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January 11th, 2008
12:13 pm - Dawning of a New Era
Subtitle: Ode to a new sports bra.
Note: Anyone uninterested women's athletic undergarments should skip this post.
Yesterday I did something unimaginable.
I exercised. This is not on its own remarkable. I have been known to do some stationary biking at the gym or take a dance class. No, no. It's much stranger than that.
I jogged.
The last time I jogged was for the final of my 10th grade gym class, when I puked my guts out afterwards. Since then, I've avoided jogging for two reasons: 1) its association with the the aforementioned event; and 2) fear that one of my breasts will jump up and give me a black eye. Now, the first reason has been mostly overcome because I've worked under much more strenuous conditions since then and been just fine. The second has been a constant source of discomfort and a deterrent to exercise.
Back in December I decided to get all my ducks in a row to start walking (with a tiny hope to start jogging) for exercise in the new year. First order of business was to order a new sports bra. The Champion brand one I'd been using held up well for low-impact exercise like biking, but failed to hold up (no pun intended) even when I was taking a walk. Online research (hurray for Google!) led me to discover the Enell bra. It was rather expensive ($50), but--after my first outing with it--definitely worth it. For the first time since childhood I was able to jog without being constantly aware of the (often painful) movement of my chest.
The bra itself is more corset-like than any other I've worn, hooking in the front, but also able to lift, compress, and never ride up in the back, unlike any other I've worn. As the online reviews warned would happen, I was afraid I'd gotten a size too small at first and it left a couple red marks on my sides after wearing it.
So, there it is. Now getting myself off the couch is my only obstacle to the wonderfully inexpensive form of exercise that is jogging and running
And, you know what? I'm going again today.
P.S. There is an interesting study published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine regarding Fat intake and injury in female runners. They seem to have found a correlation between low fat intake and increased risk of injury. Makes me love my cream cheese just a little bit more.
Current Location: Washington Heights, Manhattan, NY
Current Mood:  accomplished
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January 10th, 2008
04:12 pm - Um, Job.
Although I don't quite understand how it happened, I was given a job Monday afternoon.
About a month ago, I interviewed for a position in a wet lab at CUMC. It was fairly obvious to both the interviewing researcher and me that I hadn't the first clue about the biology and biochemistry going on there. Despite this, he sent me home with a list of relevant topics to review "after finals" and told me to get back to him if I was still interested in the job.
(Note: someone just walked past my window whistling one of the Jupiter themes from Gustov Holst's Planets Suite. Anyway...)
I still thought it would be cool to work in a wet lab, but was a little intimidated by the fact that I am completely ignorant of molecular biology. So, I put off looking at the list. I put it off for a good month.
Last week, desperate to fill my day with something other than compulsively checking my e-mail, I picked up the list and googled some of the items. This stuff (largly mice-cloning and related DNA/RNA theory) still looked cool, but I was pretty sure any paid positions would have been filled by now. So, I sent the researcher an e-mail stating that I'd be interested in volunteering if he was still looking for lab techs.
That afternoon I received both phone and e-mail messages asking me to come in for a chat on Monday. I freaked out, did some cramming from the items on the list and went in to see him today.
So, I went in this afternoon expecting a quiz and hoping for 10hrs a week of volunteering and left 20min later with a job offer. He says he doesn't believing in training students in a laboratory without paying them. Students are poor enough as it is, was his explanation.
Hey, who am I to argue with that? Now I get to play with centrifuges the size of washing machines and get paid.
(crossposted to www.marniandjohn.com)
Current Location: Washington Heights, NY
Current Mood: surprised
Current Music: It's only me - Barenaked Ladies
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November 19th, 2007
01:12 am - I can't believe this is still here
I've been (sort of) posting to a blog for both John and me. It's mostly a way to keep our families updated and the content is pretty tame--not that I've ever written anything very scandalous.
Sadly, I've taken to merely facebook-stalking old friends and acquaintances rather than making any attempt to communicate--digital or otherwise.
I suppose I should start with why the hell I'm still spending lots of money to do more undergraduate work. Yeah, that's a tough one. There are days (like today) when I can't seem to understand it myself. Here I am, already $40,000 in debt from my four years at St. John's (which at least culminated in a degree), now spending an amount of money I am too embarrassed to reveal on introductory (read: freshman level) science courses at Columbia University (which may not even culminate in a certificate), so that I may eventually spend an obscene amount of money and time to become a physician.
By many standards--and respectable ones, too--I am a fool.
Current Location: My couch, Manhattan, NYC
Current Mood:  guilty
Current Music: Heart of Mine - Peter Sallet
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May 9th, 2006
08:08 pm - A vote
Wedding favors:
Option 1
Option 2
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May 7th, 2006
07:49 pm - Ah, free time...
Four jobs you've had
1. Curatorial Assistant - Museum of Indian Arts and Culture/ Lab of Anthropology
2. Music Assistant - St. John's College
3. Assistant Director, Alumni Activities - St. John's College
4. Bread Head - Panera Bread
Four movies you would watch over and over:
1. The Princess Bride
2. Star Trek movies
3. Benny and Joon
4. Zoolander
Four places you have lived:
1. Blaine, MN
2. Santa Fe, NM
3. n/a
4. n/a
Four TV shows you love to watch:
1. Stark Trek: TNG
2. Friends
3.
4.
Four places you have been on vacation:
1. Santa Fe, NM
2. Charleston, SC
3. Breckenridge, CO
4. Galveston, TX
Four websites I visit daily:
1. Gmail
2. iVillage
3. epswww.unm.edu
4. Google
Four of my favorite foods: (in no particular order)
1. Adobo
2. Enchiladas
3. Taco Bell
4. mystery cheese
Four places I would rather be right now:
1. outside
2. Del charro
3. on my couch
4. in graduate school
Current Location: Borders
Current Music: random disco
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11:09 am - Wedding Website
www.marniandjohn.com
Well, it's finally up and running. I still need to scan and post our engagement photos and we're working an "about us" section. Any suggestions for further content would be appreciated.
I will be very happy when wedding planning is but a distant memory.
Current Location: the couch
Current Music: Star Trek: TNG opening theme
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May 1st, 2006
09:40 pm - Forgive me if I sound at all bitter...
All throughout my career as a student, parents, teachers, administration, and the community at large stressed "succeeding." They stressed it so much that it seemed like an obvious goal. Of course I wanted to succeed. It seemed like a tangible, even quantifiable goal, too--A's, B's, 90%, 75%.
And there were prizes! Oh, yes--prizes! Sometimes they took the form of candy or money. Sometimes they were hugs and smiles. Sometimes they were simply attention, the absence of cold, the absence of doubt. But they were prizes nonetheless.
Well, shit. What happened?
I'd like to say that I always knew there was something screwy with this goal. I'd like to say that I was determined to find something deeper and more satisfying that these little door prizes. I'd even like to say that I found it. And a few year ago, I have had said all this--cocky little bitch that I was.
Well, the prizes seem to have disappeared. Only now do I realize how much I liked them. Even during my years at St. John's, the school with no grades, I had my prizes although they took a slightly different form.
Now I work. I plan things. I coordinate things. I get paid more than my mom does. I help design brochures. I make policies for educational outreach programs. I take "working lunches" at expensive Santa Fe restaurants. I accompany rich alumni to the Opera and the Chamber Music Festival. I make valuable connections. My title is even "assistant director." One might say that I have a pretty sweet job--how many wish they could be paid to plan parties? One might *even* say that I've made it. All the hard work put towards my B.A. has paid off and now I can sit back and watch my career in event planning and development blossom.
I was sold. My events run smoothly. Alumni like me. Obviously, it's the perfect job for me. And financial freedom! And working for a non-profit--that's a good deed, right? These are all prizes, right?
Oh, did I mention that I'm quitting my job? Oh, yes. I'm getting the crap outta there. I'm taking a cashier position at a local Chinese restaurant, and taking lower division science courses at Santa Fe Community College.
Back to square one. This could have been me five years ago. Was Success too much? Can I just not handle the pressure? Am I destined to live in the world of minimum wage, perpetual community college courses and defaulting on my student loans? Am I bungee jumping off the desk of my cushy office job into-- *gulp*-- Failure?
Well, if this is the case, why do I finally feel like my life is taking on some direction?
To be fair, I haven't told all of the story. Dramatic effect, you see. I really am unhappy in my fancy job. As an interim position it holds no innate power--it's "de-nadded" as a friend of mine might say. I'm taking lower division science courses and then some upper level geoscience courses to keep deficiencies to a minimum when I apply to geoscience graduate programs. Ultimately I want a similar position in a museum--education and curation, that sort of thing.
Still, one might take a look at the situation and call me crazy. Or stupid. I'm giving up a $32,000/yr and applying for a $45,000/job (which would support both John and myself, while allowing me to pay more than the minimum on my student loans every month) to take a SF living wage position which will barely cover the costs of my tuition and credit card bills. Well, there were no prizes in the fancy job. Not ones that meant anything to me. Empty--all of them. Like getting plastic vending machine rings when I wanted diamonds.
Enough complaining. I guess I'm still looking for prizes. I guess I need to figure out what the fuck Success is, and what I'm supposed to Succeed at. Hell, at this point I might even argue that "Success" isn't what I'm supposed to be working towards at all.
****
I like this stub of an essay. Perhaps I will continue to work on it.
Current Location: John's (My?) House
Current Mood:  relieved
Current Music: "How Can I Keep from Singing?" - Traditional Hymn
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December 3rd, 2005
01:36 pm
John is doing his general relativity thing with his paper advisor right now, and I sitting in the library looking my crappiest :) Nothing quite like showing yourself in public wearing jeans a size too small and a t-shirt 2 sizes too large. At least I took a shower this morning.
Current Mood: amused
Current Music: Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer
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November 23rd, 2005
03:16 pm - working
As my last piece of unofficial work before Thanksgiving I will put a shameless plug for the Official St. John's College Alumni Website
http://alumni.stjohnscollege.edu
If you completed at least one semester at SJC you are an alum! Register! It's fun!
Current Mood: excited
Current Music: Norah Jones
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November 18th, 2005
09:15 am - Thanksgiving plans
Working on a menu for 8 for Thanksgiving. Pretty traditional so far:
egg rolls (w/sweet and sour sauce) for appetizer
fresh veggie tray
12lb rosemary turkey (of course)
mushroom rosemary gravy
stuffing
mashed potatoes
homemade cranberry sauce
pancit
green beans (w/ almonds)
baked sweet potatoes
pumpkin pie
homemade whipped cream
red wine (Del Bastardo?)
Mmmm...grocery shopping for the feast this weekend. It's gonna be fun!
Current Mood: cheerful
Current Music: something vaguely 19th century
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