Merry Christmas

"Welcome Christmas, bring your cheer
Cheer to all the Whos far and near
Christmas day is in our grasp
So long as we have hands to clasp
Christmas day will always be
Just as long as we have we
Welcome Christmas, while we stand
Heart to heart and hand in hand"

-How the Grinch Stole Christmas

Rough and tumble but merry

It has been beyond a rough couple of days. As I mentioned my grandmother passed away which has created a very emotional two weeks. And then my car broke down on my way back from Ohio (about four hours from home). I had two interviews last week. On Wednesday, I had a on site interview with a company in Ashland (which is in Ohio). And then on Thursday, I had an interview with a small consulting firm in Columbia City (IN). Both interviews went pretty well and I think both positions (which are a little similar) will allow me to get more experience in regulatory toxicology. But due to the holidays, both companies will not get back to me about the positions until January. I set up an interview for a lab position at Purdue for Wednesday (but I have moved back to Thursday due my vehicle situation. ) The bright spot of the past two weeks is that all my sisters were home which made everything a little bit easier. And all my nephews were home, I forgot how small newborns are! I been having lots of fun with all three! And soon they will all be here to celebrate Christmas at the farm. Merry Christmas to all!

HANK: Now, I'm not gonna mention any names, but due to last year's unfortunate kissing incident, mistletoe is banned from this year's Christmas party.
(Everyone looks accusingly at Bill.)
BILL: Peppermint schnapps makes me sloppy.
DALE: Enough with your party, Hank. Help me figure out what to get Nancy for Christmas. I'll never top that oil painting I commissioned last Christmas: "Nude Dale In Repose." Tasteful, yet you can see everything.

On love, In Sadness

It has been a really long time since I have posted and I apologize. My grandmother passed away on Dec. 11th. She has been in poor health for a few years, but I still remember spending a lot of time with her when I started attending Purdue. On Mondays, I used to go to her house after class until my sorority meeting and we would have dinner together and work on the crossword (I admit that she knew way more of the clues than I did). And she taught me how to quilt, and I still have that quilt that we worked on together. I will always cherish those memories of spending time, and I know that I will think about her every time I start (or even finish) a quilt and how glad I was to be able to share something that she was so passionate about. I will miss her dearly.

Off on a turnaround

For most of September through November, my job search was highly unproductive. But in the past few days, it has been much better. I had my interview with the lab at Purdue on Tuesday, which went pretty well. The research sounded really interesting (though not in my area of expertise) but the PI stressed more about the personality and work style fitting with the rest of the lab personnel (there are about 6 people in the lab). She said that she would let me know about the position by the end of next week. And then yesterday I got not one but two calls about other position. One was for a job with a company in Des Moines for a toxicology position and I think that we will setting up an interviews in Des Moines sometime before the holidays. The other position in with a regulatory consulting firm in Columbia City (which is near Fort Wayne). I talked with the office manager (it is a small firm about 4 consultants and then the office manager) and she encourage me to visit the website and learn more about the projects that they work on and then we can set up an on-site interview (or phone interview if I wanted) before the holidays because they would like someone to start in January. So the past week (including the phone interview last Thursday) have been really encouraging! And more importantly Rachel and family will be here tonight, so that will be nice to see them all!

DALE: Pirate? Gondola operator? Waiter? Pirate waiter?
HANK: He's supposed to be gay, Dale.
DALE: Really? I don't see it.

I'm a what?

A good result

I had my phone interview with the head of the Study Analysis and Report Writing Department from the company in Ashland today. It went pretty well, the position sounds really interesting and would be a good starting off point for me since I am interested in regulatory toxicology. I would get to interact with study directors and the clients as well as gain some experience in FDA regulation submission. The interviewer said that he and HR would contact my references and then we would set up an on-site interview.

"That's good Bobby, keep throwing me those curve balls"- Hank Hill

The turning of tides

For once, I have good news about my job search. I am meeting with the people from one of the labs at Purdue next Tuesday. I went to the website for the lab and they seem to be researching really interesting stuff involving membrane transport (and they seem to be publishing about two papers a year including this year in Nature). And today, I set up a phone interview for Thursday with a company in Ashland in Ohio. I will let you all know the outcome of the phone interview on Thursday.

"Give me liberty or give me death! But only the kind of liberty you find in a controlled, well-regulated society." - Dale Gribble

I'm German, so I like rules

I just finished watching this really interesting documentary called "Helvetica" which is the most commonly used font in the world (think Target, the Gap, Crate and Barrel, street signs, your tax return forms, all that is Helvetica in different weights and spacing). Helvetica was created in the 1950s in Germany (Helvetica means the Swiss in Latin) to be clean and easy to read. But by the 1970s there was a rebellion against using Helvetica. Including a very outspoken German graphic designer that said Helvetica, with all its letters looking so very much alike, was an army (and he was the source of the title). There were lots of interviews with graphic designers and typographers, and I guess I never really thought about the fonts that I use everyday. One of the graphic designers was comparing how he and his wife remembered the location of a restaurant. She remembered it as down the street from the dry-cleaners and he remembered it as down the street from that sign with poor spacing.

"I'm going to teach you all a little dance. The avoid-dance. Who has a child who keeps a messy room? The next time you walk by Junior's room, shut the door. Don't look at what infuriates you. Just do this little dance. Shut the door. Shut the door. Shut the door..." - Anger Management Instructor

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone, I hope you all get to spend it with friends and family!


" 'Cause that turkey is so gosh darn moist."-Hank Hill

A sprinkling after a dry spell

I do mean to blog more than I have in the past month (but not blogging is preventing from complaining about searching for a job too much). The job search is going alright and I have learned with job sites are better. Hotjobs (through Yahoo!) is my favorite mostly because there are no solicitations on the websites (as there is on Monster). Plus the only emails I get are updated results from a job search unlike both Careerbuilder and Monster. I get stupid like reminders from both those sites including most job seekers apply for 3 jobs before landing a job (oh thanks Careerbuilder, I have been rejected from 3 jobs, thanks for your encouragement) and that a higher education can make it easier to land a job (um, Monster that hasn't really worked out for me yet). But I heard back about one of the lab jobs at Purdue asking for some references (it is for a molecular biology lab looking at ATP pumps in the cell).
In anticipation of company tomorrow night, I spent most of the day sweeping the entire downstairs (and I'm planning on sweeping once a week so the cleaning for Rachel, Bridget, and Lucy's homecoming won't be too bad). But the cleaning wasn't bad at all because mom bought a Dyson a few weeks ago (this is the model we have). I love this vacuum cleaner! It is really easy to clean out and the utilizing the attachments can be done quickly and you can use it on both carpet and bare floors. I always like to use stuff that has been well engineered and the user was actually taken into consideration during the design process.

"No, turn the other one!!"-Hank

A little delayed

I am a bad blogger, I know. I haven't had to much to write about for the past few weeks, but Lucy was home for a week (this past week) so that means time for a new post! While Lucy was here, she "helped" me work on Rachel's king size quilt (which I am still hoping to get done by this Christmas). We also made Christmas presents for family members while she was home (and some of those people read this blog so I won't say what it is) as well as weaned calves (more than once due to a fence problem.) I also finished another baby quilt for a friend of the family:
As as some of you may know, there is a writer's strike which means after next week there will be no new episodes of The Office (or anything else), so my Netflix account will be getting quite the work out until the strike is over.

"You got to pitch some woo at her, see what sticks."-Dale Gribble

Those Natural Highs and Lows

This post is very delayed, my sincere apologies. I had my interviews with Pace Anaylitical and 3M in Minneapolis last Tuesday. I took the shuttle from Merriville to O'Hare (I stayed with friends the night before so there was less driving the day of), which was actully very nice. Traffic was kind of bad so I was there only an hour before my flight was to leave (remember back in the day when you needed to be there only an hour before your flight). Fortunately, I got my boarding pass and through security in about 15 minutes. Everyone boarded at the right time but then we got to wait for more than an hour on the runway. So I was about an hour late so the first interview got cut short by the rest of the day was fine. I interviewed with 3 different people, the Toxicology group, the Environmental Assessment Group, and the Regulatory Affairs Liaison. Out of all these, the last group was the most interesting to me. My flight back was alright, but delayed (again) but I wasn't to bad, I got a sandwich and a copy of Discover magazine. I had to rush to catch the shuttle back to Merriville (I would have to wait another hour if I missed it) and then went home.
Last Friday, I heard back about the extension job (about a week later than they thought). Despite all the work I put into the presentation, I didn't get the position. According to the email, they hired someone with a more technical background (and the main guy complimented me on my excellent publication and presentation, um thanks for nothing). So I'm kinda of mad because of all the work I put into it and it went nowhere. And I suspect that it is possible that I was passed over because I am a woman, but that could not be true.
On Sunday, I joined an online recruiter network (so basically you fill out your profile and post your resume, and the website matches you with appropriate recruiters). I heard from one recruiter on Monday morning and then from another position I applied for on Monday afternoon. So after the slight disappointment about the extension job, my job search is still going okay. I applied for another position at Purdue in a lab as a more temporary position. So hopefully I will find a job soon.

"The only person I ever showed my toes to was my ex-wife. She used them against me in the divorce." - Bill

In which I rant about the postal service

I really like Netflix, it was one way that I survived my time at Iowa. I always try to send a movie back on Thursday so that I have movies for the weekend. Or I would get a disc of a TV show on DVD that I could spread out over the weekend. This week I was thwarted on both attempts. I was supposed to get a disc from a show on Thursday that I haven't gotten yet. And then I rushed to finish a movie so I could mail it back on Thursday and get a new movie on Saturday. Netflix hasn't received the movie either. Stupid postal service.

"You must be thinking of Hank Hill in West Arlen. Hold on, I've got some of his mail here." - Hank Hill

So maybe it was worth it

I heard from my adviser today, and the paper based on my thesis project was accepted by the journal Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology. It will be published in a special PCB issue in early next year. I'm really excited about it getting published, and it feels like finally the two years (and late nights) was worth it.

Also congrats to Elizabeth and Rob on the arrival of Robert Kyle!

" First, this is not the plastic head you were issued. Second, just look at the way you shaved against the grain here, here, and here. And these are the worst sideburns I've seen since chair three, which makes me suspect you cheated. F. That means you fail." - Miss Krenzer

I'm not sure if I feel better or worse

I'm catching up on some "This American Life"(TAL) podcasts, and the episode I'm listening to is about amateurs meeting professionals (or become semi-professional). (By the way, you can listen to the show on the website as well as your local NPR station). The first "act" of the show is about a high-school basketball player that was featured in a Nike Freestyle commercial in 2001 (which is when the show originally aired). The reporter interviewing the player went on and on about how cool the commercial was (and the fact that he watched lots of play-off games just to see the commercial). He commented that it was the coolest thing ever on TV, claiming "This commercial kicks the moon-landing's ass." Naturally, I wanted to see the commercial so I went to the TAL website and followed the link provided. And in the comment section, 12 of the 13 comments referenced This American Life. If you want to see this commercial click here. There is also a 30-second spot featuring only the high-schooler, Luis da Silva, here.

"Sometimes you have to enjoy life for all it's mellow, rich flavor." - Hank Hill

I guess I should have known bettter

For most of August and part September, I was really bummed about the lack of progress of my job search. But it has really been looking up in the past two weeks. My interview at Purdue went pretty well on Thursday and the head of the committee said they would have a decision by the end of next week. And then I have the two interviews in Minneapolis in two weeks (I pushed it back for a week). My aunt Emily was in town again and while she was on campus for an event, she met someone from Lilly and passed along her contact information (and I sent an email Friday night). Then today one of the people that Emily sent my resume to emailed (and called) me with some really good information (including a consulting company that might be a good fit for me). I guess I was surprised the Emily knew people in the field of toxicology but I guess I never realized how wide her network of contacts was!

"I feel so alive with pleasure!"- Peggy Hill

Grey skies are going to clear up

I heard from Pace Analytical today about setting up an interview with not one by two of the company's clients for next week. I really looking forward to the interview because all the people who I have talked with are really nice and knowledgeable (and the HR person is really good about keeping me informed and keeping in contact with me). Next Friday, I am meeting with my old boss from LifePlus LCC, where I interned last summer (and really learned a lot and got really interested in regulatory toxicology which is the position at Pace). This plus my interview on Thursday, means my job search is finally looking up.

" I followed you. Every twist and every turn. By the way, I'm going to need to follow you home."-Dale

Lost and Found

Our goat Rosalee was missing for a 2 days (and by missing it means she didn't come up to the barn in the evening). I did a very thorough search of the ditch in our front pasture because I figured that she must have gotten stuck in the mud down there, but alas she wasn't there. I was convinced that she was killed by coyotes (as we had lost a kid within the last two months to coyotes). Then yesterday mom was out in the pasture on the ATV and heard goat bleating. Turns out Rosalee got stuck under the hay feeder in the back pasture (or the ten acres for those familiar with our farm lexicon). Mom said it was a bit of a struggle to get her un-stuck but Rosalee seems alright, just a little hungry and thirsty.

"Mama's in jail. She was savin' a quart of beer for before bed, and Daddy threw it out, and she went after him with a fork. And the trailer tipped over, and everything turned upside down, and it's all gonna be on Real Stories of the Highway Patrol. And the wig I styled for beauty school is ruined. What am I going to do uncle Hank?"-Luanne

Finally

After about a week of trying to arrange an interview for the extension position, I finally arranged one for next Thursday at 9am. I finished my sample publication and had my mom and Rachel look over it. Once the publication is done, I will work on my presentation for Thursday. So I will let everyone know the outcome of the interview. And today Purdue plays Notre Dame so I will be watching the game and cheering on Purdue (and hopefully they will win!).

" A $100? For a pair of cotton short pants?"-Hank

Clafouti

I made a desert for diner with my aunts, cousins, grandma, and parents on Friday night. Emily made a delicious meal and I made a desert called clafouti. It is sort of like a custard, I sliced peaches (or whole cherries) and then I made the batter which was mostly eggs and milk with a little bit of flour and sugar. Then the batter gets poured over the fruit and the whole thing gets baked. And here are some pictures.
Before:






























And After:






























HANK: Oh, my God, that cat has soiled in my shoes! Where is he?
BOBBY: He's in my room! If I stop petting him, he'll bite me! ... It's like having a bomb strapped to my lap!