Here we are. In that month (exactly a month this year) between two huge holidays involving travel, family, food, friends, gifts, and thankfulness. And in which a semester must end, which means that students across the country are frantically trying to finish assignments amidst the "hustle and bustle" of commerical Christmas and parents demanding to know when their children will return home. Of course, at the same time we all try to fight off the colds & flus that threaten to knock us down.
I've had a busy few weeks. The BUCLD at the begninng of November, then watching the Monon Bell game (in which DePauw fell completely apart) in Kansas City, then a double trip to southern California, then driving home (and back) for Thanksgiving, and of course the usual lab and homework responsibilities. No wonder I'm tired.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Thursday, November 4, 2010
BUCLD
I'm about to go to my first research conference. I'll be attending the Boston University Conference on Language Development this weekend. One of the girls in my program will be presenting her research. Noam Chomsky will be one of the speakers for the Society of Language Development's annual Symposium!
I'm really excited but also a little nervous. I do a ton of traveling, but most of my trips are short (i.e. less than 2 days) and we always get a rental car. Neither will be true this weekend. I'll be there three full days. I won't rent a car, so I'll be taking public transportation, a taxi, or walking. Believe it or not, I've never taken a taxi before!
I'm really excited but also a little nervous. I do a ton of traveling, but most of my trips are short (i.e. less than 2 days) and we always get a rental car. Neither will be true this weekend. I'll be there three full days. I won't rent a car, so I'll be taking public transportation, a taxi, or walking. Believe it or not, I've never taken a taxi before!
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Newest GRA's first visit
My Halloween weekend consisted of going on a trip with our newest GRA. It was her first real assessment and she'd never flown before!! I was very glad there were no surprises in terms of travel. The assessment itself went very smoothly. We got to see a cute kid with a wonderful family and beautiful house in the suburbs of Chicago.
Thankfully we were only going to Chicago so it wasn't an especially long or bumpy flight. Turns out she loves flying! She also enjoyed staying an extra day to see her family. She hadn't been home since she moved to Lawrence, so she was very excited to see her family and dog and house and such. I could relate - I remember feeling that way about the same time last year.
On Saturday we finished in plenty of time for me to make my flight, so after I dropped her off with her family I went shopping at the Woodfield mall. I needed some dressy clothes for my next adventure: my first conference! It was nice to have a couple hours to wander around such a huge mall, especially knowing I could buy something if I liked it! It helped, too, that I knew I could put anything I bought in the lab's suitcase to get it back home, so space wasn't an issue at all.
All in all, it was one of the better trips I've had lately.
Thankfully we were only going to Chicago so it wasn't an especially long or bumpy flight. Turns out she loves flying! She also enjoyed staying an extra day to see her family. She hadn't been home since she moved to Lawrence, so she was very excited to see her family and dog and house and such. I could relate - I remember feeling that way about the same time last year.
On Saturday we finished in plenty of time for me to make my flight, so after I dropped her off with her family I went shopping at the Woodfield mall. I needed some dressy clothes for my next adventure: my first conference! It was nice to have a couple hours to wander around such a huge mall, especially knowing I could buy something if I liked it! It helped, too, that I knew I could put anything I bought in the lab's suitcase to get it back home, so space wasn't an issue at all.
All in all, it was one of the better trips I've had lately.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Apparently I lost a couple months in there due to class and work being kinda nuts. Oh, and I haven't any trip fiascoes lately (though my coworkers have!).
I didn't travel from August 12th until September 24th, which felt very odd after having spent more than a year traveling at least 2 weekends a month. In mid-September I went to Waxhaw, NC, which was just the right warmth. The trees weren't quite turning, but it was still a gorgeous trip.
Last weekend I got a treat in that we went to see a family in Clarksville, TN, which meant that I could spend the weekend with my parents. It was great to be back in Nashville, and it was fun seeing Mom & Dad even if I did get sick from the mold in the ducts.
In amongst those trips, my colleagues went to Harrisburg, PA, and Washington, DC. The Harrisburg trip turned out to be somewhat disastrous, at least on the return portion. Their first flight was delayed, so they missed their connection in Detroit. Of course the next flight back to KC wasn't until the next morning, so they had to spend the night in a seedy motel near the airport without the luxury of a change of clothes (they'd checked all the luggage).
The Washington, DC, trip wasn't quite so bad, according to their report, though there were 2 accidents on I-70 that Sunday so they sat in traffic for hours.
I didn't travel from August 12th until September 24th, which felt very odd after having spent more than a year traveling at least 2 weekends a month. In mid-September I went to Waxhaw, NC, which was just the right warmth. The trees weren't quite turning, but it was still a gorgeous trip.
Last weekend I got a treat in that we went to see a family in Clarksville, TN, which meant that I could spend the weekend with my parents. It was great to be back in Nashville, and it was fun seeing Mom & Dad even if I did get sick from the mold in the ducts.
In amongst those trips, my colleagues went to Harrisburg, PA, and Washington, DC. The Harrisburg trip turned out to be somewhat disastrous, at least on the return portion. Their first flight was delayed, so they missed their connection in Detroit. Of course the next flight back to KC wasn't until the next morning, so they had to spend the night in a seedy motel near the airport without the luxury of a change of clothes (they'd checked all the luggage).
The Washington, DC, trip wasn't quite so bad, according to their report, though there were 2 accidents on I-70 that Sunday so they sat in traffic for hours.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
We are Go for Year 2
I feel like I should have something profound to say in the two days before I begin my second year as a graduate student, but nothing comes to mind. I did get more unpacking done this evening, but there's still a ways to go. Thankfully the weather is more or less cooperating so our two-week excessive heat warning has been lifted. That makes carting boxes to the garage(!) much nicer. Yes, I do have a garage. It is amazing. It will be even more amazing once the snow starts this winter. It was great during the heat wave because it meant the car didn't get nearly so hot. Now, this is only at home, so the car still bakes in the parking lot at work, but hey, I'll take what I can get when it comes to cooling off my car! Oh, and I suppose having the A/C checked and fixed had something to do with the fact that my car quickly becomes an igloo. Speaking of my car, I got to work via driving and riding the Park & Ride bus for the first time today. I think it's gonna work, and it sure will save me a lot of hassle trying to find a spot to park either in the close parking lot or on the street near work. And the Park & Ride bus drops me off right across the street from work, so you can't get much better than that. Hopefully I'll still feel the same about it come Thursday when the rest of KU's student body emerges from the summer!
This will be an interesting but busy semester since I'll be enrolled in only 3 classes so that I can work on my Master's thesis. This time next fall I should have my MA in Child Language! I was accepted to be on Dr. Mabel Rice's training grant for this year, which means I'll make a little more money but I'll have more responsibilities. The point of the traineeship is to train new researchers in Child Language via coursework and multiple research experiences. So, in addition to my current work in the Fragile X lab, I'll also be starting a secondary lab experience in Dr. Hugh Catts' reading lab. It should be interesting. Oh, and in the FXS lab we're almost finished with data collection for Time 4, which means we are talking about posters and papers to draft in the very near future. I can't wait!
This will be an interesting but busy semester since I'll be enrolled in only 3 classes so that I can work on my Master's thesis. This time next fall I should have my MA in Child Language! I was accepted to be on Dr. Mabel Rice's training grant for this year, which means I'll make a little more money but I'll have more responsibilities. The point of the traineeship is to train new researchers in Child Language via coursework and multiple research experiences. So, in addition to my current work in the Fragile X lab, I'll also be starting a secondary lab experience in Dr. Hugh Catts' reading lab. It should be interesting. Oh, and in the FXS lab we're almost finished with data collection for Time 4, which means we are talking about posters and papers to draft in the very near future. I can't wait!
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