It's been a long few weeks. Things have been going okay, don't get me wrong....but I seem to be alternating between being frustrated with my job and the direction I think it is (or, rather, isn't going in) and being fairly content. As a result, I've been probably a little testier than usual some days and, regrettably, a little short with Scientist.
I've also reached the point where I'm ready to move, I think. I like the town we live in well enough, but it's too small and during the winter especially I just get insane stir craziness. That, and honestly, I don't see a lot happening with my career here: cronyism and an permanently f-ed up state employment system have ensured that. My job isn't bad, I just don't see it going where I want it to for awhile.
The one nice, fairly recent, development I've mentioned a few times is some of the hobbies we've really gotten into over the past few months. Scientist has been brewing beer, as well as making yogurt and kefir. I've been baking, cooking, knitting....We're a regular Little House on the Prairie. It's kind of funny--I never EVER pictured myself as being domestic, but I love it. I like doing things that result in a product I can enjoy or spending time in nature. As cheesy as this sounds, I feel like it makes my heart swell. I feel content. Isn't that what life supposed to be about?
Showing posts with label West Virginia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label West Virginia. Show all posts
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Spring
Spring always seems really insane: I think the stir-craziness everyone's been feeling all winter finally peaks in late March/early April, and, if we're lucky, the weather turns nice and people are able to break their solitariness, go outside and run around. Everyone seems to drive faster and smile more when the weather first turns nice.
Work at my newish job has been good, but super busy. It's not a perfect job--it pays so !*&^% little that I feel like I'm being taken advantage of--but I like my boss(es) generally and I like doing something in my field. If only it paid more and was a little less research-y and a little more...public-y. Alas, it is not my perfect job. I honestly doubt the perfect job exists in this state.
Actually, there's been a lot I've been thinking about in relation to both my job, the direction of Public Health and health care and where I think I fit into this giant fucking mess we've created/was created for us....but more on that at a different time, when I'm in a more reflective mood.
On a completely unrelated note, Sunday marked the third anniversary of my first date with Scientist. Who would've thought three years later we'd be married and living so far away from the town in which we met?
Work at my newish job has been good, but super busy. It's not a perfect job--it pays so !*&^% little that I feel like I'm being taken advantage of--but I like my boss(es) generally and I like doing something in my field. If only it paid more and was a little less research-y and a little more...public-y. Alas, it is not my perfect job. I honestly doubt the perfect job exists in this state.
Actually, there's been a lot I've been thinking about in relation to both my job, the direction of Public Health and health care and where I think I fit into this giant fucking mess we've created/was created for us....but more on that at a different time, when I'm in a more reflective mood.
On a completely unrelated note, Sunday marked the third anniversary of my first date with Scientist. Who would've thought three years later we'd be married and living so far away from the town in which we met?
Sunday, March 08, 2009
Picking Up
After two weeks of sorta twiddling my thumbs, it looks as though I'm about to get very busy at work. Sitting around reading peer reviewed articles on every possible policy and intervention dealing with issue under study in my office is fine and all, but there comes a point where one gets bored. Really, really bored.
But that is no more! Er, won't be soon. I'm working on three different projects for two different teams of researchers, two of which are about to take off. It looks like, in addition to reading, I'll be doing some field work (doesn't that very Scully-like?) involving surveying college students, as well as going to rural health clinics in the area. The site visits should be really interesting; WV has some pretty backwater places, especially in the southern part of the state, and seeing that up close should be educational. And scary.
I have high expectations for this job. I hope I'm not disappointed.
On a completely unrelated note, it warms my heart that I'm not 'speaking' to a totally empty room when I post on this blog: thanks for adding yourself as a 'follower' DHP.
But that is no more! Er, won't be soon. I'm working on three different projects for two different teams of researchers, two of which are about to take off. It looks like, in addition to reading, I'll be doing some field work (doesn't that very Scully-like?) involving surveying college students, as well as going to rural health clinics in the area. The site visits should be really interesting; WV has some pretty backwater places, especially in the southern part of the state, and seeing that up close should be educational. And scary.
I have high expectations for this job. I hope I'm not disappointed.
On a completely unrelated note, it warms my heart that I'm not 'speaking' to a totally empty room when I post on this blog: thanks for adding yourself as a 'follower' DHP.
Monday, February 09, 2009
Cranky
Reasons why I'm pissed:
1. The economic stimulus package: I'm unemployed and, if/when the SP is passed, I will be (hopefully) working in a field that benefits enormously from it and is STILL PISSES ME OFF. What a huge waste of money.
2. Unemployment: I supposedly live in the city with the lowest unemployment rate in the country....So, where's my job, biatch?
3. Having to avoid the woman at Starbucks who, for no reason, scolded me for reading 'A Year of Living Biblically'. I see her all the time now, and, because I'm a nice person who was raised with manners (unlike SOME people), I feel like I need to say hello and exchange niceties with her.
4. My former adviser.
5. My mom hurt her back.
6. I'm about to be offered a job that pays crap. Seriously. Like, imagine what you might think would be normal for someone in my field with a Master's degree and experience, and then lower it. Lower. Lower. That's about right.
7. I'm ambivalent about children.
8. It's February.
9. Next month will be March.
10. I LIVE IN WEST VIRGINIA FOR GOD'S SAKES.
1. The economic stimulus package: I'm unemployed and, if/when the SP is passed, I will be (hopefully) working in a field that benefits enormously from it and is STILL PISSES ME OFF. What a huge waste of money.
2. Unemployment: I supposedly live in the city with the lowest unemployment rate in the country....So, where's my job, biatch?
3. Having to avoid the woman at Starbucks who, for no reason, scolded me for reading 'A Year of Living Biblically'. I see her all the time now, and, because I'm a nice person who was raised with manners (unlike SOME people), I feel like I need to say hello and exchange niceties with her.
4. My former adviser.
5. My mom hurt her back.
6. I'm about to be offered a job that pays crap. Seriously. Like, imagine what you might think would be normal for someone in my field with a Master's degree and experience, and then lower it. Lower. Lower. That's about right.
7. I'm ambivalent about children.
8. It's February.
9. Next month will be March.
10. I LIVE IN WEST VIRGINIA FOR GOD'S SAKES.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Unemployment
So, like I've said before, I just graduated almost exactly a month ago and thus far I've had little luck in the job department. It's frustrating, for obvious reasons, but also because I actually have a good amount of solid experience in my field both here and abroad (not to mention a lot of other work experience in teaching etc.)
Right before Thanksgiving I had an interview which went super well. The interviewer (who, I'm pretty darn sure actually made the hiring decisions) said to me, "Well, once you graduate, if you're interested in this position, we can see what we can do", and then, not 5 minutes later the other person sitting in on the interview told me (after they showed me around and introduced me to everyone who worked in the department) "We will definitely be giving you a call." I found out two weeks later they offered the position to someone else.
Now, I'm not going to take this personally (really), but why ya gotta go building my hopes up like that when you don't know for sure you can hire me?! "We'll definitely be giving you a call"?! That's a total tease.
I'm not yet at the position where I'm completely frustrated. I realize I just graduated. I realize we just got past the holiday season and no one hires right before the beginning of the year. I understand this is a terrible economy to be looking for a job in, but.....I have a feeling there are other reasons why I'm not getting calls back and they have nothing to do with me, my education, or experience. And I'm not going into them on a public forum like this. Not yet at least...
Right before Thanksgiving I had an interview which went super well. The interviewer (who, I'm pretty darn sure actually made the hiring decisions) said to me, "Well, once you graduate, if you're interested in this position, we can see what we can do", and then, not 5 minutes later the other person sitting in on the interview told me (after they showed me around and introduced me to everyone who worked in the department) "We will definitely be giving you a call." I found out two weeks later they offered the position to someone else.
Now, I'm not going to take this personally (really), but why ya gotta go building my hopes up like that when you don't know for sure you can hire me?! "We'll definitely be giving you a call"?! That's a total tease.
I'm not yet at the position where I'm completely frustrated. I realize I just graduated. I realize we just got past the holiday season and no one hires right before the beginning of the year. I understand this is a terrible economy to be looking for a job in, but.....I have a feeling there are other reasons why I'm not getting calls back and they have nothing to do with me, my education, or experience. And I'm not going into them on a public forum like this. Not yet at least...
Friday, June 06, 2008
Saturday, May 17, 2008
The West Virginia Way
Over the past few months I've had a quite a few things I've wanted to write about: being a bride, buying a house for the first time, academia, the election. But recently there's been some things going down here in Morgantown, and at WVU in particular, that have distracted both me and everyone else in Morgantown, becoming all that anyone can talk about.
Last fall, the Pittsburgh Gazette wrote a piece on a former WVU grad, Heather Bresch, after one of their staff writers discovered that Bresch, an employee at Mylan Pharmaceuticals, had lied about a degree she had earned from WVU. Bresch was set to be promoted to high ranking executive position in the company, and in the course of investigating her credentials, the Pittsburgh paper uncovered that not have the academic credentials she claimed to have. Apparently, when the Pittsburgh paper called WVU to check to see if she had earned the aforementioned undergraduate and MBA degrees, they discovered that while she had begun her MBA degree here and completed roughly a year's worth of classes, she never actually completed the program.
Now, that wouldn't be such a huge deal--people have lied on applications about degrees and skills and jobs they've had since applications were invented--except just a few days after the Pittsburgh paper discovered that Heather Bresch didn't have the MBA degree she claimed to have she was suddenly, magically, retroactively awarded the very degree in question from WVU--nine years after she claimed to have graduated.
Who is Heather Bresch and why does she matter? Why, she's the governor's daughter! She got her degree the old fashioned way--she called Mike Garrison, the president of WVU and made sure that she was awarded that MBA degree she always wanted but only completed 26 academic hours out of 48 academic hours for.
Bresch and Garrison go way back. They were both in the same "graduating class" at WVU (she was in the School of Business and he was at the WVU law school), plus Bresch employed Garrison as a lobbyist when she worked for a firm in Charleston. When Garrison was appointed president of WVU by the Board of Governors it was widely (and correctly) believed that Garrison was just another crony of Bresch's father, Joe Manchin III.
Like Manchin, Garrison has conviently surrounded himself with people who will either protect him or take the fall. The Board of Governors, who appointed Garrison, are also the only the people who can "fire" him. Not surprisingly, the BOG is made up of people who Garrison knows from his past--one of them he practiced law with years ago. Garrison, like a true blue West Virginia crony, has managed to appoint people who have helped him along the to positions of power within in WVU: the dean of the medical school (for which the Public Health department is a part of) was someone Garrison had known for years and replaced a man who was forced out by Garrison after heading the department for 15+ years.
Garrison claims to have no knowledge or involvement in Bresch's mysterious diploma, as does her father, Governor Manchin. However, Garrison admits that he did receive a phone call from Bresch who said she "sincerely believed" she had earned her MBA. Instead of handling this matter himself, however, Garrison said he handed it off to Provost Lang and the Dean of the College of Business, Gerald Sears, who months later, as this whole thing unfolded, suddenly resigned (but who still teach at WVU and will rake in over $200,000 per year).
Garrison thinks, apparently, that he can pt his head down, ignore the outrage that has infected the campus and ride this out until the next year. Fortunately though, the faculty, staff and some of the students have signed petitions and held two seperate meetings in which they expressed their own sincere desire that Garrison get his ass kicked out of office. At the most recent meeting, over 600 faculty and staff met and voted 565-39 in favor of asking Garrison to resign.
This type of scandal doesn't just affect the president's office, BOG and the governor; it tarnishes the reputation of the school, chases off current and potential faculty and students and creates a backlash in which everyone walks around looking over their shoulders wondering if someone is going to accuse them of something. Furthermore, it makes people like myself who have worked their asses off towards their degree look bad. As another graduate student in Public Health told me: "I think about all the hours I spent working towards my degree, writing my thesis, doing my homework, going to class....time I spent away from my family...and someone like Heather Bresch can just make a phone call and suddenly be awarded an MBA."
The Bresch/Garrison scandal also perpetuates the image of West Virginia and West Virgininans as clanish and backwards, which is terribly unfortunate because of it overshadows all the good things about West Virginia and Morgantown in particuliar. People here are incredibly nice. The landscape is breathtaking. I know without a doubt I've received a far better education here than I would've at U of Iowa due to the well trained (and sometimes unbelievably demanding) . But how anyone know that? Your average person associates West Virginia with Hatfields and McCoy type feuds, coal mining and corruption, all of which are certainly a part of West Virginia history but really betray some of the lovely things about WV. Scandals like this also distract attention away from problems that really affect West Virginians like ridiculously high rates of obesity, smoking, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and poverty.
But don't take my word for it: read about a recent grad's opinion of what he thinks the university's presidents next move should be. Football fans should also take a look at this article with Rich Rodriguez, whose sudden departure seems a lot clearer given what we know about how Garrison operates.
Last fall, the Pittsburgh Gazette wrote a piece on a former WVU grad, Heather Bresch, after one of their staff writers discovered that Bresch, an employee at Mylan Pharmaceuticals, had lied about a degree she had earned from WVU. Bresch was set to be promoted to high ranking executive position in the company, and in the course of investigating her credentials, the Pittsburgh paper uncovered that not have the academic credentials she claimed to have. Apparently, when the Pittsburgh paper called WVU to check to see if she had earned the aforementioned undergraduate and MBA degrees, they discovered that while she had begun her MBA degree here and completed roughly a year's worth of classes, she never actually completed the program.
Now, that wouldn't be such a huge deal--people have lied on applications about degrees and skills and jobs they've had since applications were invented--except just a few days after the Pittsburgh paper discovered that Heather Bresch didn't have the MBA degree she claimed to have she was suddenly, magically, retroactively awarded the very degree in question from WVU--nine years after she claimed to have graduated.
Who is Heather Bresch and why does she matter? Why, she's the governor's daughter! She got her degree the old fashioned way--she called Mike Garrison, the president of WVU and made sure that she was awarded that MBA degree she always wanted but only completed 26 academic hours out of 48 academic hours for.
Bresch and Garrison go way back. They were both in the same "graduating class" at WVU (she was in the School of Business and he was at the WVU law school), plus Bresch employed Garrison as a lobbyist when she worked for a firm in Charleston. When Garrison was appointed president of WVU by the Board of Governors it was widely (and correctly) believed that Garrison was just another crony of Bresch's father, Joe Manchin III.
Like Manchin, Garrison has conviently surrounded himself with people who will either protect him or take the fall. The Board of Governors, who appointed Garrison, are also the only the people who can "fire" him. Not surprisingly, the BOG is made up of people who Garrison knows from his past--one of them he practiced law with years ago. Garrison, like a true blue West Virginia crony, has managed to appoint people who have helped him along the to positions of power within in WVU: the dean of the medical school (for which the Public Health department is a part of) was someone Garrison had known for years and replaced a man who was forced out by Garrison after heading the department for 15+ years.
Garrison claims to have no knowledge or involvement in Bresch's mysterious diploma, as does her father, Governor Manchin. However, Garrison admits that he did receive a phone call from Bresch who said she "sincerely believed" she had earned her MBA. Instead of handling this matter himself, however, Garrison said he handed it off to Provost Lang and the Dean of the College of Business, Gerald Sears, who months later, as this whole thing unfolded, suddenly resigned (but who still teach at WVU and will rake in over $200,000 per year).
Garrison thinks, apparently, that he can pt his head down, ignore the outrage that has infected the campus and ride this out until the next year. Fortunately though, the faculty, staff and some of the students have signed petitions and held two seperate meetings in which they expressed their own sincere desire that Garrison get his ass kicked out of office. At the most recent meeting, over 600 faculty and staff met and voted 565-39 in favor of asking Garrison to resign.
This type of scandal doesn't just affect the president's office, BOG and the governor; it tarnishes the reputation of the school, chases off current and potential faculty and students and creates a backlash in which everyone walks around looking over their shoulders wondering if someone is going to accuse them of something. Furthermore, it makes people like myself who have worked their asses off towards their degree look bad. As another graduate student in Public Health told me: "I think about all the hours I spent working towards my degree, writing my thesis, doing my homework, going to class....time I spent away from my family...and someone like Heather Bresch can just make a phone call and suddenly be awarded an MBA."
The Bresch/Garrison scandal also perpetuates the image of West Virginia and West Virgininans as clanish and backwards, which is terribly unfortunate because of it overshadows all the good things about West Virginia and Morgantown in particuliar. People here are incredibly nice. The landscape is breathtaking. I know without a doubt I've received a far better education here than I would've at U of Iowa due to the well trained (and sometimes unbelievably demanding) . But how anyone know that? Your average person associates West Virginia with Hatfields and McCoy type feuds, coal mining and corruption, all of which are certainly a part of West Virginia history but really betray some of the lovely things about WV. Scandals like this also distract attention away from problems that really affect West Virginians like ridiculously high rates of obesity, smoking, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and poverty.
But don't take my word for it: read about a recent grad's opinion of what he thinks the university's presidents next move should be. Football fans should also take a look at this article with Rich Rodriguez, whose sudden departure seems a lot clearer given what we know about how Garrison operates.
Saturday, December 15, 2007
A list
In the past few weeks there have been some seriously good things that have been happening here in Morgantown.
· I got a job!: After waiting for several weeks to hear whether or not I’d gotten a job at the university with one of my professors, I finally found out that I was totally unqualified. However, my professor, who bears an amazing resemblance to Santa Claus (seriously), offered me a job as a graduate research assistant on a state health project. Apparently I’ll be writing a small part of the state’s burden report on cardiovascular health (a burden report basically uses epidemiological information from different data sources to describe how a particular disease/condition affects the health of a state). The best part is I get free tuition and a stipend for the semester. Hallelujah!
·We got a kitty!: Some of you who are on Facebook may have read my little rant a couple of weeks ago about how someone had abandoned the cutest, sweetest little gray kitty in our apartment complex. I was really upset because this cute little kitty, whom we had made little kitty friends with, was howling and crying outside our door to be let in during a really ugly wind and sleet storm about to weeks ago. I’m a huge sucker for cats, and it was unbearable to listen to her cry. So we adopted her (it wasn’t quite that easy—I had to wear Scientist down). We found out yesterday that she’s a) indeed a girl, b) not spayed c) never had kittens and, to our surprise, d) more than 4 years old (Scientist, myself and the vet all thought for sure she was a lot younger than that). We’ve named her Sophie and we’re getting her fixed ASAP.
·We hired a wedding planner!: Next semester is going to be damn busy given that I’m taking nearly as many hours as I did this semester, plus I have a job and a fiancé I would like to see every so often. So, I bit the bullet and hired a wedding planner. I feel kind of silly doing so given that we’re only having about 75 people attend the ceremony, but I just don’t want to deal with being out of town and trying to plan everything.
· Some asshole hit our car!: Okay, this isn’t exactly great news, but I thought I should include it in the list of exciting things that have happened lately. Some shithead hit our car and cause $2100 worth of damage to the bumper and rear left door. Lovely. It happened in our parking lot, during the day and, no, they didn’t leave a note. I’m sure it was someone who lives in the parking complex though.
·I will be home from December 16th until December 30th. If anyone is interested in hanging out, let me know.
· I got a job!: After waiting for several weeks to hear whether or not I’d gotten a job at the university with one of my professors, I finally found out that I was totally unqualified. However, my professor, who bears an amazing resemblance to Santa Claus (seriously), offered me a job as a graduate research assistant on a state health project. Apparently I’ll be writing a small part of the state’s burden report on cardiovascular health (a burden report basically uses epidemiological information from different data sources to describe how a particular disease/condition affects the health of a state). The best part is I get free tuition and a stipend for the semester. Hallelujah!
·We got a kitty!: Some of you who are on Facebook may have read my little rant a couple of weeks ago about how someone had abandoned the cutest, sweetest little gray kitty in our apartment complex. I was really upset because this cute little kitty, whom we had made little kitty friends with, was howling and crying outside our door to be let in during a really ugly wind and sleet storm about to weeks ago. I’m a huge sucker for cats, and it was unbearable to listen to her cry. So we adopted her (it wasn’t quite that easy—I had to wear Scientist down). We found out yesterday that she’s a) indeed a girl, b) not spayed c) never had kittens and, to our surprise, d) more than 4 years old (Scientist, myself and the vet all thought for sure she was a lot younger than that). We’ve named her Sophie and we’re getting her fixed ASAP.
·We hired a wedding planner!: Next semester is going to be damn busy given that I’m taking nearly as many hours as I did this semester, plus I have a job and a fiancé I would like to see every so often. So, I bit the bullet and hired a wedding planner. I feel kind of silly doing so given that we’re only having about 75 people attend the ceremony, but I just don’t want to deal with being out of town and trying to plan everything.
· Some asshole hit our car!: Okay, this isn’t exactly great news, but I thought I should include it in the list of exciting things that have happened lately. Some shithead hit our car and cause $2100 worth of damage to the bumper and rear left door. Lovely. It happened in our parking lot, during the day and, no, they didn’t leave a note. I’m sure it was someone who lives in the parking complex though.
·I will be home from December 16th until December 30th. If anyone is interested in hanging out, let me know.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Our Arrival
Because yesterday marked our one month "anniversary" in Morgantown, and I still have yet to publish anything about it, I'll refrain from a blow by blow rehashing of our fourteen hour plus trip. Instead I'll just hit on the highlights, along with the things we learned on the way:
1. As I mentioned before I was sick when we left CR. Then, I was still sick for a week and a half after we arrived. It sucked. A lot.
2. It is really expensive to move...
3....But buying new stuff if you (kind of) have the money is fun!
4. I found out that my application sat on someone's desk for two fucking weeks because this certain someone had a "sick" child. This person was not apologetic at all and made up a bunch of excuses and then had the gall to LIE to me about when I would find out about my acceptance just so I would leave her alone. Nevermind that I didn't find out that I'd been accepted until a day before classes started and it screwed up my financial aid, or that I still have no idea how to get an ID or, say, insurance.
5. Scientist got to see me honestly and truly flip out and start yelling upon this happening. He said it scared him and he considered hiding under the bed in hotel we were staying in when it happened.
6. I felt a little ashamed of myself for getting so angry. But, hello! Who doesn't ask their colleagues to take over for them if they are going to be out for a week. And besides, this person said they'd been "in and out" of the office all week, not that they'd been absent completely. Thus, they were just being plain old lazy and dodging any accountability whatsoever.
7. Morgantown is beautiful!
8. Morgantownians are super super nice.
9. The undergraduate population at U of Iowa is way cuter than the undergrad pop here. Sorry, but it's true.
10. The School of Public Health at West Virginia is much higher quality than the one at Iowa. It pains me to say that because I love Iowa so much, but, again, it is absolutely true.
11. Professors actually want to train their students to become knowledgeable, thoughtful practitioners of public health, not just promote their own research agenda or advance their career.
12. A professor actually told me that they wanted to mold their program into a research based program exactly like the one at Iowa.
13. I found out that the person who said that they had a sick kid and thus ended up totally delaying my acceptance (which led to me almost being fined $40 because my financial aid application was accepted super late and I barely paid my tuition on time) gave at least two other people the same song and dance two different semesters when they were in the process of applying. Apparently this person lies to everyone! Isn't that comforting. I guess incompetent people keep their jobs everywhere.
13. We got a new couch and chaise! They're cinnamon red.
14. Better yet, we got a washer and dryer. The best inventions ever.
15. We went to Pittsburgh.
16. We went to D.C.
That pretty much sums up everything that has happened since mid August.
1. As I mentioned before I was sick when we left CR. Then, I was still sick for a week and a half after we arrived. It sucked. A lot.
2. It is really expensive to move...
3....But buying new stuff if you (kind of) have the money is fun!
4. I found out that my application sat on someone's desk for two fucking weeks because this certain someone had a "sick" child. This person was not apologetic at all and made up a bunch of excuses and then had the gall to LIE to me about when I would find out about my acceptance just so I would leave her alone. Nevermind that I didn't find out that I'd been accepted until a day before classes started and it screwed up my financial aid, or that I still have no idea how to get an ID or, say, insurance.
5. Scientist got to see me honestly and truly flip out and start yelling upon this happening. He said it scared him and he considered hiding under the bed in hotel we were staying in when it happened.
6. I felt a little ashamed of myself for getting so angry. But, hello! Who doesn't ask their colleagues to take over for them if they are going to be out for a week. And besides, this person said they'd been "in and out" of the office all week, not that they'd been absent completely. Thus, they were just being plain old lazy and dodging any accountability whatsoever.
7. Morgantown is beautiful!
8. Morgantownians are super super nice.
9. The undergraduate population at U of Iowa is way cuter than the undergrad pop here. Sorry, but it's true.
10. The School of Public Health at West Virginia is much higher quality than the one at Iowa. It pains me to say that because I love Iowa so much, but, again, it is absolutely true.
11. Professors actually want to train their students to become knowledgeable, thoughtful practitioners of public health, not just promote their own research agenda or advance their career.
12. A professor actually told me that they wanted to mold their program into a research based program exactly like the one at Iowa.
13. I found out that the person who said that they had a sick kid and thus ended up totally delaying my acceptance (which led to me almost being fined $40 because my financial aid application was accepted super late and I barely paid my tuition on time) gave at least two other people the same song and dance two different semesters when they were in the process of applying. Apparently this person lies to everyone! Isn't that comforting. I guess incompetent people keep their jobs everywhere.
13. We got a new couch and chaise! They're cinnamon red.
14. Better yet, we got a washer and dryer. The best inventions ever.
15. We went to Pittsburgh.
16. We went to D.C.
That pretty much sums up everything that has happened since mid August.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Touring
About a week before Scientist and I left on our farewell tour, a friend of mine commented on how "romantic" it was of Scientist and I to drop everything and move to West Virginia with nothing. While, on one hand, I totally agree with her--there is something romantic about giving up most material possessions and leaving all family and friends behind all in the name of "love"-- the older I get (I'll be 31 in almost exactly a month) the more I think its just crazy. That and I'm not really a romantic as much as I am sarcastic and cynical. Romantics and idealists usually become hard, bitter people once they've been around the block a few times, so I just skipped my idealistic stage and went straight on to being skeptical of everything.
But I digress.
Once we had all our stuff for our initial trip to Missouri packed up and ready to go (the remaining stuff was sitting in my mother's garage), Scientist and I headed to St. Louis for a few days. Unfortunately, we managed to hit STL in the midst of a nightmarish heat wave that lasted the entire 13 days we were in Missouri. In fact, when we arrived in STL it was a balmy 95 and then proceeded to rise up to 100 degrees (the heat index was actually 109-114 the last few days we were there) by the time we left.
The good news is Scientist's sister, Teacher, took me to David's Bridal where I found the Gown of My Dreams (as a bride this is what I'm suppose to call my wedding dress). Okay, so I didn't know it was the Gown of My Dreams until I came back to CR and tried it on for my mother, but whatever. It is beautiful and, most importantly, will look beautiful on me: its form fitting, strapless, and has a bit of color. I love it. I don't want to give anything else away because some of you who are reading this will actually be at my wedding next August.
Once we left STL we headed down to Springfield, where we hung with Scientist's cousin's family and his wonderful 91 year old grandma. I had been to Springfield once, a long time ago, but hadn't really gotten a chance to do much. Since Scientist knew the area so well, we were able to find lots of cool stuff to do. We even found a gym to work out at (I know, we're obsessed).
On Saturday we decided to visit Scientist's friends in Kansas City. I was really looking forward to walking around KC, but after about an hour or two of dragging ourselves around the main plaza where all the cool stores and fountains are, both of us were sweaty and thoroughly exhausted. Scientist's friends were cool though and it was interesting to meet people that knew him when he was in college.
Sunday and Monday we spent packing up our stuff and tying up loose ends in Cedar Rapids. Unfortunately, I also started to feel icky Monday night. My ickyness would turn into a cold/upper respiratory/sinus infection from hell would drag out for about ten days and which I'm still getting over.
That brings up to our time in Morgantown, which I'll attack in a later post.
But I digress.
Once we had all our stuff for our initial trip to Missouri packed up and ready to go (the remaining stuff was sitting in my mother's garage), Scientist and I headed to St. Louis for a few days. Unfortunately, we managed to hit STL in the midst of a nightmarish heat wave that lasted the entire 13 days we were in Missouri. In fact, when we arrived in STL it was a balmy 95 and then proceeded to rise up to 100 degrees (the heat index was actually 109-114 the last few days we were there) by the time we left.
The good news is Scientist's sister, Teacher, took me to David's Bridal where I found the Gown of My Dreams (as a bride this is what I'm suppose to call my wedding dress). Okay, so I didn't know it was the Gown of My Dreams until I came back to CR and tried it on for my mother, but whatever. It is beautiful and, most importantly, will look beautiful on me: its form fitting, strapless, and has a bit of color. I love it. I don't want to give anything else away because some of you who are reading this will actually be at my wedding next August.
Once we left STL we headed down to Springfield, where we hung with Scientist's cousin's family and his wonderful 91 year old grandma. I had been to Springfield once, a long time ago, but hadn't really gotten a chance to do much. Since Scientist knew the area so well, we were able to find lots of cool stuff to do. We even found a gym to work out at (I know, we're obsessed).
On Saturday we decided to visit Scientist's friends in Kansas City. I was really looking forward to walking around KC, but after about an hour or two of dragging ourselves around the main plaza where all the cool stores and fountains are, both of us were sweaty and thoroughly exhausted. Scientist's friends were cool though and it was interesting to meet people that knew him when he was in college.
Sunday and Monday we spent packing up our stuff and tying up loose ends in Cedar Rapids. Unfortunately, I also started to feel icky Monday night. My ickyness would turn into a cold/upper respiratory/sinus infection from hell would drag out for about ten days and which I'm still getting over.
That brings up to our time in Morgantown, which I'll attack in a later post.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Morgantown
In Morgantown. Have very bad cold with horrendous sore throat. Will write complete update on entire glorious trip, including 14 1/2 hours in car as soon as I feel better.
God bless.
Oy, I feel like ass.
God bless.
Oy, I feel like ass.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Road Trippin'
We'll be on a road tripping across Missouri for the next 12 days or so, visiting Scientist's family. I may or may not be able to post anything during this time.
I hope everyone has a great couple weeks. I promise to post pictures and wacky anecdotes once we get to Morgantown.
I hope everyone has a great couple weeks. I promise to post pictures and wacky anecdotes once we get to Morgantown.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
We're Moving....No, really....
So, as most of you know, there have been plans in the works for Scientist and I to move since Christmas. And finally finally finally we have a decision. We are moving to Morgantown, West Virginia...in less than two weeks!
Scientist had originally applied for a job in St. Louis (which, as luck would have it, he was offered almost immediately), where he would've been working for Saint Louis University as a post-doctoral fellow. Now, this job wouldn't have been so bad: I really like STL ( no matter what anybody says about it), Scientist's entire family is there, it isn't that far from my Mom and the School of Public Health at SLU (Saint Louis University) is very good. It's in a really shady area in which I was forbidden to walk through alone at night, when most of my classes would've been, but whatever.
Scientist's job in Morgantown, however, is SWEET. He'll be working for a branch of the CDC there, studying cool stuff like "black mold". When we went to Morgantown about a month ago Scientist met with a lot of people in the department, who all seemed cool, and gave a seminar about his work.
The School of Public Health at WVU isn't as old or well established as the one at SLU, but I was impressed by how unbelievably nice and welcoming everyone was towards me. The faculty member I met with was super super cool and very nice, and once I told her about my background etc., there seemed to be no doubt I would get in. Another bonus is she laid out an academic plan for me that allowed me to graduate in summer 2008, which is nice. That means I can plan and have my wedding in peace, without worrying about going to school, plus we can go our honeymoon, which will be overseas and awesome in September after all the tourists have left (more about the honeymoon in a different post).
When we got back from Morgantown we really agonized about what to do. We didn't want to base our entire decision on money, but the job in Morgantown paid $16,000 per year more and the cost of living would be considerably less than in STL. Still, the idea of moving to STL was very alluring; Morgantown is nice, but it doesn't have a lot going on. It actually reminded me of IC before the hospital began building facilities like crazy: the downtown was small, had mostly inexpensive stores and restaurants and a little on the boring side. That and it is a little isolated.
So, we deliberated and deliberated. Then, I got my financial aid notification from SLU. It was $9000 short of the estimated cost of attendance. That meant we would be living in a much more expensive city (rents aren't cheap unless you want to live in the 'hood), with a lot less money and barely enough dough to cover my tuition. So, we decided to move to West Virginia.
I'm very excited. Very. It will be nice to finally, once and for all, get out of Iowa City and see a totally new, not to mention absolutely beautiful, part of the country. We will be three and a half hours from two of my favorite people (Ellen and Brian), not to mention 5 hours from a good friend of our going to grad school in Charlottesville, VA.
I've got a good feeling about this!
Scientist had originally applied for a job in St. Louis (which, as luck would have it, he was offered almost immediately), where he would've been working for Saint Louis University as a post-doctoral fellow. Now, this job wouldn't have been so bad: I really like STL ( no matter what anybody says about it), Scientist's entire family is there, it isn't that far from my Mom and the School of Public Health at SLU (Saint Louis University) is very good. It's in a really shady area in which I was forbidden to walk through alone at night, when most of my classes would've been, but whatever.
Scientist's job in Morgantown, however, is SWEET. He'll be working for a branch of the CDC there, studying cool stuff like "black mold". When we went to Morgantown about a month ago Scientist met with a lot of people in the department, who all seemed cool, and gave a seminar about his work.
The School of Public Health at WVU isn't as old or well established as the one at SLU, but I was impressed by how unbelievably nice and welcoming everyone was towards me. The faculty member I met with was super super cool and very nice, and once I told her about my background etc., there seemed to be no doubt I would get in. Another bonus is she laid out an academic plan for me that allowed me to graduate in summer 2008, which is nice. That means I can plan and have my wedding in peace, without worrying about going to school, plus we can go our honeymoon, which will be overseas and awesome in September after all the tourists have left (more about the honeymoon in a different post).
When we got back from Morgantown we really agonized about what to do. We didn't want to base our entire decision on money, but the job in Morgantown paid $16,000 per year more and the cost of living would be considerably less than in STL. Still, the idea of moving to STL was very alluring; Morgantown is nice, but it doesn't have a lot going on. It actually reminded me of IC before the hospital began building facilities like crazy: the downtown was small, had mostly inexpensive stores and restaurants and a little on the boring side. That and it is a little isolated.
So, we deliberated and deliberated. Then, I got my financial aid notification from SLU. It was $9000 short of the estimated cost of attendance. That meant we would be living in a much more expensive city (rents aren't cheap unless you want to live in the 'hood), with a lot less money and barely enough dough to cover my tuition. So, we decided to move to West Virginia.
I'm very excited. Very. It will be nice to finally, once and for all, get out of Iowa City and see a totally new, not to mention absolutely beautiful, part of the country. We will be three and a half hours from two of my favorite people (Ellen and Brian), not to mention 5 hours from a good friend of our going to grad school in Charlottesville, VA.
I've got a good feeling about this!
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