Liv and Lil take Chicago

It sounds like a new name of a great new reality show, right?? Watch out, Kardashian sisters.

This weekend, my favorite twin cousin came to spend the weekend in my neck of the woods and we conquered the windy city, having a fantastic time in the process.
Yes, you read that correctly: twin cousins. Thats an odd term - I will explain it's origin. First of all, our dads are brothers. (p.s I saw this picture for the first time at my Dad's funeral and about died laughing -- and impressive feat given the circumstances, look at my uncles glasses!!!).

But perhaps more importantly, Olivia and I were born within about 36 hours of each other, within about 36 miles of each other, one magical mid-July weekend in 1990, and have been great friends ever since.

Here's a great picture of us at our grandparent's anniversary celebration at crystal mountain.

Here are some more great picture of us at my high school grad party.

 We're really photogenic.

When the two of us went off to college it naturally followed that we didn't see each other much, and since getting real life jobs and working on graduate degrees, that free time has become even more restricted. So naturally when we both had a free weekend this January we knew exactly how we wanted to spend it.

Trains converged at union station, where the adventure began. After hitting up a few ideal shopping spots (including but not limited to the Urban Outfitters book section), we caught the nearest cab and journeyed to the north side of the city to Beat Kitchen.

Beat Kitchen is this great little restaurant with a relatively intimate performance venue where we saw three performances:
- a coed duet act (a guy with a guitar and a girl)
- a soloist from ann arbor
- and Jenny Owen Youngs

Jenny Owen Youngs is friends with Regina Spektor, so obviously I was expecting a lot. And Jenny Owen Youngs did not disappoint. After getting back to DeKalb, I looked Youngs up on spotify, and if you haven't listened to her before, I recommend the "Take Off All Your Clothes" EP. She was great, and we had the best time listening to some good song writing, while being able to sing along with covers like "Ring of Fire" and "Colors of the Wind" (yeah. from Pocahontas).

The next morning our plan was to check out the ice sculpture exhibit at the Navy Pier, but 5 minutes in the beginning of the intense ice storm to follow was beginning in the form of giant heavy drops of freezing rain, so our ice sculpture expedition instantly turned into a game of "find the nearest Starbucks".

Overall, our Chicago adventure was a highly successful one! There is nothing like a fun weekend with family to recharge your week.

happy Monday!

A Major Weakness

I'm supposed to be saving money!
But ever since December this has proven to be a bit difficult, because I discovered Fushi Yami --

This is not the best picture, so here is a clearer, more appealing photo. This was lunch today.

For a while, I had a little bit of a food aversion to cold (sometimes raw) fish. I ate it a lot as a kid/adolescent. My family frequented several Japanese themed restaurants whenever we went out. At some point in college however, I stopped eating it, and it wasn't until this holiday season that Eric convinced me to rekindle by appetite for dishes looking like the one above.

And just to ensure that the reunion was a sure-fire success, we went to Maru (a new and well acclaimed restaurant in east town).

It worked, and I am back to enjoying all sorts of raw and cooked fish wrapped in seaweed and rice. The problem is that it's expensive! And one technique to combating high costs is learning to make something you like for yourself.

...yep. My next goal is to try making some of these rolls on my own.
Unlike making a favorite Italian dish (remind me to write a post about my eggplant parmesan) or committing an afternoon to a bunch of fancy cake pops for your boyfriend's family holiday gift, sushi can be dangerous if not made correctly. For instance, bad fish can do some pretty rough damage after it's cooked. Imagine what it could do without heat!
Luckily, while I was sifting through the junk in my room, deciding what I wanted to do with all of my worldly possessions before my mom sold the house, I found a book! It has all of the information one could possibly need -- it even came with a bamboo mat.

Definitely trying it!

Wish me luck? The next question is: where can I get good fresh fish in the middle of a corn field?

Why so Cold?

Part of the reason I started this blog was to journal my life experiences for the people in my life that mean the most to me while I am living far away from them.

The other is that I wanted to have somewhat of a journal that I could look back on after this part of my life is over (and I'm hopefully a little less poor), and remember all the stuff I did...and I can't think of a better way to introduce the subject of this blog.
Because what's the point of blogging your poor grad school stipend life, if you don't include the funny stuff that it forces you to do?

And with that I present to you, a picture of how I study:

textbook in lap, pen in hand, sticky notes, and two pairs of socks.

Here is a better, more important picture. I have to study sitting on the edge of my bed, with my double-socked feet on the air vent so they don't turn into foot-sickles. The air vent is the place where luke-warm air is pumped into my room a grand total of what seems like three times a day for about 5 seconds.
Why is it so cold you ask?
Well, because I have two very large windows in my room...and no matter how diligent I am about keeping the blinds closed and checking to make sure THEY REALLY ARE SHUT. ALL THE WAY...it is still

          extremely

                   cold. (and drafty)

I had a dream the other night that I was swimming in the Atlantic ocean.

At times like these however, I remember a little piece of Eric-wisdom, and that's not to let yourself get too comfortable. If you live in conditions that are too comfortable, you can't adapt anywhere else. It's easy to fall asleep in a loud place if the place you sleep is loud, it's easy to fall asleep on lumpy bed when you're used to an air mattress, and it's easy to block out the world and rest if the world is always in your face.

And after all this whining, I should say that I'm very grateful to have the 5 seconds of luke-warm heat, a nice blanket, and million pairs of layer-able socks, even if it means forgoing a desk for now.

Stuff that I have Learned in Material Development

Devising a well thought out study in cognitive psychology is just like devising a well thought out experiment in any other science -- hard. 

At least for this little first year baby. 

That being said, one of the most important things I've learned in graduate school so far is that the best way to get over being intimidated is to simply dive into a project, and brace yourself for the impending criticism over your hard work. 

Recently, I was set the somewhat intimidating task of writing materials for a new project. These materials to be more specific, include needing to know about a variety of phenomenon from areas like biology, ecology, physics, meteorology, and even perception. Writing these materials is at times frustrating, but so far I have learned SO MUCH! So, I thought it'd be fun to share a few of the things I've learned since starting this project.

Disclaimer: The follow information comes from stories reported in Scientific American and on the Discovery News webpage. I take no credit for any of this.  

1) There is a major python problem in Florida

Over the last 12 years, 2 major species of python; the Reticulated Python and the Burmese Python have been taking over the Everglades in Florida, and no less than 6 additional species of snakes are on the rise in the area! 

EW! 

Apparently these snakes all fit a similar ecological niche...they all eat wading and water-dependent birds and small mammals. If this sounds like the familiar niche already filled by the Alligator, thats because it is. The problem is that Alligators are a native species to the Everglades...they've lived for an extremely long time around their prey, and thus their tasty meals have evolved and adapted to their presence (which naturally regulates gator numbers). These animals however, are inept at dealing with the pythons, and it's kind of no wonder - because while pythons are perfectly capable of swimming and sunning themselves like their native competition, they can also climb trees, and hide underground. 

What is Florida's response to this reptilian onslaught? 50$ paid to anyone bringing in a dead python. 

But I bet you're wondering why the snakes are even in the Everglades in the first place...

They're popular exotic pets, and over the years certain specimens have been LOST or LET GO! 

...one more time 

EWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!! 

for the love of God, if you plan on investing in a deadly snake, at least have the decency to commit to it!

2) There is a perfectly good excuse not to like wheat bread.

Whole-wheat bread is naturally not as appealing as the white version made of bleached, refined flour. There are a number of reasons for this. Some don't like the grainier texture, some don't like the flavor difference, and (as is the case with me) some don't like how sweet it is (or can be). According to some recent research, the culprit is ferulic acid, which is found in the outer layer of wheat grains.

(Picture above is a wheat loaf and set of rolls baked by my mother. Home bakers have the choice of trying to mask the flavor influences by ferulic acid with added sugar or not. Mom doesn't add extra sugar, and I always seem to like the product she ends up with). 

 

Evidently, changing amounts of ferulic acid in a loaf of bread is shown to have a major impact on the taste and smell of the bread. Ferulic acid is bound to wheat cell walls until the fermentation and baking process. However, at this juncture in bread-making, it gets released and starts altering the bread's flavor and aroma. Digging a little deeper, studies reported that ferulic acid has such a large impact on bread because it suppresses a compound called 2AP, which is responsible for the “wheat bread” taste. 

Because people tend not to like the flavor this compound creates, bakers find success in adding extra sweetness to wheat bread (which granted, isn't the case with all brands, but definitely is for the store  brands I've experience). Researchers in this area propose that by minimizing the release of ferulic acid during baking, it might be possible to alter the taste of a wheat product, bringing it closer to a "white bread" taste. However, if the flavor of wheat bread is your cup of tea, I highly doubt 2AP will be going away any time soon. 

I will update as I find more interesting stories, of course...writing these is wayyy too much fun. In the meantime, I'm back to looking for the perfect science articles to inspire my new materials. 

Star Teacher

Classes are starting Monday!!
I am so ready to get back into my usual routine. Like many beginnings, the start of a brand new semester has always given me a little anxiety, and that normally expresses itself in some pretty weird dreams in the week leading up to and during the first week of class. I have talked to other people about these dreams, and apparently I am not the only one that has them! So maybe you can relate...

They always seem to go like this: a new term at some school (that is never my actual school for some reason, although one time it was Hogwarts) begins, and I have NO WRITTEN SCHEDULE of where any of my classes are, or what time they start, or what days they are. So I have to keep guessing, and naturally show up late, forget to bring crucial materials, and in the worst case, completely forget to go for the entire semester and fail by default.

But the funny thing is the classes that I always try to go to the class that I've missed all semester for the final exam, and every time it's taught by the same guy! The english teacher I had during 7th and 9th grade, to be exact. I find this hilarious, because most of the time the class in question is either trigonometry or chemistry (which is why missing it is such a travesty, I am notoriously bad at both and have a piss poor idea of whats going on in both subjects even if I'm there paying attention every day). I guess my brain just tried to match the worst teacher with the worst subjects? Nice try...

With the new responsibilities that come with serving as a TA for a psy lab, I have a new addition to this dream. Now, rather than not attending classes all semester, I come to class and somewhere along the way lose all of the student's final papers!

I also have dreams that I forget to show up to run studies in the lab and prospective participants write angry letters to my advisor about how I wasted their time.
I swear, sometimes these dreams have me begging for a normal nightmare about a zombie apocalypse rather than stuff that could actually happen!!

Teaching taught me a lot last semester, and I have reaped the rewards of these life long learning experiences weeks after they left my class for good. I used to see teachers that I thought were good, even great, and think about how since I knew what I thought made them good, that it would be easy to emulate.

I had no idea how wrong I was. First of all, the people who were great instructors for me weren't necessarily a great fit for other people.

Second, great teachers have to be engaging, clear, and appropriately challenging all in the face of
- students on cell phones under the desk (yeah, we can see that and it's very distracting, thanks)

- people who eat food (FOR THE LOVE OF GOD CLOSE YOUR MOUTH)
- talking during a lecture
- rudeness
- blatant disinterest

(please note that the list above is based not on my experience per se, but on a conglomeration of war stories I've heard over time, and things I witnessed as an undergrad from my own peers)

The best advice however, that I've received since I started TAing is worth sharing here, and thus I am going to send it out into the world so that anyone else ever put in a scenario where this applies can use it.

"Never let someone come to you and tell you that they don't "get it". They need to be specific. If they were listening to you at all, they should have a specific question about what you were explaining. Saying "I don't get it" puts the responsibility back on you; to reteach your lecture, to re-explain instructions, to repeat something you've said five times. You've already done that. You don't have time for "I don't get it". Spend your time clarifying a real question."

The Best Cookies Ever Invented

My Grandmother is a highly accomplished baker and chef. She did a lot of the cooking for our Thanksgiving dinner (pictured above), and she has cooked other holiday dinners for years.

I have already blogged about my own cooking skills, and if you've read those you know that my own culinary talents are far from refined, but G'ma is always willing to help -- especially by sharing her recipes. This Christmas, I was lucky enough to get a pre-made cookie mix of MY FAVORITE COOKES! EVER.

Why are these cookies so good, you ask? Well, they basically have every cookie ingredient that makes a cookie delicious. There is chocolate (both white and dark) for flavor, oats for...health? and rice krispies for texture. It sounds a little weird, but the little bit of crunch makes it that much better.

:) I ate one as soon as it was out of the oven and burned my mouth a little, but it was worth it.

No Place Like Homes for the Holidays: Part 3

Well as I said before, this next post is out of order, but what holiday series would be complete without covering Christmas itself??

A week into my vacation, Eric came home early from work and we left for his parent's house. This was just one of the first family stops to celebrate Christmas. I love visiting the whole family, including their part beagle, part coyote: Chika.

I'm not kidding! There isn't much concrete evidence, but all things considered, coy-dog is the best guess  so far. For instance, this is what you get when you google beagle/coyote mix:

and this is what you get when you take a picture of Chika in the backyard:

looks pretty convincing to me...

As we were visiting before Christmas itself, we had some catching up to do in terms of shopping for family and friends. Luckily, there is a beautiful local mall right in town! Unluckily however, we were there the week before Christmas, and it was impossible to find a place to park.

I have never seen so many cars in a single system of parking lots in my life. Car after car, bumper to bumper, there was not a single place to be found. It looked like the entire town and all of its surrounding communities had waited until the last second to tackle Christmas shopping lists. After about 15 minutes of looking for a nonexistent spot, the humor that we approached the parking task with was on the verge of turning to aggravated frustration. And then, turning around the corner of Nordstrom, we saw it. A silver Nissan turned its back lights on, and began very cautiously backing out of its spot merely two rows from the front doors of my favorite department store.

"GET IT!!"...the exclamation wasn't necessary, but appropriate in the context of the rising adrenaline as we noticed another car eying the spot. After a couple of quick and masterful maneuvers, my very talented better half scored one of the best parking spots known to man (given the time of year).

Look how close we were!

Many gifts were purchased...including a little something for myself ;)

Normally this close to the holidays I never buy anything for personal use, in case it was someone's gift idea. However, Yankee Candle was having a sale! And in my opinion, one can never have too many study candles...

and speaking of gifts, I was given this gorgeous hanging jewelry box for Christmas, too...a truly original designer piece inspired by pintrest, made especially for me. It goes very nicely with the rest of the decor in my room once I was able to hang it (which actually took quite a bit longer than expected thanks to my complete lack of handy-skills). Nevertheless, there it is!

Visiting was lots of fun, but it wasn't long before we were off to celebrate with my extended family as well. Here we are at my family's Christmas celebration with Caroline and her boyfriend John!

When Christmas day finally came, Caroline and I were up north, celebrating with family and enjoying all that Santa brought for us

some highlights included books of pictures

African elephants

and lots
and lots

of socks....

I was excited to have given successful gifts as well. Christmas is my favorite holiday, and even though mine was packed full of long multi-state traversing drives, it was totally worth it!

But now I'm back in Illinois, gearing up before another action-packed semester...stay tuned...

No Place Like Homes for the Holidays -- part 2

As promised, I'm documenting another of my "homes" that I've visited this holiday season.

I've blogged a lot about Grand Rapids, so hopefully you're not tired of hearing about it, but it's entirely necessary to talk about this place, as I've spent a majority of my break here on the west side of the state.

The week before Christmas I arrived in GR for some much needed relaxation time with some of my favorite people, at which time we got a chance to catch up on work, shop for Christmas presents, and celebrate this lady's birthday :)

But a major highlight of Grand Rapids was our New Year's Eve celebration.
The ball drop downtown is a crowded mess around 11:45pm, and I'm glad we spent most of our time at a more intimate house party (where we could actually hear conversation).

Being downtown to ring in the new year was, nonetheless, quite the adventure. Jesse McCartney and Baby Bash performed a free concert! Luckily we were able to snap a few midnight pictures of the festivities.

fun with stilts guy






             








                                                                                         Ready for another great year with this guy! <3
             

and another year with these girls

I don't have any specific new year resolutions (except maybe to increase my weekly gym attendance), but if 2013 brings half of the same blessings that 2012 granted me with, I will be very lucky.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!