microBIOLOGY part II

Remember this? Well, I have a few more things to add to the list:
You know you are a microbiology major when:

• you gchat your roommate about your viruses forming syncytia
  
• all summer long people were asking you your opinion on swine flu like someone would ask an economist their opinion about the recession
• you think to yourself, "I'd rather someone stole my wallet than my backpack, I've worked way too hard on my lab notebook to redo it"
• when you hear someone has been sick you drill them endlessly about the details: how long did the fever last? What strain of strep did the doctor say you had? Was the cough productive or non-productive?
• you can't see potato salad without thinking: public. health. disaster.
• you spend your Friday afternoon straining your eyes under the microscope looking for CPE
• you read books called The Coming Plague
• you are late to work because you were busy performing immunocytochemistry and you had to finish applying your antibodies to your infected cells
  

loving little life,
M

Better

There is nothing better than starting off your day with fortified OJ in a powerpuff girl cup.

How's that for empowering?

loves,
M

Mongolia

Today I felt like walking to Mongolia

You know, just for a change of scenery, some new faces. As I walked this old skin of mine would slowly lose affinity for this body. Here and there, pieces of this old me would be replaced by new ones. I would stop and see some familiar faces along the way, but the further I got from home, the more I would feel humanity is my family.

Swimming across the Atlantic would be tough, just me and my napsack, especially considering I have less than kind words to say about large waves and rocking motions, but I think I could manage.

Think of the adventures I would have, walking old Roman roads to the end of the earth. Think of the lessons I would learn, like never to eat pickled liver or trust a man with one eye. Think of the pain I would see, of the joy. Think of the person that would come to inhabit my body.

Think of the burdens that would be placed on my shoulders. Think of the ones that I would be leaving behind. Think of how small I would feel.

Today I want to walk to Mongolia. Tomorrow it will probably be New Guinea, but what's an extra thousand miles?


M

prosper

cheaters never prosper.


so


if I'm honest...




I should always prosper.






ha. yeah. right.

summer reading

I went to the library the other day. Thought I would check out some light summer reading.



the guy at the counter took one look at me and said, "research paper."
yep.

M

little

I don't think I've ever felt so small
as I do in international development class

It seems like we talk in circles, my head spinning as I listen.
One person says one thing, another the contradiction. They throw around highbrowed terms, thinking that they know what they are talking about. I try to follow, but rarely get up the courage to say what I really think. Everyone's statements are hollow, empty shells of thoughts no one can manage to articulate. Of course they mean well, but can any of us really do anything?

Oh how I long for sweet innocence! The days when I thought my brain and my hands were big enough to take on this mighty world. Growing comes at a heavy price.

Faith and hope abandon me for cheap thrills down at the carnival each time I step into B032 Monday, Wednesday, Friday. I walk out of class gasping for air. And yet, in the same moment of my despair, fire rages beneath the surface, and my soul is ready to jump on a plane this instant bound for the ends of the earth. An angel and a devil, both enticing me to act and to let go.

I try to walk my feelings out, decompressing as I pound the pavement on my way home from class to my empty apartment. I come in to a room full of things, all their value and meaning useless. Think, M, think. Who are you?


M

writing is an elusive friend. sometimes he comes sometimes he goes. sometimes he is my closest companion, the only one who seems to be there, to listen, to share wisdom and advice, and to tell me things that I knew all along. And other times... he leaves me all alone. I sit down, attempting to call my muse as I desperately try to find the words to express how feel and he runs, never to look back at my perplexed and frustrated expression.

lately he's been unavailable, busy, fickle, mean, vindictive...
just gone.

trying coax my muse back so I can say what I mean to say,
M

It's...

simply delightful
.

P and M you guys are the best!

Taking Stock

I'm too tired
I have a chemistry assignment to do
ha. add it to the list
It's so late
this is more pertinent
tomorrow I'll think about it
I can't think about it while I'm wearing pajamas
my eye hurts

I JUST DON'T WANT TO

But no matter how I try to push, shove, kick, or intimidate the thoughts out of my head, they keep worming their way into my stream of consciousness as if it was a rotten apple.

The worms:
It's time to reevaluate
check out my priorities
face reality
make some changes
do what I know I should be doing
have a heart to heart with myself
admit what I really want
make to do lists and do them
be productive
own up to my weaknesses
realize I can't do everything
find my happy place
Be a better grown up (even if I'm still pretending at it)





I'll start tomorrow.

hehe,
M

advice to future me

You don't really like carrots. You think that you do, but every time you buy them they sit in the fridge for a few weeks until you throw them away.

Never wear mom pants. No matter how "mommy" you are.

You had a dream. To make a difference. Do. not. forget.

Stay informed. Remember what you love to do, see, hear

create

work on that indecisive thing. Trust your instinct and don't question it

never under any circumstances puff your hair up high, wear any sort of loose fitting jumper or clothing with animals/fruit/martini glasses on it, call strangers sweetheart or honey, or settle for anything less than you deserve.

Remember that one day you'll look back on this school thing with longing and wish for the endless days in the library, late nights with roommates, and poor dietary habits (oops. that's advice to present self).

be you. always.

M

dandelion wine

It started with an early morning. The sun was flooding into the room and the light surrounding me, lifting my eyelids to enjoy the day. Warmth enveloped me.

His name will be had for good and evil in all nations, kindreds, and tongues. "Consider the implications of that announcement" My thoughts turned to gratitude for that man. My mind has been full of his words, his story, and his faith. Read this. Or this. Or maybe this.

I climbed those steps. Each time I feel like it should get easier but it doesn't. I was met by a sloping, perfectly cared-for hill of green grass and a view that belonged on a postcard. Enjoy it. Take advantage of it. Exploit it. It will always be there but I will not always be here. Remember.

I cuddled to him close, his tired eyes struggling to awake. He rubbed his blanky back and forth in his ear subconsciously and burrowed his head in my side. That smile. Those eyes. I just melt. He pulled a popsicle out of the box "here ya go sissy!" pulled one out for himself and we were out on the lawn laughing as his popsicle fell apart and he slurped up as much as he could. I've never seen such excitement bottled up in one little body. Perfect. Day.

I didn't want to do it, but I knew I had to. I told myself I'd make it quick and easy. No pain. I felt like I my feet were dragging as I stumbled out of the house. But as the cement turned into asphalt and the song finally came on, I couldn't help but smile. Faster, faster, faster. Push, breathe, harder. More. I wanted to breathe harder, until the oxygen permeated every last inch of my body and soul. I looked around: green. Someone seemed to have slipped a green filter lens over my eyes for that is all I could behold. Life.

It's finally summer.
It's here. I'm here. Happy. Content. Grateful. Free.
M

still

yep
still here
still alive
still in the library
still craving chocolate
still wishing for time to be still

M

today

today

i ate and thought.




gotta love finals,
m

help!

I'm being held captive by the snow.

I can't go outside.

I.
Hate.
UTAH.
Weather.

m

creepy

does anyone else think this is as creepy as I do?
When I went to sign in to googlemail today this is what I saw:

"Email will never be a thing of the past, but actually reading and writing messages is about to be. Gmail Autopilot automatically manages your inbox better than you can, with zero effort from you. Learn more »

Keep in touch Brand-new CADIE technology enables Autopilot to scan every one of your incoming messages and automatically send the perfect reply. Manage relationships Impress everyone with your prompt and insightful responses to everything from urgent notes from your boss to cute messages from your significant other. Match your style Autopilot calibrates for tone, typos and preferred punctuation. It's just like you, but automated."

You know all those creepy scifi movies about all of us turning into robots?


hmmm...

M

overcome

I'm supposed to be studying for a test, but my mind won't stop racing. This is an attempt to get some of it's contents out in written form with the hope that it will calm the storm so I can get back to stuffing my mind full of bio facts.

I set foot in the library today for the first time in probably two months. It was a weird, unsettling feeling. Like I was being punished for not setting foot in here for so long. I forced myself through the doors, reminding myself I had to have a quiet place to study. Each step down to the 2nd floor was painful. I felt my chest tighten up and that empty, yet consuming feeling fill in the holes where my heart and lungs used to be. As I opened the periodical doors, I was flooded with memories. Late nights, procrastination, cookie dough sneaked in with care, bizarre meetings with boys from our ward, vending machine runs, great discussions... and oh yeah, studying. I realized that part of the reason I've been avoiding the library is because it brings this all back. And all this is something that I lack at the moment in my quiet life. I miss. And it hurts.

As I sat down, I felt uncomfortable. I feel like the books are staring at me, tell me to open them and reveal their secrets. I feel guilty that I never tap into the resources they offer, that I don't take advantage of everything and anything that goes on on campus everyday. I yearn to spend a lifetime here, just to read and expand my mind. I want to be better. I want to do better. I want to feel better.

Today, right now, I am overcome. With everything. With everything I want to do, see, be. With everything I must decide... but mostly with everything that I must give up. Why, when one door opens another closes? Why, when I follow one path my feet yearn to be on another? Why can't I have everything I want? Why isn't there ever enough time, patience, and discipline in my heart to have the courage to do what I really want to do, filling my days with light and love, with balance and peace. Why am I so bad sometimes at this life thing?

overcome. but only for a moment,
M

"say it"

"say it"



"say it... out loud"

"she is my favorite sister"

"how long has she been your favorite sister?"








"awhile"


Rewind to almost a year ago. One day in May I hopped on a plane due south not knowing what the future held, only that she would be there waiting to pick me up at the airport. The experience was wonderful and I would do it again in a heartbeat, but even she would admit, Chapel Hill isn't the most rockin' town in the US. So, in order to entertain ourselves, She and I spent weeks watching this rewinding to watch our favorite parts over and over, rolling around laughing in her office, days waiting for this (to read the first chapter of this) and hours discussing what was next in the lame but oh-so-addicting series. It became a piece of that summer and an integral part of almost every inside joke we have. The road trip back to Utah came and went. Then August rolled around. Her birthday.... what to get her.... this was only natural.

The Sustainer went out for this (I was utterly jealous) while I stayed at home. The day she got back I said my hellos after a long day of school and went to my room. This beauty (see below) was waiting for me on my bed. Yes! YES! Golden.

"Sweetheart conversation hearts: Forbidden Fruits"
"The Forbidden Fruit Tastes the Sweetest"
On candy hearts: "Live 4 ever" "I heart EC" "Dazzle" "Lamb" "Soul Mate" "Bite me" "Secret" "With you"
Flavors: "Orange Obsession" "Tempting Apple" "Secret Strawberry" "Passion Fruit"
Favorite two features: "Secret Scent, Rub to Reveal..."
"Secrets of the night

• Edwards full name is Edward Anthony Mason Cullen. He adopted the Cullen surname after being changed into a vampire and joining Carlisle Cullen's family
• Edward was born on June 20, 1901 in Chicago, Illinois. In 1918, he was forever changed into a vampire
• Edward has waited 90 years to find his soul mate Bella
• Both Bella and Edward are juniors at Forks High School"

I mean can there be anything better than that? So sorry sisters. I don't know how any of you will ever top this one... Love you Bean!


M

see

I told you


It's spring

everything is growing



M



ps I realized I posted this on the coldest day we've had in weeks, but I'm praying this will send the rain/snow away!

always

I've always dreamed of working in an office. A tall, glossy building with a revolving door and a security guard up front. A spotless, white, chic office. People everywhere, busily going about their important work and me... sitting in an office with glass walls, a neat desk and my own assistant. Each day I attend meetings with important board members and I wow them with my passion, determination and innovation.

Ok, ok want to know the real reason why I want to work in the office?
clothes. Tailored suits, oh! Crisp white collared shirts, pencil skirts, high heels, chic nylons, designer bags to hold all those important proposals. Structured Jackets, dresses, coats and gloves to keep my hands warm as I walk to the office in the city. If I could just hold it all. Just rub my cheek against the silk, wool, cashmere. Lovely. Simple lovely.

Although I’m not this bad, Oh to have an excuse to pay the price for this and wear this or these or this! Occasionally I can’t resist. We are not talking designer here, but still. But then my lovely item sits in my closet waiting for the sporadic occasion in which I can wear it. Sometimes I just wear the beauties because I cannot contain myself, but I feel like a little kid playing adult.

One day. One day I want to have a real reason to wear this. Remind me why I’m not a business major? Oh, because you don’t pick your major based on clothes. Dang it.

the other half

I read this today, and it got me thinking. The interview wasn't particularly inspiring, but she just seems like a very solid women with a good head on her soldiers. Her husband was a man who tried for peace, no matter the consequences. And I wonder... would he have been able to do what he did without this woman by his side?

Women are important. Of course we are. And we contribute to the world in a way that men cannot. As a woman, because I am a woman, I can make a difference. I just need to keep reminding myself of that. I would be nowhere without the many strong women in my life who have showed me what it truly means to be courageous, to endure, to love, to work, to stand.


M