graduate school at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX. I joined the Microbiology department and studied a bacteria that causes a respiratory disease in dairy and beef cattle, particularly when they are shipped.

After I graduated with a M.S., I worked in a cardiovascular research lab at the University of Texas Health Science Center. 

After a year, I transferred to a lab at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center studying brain cancer. 

In December 1999, I decided I wanted to live closer to my family and in an area with seasons, so I packed my bags and moved to Chapel Hill, NC. I started working at Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center at The University of North Carolina and have been in the same lab ever since. My project focuses on metastatic colon cancer.

Needless to say, I love what I do!

NaBloPoMo #2: The Brick

I decided to try my hand at blogging every day in November. We'll see how it goes. . .

I swim with a masters team and today we used a new workout aid called The Brick. It's a weighted kickboard and was about as much fun as it sounds. . .

small print at the top says: this is not a flotation device. No kidding.

NaBloPoMo #1: Currently {November}

Reading: Gathering Storm by Rachel Hore. My mom lent me this book set in Cornwall and London during WWII. It has all the things I love in a good story: past stories and present stories woven together, history and mystery. I'm about halfway through and it's hard to put down! 

Watching: I stumbled upon The Great British Bake-off on my PBS station one evening and now I'm hooked! It took some researching to figure out which of the six UK seasons I was watching. PBS is showing the UK's Season 4 (2013) but they are calling it Season 2. Season 1 was the UK's Season 5 (2014) so they are going back in time. So far Netflix only has the UK Season 5 available for streaming and they are calling it Season 1. It's most confusing, but I managed to sort all of that out without finding out who won on either season! I watch the PBS episode as it airs each week and I am also watching the series on Netflix.

Anticipating: My birthday later this month and Thanksgiving! The first year of our marriage, my husband and I started the tradition of eating out on Thanksgiving because it fell on my birthday. We go to the hotel where we stayed after we got married because they have a fantastic buffet.

Knitting: I frogged the gradient shawl I was working on last month because I just wasn't happy with how it was turning out. I decided to use the gradients in a striped pattern and so far I really like how it looks! I'm combining the stripe pattern from Cladonia + the basic shape/garter stitch of Color Affection. I used the information about the magenta shawl from this article + this article to figure out how to do the increases. 

The stripes will show more contrast as I work outward with each pair.

Currently {Mid-October}

Reading: Front Runner by Felix Francis. I loved Dick Francis books and I think the books by his son are just as good. The hero in the previous book (Damage) makes a return appearance (not what Felix usually does) and after a few chapters I am already hooked!

Watching: College Football. This is my favorite time of year! Although UNC isn't ranked, they are 4-1 right now. Plus basketball season is right around the corner and UNC is ranked #1 in the pre-season polls. Of course, pre-season polls are usually meaningless but it is exciting.

Anticipating: Being able to swim in the Koury Natatorium again. I swim on a masters team and our pool has been closed for renovation since late July. Repairs took longer than expected so we have been swimming in various pools near the campus. They started adding water last week, so we should be back any day now.

Knitting: Spearmint Tea using Miss Babs orange gradient. These colors just say fall to me and they are gorgeous in real life.

Sewing: I just got 2 quilts back from my long-arm quilter so next up is binding. Photos of FO soon!