What I’ve been up to. 11 October, 2009

My life has been kind of hectic, but tonight I am taking time away from folding laundry to give you the run-down on why I can’t sit down and write.

School–We are slowly approaching the middle of the semester. I’m only in three classes this semester, which is great because if I were taking more I would probably die. My Child Development Psych class isn’t too intense (taught by the amazing Dr H), but since Dr H and I are so tight he has high expectations for me in the class. And voices said expectations in front of EVERYONE. If ever I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me whole, I would have wished it with all of the fervency of a six-year-old wishing on her birthday cake candles when I had a question about something on the review sheet and Dr H said “Well, if you don’t understand that, then I doubt anyone else in the class does.” Blerg.

Anyway. My Creative Writing class is pretty interesting. We’re now in the creative nonfiction unit, which is a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. Poetry? Bring it! But CNF? Oh my goodness. Please shoot me now. This week I have to write a story about someone (or something) who is not close to me. I have no idea what I’m going to write it on. And then the following week our masterwork is due. Say what?!? My pieces are horrible! My grade is not going to be fun to look at.

I’m also in Shakespeare and Film. This class blows my mind. Recently, we’ve been discussing epistemology and ontology in relation to Hamlet, Othello, and now Macbeth, and I actually “get” a lot of what we talk about because of my background in psychology. Sometimes I amaze myself with some of the comments I come up with in class. Half the time I feel like I’m just faking it, but apparently I make sense.

Research–I have two research activities going on this semester. First off, I am now a part of Dr S’s massive team. He recruited me specifically to work with the database and get everything organized, but Adrian stole that task from me and has done pretty much all of the work on it (and won’t let me touch it). Now, however, we’ve finally come up with a way to design Dr S’s newest study idea (thanks to the incredible insight of Dr H) and so we’re feverishly figuring out costs and stuff to get the research grants in before Tuesday, when Dr S goes to Anaheim for the week (the first grant deadline is on Thursday). He initially wanted to shoot for the October IRB review (which is on the 20th), but I doubt we’ll have everything ready in a week. Maybe next month. If we do get approval (fingers crossed), we’ll have to get cracking on it right away so we can work out any bugs on it before I graduate and leave (which could be as early as April), since I’m the most familiar with the design (modified human intruder paradigm) and I know the new software (The Observer) we’ll be using really well.

I’m also working on an independent project with Dr H. Basically, I’m just writing up my summer project from Oregon with the hope of getting it published somewhere big-ish. We’re talking like a national peer-reviewed journal. I’ve just been running my data set through every single test I could possibly think of, and trying to get the articles I’ve been reading into some sort of organized format so I know what’s where and what I need more studies on. The lit review is going slow, but I think I have my data at a place where I can just ignore it for now and focus on getting everything else organized.

With all of this going on, it saddens me to say that I had to resign from Sam’s team. I really loved working with him and his other RAs, but it was time to move on and get some different experiences under my belt before I apply to graduate school (maybe).

TA-ing–Yes, I use it as a verb. Anyway, I’m back to being a TA for Psych 304. I know, I know, I was supposed to move on and “broaden my experience,” but Dr S wanted me back for 304. Well, he gave me the choice of doing any combination of TA-ing 304, 111, and joining his research team. I chose research and TA-ing 304. This semester I have a co-TA for my section who is also an undergrad, and happened to be one of my students last Winter. She’s so amazing and hilarious and I really couldn’t think of anyone else I would rather have working with me. Seriously. And guess what? My students are the same awesome combination of absolutely wonderful and terribly maddening as they have been in the past! Sigh.

Life–Life is crazy. I don’t have time to do a lot of the fun things I want to do, but hopefully in the next couple of weeks I can finally get back in firmer control and do some fun things. Rachael’s home from her mission and in Provo, so I need to clear my schedule to hang out with her and hear all of her crazy mission stories. Emily and I keep talking about how we need to hang out and do dinner or something, but we always forget to actually set those plans in stone. Our lab has been challenged to an Ultimate Frisbee smackdown against the CEPICA team.

I think that is all. I do have a funny story to tell, but that is one for the private blog.

Classes start tomorrow. 30 August, 2009

Talking to Brad about our schedules for this semester has made me eternally grateful that I have paid my dues in 8 AM classes. I mean, I still want to kill Dr S for scheduling our lab meeting for 8 AM on Fridays, but I can handle one day a week of having to get up near the buttcrack of dawn as opposed to having to do it every single day and then having to remain awake for four other classes that same day. If I was able to knock a couple classes out by 10 AM and then be done for the day, that would have been awesome. But the powers-that-be in the Psychology department and the College encouraged (read: paid extra) professors to teach evening classes, which meant I had to stay functional and be ready to return to campus at 4 PM at least twice a week to take the classes I needed.

I love not “having to take any classes.”

Yes, I do have an evening class this semester. It also happens to be the only class I have on Wednesdays. It is also a class that I am extremely excited to take. Creative Writing–I get to do something that I enjoy (obviously) and boost my GPA in the meantime. It’s almost like taking a soccer class–getting graded for something that you love to do and that you do well (or not-so-well). Except you don’t get to knock people over. I mean, I could knock my fellow creative writers over, but then the campus police would get called in and I might get kicked out of school.

Random News. 10 April, 2009

I got into the Oregon research internship. 

*****

I had my last official Psych 304 lab today. Dr. S and I have decided to put my TA abilities to use elsewhere in the future, specifically as his Psych 111 TA. Not as many bitter Seniors, no required meetings with students, no projects to oversee. Instead, I get to mess with the minds of innocent Freshmen.

*****

I get to stay in WG until I leave for Oregon. And I don’t have to pay for the month of Spring Term that I won’t be here for.

*****

I scored myself a free book today. Not that I will have any use for it in the future, but it’s another Psychological Testing text. But hey, a free book is a free book, right?

O Raisin of Death, Meet Thy Maker! 30 March, 2009

I got to “mindfully eat” a raisin today, as part of a Clinical Psych activity.

First, I had to get comfortable. Legs loose. Arms by my side. Lappy closed. All thoughts now on the raisin before me, placed carefully on the H on my Toshiba lappy.

Next, I looked at the raisin. Reaaaally looked at it. Saw all of the wrinkles and folds. It kinda looked like a brain, if brains were dark purple-almost black and were the result of dried grapes.

I got to feel the raisin. Roll it between my fingers. Palpate each groove and fold. Brush the peanut dust off it, since it came out of a bag of trail mix. I smelled it, and sneezed. Very peanutty, with a hint of yogurt and almond scent mixed in.

When I was ready, I placed it the raisin my mouth. Not chewing yet. Just noticing the texture and feeling how it changed when saliva got added in. Rolling it around, pushing it to the roof of my mouth. By this point, I’m starting to formulate a blog post in my head. Got to focus on that darn raisin. Begone, thoughts of not-raisin.

I chewed. And chewed. And chewed.

And threw up a little in my mouth.

Raisins are gross. Eww blecch vomit. All I wanted to do was get rid of that stupid raisin. Ugh. The texture was unbearable. Skin floating around in my mouth, since chewed raisins apparently channel mad cow disease when masticated and it spread with alacrity throughout my poor, unsuspecting, innocent mouth. Chewing still.

I can finally swallow. The raisin is dead and banish-ed! Rejoice, denizens of the earth! Or at least of my mouth. REJOICE!

I was still supposed to be aware of the raisin traveling down my esophagus. No thanks.

And my water bottle was empty. No help for washing out that taste of raisin.

But was it really a raisin? Or just my subjective view of what a raisin was?

Raisins delight not me.

Favorite Quotes, Dr. H Edition. 10 March, 2009

“I attempted to test the hypothesis to see if I could fly. The hypothesis was not supported.” ~on how he tore the tendons in his thumb (he’s lucky he didn’t break his neck!).

“So how do females select a mate?” Silence from the class. “Ladies?” More silence. “Seriously, is it that secret that you can’t enlighten us men? Or do you not know either?” ~I think we were talking about proceptive signals and sexuality.

“Katie would probably be more talkative in Relief Society than Whitney, based on their talkativeness in this class.” I start shaking my head vigorously ‘no’. “Well Katie, I have no idea if you would be. I’ve never been in Relief Society with you. I hope I’m never in Relief Society with you. I feel awkward enough just walking in to drop off a hymnbook.” ~discussing state vs. trait characteristics.

“You should take an important data set or paper hostage until [Dr. S] writes your letter.” ~after I told him that Dr. S was being slow at writing one of my letters for Oregon.

Some older ones:

“Katie, if you don’t stop twirling your pen I’m going to chop off your hand!” ~my all-time favorite Dr. H story to tell.

“Well, how would YOU know? Have you had any experience with this?” ~during a discussion on sexuality in neurobiology. I opted to stay silent this time around.

“Oh! I’m SO excited!” ~ha ha ha. Not exactly a funny one, but it’s the way he says it that makes me happy.