Half-Master

This is (probably) the last Fall semester I will ever have, which is weird and makes me think I should be more nostalgic and emotional but really I am just ready to finish this up and become a real person finally. My classes are interesting, although sometimes I tell myself I don't need to pay attention/attend them because I'm not getting a PhD so this theory stuff isn't important. This is probably a mistake...

As you've all heard (unless you are not ART and are a stranger reading this...), I have a new favorite class. I still really like public health genetics, but I'm not taking any classes in that field this semester and instead am getting really into social epidemiology. This is where we look at how social inequality generates health inequality. Some of it is super obvious, like low SES being associated with pretty much every disease ever. Other stuff is more surprising, like having greater social stratification in a community being associated with lower average height. Even if you are rich, your health is worse in some areas because of the presence of inequality. CRAZY! So I might need to get on board with Patrick's communist revolution soon.

Classes are only a small part of my schedule this semester and it seems like all the other things are making me feel busy. I have a problem where I fill out every google interest form that gets sent to me, and then I just go ahead and sign up for leadership positions that I really wouldn't be good at. I also have been swimming most days, because for one of my classes we have to make a health behavior goal and write a report on it and also because if I get to campus early and swim before class I miss traffic (#commuterlife). I think I've got a grip on things now, though, and hopefully will be a little less crazy.

Here are some pictures of activities so far this semester:

First football game!

Michael's last juggling show before moving to South Sudan:

Bobshley visit!:

The class I am in right now:

Apple picking with mostly people I've never met:

Mostly Sports, But Some Other Things Too

So a lot of my life has been sporting events lately. I feel pretty good about it, but I'm also thinking maybe we should diversify our outings. 

Aaron and I went to the Red Wings game. I was like 95% sure he wasn't going to go if Zack and I didn't go, so I decided I'd be nice and go with him. They don't come to DC often, so you gotta see them while you can. Also, the tickets were only $20! And you can buy tickets up to an hour after the game starts, which seems a little crazy. But anyway, that means tickets go down to like $7 if you're willing to miss the first few minutes. So that's useful if you guys ever find yourself in downtown DC with time to kill.

The game was super close and the Wings came from behind to win! But, I noticed the guys in front of us took a snapchat of me and Aaron, which seemed kinda rude. But then, I'm pretty sure they thought we were on a super bad date. Like no touching; not that much talking; a lot of texting--all the signs of a bad date. Jokes on them though! We'll never date!

We we were Kris Kross for Halloween. We looked like this and I had a lot of vodka gummy worms:

The next weekend we went to the DC United playoff game, which Zack was pretty excited about. The sad news was that DC didn't end up advancing to the next round. It's a weird play off system that doesn't make a ton of sense to me. The sad news is that I was pretty sick at this game and Zack also lost his voice.

After standing in the cold for like 5 hours, we had to go home and then come back out for Samantha's birthday! You guys remember her, right? She just turned 23 because she's a baby. It was really fun! We played cards against humanity, which is apparently a game I can get into, despite not usually liking games, especially card games.

We had to leave the party pretty early because the next day we needed to go to Baltimore for the Raven's game! My boss gave us the tickets because he has seasons tickets, but wasn't able to go. I was a little surprised he gave the tickets to me, Stephanie and Zack, because he sort of has a reputation for being part of the boys club. But I definitely think it helps that Zack and I went to an NFL game by ourselves earlier in the season and that I talk Michigan Football with him.

I'd never been to Baltimore before, and I don't really feel like this trip counted because we just went to like Camden Yards and the football field--no sightseeing or anything. But, I guess I didn't realize how close Baltimore is to DC! I think we're going to try to make another trip out--but probably not until 2015, which is a little crazy to say.

The game was really fun! The Ravens won, we had a really good view, it wasn't that cold, there were a bunch of drunk guys behind us, and even though one of them threw up on himself, none of it got on us! (I'm counting it as a victory, because it was a close call.) But, the drunk men did manage to spill beer on us. So that sort of sucked, but not like I was wearing anything important anyway.

The sad news is, this was not good my health and I spent a lot of last week sick. Even Veterans' Day, which was supposed to be a fun day off.  Instead, I just spent a lot of time sleeping and coughing. Turns out it's an upper respiratory infection! Woooooooooo. It's mostly better now though--yay modern medicine.

#blackoutsparty

Which is good because yesterday I went to the Maryland-MSU game with Mattan and his girlfriend (who actually went to UMD)! It was a great time! So the Big House is amazing and I love it. Let's get that straight. But the thing is, this was so much more convenient than if I had tried to get three non students into the Michigan student section. We just bought the tickets, no validation required. We were able to sneak in two beers to the stadium. I got a free tshirt that says "FEAR THE TURTLE," which I think is an amazing slogan. We sat in the third row at the 10 yard line and had plenty of room to dance. Also, a freshman in front of me bought me hot chocolate for no reason? Maybe she was hitting on me. Maybe she was just super nice? Either way, it was only $4.25 so...I only feel a little bad.
I don't know what my rooting interests should have been, but both teams looked a little ridiculous. So I feel pretty good about us winning next weekend. One weird thing was that Maryland students didn't seem to get that MSU is not the same as Michigan. I guess they'll figure it out next week though. Jeez, get better at Big Ten, Maryland. Everyone else knows the difference. 

Some random things I want you guys to see:. I made fancy brownies and my flowers are doing excellent:

 Also, I have 4/15 law school applications in, so maybe I will actually go to law school. Who knows.

EDIT (11/16/14 8:48 PM): 5/15 law school applications in. Woo.

The Alumni-Student Paradox

(I feel like this could be the title of an episode of the Big Bang Theory.)



I still love you, Brady

I finally got to watch some Michigan football this weekend now that my moonlighting job has died down with the wedding season. I have a 2-0 record, so using science I can say that I am the singular reason we won yesterday, and against App. State. I also left both of these games at half-time, because it turns out I am a much worse fan now than I was two years ago. Also I was afraid my toes were falling off, don't judge me for being a wimp.


It's weird being a student and an alum at the same time right now, because half the people I see around Ann Arbor are old friends and half are new. When I'm in class, most of the people I talk to are from out of state or out of country, and it's all pretty focused on getting that degree. But then I see old friends and I feel like I'm still in undergrad. As much as I love Ann Arbor, this has shown me that I should not live here as a non-student, I would just be too confused.



So cold

Blaine was in town this weekend for the Indiana game, and just because she sometimes gets a week off at a time with her wacky nurse schedule. This was great, because I like Blaine! I went to the game with her and Kathleen and then dinner and then to this bar called Bab's that I have never been to before because it isn't on South U. and charges 8$ for a drink. But it was way classy and worth the 8$.
Lately I've been super busy, which isn't a thing I'm really used to since my job last year was a joke and I spent most of college watching The Bachelor. I feel like I'm always in class or at work, and most days I'm gone from 8AM to 10PM. This isn't that impressive, though, because Kirstin is awake and at work before me and also usually gets home super late, so we are just both absent roommates. Now that midterms are over I will get a little break from proctoring, so I can finally catch up on episodes of The Voice. Even though Shakira is gone and she was my favorite.

Today I had a meeting for what I am calling "Uganda Club," which is actually a group of students working with Progressive Health Partnership, doing grant writing and fundraising for their work in maternal and infant health care. I'm hoping that I can put together a research project and do my internship with PHP this summer, too, which will hopefully be more exciting than writing grant proposals, because that is turning out to be kind of a bummer. But I'm pretty into moms, so at least the topics are a fun time.


I just did a countdown, and there's only 3 weeks till CARTSgiving! I'm really excited for all the mystery train and Mexican food and to be all together again! 

All we do is win

Winter has come to Ann Arbor this weekend, and with a broken window that our landlords won't fix, this means cold times in CART house.

Fortunately, we had a great weekend full of fun to keep us warm!

For starters, Morgan came to visit! She came to the football game, and even though she wore green, was really happy to see Michigan dominate Minnesota. Then she slept through the MSU game, but all were pleased to see Ohio State lose (except Zack, because he is crazy).

 After nap time for Morgan and homework time for me, we went over to Catherine house, where some of CART house's favorite people live. There, we watched more sports and danced and had the most epic game of beer pong ever. Here's some highlights from our stellar victory: Turn number 1, we both make the same cup, and on her second shot Morgan bounces the ball in. 5 cups! Then, after missing a lot of shots, it is down to one cup left on both sides. The pressure is on. We face tough competition as Ana keeps making her shots and Matt keeps distracting us. Then they finally make the last cup. BUT WAIT! We pull in a celebrity shot and he makes it for the rebuttal! Then, Morgan sinks a shot. But Matt makes his rebuttal using Morgan as a backboard. Then Ana scores, then Morgan, and finally I sunk the ball for a breathtaking win to cheers of adoring fans.

Anyway, it was really great seeing Morgan, and this morning after catechism I made pancakes and bacon! Taylor struggled with the pancakes, but in the end it was a delicious Sunday morning.

And to top it all off, the Lions are now 4-0 and the Tigers won game 2!

Touchdown Time

It's great to be a Michigan Wolverine!
We started off the season 4-0 (this feels familiar...) and got to be at the first rain-out and the first night game! Not to mention we get to look at Denard's adorable face on a twenty-story score-board/screen every Friday. Three quarters of CART house just got back from our win over SDSU, where we get to dance, cheer, and make up new songs like "Touchdown time, it's time for a touchdown!" (copyright: Katy).

Michigan players are incredibly classy.

In case you are not from this planet, I will explain to you the importance of this game called football. The players (there are a lot of them) run up and down the field and try to score touchdowns. This is much more exciting than many other sports, like hockey, because they tackle each other and make exciting passes or even trick plays! This is a good football year for CART house, because we already decided that Michigan is going to win a National championship, and the Lions are winning the Superbowl! Its good to get things like this figured out early in the season, so we chose early on that we'd like to win.

Football games are an excellent opportunity to document how popular we are

Muffin and A. Friend Visit Ann Arbor

This weekend was special because our favorite people from Grand Valley came to visit! (Taylor may contest that Dennis is her favorite, but she's not the author of this post, so her opinion doesn't so much count right now.)

My Muffin came to visit because we made a resolution that she should get to Ann Arbor more often than she did last year, which was only once--so far we're doing better.

This is what she looks like:

She delivered that puppy all by herself!

Muffin brought her friend roommate Amanda Friend with her too! Amanda made her first trip to Ann Arbor last winter so she was EXTRA excited to be here when it wasn't cold.

This is what Amanda looks like:

I don't know what she's doing, but the album title leads me to believe that this is from the holiday season.

Anyway, since Michigan was playing Eastern Michigan in football this weekend, it was really easy to get tickets and Amanda Friend got to experience her first game at the Big House. Even though it wasn't a very exciting game, I think it proved to be whelming enough.

Eastern Eagles....Hats off to you! Look to the sky! The Eagles will fly...

We're like the Blues Brothers--not actually the Blues Brothers.

Also before the game, on Friday night, we went to a party on Mary Court and Muffin and Amanda Friend won a game of beer pong after TWO rebuttals! It was probably one of the longest games of beer pong I've ever seen in my life. They found it particularly enjoyed it because they had to win a game of rock, paper, scissors first and they were playing against (and beat) Zack's frat brothers. Muffin also got hit on but wasn't so much interested.

On Saturday after the game we went to the MDen and got No Thai for dinner. Like usual it was really good. This was also the first time Amanda had Thai food--so many firsts in one day for her!!

Now we have an abundance of chopsticks. We're probably going to have an Asian party so we can use them effectively.

After dinner we walked to Cliff Keane to see the volleyball game since Amanda and Muffy both play volleyball regularly at Grand Valley. We watched Michigan defeat Texas A & M in 3 sets! Even though that kind of sounds like a blow out, all three were very close games. Now the two of them definitely know The Victors by heart--I would bet we heard it upwards of 100 times in a single day.

We went to Bubble Island despite Zacky wanting Pizza Bobs--it's a tradition that cannot be messed with! Muffin would have been beside herself if we didn't go and she hadn't been since January! (Foursquare told us so.)

After bubble tea we were all pretty exhausted so we just came home and went to sleep pretty early. Not very eventful. We're not really made to party two nights in a row.

In the morning we met up with Hiroko (a friend from high school) for breakfast. We were going to go to Afternoon Delight but it was SUPER crowded so we went to Sava's instead. I LOVE Sava's so I was happy! They were also having their first ever breakfast buffet; none of us had it though since it was too expensive. My nutella crepe was just as good for less than half the price!

Then...we went to Bigby and they departed for Allendale. It was really nice to see them for the weekend and it helped me forget the daunting amount of political science reading I have to do. Hopefully they can come back one more time before I leave for Senegal!