Crazy week

This has been an absolutely crazy week!!! First, on Mon. we went out to eat with one of Katsu's high school classmates and her husband. They live in Ann Arbor, too, which is weird to me. What are the chances of his graduating class of 30 from SWITZERLAND that one lives down the road from us. Anyways, it was fun.

Then, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, we were ushering for the Royal Shakespeare Company (yes, the one from England) which has been in town the last few weeks. People are going crazy about it here - esp. since Patrick Stewart (a.k.a. the bald man in XMen or in Star Trek) is acting in two of the shows. Anyways, so besides school (9-5), we were at the theatre from 6-11 to usher and see the shows. Tuesday's Tempest was awesome, esp. since I really didnt enjoy it when I saw it previously in Dallas. They did it in an Alaskan tundra kind of theme ... which was unique, to say the least. Wednesday was a very long Antony and Cleopatra and Thursday was a very bloody Julius Cesear. I am now almost sad that we didn't see one of their shows when we were in London, because the company is SOOOO good. It makes Shakespeare really easy to understand and enjoyable because they can act.

So, our lonely cat Joe sure got himself into trouble while we were gone. He attacked our parsley plant leaving parsley and dirt EVERYWHERE and then proceeded to throw up the parsley everywhere! YUCK!!! But he is redeemed because today (well, last night actually) he found a mouse and is keeping guard to make sure it doesn't come back. A guess a cat might be worth it all after all ....

Nothing much to report

Life is still the same here ... grad school and just hanging out with Mr. Joe, our cat. I have been sick with a cold for half of October. But it's finally gone away and it feels beautiful not to be sick and to be able to think again.

It is very cold here in Michigan. Everyone says it will be a cold winter ... we will see. It snowed in October and has been snowing the last couple days. I just hope our car runs all winter. Last year on the day after Thanksgiving it was very cold and we couldn't get our car to start for several hours until it warmed up. Katsu was very sad because we missed all the really great sales at Best Buy. Hopefully, we won't have a repeat this year. This Thanksgiving we will be with friends in West Virginia - no cooking for us! Yeah!!!

Katsu finally got his permenant permanent residency (aka - his real green card), so we went to Canada the first weekend we could. Granted it was just across the border to Windsor for dinner and then back home again for only a few hours trip total, but hey - we were out of the country, right?

Other than that, we are just your typical boring graduate students ....

So it's been a while ...

Life has been ... well ... interesting here in our household to say the least, but it's time for a little post, I guess.

Today was the first snow of the year. It didn't snow for very long (maybe an hour) and it didn't really stick, of course. I love the first snow of the year. The hush and quiet it makes outside. Of course, come March I'm ready for all snow to be gone. But the first one is always nice.

Also, I have posted some new pictures from our summer trips with Katsu's brother to - Kirtland & Cleveland and to Chicago (also the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore as well as our trip to Greenfield Village in Detroit. Maybe soon we'll get some pictures of our first U of M football game, too.

Check out amandatsu.dell.shutterfly.com.

July ... the first half

July has been marching right along. It is hot here in Michigan ... ick! I should be used to this as an Okie (sorta Texan), but the humidity is much higher here. It's not too bad, but still not too much fun after the 25 minute walk to work.

We mostly have just been working this month. We did take a few little trips here and there. The fourth of July weekend, we went and saw the Holocaust Memorial Musuem in Farmington Hills. We really enjoyed it. It also contained a lot of Jewish History and Culture first before the Holocaust part. But the part of the museum I enjoyed most was the very end. There were displays talking about human nature - what parts of us are good and what parts of us are bad. What makes us do good things and what makes us do bad things. It used books to talk about this - To Kill a Mockingbird, Atlas Shrugged, and others. I really enjoyed that perspective. Afterwards, we went to this "museum" according to AAA - Ha! It was called something like Marvin's Marvelous Machine Museum. It was really just a room of lots of arcade machines, including old ones. Like a spanish inquisiton one where you could see little puppets heads chopped off. Not exactly what we expected ...

We also went to the Detroit temple a couple weekends ago. In order to entice us further to go, we decided to go visit the Cranbrook Science museum afterwards. The Cranbrook complex includes some private schools from elementary through high school as well as a graduate art school (someone in our ward attends there). They also have an art museum and a sceince museum. It is like 5 minutes away from the temple, so we couldn't resist. We did an 8 am session at the temple, so we were at the museum at 10:00 just as it opened. The science museum was VERY well done ... and believe me - I have seen a lot. Funny, it was really only Katsu and I there. But we enjoyed it and even learned quite a bit. I highly recommend it.

We also have started attending an Institute class on the book of Revelations. I find it fascinating and am really enjoying reading this book. It doesn't seem very hard to understand at all now and I feel like I am getting so much out of it.

We also have been experimenting with some new recipes. I like to try a new one every week or so. Yesterday, we tried a Moroccan dish I found online called Couscous Marrakesh. Since we couldn't go to Morocco when we went to Europe last summer :-( I just had to try it out. It was very tasty and a great thanks to our friends who gave us some of their very expensive saffron! The dish wouldn't have been complete without it. I also checked a vegetarian cookbook out from the library. We enjoyed the Mexican lasagna very much! And Katsu even liked the lentil "burgers" I made at my first try with veggie burgers. Not bad, if I say so myself.

It's been a pretty fun summer and hopefully it will keep getting better!

On Citizenship

For all those who don't know - Katsu is not a US citizen. I have, of course, always known this and it did not seem to make much difference to me when we were dating. Marriage, of course, always changes things, but most especially in a bureaucratic sense with two governments involved. Let me dispel a common misconception which is unbelievable false - when you marry an American you DO NOT automatically become a citizen. Nothing is automatic in the entire process and if you do nothing, the only thing that automatically happens is that you can be deported. After reams of paperwork, Katsu received a temporary green card 2 years ago, and after another ream of paperwork, Katsu's application is hopefully being finished up with and he will really recieve a permenant permenant green card shortly.

But as for citizenship, we are not sure if we will apply for Katsu and when. This surprises many people, especially at church. Many just assume that he would desperately want to be a citizen. As people have told him, "but you're like an American already" - a thought that makes my blood boil or at least simmer.

Obviously, there would be some benefits to Katsu being a citizen. Wills, inheritance, and sticky legal matters would be simpler. His passport wouldn't be checked as vigoursly in other countries (aren't Americans so lucky). We could live outside of the country for an indefinite period of time (the major plus for me). We wouldn't have to register things both in US & Japan (marriage, children, etc). He wouldn't have to constantly notify NCSIS or whatever they are called everytime we move or update his green card. And he could vote.

On the other hand, those are all paperwork kinds of things. None of those reflect what country Katsu would like to be a part of. And I don't think USA should be the default, but rather Japan. If the others didn't enter into the decision at all, I would prefer if Katsu were a Japanese citizen because it is his heritage, his mother tongue, etc. Japan is a beautiful country with generally kind, good people. His entire family (excepting siblings) live there and have for ... well, for ever.

I think citizenship should be on some level an emotional connectedness and not just a beaurcratic-ish decision. Otherwise, what is patriotism? I feel connected to America, but that doesn't mean that Katsu should be. And I personally don't see America as the best place in the world. There are many other wonderful countries that have good people and good governments, that are not oppressive, that allow for individual and religious expression. And in that case, I think I can celebrate them all. America can be a land of opportunity, but then, can't other places be? Not everyone needs to or should be an American citizen. And I am and will be proud of having a Japanese national for a husband.

Book Reviews

While I am waiting for a simulation to run ... let's hear it for book reviews. I tend to read a lot (let's say at least a book or two a week ... sometimes much more), but I also tend to forget a lot. My memory is quite poor, in my opinion. So, when we selected books to read at book club last month, I could only think of books I had read recently - the Flu by Gina Kolata. I do have to say I enjoyed it, but I'm just not sure the rest of the group will. Good thing I didn't remember the other book I was reading about at the time was about Sotheby's. That would have been an even bigger hit.

So, some recent books I've read or mostly read and my quick thoughts.

The Flu, by Gina Kolata - (non-fiction) this talks about the 1918 influenza, one, if not THE worst, natural disaster in recent history. What I think is sad is how nobody even knows about this part of American history. Parts I esp. enjoyed was learning how the government tried to steal a guys research project and then make it classifed (!!!) as well as how malleable the public is and how they can't interpret statistics. And other things. A good book.

Reading Lolita in Tehran - (non-fiction) not quite finished, but I enjoyed learning more about Iran & the Revolution there. I guess I'm really out of current events, but I had no idea how much Iran is anti-Western and how terrible the situation is for women. But besides the oppressive setting, the author was an amazing English teacher who really made me want to read the books this book is loosely based around - Lolita, books by James, Pride & Prejudice, & the Great Gatsby. A real thinker.

An Ordinary Man - (non-fiction) if you've seen the movie Hotel Rwanda, you should really read the book which just came out. Another thought provoking book on disasters, tragedies, and good people. Also interesting thoughs on the US and foreign policy. Short, but very interesting and not at all graphic like I was worried about.

The Swarm - (fiction) this is a new book, at least in English, which has sold 1.5 million copies in Germany at only 2 years old. I am half way through and am really fascinated by this environmental thriller. I used to hate environmentalism (too many assemblies on the rainforest and recycling in elementary school) but I have to say that I am started to get worried and concerned about waste. Really - think of how much garbage we throw away ... where can it possibly all be going?

Cage of Stars - (fiction) I had to read this book because it's about a Mormon!!! In conventional fiction!!! Her two younger sisters are murdered randomly when she is baby-sitting them. It's about her and her family trying to cope with it in this small Mormon community. I really thought it was interesting ... esp. since I'm Mormon.

Hope someone enjoys some of these books!!!! I did.

Inquiring Minds Want To Know ... What Do I Do?

To anyone (if there is anyone) who has ever wondered - what the heck does Amanda do? - I am here to answer your question.

To anyone who doesn't know, I am a graduate student at the University of Michigan in the department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science. The program is HUGE. There are 90 faculty, 800 undergrads and 700 graduate students. So, it is further subdivided into Systems, Normal Electrical Engineering (I don't know what that one is called), and Computer Engineering. I am in Systems. That is further subdivided into 3 categories - Signal Processing, Control, and Communications. I am in Signal Processing. And in that, I work in the Image Computing Lab. So, to reiterate

UMich -> College of Eng. -> EECS -> Systems -> Signal Processing -> Image Computing Lab -> Me

Contrast to Katsu who is in the Divison of Kinesiology and there are like 10 graduate students.

So, now you know where I am located, in the hierarchial sense ... but what do I do???

Well, until this summer, I was solely going to classes. But now, lo and behold, I do DO something - research. No, I do not get to wear a cute lab coat like Katsu. I work at a computer or at a desk by myself. Here is a short run through of what I am working on ...

I am working especially in the world of Medical Imaging - think CT, MRI, Ultrasound, etc. These medical images are complicated to make (no, I can't read and diagnose them). I have to learn about the physics of how they make these pictures. Unfortunately, the images aren't perfect - they have noise in them (think static on the radio or a TV) and they are often blurry. And in addition, sometimes we take tons of 1 and 2D images together to make a 2D or 3D image like ultrasound or CT. Using this knowledge, I use statistics to make better pictures. To understand how to combine all those images to make a CT and how to do it fast (because doctors hate to wait). To understand why the images are noisy and blurry and how to get rid of it. Or at least how to manage it.

So I use PHYSICS + MATH (probability + calculus) + ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING SYSTEMS = better medical images!!!

Katsu - the cute Research Scientist

To anyone who has ever wondered what Katsu does (not that this will clear it up for most general folks out there, but at least you can see what he does for a 8 or so hours a day) or if you just want to see cute pictures of Katsu as a scientist in his white lab coat, check out the web page for his lab:

http://www.kines.umich.edu/research/cxr/mbl.html

On Where to Live

We have some friends who could theoretically live anywhere in the country. As a nurse, he could find a good job in most any city he desired. Of course, that makes for a lot of choices ... and the more choices, the poorer decision you make and the more difficult it is to make that decision.

So, here is a list of states we would like to live in, would not like to live in, and neutral/unsure. Of course, I have no idea how much choice we'll really have in the matter ... so, we'll see.

Good list - Colorado, Conneticut, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington

Bad list - Alabama, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennesee, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming

? list - Alaska, Arizona, Delaware, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Nevada, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah

Major concerns - I don't want to live anywhere completely desolate (North Dakota or Wyoming, for example). I would prefer not to live somewhere really hot (though Katsu loves Disney World, so I put Florida on the list). I don't want to live somewhere ridiculously expensive (like California ), I would also prefer to live somewhere with 4 seasons which is why I just can't put Texas on the yes list even though I want to live close to family.

Of course, just watch - we'll live in everyone state on the "bad" list.

Confession – I didn’t go to BYU and I turned out okay.

In fact, I even got married to a nice returned missionary after three years of college. And (here’s the shocker) I still go to church, every week, in fact, and hold callings and read my scriptures and do all that good Mormon stuff.

Now, doesn’t that sound ridiculous? And yet, as my little sister graduated from high school this year and she goes through the same battle I went through (and after reading this post click here …), I decided to reflect back on my senior year.

I did not want to apply for the Ivies – I thought they were over-prestiged and over-priced and I thought it was silly all the articles about how “My daughter just has to get into Brown or she will die”. So, I didn’t. I thought about MIT, but after seeing their lack of academic or non-need based scholarships, it was out, too. See, practical senior that I was – I saw no sense in spending lots of money or loans to go to these schools when cheap schools were just around the corner. I lived in Texas, for goodness sake, with some of the best public universities around.

I also didn’t want to be crazy and apply to 15 or 20 schools, so I applied to 5 – BYU, University of Texas – Austin, University of Texas – Dallas, Texas A&M, and Northeastern University. The last was completely random. They had sent me the world’s easiest application – fill in test scores & GPA & name & one paragraph … just one page long – and it had no application fee. Plus, it was in Boston where I had always wanted to live. But otherwise, they were all pretty much practical choices.

I visited each school. I went to special programs at all but Northeastern, often especially for engineers because I wanted to be an engineer. UTD was out – I just wasn’t positive that I wanted to be an electrical engineer and the choices of major were slim pickings and too close to home. UTA was huge … and while Austin was beautiful, even our student guides admitted it was hard to make friends and kind of isolating. BYU was similarly huge and the campus seemed bewildering to me. In addition, the engineering program seemed very non-user friendly … the flow charts just to figure out what classes to take looked like they would require a PhD to figure out. And they couldn’t even get enough girls to fill the spots at the little honors visiting program for engineers I went to. I really enjoyed A&M – very friendly, very good engineering program, they definitely tried to “wine and dine” me in, good co-operative education (interships) program. And Northeastern was great – fun, in the city, and great engineering program with the country’s best co-op program. (I had decided that just in case I got married and had kids right off like my parents it was essential that I get internships while I was in school so I got some real world experience).

Luckily, I got scholarships at each school. The amounts varied a bit – tuition was covered at all of them. Room & board was covered at all but BYU (though A&M’s scholarship system was a mess to figure out). And UTD would have even given my monthly checks for living expenses. I had it made. And after a long decision between Northeastern and A&M, I finally chose Northeastern because I wanted to take the chance to live in a big city in another part of the country. I couldn’t bear the thought of spending the rest of my days burning up in Texas.

So, all in all, I have to say that I made a pretty informed decision. And not to worry, I considered the church aspect as well. I checked out the institute programs at all the respective schools. That was a clear factor against UTD because there just weren’t enough LDS young adults in Dallas with good futures in my opinion. The rest seemed very good. In Boston, my Dad and I even attended an Institute event and took a tour with another fellow Northeastern LDS sister. I figured that everywhere but Dallas I would have an opportunity to meet & hang out with other LDS people.

Then, the preaching, the harassing, and the haranguing began. My ward just couldn’t get over my decision. Each school I was considering (except BYU) was a “party school”. I would never meet anyone, never get married, and would fall away from the church. People told me over and over again what a bad decision it was. My friend (who also attended an East Coast school) and I were badgered about it constantly. Why weren’t we going to “the Lord’s university”? Some people specifically told me they were appalled that I wasn’t going to accept my scholarship. That I had, therefore, stolen that money away from other deserving students who would now not be able to attend BYU. Now, keep in mind, that I did call BYU and explain that I would not be attending and that they could give the money to another deserving student. But BYU, unfortunately, couldn’t actually record that decision or do anything with the money until I didn’t enroll in the fall.

Overall, I think I had a good experience at Northeastern University. I enjoyed my college years (which are still continuing in graduate students here in the great state of Michigan). I was very very happy with the academic program at Northeastern. Socially, it was somewhat difficult at school as I did not want to go clubbing, drinking, etc. every night which was a main event. But I had friends at school. And I had tons of friends at church. I worked internships for 18 months while I was there and got valuable experience at Tek Microsystems and Sun Microsystems and made upwards of $20/hr. I had great friends at church who roamed the city of Boston with me, a city I grew to love. I attended dozens of Institute classes, graduating from Institute several times over in four and a half years. I even met a great man at Boston University and married him. It was a great experience for me.

I don’t think BYU is a bad school. I don’t hate Utah. I think there are plusses and minuses to all schools. I have good friends who went to BYU and I have good friends who didn’t. I saw friends go inactive or do sinful things that went to BYU and who didn’t.

I do, however, have a problem with members who think that BYU is the only right school, with BYU-Idaho and BYU-Hawaii and, unfortunately, sometimes even UVSC a close second, and all the rest of the schools not even in the running. In an age when not everyone can go to BYU, when BYU is pruning its majors and does not offer everyone’s desired major, and when there are other good universities with good environments, good people, and good institutes, then people should let others make their own decision without ridiculous heckling and harassing. Even when meant to be good natured, it is not appropriate.

Too often, whether in choosing a college or a career or other major or minor life decisions, people try to force other people to do what they think is right. And in the end, it doesn’t make anyone happy. So, for all you Mormons out there – let people choose their own college, BYU or another other good option. Why not? I survived.