Me and the Punks

I have survived my first week of Biology at UTexas Austin. We are focusing primarily on cell biology and the Eukaryotes! Yippee! I'm a nerd!


















Above is a Eukaryotic cell structure. It's the stuff inside our cells. It includes one of my favorite words: "endoplasmic reticulum."

My professor is your classic, text book biology professor. He looks like a chubbier McFly and sounds a lot like him, too. Today he gave us a lesson on attending class regularly, and followed it by saying, "But, I am your teacher and not a preacher." Are you getting the picture?

Still, no matter how dotty or sweet and soft spoken he may be, there is no excuse for rudely packing your things 5 minutes to the end of class - while your teacher is talking. I take deep breaths just to keep myself from standing up and yelling, "Sit your punk asses back down!"

If you are wondering what it's like to go back to undergrad (when you have a master's degree), it's not easy. I am there to learn and it's apparent every day that I may be one of very few in my class. Last week the kid next to me was sleeping - ON THE FIRST DAY! Today, the girl in front of me was playing solitaire on her computer.

I guess the real take away from this experience - and a positive one at that - is that I can truly see through my classmates how much I have grown as an adult. I am so vastly different from them on that level. Getting older does have some perks.

Event Planning and Katie - Like Oil and Water

There is nothing more I despise in life than planning a work event. My arm muscles tense up from the mere thought of it. I would rather be in charge of creating long excel lists, fetching coffee or taking a hot poker to by inner nostril.

But, here again, I find myself tasked with leading our team to our annual sales meeting this year. I don't doubt for one second being a woman with some experience managing events has something to do with it. But, in general, I feel pretty strongly that women across industries globally are looked to more than men to be the event planners. And, I think that's horrible.

Every fiber of my being revolts at planning a work event. It never represents my best work, and only serves to show what I can falter at and what I can get wrong.

I vow, never, no matter the circumstance, will I plan another work event after this one. They'll have to offer me a $100,000 bonus first.

Happy 2009

Wow! I've been away for two whole weeks visiting my family in San Francisco and now I am finally back to take on the new year.

It was a fantastic time away in one of my absolute favorite cities. I just fit in San Fran. It's a sophisticated city with very minimal pretension and lots of things to do in a beautiful setting. Hiking, running, kayaking, biking as well as wine tasting, museum going and food exploring. Spending so much time with my brother, sister-n-law, parents and two of the sweetest kids alive - my three-and-a-half-year-old nephew and one-and-a-half-year-old niece.

Now that I'm back, I have a full-plate of activity ahead for the spring. Orientation for UT starts next week. Studying for the GRE starts as soon as I can get my a** motivated. Starting work on my plot in a community garden begins this weekend. Here's to not killing vegetables.

Pictures of the garden plot forthcoming.