Starlings

Since September, I have been watching the roosting patterns of starlings (pictured).  I am doing a research project on preferential roosting positions, and am planning on publishing these results in an ornithology journal...which would be a really really big deal.

Check out this Starling link to see the mesmerizing and incredible flying patterns: starlings.

I've probably been out to watch the starlings around 50 times.  Although I am much more used to the spectacle, I still am amazed every time I go.  I don't think I'll ever look at a flock of birds the same way!

The way these birds fly is one of the neatest things I've ever seen.  They group together and make flocks that act like fluids in the sky.  My research partner and I think they look like ocean currents...and make us feel like we're underwater...haha...we're pretty nerdy :)  They create shapes and movements that are so unique and mesmorizing....and they never crash into one another.  We are currently working on the statistical analysis of all the data we've collected.  Then we have a presentation and paper to do.  Look for our research in future ornithology journals!!!

Botswana here i come...

So, I was planning on graduating from college this December...until I happened to walk into a study abroad fair one day. I have always wanted to study abroad, but never could because of soccer or other commitments. So, that day I began asking the head of the global education center about opportunities for working or volunteering abroad after I graduate. She didn't have much to say about it, but recommended me to keep my student status for this spring and just do a study abroad program through TU. At first, I thought, "no, I don't think I wanna go through all that trouble...I already have everything lined up to graduate!" But the more I got to thinking about it, the more I realized that this opportunity is something I should really take advantage of.

I began browsing programs and decided I should go somewhere unique...I wanted to experience something totally different from what I already have. I narrowed it down to Botswana and Ghana, two African countries. The more I looked into the programs, the more I realized how much more organized the program in Botswana seemed...and I only had two weeks to get everything together, so I decided on the University of Botswana, in the city of Gaborone. I'll be taking a chemistry course in order to obtain a chemistry minor, a human anatomy course, as a prerequisite for PA school, and a few other courses on the Setswana language and southern Africa. I would also liked to get hooked up with a hospital or health clinic in the area and either volunteer or work there a few times a week.

And......a HUGE bonus of being in southern Africa this spring is the World Cup taking place in South Africa. After my semester is over, I have plans to travel south to South Africa and meet up with a group of 12 people. We have tickets to see the first 3 US games.

After all that...who knows what I will do...but I do know that I cannot wait for this exciting adventure to begin :) Come visit me in Africa!

Overwhelmed

It's midterm time...and I'm feeling a little overwhelmed right now. I have an anatomy & physiology midterm tomorrow and am still memorizing all the muscles of the cat. I have most of the other material memorized, but I'll get up a few hours early to go over everything again...that is, if I go to bed! We have to know so much for this test. Everything about the human integumentary, muscular, and skeletal systems, and the muscles and bones of the cat, too. Not to mention a ton of other random information like how to do ridgecounts for fingerprints and all the different types. We also have to know how to age and sex a skull!!!

In what part of the body do the following words fit?

• olecranon
• trapezium (NOT in the back!)
• biceps femoris
• vomer
• eponychium
• crista galli
• buccinator
• linea aspera

Hard stuff!!! Ok...back to studying now.

Had to tri a tri

So this morning I did my very first triathlon...and definitely not my last. It was a sprint tri, so not as long as an olympic length, but it was still an accomplishment, and maybe the olympic tri is something I could work up to. I swam 400m, biked 15mi, and ran 5k. It was really fun...sort of exhilerating...and lots of adrenaline pumping! Here is my before picture...taken at 7am, but I had woken up at 5:15...looking pretty tired.


I got second in my age group, and I think seventh overall. Pretty exciting! I think I could have biked a little harder, and I also could work on my transition times, but my total time was 1:25. It would be fun to have a buddy to do these with. The tri season is over though now, so maybe this spring I could try to find someone. Competing in a team would be pretty fun, too. Here is my after picture...looking a little more awake now!

My next (tentative) event is the Tulsa Run, a 15k on October 31st. And I'm thinking about doing the McNellies's Pub Run, a 4 mile run on November 4th. (There is prize money for the top three finishers if you drink three 12-oz beers during the run...optional, but I might try it!)

Gotta love granola

Recently I've been really into making homemade granola...it's a lot healthier, cheaper and doesn't take much time, so why not?!? And you can put pretty much whatever you like in it! Here is the very special recipe that I have created (of course after much research), and I've decided to share it with you all...well, all three of my readers. :)



The following ingredients make one big batch of granola:

1 1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c water
1 t salt
3 t vanilla extract
8 c old-fashioned rolled oats
2 c total of any nuts or seeds (I also add shredded coconut)
1/4 c honey
1 1/2 c raisins (or any dried fruit)

Combine sugar and water and microwave for 5 minutes. Add salt and vanilla. Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add sugar mixture and honey to dry ingredients. Bake on cookie sheets at 275 degrees for 45-60 minutes. Let cool, and add dried fruit. Enjoy with milk, yogurt, ice cream (vanilla bean is the tastiest), fresh fruit, or just on its own!!!



Here is me and my granola container...it's time for a refill!

Lonely Tree

When you drive, do you ever notice trees that are all by themselves? Standing alone in a field, away from the others? Well, maybe you don't see them...but they're there...seldom...but they exist...and I see them. Whenever I see one away from all the rest, I think of me. I don't know why, but when I see one, I personify it to be me. Someone different...away...from the rest. This image sort of saddens me. But it also just reiterates the fact that I am unique...that I am different than others.

I think differently than other people...not that I know how they think or anything, but it's just a feeling I get. It's hard to explain. I think about pretty deep things...not all the time, but pretty often. I think about how beautiful and absolutely detailed each and every living thing on earth is, the overabundance of man-made objects, the genuineness of relationships, about how in the world we all got to this point in existence, about the pain and loss people go through every day when I have experienced none of it, and about the mind-boggling fact that outer space goes on FOREVER. (How the hell is that?!?) I think about the things that are going on right NOW in countries all over the world...and how small this planet really is and how man is ruining it...and how I wish we could all just get along...not by all believing the same things, but by merely accepting each others' beliefs. Thinking of all this makes me cry...life is just not fair. I have SO much...and some people have so LITTLE. Think about the orphans, the abused, the brainwashed, the sick...children and adults alike. (And these were just last week's thoughts.) Who else cries for these people? I do...but what else can I do? Now I'm getting sappy...sorry.

I just feel like God has this awesome plan for me...but I just don't know what. And anyway, what IS God? He isn't a king, a father, a shepherd, or a prince....these are roles for men, and God is not human. He is our creator, but he isn't someone we can equate to these humanly roles. (Another thought, sorry.) This last week I've sort of been rethinking the "plan" I've set up for the next few years. I think I want to take a trip...a long trip...to somewhere far away...Africa maybe. I don't know. I am so young, and once I graduate in December I will have no commitments...to anywhere or anyone. So why not utilize that freedom to do something great? How about the Peace Corps? There is no rush to do anything. So what do I want to do? I know I really enjoy school...basically learning that we all really know nothing. And I want to help people...but only people who want help. Helping whom and where is something to be determined.

So where does that leave me? It leaves this lonely tree with some more thinking, that's where.

Life in a Fog

I often feel as though I'm living in a fog and do not experience full attentiveness in my everyday activities. I don't think this is the way I have always lived but is rather something of the past two or three years. And it isn't a constant state of mind but something that comes and goes. It makes me very sad at times, because I feel like life is just quickly passing me by and before I know it I will be old and won't know what in the world I did with my life. It's like I don't feel like I'm 100% present at certain times...and during most of those times I am just very tired and want to take a nap!

One of the most frustrating aspects of this haziness is not remembering important conversations held with people close to me. I shouldn't have to write down important things people confide in me, but sometimes I feel like I should so that I don't forget.

Another part I hate is my poor memory of big events. For example, someone may ask me what I did last weekend. Well, even if I went to a wedding, a fundraiser, or had jury duty, those big events don't come to my mind when asked, therefore, forcing me to answer with "I didn't do much." This may not seem like a big deal, but it is for me when I can't even remember what I just did, especially when they may be big things in my life.

I have several hypotheses for this fogginess:

• Lack of sleep
• Distracted by other thoughts/things
  
• Not genuinely interested in current activity...doing things in the present to achieve things in the future
• Tired...not due to sleep but just from over-exertion

I think it's a combination of all of the above. I don't know if this is a normal feeling or not, but whatever it is, I don't like it. I think ways to prevent this fogginess are to get more sleep and do more fun, social activities with my friends...both of which take TIME!

This state of mind isn't constant, by all means, but I think it is something I need to try to avoid by actively engaging in whatever I am doing.

Commitments Thus Far...

Ok, so after a post about choosing hobbies and having a hard time deciding what I do and do not want to pursue, I sit here thinking this semester I am doing too much. Here are my current commitments:

1. 18 hours of class which includes:

• Sociology of Health, Illness, and Medicine
• Biochemistry Lecture
• Biochemistry Lab
• Field Ecology
• Social Psychology
• Anatomy and Physiology Lab
• Mechanisms of Animal Development
• = TOO MANY CLASSES!!!

2. President of TriBeta Biological Honor Society

• plan and organize events for group members
• oversee and delegate tasks to a board of 6 members

3. Historian for Alpha Epsilon Delta National Health Pre-professional Honor Society

• update display case...first to be REDONE
• attend all events to take pictures of group

4. Patient transporter job at St. John Hospital

• scheduled to work Saturdays from 7-5:30
• am planning on talking to manager this week to QUIT this!!!

5. Coach for an U-12 girls soccer team

• Weekly games
• Practice twice a week
  

6. Member of a small group for church

• meets every Monday from 7-9
• and every Thursday
• and on other random days we feel like doing things
  

7. Working out!!!

• Trying to stay in shape...but hard without mandatory soccer practices
  
• Running
• Pilates...DVDs only
  
• Biking
• Swimming
• Want to rock climb!
  

Choosing Hobbies

It seems as though every year, I find a few more activities that I really enjoy and am fairly successful at. I am finding now that it is becoming difficult to decide which hobbies to pursue. Such things as biking, painting, soccer coaching, rock climbing, cooking, and swimming are a few of the things that I really enjoy...but one just can't do everything she enjoys!!! I'm just trying to do what I have time and money for and whatever I feel like doing at any given moment. Something that I really struggle with is over-commitment...I tend to say "yes" to too many things. I need to work on turning down offers to coach or be part of school organizations. While most commitments may add good things to my life, I could definitely benefit without the added time and stress.

Thoughts of Singleness

The past several months I have become more frustrated with my life and the loneliness I have experienced for so long. I am (and probably always will be) an extremely independent person who likes her own space and gains energy from activities done alone, but lately I have come to believe that this independence I have developed is working against my desire to be with someone, and that with time, it will become harder to be in a romantic relationship. The sole purpose of my life is not to find that special someone, but a true desire of my heart is to fall in love, get married and have children. I would love to be a mother. It seems as though family, friends, church and the media place such an emphasis on relationships, but, the truth is, God's plan for some people is to live a life of singleness. With a culture that gives so much attention to relationships, it is hard not to always wonder if someday I will get married. A life of singleness is a reality that I need to be aware of, because that may very well be the path my life could take. Yes, I want to get married someday, but I'd rather not spend my time "waiting" for something that isn't guaranteed to come. I don't need a marriage to have a complete life, but it is hard to have a happy life when deep desires, like that of getting married, are never fulfilled.

My heart is open for love and will most definitely welcome someone who may come into my life, but I don't want to be this woman who sits moping and waiting for a man! I have been single (and patient) for almost 23 years, and I will continue to live my single life doing what makes me happy. If God's plan for me is to get married, he will bring that man into my life at the right time. As one who has never had a boyfriend, I think that the first man I date will be the one I marry. To no offense to anyone, I'd rather not waste my time dating someone with which I don't believe I'll spend the rest of my life.

These are my current thoughts on my single life; I'm not looking for words of encouragement, as those words would most likely refer to a future with a man...antagonizing my view of a possible future of singleness. I only want my thoughts to be known.

"Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4

I need to keep delighting :)