penn

101 things: month 10

Time for the January report!

19. Attend three concerts/dance shows

While in DC, I attended a few shows at the National Museum of the American Indian at the Smithsonian. I really like the museum, and it has a lovely concert area right near the entrance. Our favorite was a Panamian-African drum band. Talk about encouraging people to get up and dance! Best ever was this older gentleman who got up and jigged right in front of the drummers.

okay, apparently I already finished this one in December. So I guess I can't count it. I really need to update my master list after every single month. Whoops!

Five moments

I truly enjoy being a biologist. Even though I "just" teach now, I still consider myself a biologist; I observe, consider, and enjoy the natural world, and that's exactly what a biologist should do. Pretty much the whole time being a biologist has been great for me, grad school notwithstanding (and even that had lots of great parts). I love playing in the mud, discovering critters, sharing my discoveries with others, and learning ever more.

There have been a few moments that stand out more than others, and my snowshoe hike the other day brought these to mind. As we were walking, I exclaimed "this is my best day as a biologist!" I was completely caught up in the wonderful discoveries we were making. It's one thing to read about tracks or development in a textbook. It's a wholly different experience to see, touch, and respond to information in the natural world. To that end, I'll share with all of you some of my favorite moments.

Snowshoeing and discovering track stories. I blogged about this the other day. As part of my job, we take school children out to learn about nature. One program involves taking students on a "detective" hike to look for tracks and try to figure out the "track story." In this way, tracks transcend a simple mark and become a visual story. I saw such stories as the cat and bunny that crossed paths (obviously at different times, since neither one sped up nor was there any blood) or the squirrel who hopped off the tree, dug up his nut, then went back up the tree to enjoy it.

Seeing frog eggs develop over time. Nothing brings a Gosner table to life quite like watching it happen before your eyes. In undergrad, one of my research projects involved tracking tadpole development. The project was a miserable failure, but my interest in developmental biology greatly increased.

Identifying a flying cormorant In vertebrate zoology, I learned how to identify lots of animals from preserved specimens, taxidermied samples, furs, or skeletons. After hours in the lab, I had everything down. After a lab test, I happened to go birdwatching at the wetlands with my professor. A bird took off in the air about fifty yards ahead of us, and I immediately said "Is that a cormorant?" By the floppy wings and body shape, I correctly identified my first cormorant from simply seeing a taxidermied sample.

Seeing minutia In Costa Rica, I discovered a whole new world of organisms. Gorgeous birds, monkeys overhead, and bountiful lizards were just some of the cool animals I saw. But most awesome of all are the little tiny ants that ride on the leaves of leafcutter ants. And that's what I researched when I was in Costa Rica.

Teaching meiosis and mitosis Funniest moment of teaching ever: I was diagramming meiosis and mitosis (the two processes of cell division) on the board. Suddenly, I stepped back and said "oh, I get it!" After several years of general bio and a few semesters of teaching, my understanding of why and how our cells divide finally crystalized.

Power of positive thinking

I'm learning to cross-country ski, and it's pretty awesome. With the help of youtube videos and gentle encouragement, I've been tackling more difficult trails out at the nature center where I work. It's all pretty fabulous.

After work on Saturday, I went out for an hour with a coworker and Matt. It's been hovering around or below zero here for a few days, so it is darn cold. I typically just wear windpants and my shell for skiing, but I got totally outfitted to go. For Matt, this meant borrowing a hat; as a Minnesota native, he's full of hubris regarding the cold. My coworker lent him a little whimsy along with the headgear, and he thanked us afterward for taking care of his ears. We went down into the woods, but there was still wind around that kept us chilled.

I learned to branch out some; I even went downhill! Of course, I fell down about four times on just one hill, but I am becoming a pro at standing back up. Except for the downhills, I've started skiing without my poles to help me refine my kick-glide.

On to the title topic: the power of positive thinking. Near the end, we have to go back uphill again to get back to our office and main building. The hill is pretty steep, so you've got to herringbone to get back up. I'm a total novice at that and therefore still slip a lot. I was working my way up the hill and heavily relying on my poles to keep me from sliding backward. I started to think "man, I've got to apologize to Matt and my coworker. I'm going so slow." Then, I straightened up my abs and decided, "No, I don't have to apologize. They're both good skiiers; I'm just learning. This is perfectly natural. And I'm actually doing a good job getting up without falling down or sliding backwards." After that, I managed to make it up the hill just fine. I'm elated at the progress I'm making!

An example of how cold it was: Matt's beard froze, and the front of my jacket got covered with frost. Turns out that the balaclava (my funny hat/face thing) was really useful. All in all, a fun time!

I wasn't kidding about the cold

Apparently, CNN also thinks it is cold in Minnesota. In fact, it's so cold that some really neat tricks work. I've got a few videos from my cell phone, but I don't have time to upload them before my trip. I'll try to put them up next week. In the meantime, check out this really awesome CNN video. Blowing bubbles in freezing weather is pretty darn awesome. And did you know that you can hammer nails with a frozen banana?

Reading out loud

I was reminded of one of my favorite cheap dates today when I was reading my blog feeds. Abigail at I Pick Up Pennies [editor's note: I do too!] blogged about reading out loud as a good way to get high value for low cost.

This is something Matt and I both enjoy. He's not a big reader, but he does like non-fiction and some stories. On our trip to Iowa this past November, I read Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods out loud to him as he drove. It's a fabulous book about a non-hiker who decides to do the Appalachian Trail, and it was the perfect pick for us two outdoorsyish folk. It was really fun to be able to stop, discuss funny points, and then keep going with the book. In a way, it's a mini-bookclub.

We also read kids' books together. And by we, I mean that he snuggles next to me on the couch as I read him my favorite books. Sometimes, we even go to the library to check some out together. (Side note: I get all my books from the library. It's a good, frugal habit. I only buy books if I think they'll be particularly useful for curriculum development or frequent reference.) And right now, we're slowly working through a stargazing book he bought me for Christmas.

If you've never done this before, I suggest giving it a try. It's minimal investment, and it could turn out to be a fun activity for both!

I no longer want to live in the Arctic

It has not been above 0 F (zero!) since Monday. That's four days here (but still apparently only half of the record). The new last night said that it's the coldest streak in 5 years.

At one point, I made some crack about not wanting it to get above freezing all winter long, since I don't mind snow but really hate ice. Today, I remarked that I meant below 32 and not below 0.

School programs have been canceled for the week, which means I have plenty of time for catching up on other things I need to do (job applications, public programs I'm planning, etc). So that's a mixed bright spot, as I do love working with school groups, but I'm happy to not be freezing off my tushie outdoors.

Another bright spot: I am going to DC this weekend (tho not for inauguration -- I'll be coming back Monday morning) to visit Zandria and some other friends. And it is a balmy 72 27 (wishful thinking) there right now! I'll obviously have to wear my winter coat, as I wouldn't survive in Minnesota without it, but I may just need my liner for coping with the DC weather.

I'm looking forward to some warming next week, and I hope it's not enough to melt the snow. The pack here is so gorgeous, but it's just too cold for me to get outside and cross-country ski. Maybe when I get back.

Baby steps

"Do exercise to nourish your body, not just to reduce it."

This sign hangs in my gym, and I work hard to hold that truth in my head. Even though I know what I'm supposed to do -- love my body, look for fitness improvements, be happy that I am putting in good work -- it is all too easy to berate myself for every pound on the scale and every bite of donut. The other day at the gym, I was somewhat pleased with myself. I had run the evening before after a week of only moderate activity due to fighting yet another cold (this one seems the worst yet -- it settled in my chest and kept me away from work for a day and a half last week). I was lifting weights and make minor increases in the amount lifted, so I was pleased, but it was the mixed pleasure of one who would really like to be doing even more.

Then, I stepped on the scale and discovered I had lost two pounds. Hallelujah! Maybe eating soup for lunch and dinner for most of the past week really has been helping out. I guess those two donuts from last Friday's meeting weren't as detrimental as I thought.

But then I snapped back. Yes, two pounds is great. I'm really happy with it. But I have no idea whether it's water weight loss or due to my temporary illness or a truly sustainable loss. And cheering about that little loss made me lose track of what I really do want: I want to be in better shape so that I can enjoy outdoor activities on a more frequent basis. And I am doing that! Matt and I went snowshoeing for an hour and a half on Sunday, and I didn't even notice the time flying by. I can run more than I could a few months ago, even though I'm still not yet up to the pre-back injury 5k runs I was doing last spring. I'll get there soon enough. And even though I'm not all jazzed about my weight lifting progress, I am making progress. Today at work, I was lifting tables all by myself, and I've always had to drag them along the floor before.

This getting in shape stuff is hard work. I was doubly reminded of that today when reading the cold, hard weight loss truths at sparkpeople. It is true: you need to work out a lot to lose weight. Many big losers work out at least an hour for at least 5 days a week, which is a big time commitment that I am working toward. You also have to change your diet. And giving up stuff you like isn't fun. Even the gal who has given up all sugar had a really hard first year. It's really hard for me to resist the cookies sitting out on the counter at work, but I know that too many are detrimental to my progress and eating one oftentimes means eating more. I'm working on harnessing the self-discipline to just have one with my lunch, but since I can't yet achieve that, I'm going with avoidance for now.

In any case, I'm glad I'm on the journey. Matt (the boyfriend) has joined my gym with me, so I've now got an in-shape buddy to cheer me on as I make my own progress. Interestingly, this is also teaching me restraint: I have to resist critiquing his method of working out (for example, he often stretches before running instead of after, though I think my example is encouraging him to do more post-stretching). But I remember not to criticize him because I always hated it when others criticized my own style. So I bite my tongue, smile at him, and am thankful that I have someone who encourages me to keep up the gym visits. The working out, it's not always fun. But I'm glad I'm doing it.

People are gosh darn cute

alternative title: fun stuff I do for work and domestic things I wish I did

In preparing for our winter festival here at work, I have been a busy bee. I am the intern in charge of all the fancy-pants large events. Among other things, this means that I pick our craft activities. For our winter festival, we will be making paper chains and little tiny snowshoes out of pipe cleaners (oops, I mean chenille sticks! Must avoid those drug references).

I've got some paper chain templates for things like birds and butterflies and whatnot; turns out some of my long-ago Christmas presents have suddenly become quite useful (other useful Christmas presents include books on string games and books about teaching nature to children).

I have found some of the cutest paper chain things online! Check out these neat templates for different shapes. And also cool is this lady's idea about decorating on the cheap for parties: rubber stamped paper chains!.

And the cutest of all: stapleless paper chains! This preschool mom found a way to make paper chains with no staples, tape, or stickers. They take a little more time, but they are so awesome.

Back in the day, I found this fabulous guide for 30 things you can do with kids. It looked so fun that I've kept the tab open forever at work. We haven't yet done any of these projects, but they look like so much fun. Wait, I lie -- at last summer's boating camp, we did Andy Goldsworthy projects every week; we had kids make art out of nature, and then we photographed the results. This was a big hit, and I'm looking forward to replicating it during one of the spring camps here.

On the domestic end, I love Margaret Mason's suggestion for ensuring that you are always ready to entertain. I don't have guests stop by often, but it is nice to encourage that sort of behavior, and I think having little treats readily available is always nice. Plus, if you keep it in a special jar or box (I'd personally pick a tin box or something similarly non-see through), it reduces the urge to graze. Gosh darn cute, and a perfect hostess gift!

Okay, now back to work for me. Just wanted to share some neat projects.

Oregon Snow Part II

more snow pics from the Oregon coast to finish up . . .

my little brother is sometimes an unwilling participant in photos

Quite possibly my favorite view of the Oregon coast