Waiting in the lab

Sunday evening. Before going to our friends for a nice roast dinner, Katsu had to drop by the lab really quick to "fast the rats" so he can do experiments tomorrow. Giving me ample time for a post.

Michigan is really pretty in the spring and summer. It is really really green here. Especially after all the rain we've been having. It's quite a bit different from the meticulously watered and very nicely mowed lawns in Oklahoma or Texas. Here, it's like half the yards are errupting with flowers and weeds and who even knows what else. I am sure it has to do with the neighborhood we live in ... mostly old houses that you can distincly identify by decade - oh, that one was definately built in the 60's. I like it - a little messiness and not the cookie cutter suburban neighborhoods I've always lived in.

This has been a relaxing week ... sort of. I started my research. Which is basically reading papers, thinking, and writing equations. All by myself. And only talking to my advisor every now and then - once a week or so. I am sure it will take a little getting used to. It is so much more free-form than any job I've had before (excepting the other time I did research, but even then it was a very well-defined computer programming task) and definately more so than Katsu's research which is a 9-5 doing lab experiments kind of gig. We'll see if I like it. For anyone interested - I am researching the phase wrapping problem coming in imaging problems, especially in MRI applications, and developing a more statistical framework for solving the ill-posed problem. Exciting stuff, eh?

Church today (and yesterday) was Stake Conference. It was our first of those "broadcast" kind because we were out of town when they had one in Boston. So, all of Michigan and Pennslyvania stakes got to hear from Elder Perry, President Monson, Elder Tingey, and a sister from the Primary with a Japanese name. It was interesting ... I still don't really enjoy Stake Conference. Ward or general are more my thing. And it was interesting, because they called new stake presidency members and new bishops and counselors for one of the wards all during the adult session on Saturday night. And so on Sunday, we were with the University ward which seriously must have an average of at least one baby per family making for a very noisy meeting.

We want to take off on some small road trips this summer. Katsu's research has been a tad frustrating and he needs to get out of town and relax a bit more. And hopefully Tomo will come visit us this summer. SO that should be fun.

Another week of life

My quals are done, so it's time for another post. I don't know how I did on them ... maybe 50/50 whether I pass or fail. But, I figure it's good to do things every now and then that you are 100% completely scared of. And oral exams would definately go on the list. Especially when they are supposed to cover more material than I think I could possibly fit all in my brain. But - the key point being - they are DONE!!!

I am going to be starting my research today. Usual concerns - research ... don't you need to have original ideas for that??? Ha ha ha ... but I'm sure it will go just fine.

Last week was hard. Besides having these three oral exams, our home-teacher passed away leaving behind a wife and three Primary-age children. So, I also attended my first funeral last week. I hope the best for his wife and family. I don't know them that well beyond being the primary pianist. But there's still this strong desire to help in any way I can, which of course, everyone in the whole ward feels, so there's not much that I can do right now.

We also had our last ushering assignment last night for Dave Brubeck (sp?) which we really really enjoyed. It was busy and crowded, for the balcony, and wearing a skirt and running up and down the stairs is always a bit of an adventure and of course there's the walking home in the rain with dress shoes for a couple miles or so part. Katsu and I just sat on the steps for the whole performance - we couldn't see any of the action, but sometimes I think it is more enjoyable to just listen anyways. We really want to usher a lot next year, especially since the Royal Shakespeare Company is coming - only stop in the US - and we really want to usher that. Besides, that guy from Star Trek is playing Antony; how cool is that!

Also, I bought a new book; I know, as if I could possibly use a new book. But I had money to spend from sitting for a friend's dental boards and getting a cavity filled. So, I deserved something fun, perhaps. I bought the new Oxford Book of American Poetry. Poor Katsu has been putting up with my, "Oh, don't you want to hear this one?" or "Surely you've heard this one before" or "Oh, this poem is very funny" or "I had no idea this was actually a Sonnet!". By the way, did you guys know that Emma Lazarus's the New Colossus was a sonnet - not I.

So, now hoepfully it will be a fun summer. Research by day, fun by night. Maybe a few road trips. Options - Kirtland & Cleveland, Chicago, Mackinaw Island, Toronto, various other cities in Michigan or Ohio or other nearby states. Stay tuned for more updates.

Wow ... it's been a while

Wow ... I can only say that it has been a long time since I've written. Or Katsu. Ever since spring break and our fabulous trip to London, life has gotten messy. My group project for Image Processing had ... interesting group dynamics - suffice it to say that I did not get along with someone in my group. And the whole class crammed at least 75% of the work into the second half of the semester. Simultaneously, my estimation and detection class started a mad rush to get everything covered ending with a 48 hour take home exam. Icck. And my Medical Imaging lab suddenly had each weekly lab from 5:30pm - 10:30 pm at night at the hospital, making me grumpy for the rest of the week. And I have my qualifying exams (for the PhD) looming upon me next week. No biggie - if you fail, forget getting a PhD. And the funny thing is, I don't care so much about failing - i would be fine with just a Masters, but the idea of making a bad showing and embarrasing myself in these three oral exams terrifies me.

So, that's my life. And Katsu's has been busy. His experiments haven't been going so well at work and he switched over to some different ones. But honestly, I don't see how he does it. He puts all this time into the experiments, does them seemingly the same each time, and then half the time, for some unknown reason, they don't work. Ahh ... science.

So, the summer has begun - in terms of work load. No more classes. I just have my quals and then we will both be working our research jobs this summer. Hopefully it should be relaxing - no homework, just come home and play with our cat and sit on the porch and walk around the town and go to Farmer's market and try out some new meals. Should be fun.