Things are looking up!

Have you made your resolution yet? Are you one of the many who scoff at the idea? I admit that I am a little of both. I recognize the arbitrary nature of making a resolution on the eve of a new year (why not do it in May, or November? why will now be any different from any other time?), but I still say why the heck not, and so I make one or a few every year.

This year my focus is on money saving. It is my goal to have some saved for this summer, for trips or studying abroad, or for an internship somewhere amazing. That of course leads me into my second resolution: I will NOT spend my last summer in Lubbock, or Odessa. I want to experience somewhere completely new on my own. I think that these are good things to aspire to, not too over-the-top, not too radical and unrealistic. Anyhow, wish me luck and I will wish you luck too.

I have a to-do list to end all to-do lists. New semesters are always so hectic! And to top it all off, Research Days is coming. HHMI has its scholars present their research on big posters on April 4th and 5th (Yay! Amy, you will be here!). I was extremely apprehensive about it until I spoke with my grad student yesterday. We were prepping falcon blood samples (from Peru--how cool!) before we loaded them into a machine that would analyze them for lead. I was thinking about all the work we've done with bird blood around the world, and about how my grad guy was going to be gone soon, and it hit me! Why couldn't I make this my poster? We already have data from previous birds, we were about to analyze these samples, and we have more from Africa to work with. It's so perfect! My grad student said that it was a great idea, and my mentor approved. I will still work with my Hyalella azteca and lake sediments, but I won't have to rush it. I am so excited! I have developed a great respect and fascination for birds, their anatomy and their behavior. They are so cool, and holding them in my hand is still the highlight of my work so far. Maybe I should do something like that this summer...

This holiday break was awesome. I got to see family I hadn't seen in a long time, hang out and have fun. It was the best. I also got to spend time with Evan and his mom and friends. Also a lot of fun :) His mom has a cocker spaniel named Moose who I liked very much. Here he is chewing on a stick, how precious :-p It was a lot of fun taking pictures of him with my camera. By-the-way, I have a new picasa site for my pictures, check it out if you like: http://picasaweb.google.com/kriscrossed

I will post Molly pictures so you all can keep up-to-date. She is currently 5.4 pounds--what a little chunk!