I’m not taking summer school because I need to catch up or anything, just in case you were suspicious. The opposite is actually true; I had run out of courses to take in the fall. So why am I taking this one out of my limited remaining pool? It goes like this. Because I knew I was staying an extra year, I needed to take something in the fall and spring (12 hours worth to be enrolled full-time). I asked my advisor, Dr. Nagle, what I could do to stretch things out a bit. He found that because my current degree program is a research-oriented Microbiology set, it already included almost every course needed to complete a Chemistry degree as well. So with just three more courses, I’d graduate with two degrees and my three minors (French, Computer Science, and the History of Science).

The RA job in the summer takes barely any of my time. I am in the office once a week, from 2:30-12:00, and that’s it. It doesn’t pay a ton, but it keeps me from having to find a place to live while I take this class, and it gives me lots of meal points to spend on tasty things.

(I’m typing this on Sam’s computer, which needs a hard drive replacement. So while it’s backing itself up to my iPod, I wrote this. iPods are great data shuttles; their drivers are ubiquitous, they’re compact, and relatively fast over USB2.)

(Also, I have no clue how I ever typed QWERTY. It’s so clunky compared to Colemak. My finger strain has eased a ton since switching. Check it out. I retain most of my QWERTY accuracy, but little QWERTY speed unfortunately; down to about 40-50 WPM vs. my old 90-100. I type about 120 WPM in Colemak though.)

My grad student mentioned that we needed some control samples from healthy individuals to compare to the current samples. At first I started thinking about where to order said material… but then I realized: the tone of her voice was unmistakable.

I guess I’m providing some samples.

Yes yes, I am a terrible blogger when things get busy. Rather than try to fit everything into a post, I will take the Sam way out and make a list. You like lists, yes? Oh, you are still too busy printing and cutting out your coupon. Feel free to make some for friends too… one per customer though.

See, here is a list. Remember, you like lists! Okay, pay attention to the list instead of the coupon for a second. Coupon will still be there when you are done. Coupon does not expire for a long time. Coupon has no cash value. PUT THE COUPON DOWN ALREADY I’M WRITING D:

• I update my Twitter more often than my blog, recently. It’s what appears on the stickynote at the top of the blog when I’m not at something that’s scheduled on my calendar.
• I am a summer RA at OU over the summer. I don’t have to pay for housing or classes, and I’m getting in more volunteer hours at the hospital and lab hours for my major. Plus, I’m getting a nasty class— Quantitative Chemical Analysis— out of the way in June and July.
• My new room is very tiny, and it is not three rooms. This is distressing as I am used to three rooms, and my own bathroom. I like not having to wear clothes to go to the shower I just like not having to wear clothes.
• The lack of cafeteria over the summer sends me foraging out into the wild for food. My diet is not particularly healthy at the moment. There’s a lot of ramen, Easy Mac, and peanut butter involved. Sam convinces me to go out to eat occasionally.
• I enjoy finding coupons and going to Wal-Mart and getting things for cheap and free. I get laughed at by various friends, who call me a “housewife with my little envelope of coupons”. I just laugh at them as I buy 300 frozen pizzas for eleven dollars and then make the store pay me 18 cents to take their cereal off their hands.
• FatWallet sent me a t-shirt and some Silly Thinking Putty for linking them on my blog awhile back. I wasn’t even trying to shill for them; they just post fun deals ^_^
• I am still working out five days a week on the same workout plan, with my ever-wonderful friend Val. Having a workout buddy is all that keeps me from just smashing the alarm with the nearest large object and hiding in bed for another hour.
• I wish people would come visit. I promise to feed you and give you a reasonably soft place to sleep.
• I like having something to do over the summer instead of wasting away bored!

• Body fat dropped by over 2%
• Oxygen utilization effectiveness increased by over 15%
• Resting heart rate dropped by 15 bpm
• Muscle mass increased by over five pounds
• Wrist got shaved… again

This really was the most life-changing thing I did this year, easily. Exercising was never really a burden because of the time or effort committment; instead, it was just because I really didn’t know what I should be doing to exercise effectively. Now I know!

Celsius Exercise Plan

Monday, Wednesday, Friday: Cardio training. 35 (increase to 45 by Week 20) minutes at 65-75 (increase to 70-80) percent of heart rate reserve.

Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday: Strength training. 8-10 reps of 75% of the 1-rep max for the following:

• Bench Press
• Military Press or Overhead Press
• Lat Pulldowns
• Leg Press or Squats
• Prone Leg Curls
• Bicep Curls
• Tricep Pushdowns
• Sit-Ups
• Back Extensions

Spreading the Lurve

About halfway through my training, I started going to the gym with two of my RA friends, Val and Becky Jo. I would work out earlier in the day at the training facility, and then go to the student gym with them later to take them through the same sort of exercises I did. Now that the study is over, they’ll be my workout buddies!

Last night, though, when I turned on my computer, the fan started grinding like mad. Oh no, bad already? I contacted Newegg to ask for an RMA, and to ask if I could get a prepaid shipping label since shipping the fan would cost a good chunk of the fan’s value anyways. Rather than bother with an RMA, they just said “here, have a refund… throw the fan away or RMA it with Corsair, whatever you like.” Wow! So a free fan that I can pay a few $ to ship to Corsair. Sweet!

My major is in Microbiology, with the “Professional” option (higher requirements, but looks better when applying for research programs). Because I came in with so many hours, I could have graduated in two-and-a-half years. Instead, I added several minors in different areas of study: French, Computer Science, Chemistry, and the History of Science. (Minors have to be attached to a major degree; they don’t stand on their own. They’re a way of telling future employers / grad schools “Hey, I am a well-rounded and multifaceted individual.”)

Even with all the minors added and such, I was still struggling to look for classes to take next semester. It’s my fifth year, and all of OU’s degree programs are designed to graduate you in four years with one major and no minors (about 120 hours of credit). After this semester, I’ll be pushing 180 hours.

When I met with my advisor, I mentioned that I was completely running out of courses to take. He looked at my degree sheet for a little bit and then pulled some papers out of his filing cabinet. “Let me suggest something: why don’t you take these three classes… and get another major!” Wow! It was about 10 hours of extra work to turn my Chemistry minor into a full-fledged Biochemistry major. I can take one of the courses this summer, and then one each in fall and spring. However, after a little more looking, one of the courses conflicted with my preexisting Microbiology major. So we switched it to a straight Chemistry major, which is actually slightly easier on my schedule.

I went to the College of Arts & Sciences to let them know what I planned to do. My A&S advisor informed me that I actually couldn’t double major in Microbiology and Chemistry because I had too many hours. The solution? Earn a dual degree instead. It’s actually cooler; instead of getting a “B.S. in Microbiology and Chemistry”, I get two separate diplomas, and two Bachelor’s degrees!

I figure this is my reward for starting college early and coming in with so many hours. Instead of using that advantage to graduate early, I’m using it to do as much as I can during the short time here. Not too much time left at OU…

I love my friends.

On the way back home we saw that a new Circuit City had opened up in Norman… a big contrast to having to always go 30 miles for one! I stopped in and checked on a FatWallet deal and got a bunch of Energizer batteries for 85% off. Yay FatWallet.

So no getting lost + got everything we wanted + saw friends = yay good adventure!

Mrs. Williford,

My name is Seth Kinast and I attended the spring training session for College Volunteers. I signed up for the Friday spot from 3-6 p.m., and went in for the first time this past Friday, the 22nd of February. I am writing because of the extremely poor experience I had, in hopes that you can either provide a solution, or assist me in switching my volunteer time to another slot.

I arrived for my 3 p.m. shift at about 2:40 p.m. and checked in at the front desk. I made my way to the ED and talked to one of the ladies at the front ED desk, explaining that I was there for the College Volunteer program. She went and found “Robbie”, who was apparently the person in charge of showing the volunteers around.

I explained to Robbie that I was here for the 3-6 shift but was a little early to make sure I found where I was supposed to be in time. The first thing he said to me was “Well I guess you’re just a kiss-a**, huh?” I am unsure why arriving early would ever be viewed negatively, but overlooked this remark as perhaps just being Robbie’s personality. However, over the next hour or so, he made several more offensive remarks, including what happened to him when he smoked marijuana “I just wanna f***, eat, and sleep” and asking if I had a “hot sister” that he could get to know. I do not consider these comments to be representative of a professional staff member.

I could have overlooked the commentary, however, had the rest of my shift been rewarding. Soon after I arrived, Robbie took me into a back utility room where two ED techs were sanitizing equipment. One of the techs was training the other and both were obviously busy. Robbie left me with the techs– “maybe you can learn something”– but the techs had little time to do anything but make polite conversation. (No foul; they were doing their jobs.) The techs left for another floor and suggested that I wait behind in the ED. I went to the break room to find Robbie eating cherry cobbler and ice cream. I asked him “who can you put me with now?” since the techs were gone. “Oh, no one,” he responded. He kept talking for a couple more minutes to one of the nurses and then left the ED completely. He did not tell me where he went nor when he would return. I stood around awkwardly for awhile, trying to stay out of the way; I didn’t want to start bothering nurses or others who were obviously busy and had jobs to do. After Robbie did not return, I gave up and left in frustration. This was about 4:45 p.m.

My experience in the ED left me feeling not only unneeded, but unwelcome in general. I do not look forward to returning this Friday if I will simply be ignored again. Please let me know if I’ve perhaps just hit a bad shift of downtime, where college volunteers are not needed; I would be happy to move to another shift. Alternatively, please let me know if the problem I am having can be resolved. In any case, I would request that you let me know as soon as possible what can be done. I have already invested considerable time, money, and effort in becoming a College Volunteer for NRHS– I sincerely hope that something can be done so both NRHS and myself can benefit from my time spent in the ED, but am willing to start looking for an alternative volunteering job if the situation is unlikely to change.

You can contact me at «redacted» or by e-mail at «redacted». Thank you very much for your time and attention.

Seth Kinast

Sigh.