Had a pretty nice, relaxing day today, which is great since I was having such a cranky, crabby, weepy, depressed afternoon and evening yesterday.
I talked to my long lost Uncle Dave in Alaska Friday night and got a good laugh out of his reaction when I told him I had found my way back to Louisiana. For those who have never heard me talk of my "Uncle" Dave, he was/is my dad's best friend from the days they were stationed at Barksdale Air Force Base near Shreveport, LA -- so I've known him since I was about four. I can't remember the last time I talked to him, and it was wonderful to hear his voice.
I spent most of Saturday working on my fish endothermy paper (which, incidentally, I should be working on right now), occasionally taking a break to try to return my mom's call or talk to my aunt or check in on the Camp Chihowa reunion. Regarding the last, a bunch of campers and attendants from way back when rented our old campground for a reunion. I talked to several pals I haven't talked to in a long time, all of whom asked where I was and none of whom thought my busy grad student schedule was an excuse for missing the gathering. No, truly, they understood, but I was sorry I didn't make it.
Then, during a study break, I decided to catch up on my pals' online journals, and that's when it started. My pal Scottish Neko is having one of those weeks, and I was upset that I wasn't there to try to help. That got me to thinking about my pack/circle, which is not a good idea because I am incredibly hormonal at this current point in time. Most days I can ignore how much I miss them, but I couldn't distract myself from it for some reason last night. I tried calling Naomi, then I tried Mouse and Lady, and no one was home. That just seemed to make it worse. I talked to Paul on the computer, but he was rather uncommunicative and soon found something else better to do. My cuzzie Sarah helped a little by getting me giggling about her mom, but it was only a minor distraction. By the time I got in bed (particularly late because my attendant, who is observing Ramadan and had fixed herself a large supper and consumed it after sundown, had fallen asleep), I was wallowing in ridiculous, hormone-super-charged loneliness and wishing I had no ovaries. I lay in bed, thinking about how I only have two people with whom I have had decent, non-school-related conversations in two months, which I actually consider pretty good since I don't make friends easily. Too introverted -- always have been.
But I slept, and in the night my hormones died down a bit, and I'm back to my Polyanna self. OK, maybe not Polyanna, but I'm feeling much better. Natalie (one of the two with whom I have conversations) came over because she wanted to learn how to make soap. After a few hours of that, which always relaxes me, she helped me up onto the levee and we walked around and let Reba and Mayu play. Now I'm waiting on my spinach and feta pizza to be delivered, hopefully by the same goofy but cute guy who delivered my pizza last time, and I think I'll work some more on my paper or try Naomi or Mouse and Lady again. I'm where I want to be, I'm where I'm meant to be, and things are working out.
Oh man, I *am* turning into Polyanna. Her, or Stewart Smalley.
Sunday, October 24, 2004
Saturday, October 23, 2004
Thought-provoking lesson from one of my lists
A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.
Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil, without saying a word. In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me, what do you see?"
"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied.
Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg. Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, "What does it mean, mother?"
Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity, boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.
"Which are you?" she asked her daughter. "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?"
Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength? Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does myshell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart? Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get betterand change the situation around you. When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?
Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil, without saying a word. In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me, what do you see?"
"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied.
Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg. Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, "What does it mean, mother?"
Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity, boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.
"Which are you?" she asked her daughter. "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?"
Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength? Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does myshell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart? Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get betterand change the situation around you. When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?
Friday, October 22, 2004
The Fish Exam
That one turned out pretty well, too. I wasn't as worried about it going in or coming out of the exam -- although my dreams might beg to differ. I dreamt I lost ten points for not using complete sentences. Naturally, that didn't happen (the loss of ten points, that is). So, my grad studies are off to a nice start, despite hurricanes and unautomated apartment doors and rumors of romantic affiliations (no, I'm not seeing or interested in anyone, nor is anyone interested in me, contrary to my attendant Audrey's implications).
Now to get these pesky papers done . . . .
Now to get these pesky papers done . . . .
Monday, October 18, 2004
How did THAT happen?
I managed to pull a raw score of 91% on my physiology exam. Add to that 5 points which were Barney's concession that the exam might have been a TAD too long, and I have a 96%.
I'm still in shock.
I'm still in shock.
Thursday, October 14, 2004
Just a few seconds to say . . .
. . . AAUUGGHH! OK, I'm feeling much better now.
I had a physiology exam on Monday that SUCKED -- was too long to satisfactorily complete in 50 minutes. I finished it with 30 seconds to spare, but I didn't get to go back and add anything to my answers to make them better. Spent the majority of Tuesday in the lab watching Barney and Chad set up a gel to try for what seems to be the twelfth or fifteenth time to elucidate a particular protein from a particular fish cell line. Have I mentioned there's a REASON I don't like molecular stuff? So basically Tuesday went something like this -- dash to lab, have impromptu meeting of only Barney's lab because grad student from other lab who was supposed to conduct the meeting was at the police station filing a report on his stolen car (right from in front of his house), hash out amongst the five of us exactly what experiment we're going to run, calculate volumes of proteins needed to load gel, load gel, hook it up to electricity and let run, eat lunch, go to class, go back to lab to check progress, run home to pee, go back to lab to see results of gel transfer and staining, go to supper with Chad, finally go home and STAY home, begin studying for Fish exam on Friday by reading in text. Wednesday brought two classes, a meeting with Fish prof to find out what we grad students are supposed to do on Friday as far as directing the undergrad research projects (Chad and I are contemplating studying in the library so we can't be found -- yeah, it's going to be THAT interesting), a meeting with classmate Danielle to figure out what we were going to do for today's seminar class, then home to finish prepping for the seminar class and finish typing notes so I could really start studying for the Fish exam on Friday. Today I finally REALLY, TRULY started studying for the Fish exam on Friday, which was/is quite a feat because it's cloudy, dreary, and cool -- just want to curl up with The Spiral Dance or the new Laurell K. Hamilton and a good cuppa. Sigh. Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow.
I had a physiology exam on Monday that SUCKED -- was too long to satisfactorily complete in 50 minutes. I finished it with 30 seconds to spare, but I didn't get to go back and add anything to my answers to make them better. Spent the majority of Tuesday in the lab watching Barney and Chad set up a gel to try for what seems to be the twelfth or fifteenth time to elucidate a particular protein from a particular fish cell line. Have I mentioned there's a REASON I don't like molecular stuff? So basically Tuesday went something like this -- dash to lab, have impromptu meeting of only Barney's lab because grad student from other lab who was supposed to conduct the meeting was at the police station filing a report on his stolen car (right from in front of his house), hash out amongst the five of us exactly what experiment we're going to run, calculate volumes of proteins needed to load gel, load gel, hook it up to electricity and let run, eat lunch, go to class, go back to lab to check progress, run home to pee, go back to lab to see results of gel transfer and staining, go to supper with Chad, finally go home and STAY home, begin studying for Fish exam on Friday by reading in text. Wednesday brought two classes, a meeting with Fish prof to find out what we grad students are supposed to do on Friday as far as directing the undergrad research projects (Chad and I are contemplating studying in the library so we can't be found -- yeah, it's going to be THAT interesting), a meeting with classmate Danielle to figure out what we were going to do for today's seminar class, then home to finish prepping for the seminar class and finish typing notes so I could really start studying for the Fish exam on Friday. Today I finally REALLY, TRULY started studying for the Fish exam on Friday, which was/is quite a feat because it's cloudy, dreary, and cool -- just want to curl up with The Spiral Dance or the new Laurell K. Hamilton and a good cuppa. Sigh. Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow.
Saturday, October 09, 2004
Rain, rain, and more RAIN
Ugh. That's about all I can say. It's been raining pretty steadily for about 48 hours now, thanks to Tropical Storm Matthew. Haven't checked the radar lately, but I'm hoping he gets out of the 'hood pretty soon -- I don't want to miss my physiology exam on Monday. No, I do not have a Hermione complex in which I like exams, it's just that I have another one on Friday plus a lot of reading and preparing for my seminar class in between, and I just want this phys test OVER. Even if it ain't gonna be pretty. And it ain't.
Wednesday, October 06, 2004
And then there was science-type stuff to do
Actually did some science the other day -- well, sort of. We had our weekly lab meeting in the a.m. at which Barney informed us he was expecting some cichlids (that's an African fish, for those who don't know) from the University of Florida, and thus he was organizing a fish killing party. His phrasing, not mine. Barney does a lot of protein assays and had apparently been performing some on cichlid tissues following protocols and analyses for killifish before suddenly thinking, "What if these protocols aren't valid for cichlids?" I'm thinking "Duh" because cichlids are African freshwater fish and killifish are North American estuarine fish (the species Barney uses, for the most part), but what do I know? Anyway, Barney decided he wanted to do some standardization, so we got to whack fifteen fish and dissect out their livers, hearts, brains, and bits of white muscle. We set up a bit of an assembly line -- Chad dunked a fish into liquid anesthesia (a POSSIBLE carcinogen, keep that in mind for later in the story) then measured weight, standard length, and total length, I recorded said measurements, Barney dissected and placed the tissues separately into tubes, and Sunil (our undergrad, keep that in mind for later in the story, as well) dunked the tubes in liquid nitrogen before storing them on dry ice until everything was finished.
Things were going well while Barney dissected and was basically keeping an eye on Sunil, but that only lasted for three fish. Then Barney had to take care of a gel he was running, Hector took over dissecting, Chad and I traded jobs, and Sunil the not-as-anally-retentive-as-the-rest-of-us starting slacking off. I turned around at one point to see him fishing for a tube in the bottom of the nitrogen container that he had just tossed in instead of holding suspended with forceps as Barney had told him to do. I politely mentioned he probably wanted to refrain from doing that anymore, but he didn't take me too seriously. As he was digging for another tube later, lamenting about how difficult it was to find amid all the "smoke" pouring from the container, Barney turned around and caught him. He chastised him minorly, but he really lit into him when he opened the ice chest and found the tubes arranged in a pretty haphazard manner. Chad, Hector, and I just looked at each other and tried not to laugh.
I was excused from the three-ring-circus after six fish because I had class, and I erroneously thought all the fun and games would be over by the time I got out. No. The boys had not gotten back to our little African friends in the two hours I had been gone. Unfortunately for Chad, Hector was gone, Barney was in a meeting, and I had to meet my attendant for a much needed potty break. That left him only goofball Sunil. I stuck around for one fish, recording data for Chad, when Sunil decided he would be helpful and take the fish out of the anesthesia for us. Chad told him he needed to remove some of the extra fluid from the fish, but instead of blotting Ms. Cichlid on a paper towel, Sunil starts shaking it. He's giggling like a screwball, and anesthesia (that possible carcinogen) is flying everywhere. Did I mention he was doing this eight inches from my face? Somehow, I managed to escape without getting a snootful of the stuff, but he did sling some in Chad's face. I not-so-politely mentioned that he might want to knock that the hell off. I vacated the lab shortly after that, leaving poor Chad to fend for himself. He's a big boy, he could handle it.
Don't get me wrong -- Sunil is not a complete moron. I just don't think he's as conscientious about details as the rest of us, which totally strikes me as weird since he's really into biochemistry. Well, that in and of itself is weird too, but I digress. He's just an odd duck who gives me the impression that he's being a clown so we'll like him. I like him best when he's not being a clown.
Things were going well while Barney dissected and was basically keeping an eye on Sunil, but that only lasted for three fish. Then Barney had to take care of a gel he was running, Hector took over dissecting, Chad and I traded jobs, and Sunil the not-as-anally-retentive-as-the-rest-of-us starting slacking off. I turned around at one point to see him fishing for a tube in the bottom of the nitrogen container that he had just tossed in instead of holding suspended with forceps as Barney had told him to do. I politely mentioned he probably wanted to refrain from doing that anymore, but he didn't take me too seriously. As he was digging for another tube later, lamenting about how difficult it was to find amid all the "smoke" pouring from the container, Barney turned around and caught him. He chastised him minorly, but he really lit into him when he opened the ice chest and found the tubes arranged in a pretty haphazard manner. Chad, Hector, and I just looked at each other and tried not to laugh.
I was excused from the three-ring-circus after six fish because I had class, and I erroneously thought all the fun and games would be over by the time I got out. No. The boys had not gotten back to our little African friends in the two hours I had been gone. Unfortunately for Chad, Hector was gone, Barney was in a meeting, and I had to meet my attendant for a much needed potty break. That left him only goofball Sunil. I stuck around for one fish, recording data for Chad, when Sunil decided he would be helpful and take the fish out of the anesthesia for us. Chad told him he needed to remove some of the extra fluid from the fish, but instead of blotting Ms. Cichlid on a paper towel, Sunil starts shaking it. He's giggling like a screwball, and anesthesia (that possible carcinogen) is flying everywhere. Did I mention he was doing this eight inches from my face? Somehow, I managed to escape without getting a snootful of the stuff, but he did sling some in Chad's face. I not-so-politely mentioned that he might want to knock that the hell off. I vacated the lab shortly after that, leaving poor Chad to fend for himself. He's a big boy, he could handle it.
Don't get me wrong -- Sunil is not a complete moron. I just don't think he's as conscientious about details as the rest of us, which totally strikes me as weird since he's really into biochemistry. Well, that in and of itself is weird too, but I digress. He's just an odd duck who gives me the impression that he's being a clown so we'll like him. I like him best when he's not being a clown.
Friday, October 01, 2004
Adventures in Acadiana -- Part III
OK, hopefully this is the last installment -- and the first person to make a smart comment about how long it took me to complete this task is going to get thwacked upside the cranium.
Friday, Barney decided a trip to Grand Coteau was in order. GC is a small "village" near Lafayette where Jackie (B's wife) grew up and went to school. We started off with a visit to Jackie's folks' place in the country. Jackie's dad is a physics prof at the U of LA-Lafayette, and some years ago he and two other ULL profs (math and history, I think) went in together and bought a big chunk of land outside GC. On said land, they constructed three homes and a "community building" containing a swimming pool and other stuffs suitable for gathering. The Meriweather pad is this rustic, cabin-looking piece of beauty complete with a tin roof. Trees everywhere, silent as all get-out -- I LOVED IT. I was heading through the yard toward the house, watching the ground for pot-holes, when Barney advised me to stop right where I was and look up. It took me minute to see what he was talking about, but I momentarily realized I had nearly walked into the biggest spider web I have ever seen up close and personal, and the master designer was home. While the arachnophobic in me sent up a thanks that I hadn't given that big spider a reason to drop down on my head, the biologist in me had to admire the beauty of the web and its resident. The web was easily five feet across, and the spider was four or five inches across its legs. Jackie pointed out another web with a different type of spider just five feet away and explained that it was par for living there to watch for spiders EVERYWHERE. There was even webbing stretching from the roof of the house to a nearby tree, and leaves hung from it like a natural form of party decoration.
The house was small and cozy, with books in every room. You know I was in love. I perused Dr. Meriweather's personal library (Mrs. Meriweather's was on the second floor and thus unavailable to me), and I was surprised to find several volumes (I'm guessing first editions) of the Hardy Boys mysteries and closer-to-original-than-my-omnibus of the LOTR trilogy as three separate books. As I looked up and up the shelves to the ceiling (yes, the man has floor-to-ceiling shelves), I just wanted to weep with jealousy. ONE DAY I, too, will have floor-to-ceiling bookshelves.
Next it was into GC proper to have lunch at Catahoula's. For those who don't know, a catahoula hound is a breed that seems to be fairly unique to Louisiana (but I'm sure they can be found in other places, as well). The man who started this restaurant has a passion for them; he's also a regionally-well-known photographer, and his photos of catahoulas decorate the restaurant. My two major comments about Catahoula's concern the food and the manager. The food was exceptionally good -- a little pricey, but I truly have no complaints in this department since Al had insisted lunch was on him and gave us money as we left the house. Barney and I had an appetizer of crab cakes and for lunch I had the pan-fried catfish covered in crawfish etouffe. I ate so much I almost something. As to the manager, I have to go on record as saying, "Yum." Hey, I'm a red-blooded female with good vision (with my glasses), and I promised you all an honest reckoning of my trip, right? John (son of the restaurant's founder, not the founder himself) came over once to talk dogs because Reba, bless her little doggy heart, batted her browns at him several times. Some mutual harmless flirting later, John saw us to the door and even held it for me in that great Southern sense of politeness. Yeah, that was fun, especially since I don't have it in me to flirt much. As Gina said once, Stacy got all the flirting genes in our family.
After lunch, Barney took me to the Academy of the Sacred Heart, the Catholic girls school Jackie attended. The school was founded in 1821 and is the oldest continuously run Sacred Heart (maybe even Catholic overall) school in the US. There are one or two other schools in the US which were founded earlier but were closed at least once at some point in their histories. Sister Moreau showed me the chapel (which is where Barney and Jackie were married) and the shrine to St. John Berchmann. This is the site at which Berchmann performed his third miracle by curing a sister of a severe illness. I found the history of the school and the miracle very interesting, and Sister Moreau patiently answered my million and one "I'm not a Catholic, so could you please explain . . ." questions. I know enough Church history from Professor Gythiel's classes to follow most of what she told me about canonization procedures and such, and it was great to add more to my regional knowledge. Plus, I love old places, and this one (especially the shrine) felt so peaceful and sacred.
Friday night we went to the Festivals Acadiens kick-off to listen to some excellent music. We caught the end of a Cajun folk group and stayed through the interim to listen to an hour of a Zydeco group. The biggest kick of the night was watching Barney dancing and cutting loose. If you look at his picture on the UNO bio website, and he kind of looks preppy and . . . well . . . just not like a guy who dances to Cajun music. He gets cooler and cooler the more I know him.
Saturday we attended more of Festivals Acadiens -- listened to more music (and Barney and Jackie got to dance more), ate cracklings and fried soft-shell crab, and checked out local crafts on display. It was 100 degrees, but it was still a blast.
And now I'm off to meet some of my fellow members of the Biology Graduate Student Conviviality Association for a little fun and socialization at a place called d.b.a.
Friday, Barney decided a trip to Grand Coteau was in order. GC is a small "village" near Lafayette where Jackie (B's wife) grew up and went to school. We started off with a visit to Jackie's folks' place in the country. Jackie's dad is a physics prof at the U of LA-Lafayette, and some years ago he and two other ULL profs (math and history, I think) went in together and bought a big chunk of land outside GC. On said land, they constructed three homes and a "community building" containing a swimming pool and other stuffs suitable for gathering. The Meriweather pad is this rustic, cabin-looking piece of beauty complete with a tin roof. Trees everywhere, silent as all get-out -- I LOVED IT. I was heading through the yard toward the house, watching the ground for pot-holes, when Barney advised me to stop right where I was and look up. It took me minute to see what he was talking about, but I momentarily realized I had nearly walked into the biggest spider web I have ever seen up close and personal, and the master designer was home. While the arachnophobic in me sent up a thanks that I hadn't given that big spider a reason to drop down on my head, the biologist in me had to admire the beauty of the web and its resident. The web was easily five feet across, and the spider was four or five inches across its legs. Jackie pointed out another web with a different type of spider just five feet away and explained that it was par for living there to watch for spiders EVERYWHERE. There was even webbing stretching from the roof of the house to a nearby tree, and leaves hung from it like a natural form of party decoration.
The house was small and cozy, with books in every room. You know I was in love. I perused Dr. Meriweather's personal library (Mrs. Meriweather's was on the second floor and thus unavailable to me), and I was surprised to find several volumes (I'm guessing first editions) of the Hardy Boys mysteries and closer-to-original-than-my-omnibus of the LOTR trilogy as three separate books. As I looked up and up the shelves to the ceiling (yes, the man has floor-to-ceiling shelves), I just wanted to weep with jealousy. ONE DAY I, too, will have floor-to-ceiling bookshelves.
Next it was into GC proper to have lunch at Catahoula's. For those who don't know, a catahoula hound is a breed that seems to be fairly unique to Louisiana (but I'm sure they can be found in other places, as well). The man who started this restaurant has a passion for them; he's also a regionally-well-known photographer, and his photos of catahoulas decorate the restaurant. My two major comments about Catahoula's concern the food and the manager. The food was exceptionally good -- a little pricey, but I truly have no complaints in this department since Al had insisted lunch was on him and gave us money as we left the house. Barney and I had an appetizer of crab cakes and for lunch I had the pan-fried catfish covered in crawfish etouffe. I ate so much I almost something. As to the manager, I have to go on record as saying, "Yum." Hey, I'm a red-blooded female with good vision (with my glasses), and I promised you all an honest reckoning of my trip, right? John (son of the restaurant's founder, not the founder himself) came over once to talk dogs because Reba, bless her little doggy heart, batted her browns at him several times. Some mutual harmless flirting later, John saw us to the door and even held it for me in that great Southern sense of politeness. Yeah, that was fun, especially since I don't have it in me to flirt much. As Gina said once, Stacy got all the flirting genes in our family.
After lunch, Barney took me to the Academy of the Sacred Heart, the Catholic girls school Jackie attended. The school was founded in 1821 and is the oldest continuously run Sacred Heart (maybe even Catholic overall) school in the US. There are one or two other schools in the US which were founded earlier but were closed at least once at some point in their histories. Sister Moreau showed me the chapel (which is where Barney and Jackie were married) and the shrine to St. John Berchmann. This is the site at which Berchmann performed his third miracle by curing a sister of a severe illness. I found the history of the school and the miracle very interesting, and Sister Moreau patiently answered my million and one "I'm not a Catholic, so could you please explain . . ." questions. I know enough Church history from Professor Gythiel's classes to follow most of what she told me about canonization procedures and such, and it was great to add more to my regional knowledge. Plus, I love old places, and this one (especially the shrine) felt so peaceful and sacred.
Friday night we went to the Festivals Acadiens kick-off to listen to some excellent music. We caught the end of a Cajun folk group and stayed through the interim to listen to an hour of a Zydeco group. The biggest kick of the night was watching Barney dancing and cutting loose. If you look at his picture on the UNO bio website, and he kind of looks preppy and . . . well . . . just not like a guy who dances to Cajun music. He gets cooler and cooler the more I know him.
Saturday we attended more of Festivals Acadiens -- listened to more music (and Barney and Jackie got to dance more), ate cracklings and fried soft-shell crab, and checked out local crafts on display. It was 100 degrees, but it was still a blast.
And now I'm off to meet some of my fellow members of the Biology Graduate Student Conviviality Association for a little fun and socialization at a place called d.b.a.