Hello from Nebraska

I'm in the happening place of Lincoln, Nebraska. Grading AP exams all day. I know it sounds lame, but 1) I'm meeting some interesting people 2) At 5 o'clock I actually have time to myself for once 3) FREE FOOD (and it's actually decent) 4) my stipend should pay for my massive garden project plus help out with fixing our pool. I can't wait to enjoy my own backyard soon.

I should have listened...

Someone once said it's not polite to talk about religion, sex, and politics. What do you think? Here's two situations to consider:

Situation one- I made a comment in the presence of my boss that could be interpreted as negative towards baptists. Fifteen minutes later I find out he's a baptist.

Situation two- I recently ran into an old friend of mine while out with my husband. The conversation turned to Barak. Whoa did sparks fly. Within five minutes I was really offended by how my friend stereotyped my husband as some kind of rich jerk that watches babies starve to death for fun since he votes republican. Then of course I was offended when my husband later stereotyped my friend (in private) as being an ignorant granola-crunching idiot that had no understanding of how the economy works. I don't mind a spirited political debate, but they both just took it too personally.

Further evidence - Discussing sex is part of the job teaching biology, and 18-yr-olds can't even discuss fungi reproduction without snickering. I guess it does get their attention, though!

Vasoline-coated toddler

Nelumbo Jr. must have decided that she needed a hair product. While she was supposed to be napping today, she smeared petroleum jelly all over her hair and shirt. I saw pictures taken before her emergency mid-day bath, and I was horrified and amused at the same time. Luckily, it is not majorly toxic so if she tried tasting it, it'll be OK.

I can smell the end of the semester

It smells like 102 empty cans of soda I have collected in my office in the name of recycling, plus the essence of the couple half-rotten gladware containers from lunches at my desk. When it comes to priorities at work it's always 1)getting ready for class the next day 2) sneaking out early so I can spend time with my daughter 3)grading 4) straightening the office. Mostly I cycle from 1-2-1, and 3 comes in to factor occasionally when the students whine too much about getting back their papers. But I get to leave this routine behind in a couple short weeks!

I'm starting to really look forward to spending the summer with Nelumbo Jr. She said "hi Mom" into the phone for the first time today. So cute! I'm also a little nervous because I swear the terrible twos have started early. She is very sweet until you do something mean, like try to prevent her from cutting herself up with an aluminum can, and it's all over. My only consolation is that my mom says I started the terrible twos early, too, but I was done by the time I turned two. Let's hope that family trait continues!

Minty Fresh Sheets

A tube of toothpaste somehow got mixed up in the sheets while we were "camping out" in my grandparent's driveway this weekend. (We were there for my cousin's wedding, which was on the beach and beautiful!) Anyway, the tube of toothpaste exploded all over our sheets and formed a minty, sticky layer on the inside of the dryer. So I just finished scrubbing out the dryer and rewashing the sheets. Will all our clothes smell like a breath mint now? We shall find out.

She walks!

It only took 17 and a half months. I think my daughter is going to share my "learning disability" when it comes to coordination. The only sport I ever did well at was running, since that only requires putting one foot in front of the other. Back in middle school, I think gym class and art class ruined my gradepoint average. And somehow I managed to fall out of the bleachers while watching a volleyball game. True story!

In grad school I walked around bruised and scraped up during the whole semester of wind-surfing class. Then I tried iceskating, which ended up being my lowest grade in grad school, tied with Eukaryotic Molecular Genetics. I don't know which was more painful.

So I'm not all that surprised that it took my daughter a little longer to walk than the average child. And I'm not surprised that the daughter of the basketball coach was running around at 9 months. I swear it's all in the genes.

Zen of the Rat Ripping

I remember Dr. P grabbing ahold of a pigeon and cracking open the rib cage. I was in awe. My lab partner and I were gently probing it with our dissection needle. The idea of touching it seemed crazy.

Yesterday I found myself cracking open the rib cage of a rat. It didn't seem crazy to me, but one of my students seemed to be shocked that I'd touch the thing.

Isn't it strange how you just become habituated to things? If you do something long enough, it becomes natural to you.