Tree Killer

This past fall semester most of my professors didn't require us to purchase textbooks, which was awesome! The flip-side of that awesomeness was that they posted everything we needed to read on the internet, which we then downloaded and printed out (if we wanted to). I prefer to print things out and take hard copies with me to class and highlight/write notes as I read. I am old school, I cannot retain information I read on the computer as readily as I can when it is in my hand.

As an experiment, I collected and kept everything from this semester, this includes mandatory readings, assignments and study materials. I am not certain how many trees had to die for my education, but it does beg the question if buying a book would have been better for the environment...?

Have no fear: this stack of paper was recycled

Christmas 2010

Hubby and I have been off for about a week now and I have tried to take as many pictures as possible before he takes off for Quantico. Here are some of the highlights:

Merry Christmas

Wishing all of you out there a very merry Christmas!!

Eye Infection

I went to the doctor yesterday because I woke up with a sore eye. It felt like I got punched and it was slightly red and swollen. She prescribed some antibiotic drops as well as oral antibiotics for the next ten days. It was her belief that I have an infected sty, which I had never heard of. I wasn't able to go to work today because my eye was swollen shut and I didn't feel safe driving. Here's to hoping my eye improves tomorrow.

Haircuts

Before Hubby leaves on his new adventure, he lovingly groomed the dogs for me. They look absolutely precious!!

Final Grades

Went online this morning and checked out my final grades for the semester. This is the first time all of them have been up at the same time.

Egyptology: B
Paleoanthropology: A
Primate Behavior and Ecology: A
Archaeology of Food: A
Conservation Biology: A

My overall GPA is up to 3.42

The biggest surprise was Conservation Biology and Egyptology. In each of these classes, I felt like I was bringing my 'A' game but could never succeed on the tests. Very much a surprise that I did as well in these classes as I did. I am so happy that I survived this semester and I still don't know how I did it...

UA vs. NAU

A special thank you to my mom and dad, who gave us tickets to the Wildcat game the other night (12/16/10). It wasn't pretty but it was a WIN (63 - 58)! Amazingly, this is the first UA game I have gone to since I began attending the university....

AMEC Christmas Party

I must thank my little sis for coming over to our house and making me beautiful! She is the only person on this earth who would take the time to style my extremely thick and difficult hair. I am eternally thankful!

Dogs in Party Hats

No particular reason, except because it is cute!

My Primate Conservation Video

This semester I was required for my conservation biology course to design a creativity project to be displayed for a single day at the university. I lack creativity in almost every way, but I love working on the computer and I love making music videos, so I combined the two ideas. This video took approximately 3 weeks to make and many long hours. I hope you enjoy it!

Finals

Formal classes are over and finals begin next week. Glad to have a few days to catch my breathe.

Getting my hair cut, dyed and styled tomorrow before Hubby's Christmas party. So happy to get pampered for a few hours!!

Spring 2011 Classes

This is more for my Grandma than anyone else, because she specifically asked for clarification on what my classes for next semester are all about. I don't know how helpful these descriptions will be, however. :)

Biostatistics
Organizing data; distributions, measures of center and spread, scatterplots, nonlinear models and transformations, correlation, regression. Design of experiments: models from probability, discrete and continuous random variables, normal distributions, sampling distributions, the central limit theorem. Statistical inference; confidence intervals and test of significance, t procedures, inference for count data, two-way tables and chi-square procedures, inference for regression, analysis of variance.

Historical Archaeology
Survey of the basic data and methods of research in the material culture of modern history. The New World from first European contacts to the 20th century.

Natural History of Our Closest Relatives
Comparative primate biology, behavior, ecology and evolution.

Contemporary Approaches to Human Biology
Study of humans using biocultural perspective. Emphasis on human growth and development and human population ecology. Includes application of method and theory in the analysis of nutritional, disease and lifestyle factors. Involves scholarly exchange and secondary research

Huge, Life Changing News

I recognize that the news I am about to bestow upon you will probably seem sudden and out of the blue, however, I can assure you that it has been well over a year in the making.

Hubby has been accepted to the Marine Corp Officer Candidate program as a reservist and will be gone for approximately 1 year of training.

I know!! HUGE NEWS!! I am still in state of shock and I will be honest, it was all fine and dandy while it was still "if" and "maybe". Now that it is "absolutely gonna happen" I am in panic mode and I have a stomach ache. At this point there are still more questions than answers (as I am sure is customary with the military) but what I do know is:

1. Hubby leaves the first week of January 2011
2. OCS (Officer Candidate School) will last 10 weeks and is in Quantico, Virginia
3. Hubby will graduate from OCS over my spring break, so hopefully I can go visit him
4. After OCS is TBS (The Basic School) and than additional training in his field of expertise in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina
5. I will be staying in Tucson to finish my final semester at the University and there are no plans for me to move with him at a later date
6. Hubby will not be home to see me graduate

I am so proud of Hubby for pursuing his dream and serving his country. There are few more worthy causes in the world! I only wish we weren't going to be separated for so long...

Grad Check

I am about half way through my grad check process and so far, so good. Everything appears to be in order.

The process:
1. See graduation coordinator
2. Get charged $35 (because tuition just isn't enough!!!)
3. See Minor advisor
4. See Major advisor
5. Return paperwork to graduation coordinator
6. Graduate in May 2011

Almost there.....

Election Party 2010

My sis accompanied me to an election night party this past Tuesday. I was pleasantly surprised she agreed to join me since politics isn't really her thing, but I think she may be coming around! We were thoroughly entertained by the crowd and their reactions to the poll numbers coming in. We left a little early when we realized that some of our local races were going to be too close to call.

It was crazy fun, and I don't regret it, although I am paying the price now for fraternizing with my fellow people, I have a 101.4 fever.

Jesse Kelly

Halloween Costumes 2010

Lily and Trudy got new Halloween costumes this year. In case the pictures are not sufficient, Lily was a cow and Trudy was a bumblebee. We took them for a Halloween eve walk and they had a great time, although no one saw them because trick-or-treating was virtually non-existent in our neighborhood.

So Much For Free Thinking

I came across this communication the other day and was mortified. I hope you too will find this as repulsive as I do. I fully support everyone voluntarily going to vote, I am disgusted however by the thinly veiled attempt by a company to coerce its employees into voting for what it thinks is best. I also seriously doubt anyone was asking for the owner's opinion. Finally, way to go with the bipartisanship! Voting Republican down the board sure did take a lot of effort!!!

"As a reminder, Election Day is Tuesday, November 2nd. Voting is our opportunity to have a voice in our local, state, and federal government. We encourage everyone to exercise the right to vote. The polls are open from 6am to 7pm. Poll locations can be found at: www.pima.gov/elections
Many folks have asked 'enter name of owner here' for 'his/her' stance on the candidates and propositions. While everyone should research the issues and candidates themselves, in an effort to assist those who are interested, 'enter name of owner here' is willing to share 'his/her' voting with you as follows:

United States Senator: John McCain
US Representative: Jesse Kelly
Governor: Jan Brewer
State Senator, Dist 28: Greg Krino
State Rep, Dist 28: Ken Smalley
Attorney General: Tom Horne
State Treasurer: Doug Ducey
Superintendent of Public Instruction: John Huppenthal
State Mine Inspecctor: Joe Hart
Corporation Commissioner: Brenda Burns and Gary Pierce
Clerk of the Superior Court: Patti Noland
Constable, Justice Precinct 5: Margaret Cummings
Arizona Supreme Court: Yes
Superior court: Yes to all
Prop 106: Yes
Prop 107: Yes
Prop 109: Yes
Prop 110: Yes
Prop 111: Yes
Prop 112: Yes
Prop 113: Yes
Prop 203: No
Prop 301: Yes
Prop 302: Yes
Prop 400: No
Prop 401: Yes
Prop 402: Yes

Thank You!"

Registered!

This past Monday I registered for my final semester at the UA. If registration didn't start at 6 am I think I would have enjoyed it more...

My final semester classes are:

Biostatistics
Historical Archaeology
Natural History of Our Closest Relatives
Contemporary Approaches to Human Biology

Neighborhood Feud

When our new next door neighbors moved in not long ago, I knew there was going to be a difficult period of adjustment. The houses are close together, the backyards are small, and our dogs weren't used to their presence. It was a tough adjustment, their dog barked at all hours of the night for awhile and our dogs responded in kind. All of the anti-bark procedures we had implemented before they moved in were ineffective in light of the fact that their dog was barking too.

Well, yesterday we received a note from those very same neighbors on our car which said "Your dog barks constantly whenever its out in your yard. Please do something about this or we will!" Signed Disgruntled Neighbors

I am so pissed! Not because they brought a problem to our attention but because they were so rude about it. I am home 90% of the time and they easily could have knocked on my door and discussed the situation with me. I would have been happy to rectify the situation and apologize.

I am also pissed because I first interpreted this note to mean that they were going to physically harm Trudy. I hope it isn't what they meant, but the word-usage could be construed in a number of ways, one of which makes me fear for Trudy's safety.

So, I ask you my blog followers...what does one do in this situation? Make peace and grovel? Ignore them and try to fix the problem without their help? Or being planning revenge?

Old Ladies Night Out

My Sis and I went to a Jimmy Eat World concert last night. I know, on a school night (and boy am I tired)!! It was amazing and I had a wonderful time!!! I don't have many concerts under my belt but this one was absolutely fantastic!! The venue was very small and we had incredible seats. I can't thank my sister enough for such an exciting evening.

Twitter

Although not nearly as exciting or life changing as KK's news, I got an email today that the Admiral of the Battlestar Galactica follows me on Twitter. So....Very.....Cool!

Arizona State Museum

Just a quick update to let all of you know that I am still alive, but extraordinarily busy. School started and I fell behind in the first week. Not because I am a bad student, but because a majority of my books didn't arrive at the bookstore until LOOONNNNGG after classes started. Now I am playing the game of catch-up and I am losing. Long days and long nights of reading, as I am sure you can imagine.

Also, I start a new volunteer opportunity this week (I stopped volunteering at ICS until winter break). I will be working at the Arizona State Museum on campus at UA assisting in the repository. My job is pretty open at this point, but it will be a lot of cataloging, organizing, and sifting through thousands upon thousands of cultural artifacts. I am certainly excited but very worried that I might be spreading myself thin.

A couple of other housekeeping type items that you might be wondering about:

The air conditioner was fixed with minimal hassle.

Lily has finally been granted a clean bill of health. There are still a few kinks we are working out regarding her diet but her infection is finally gone!!

Also, we are back to seeing our old vet, Dr. L, again. It is kind of a long story but we were really starting to feel gouged by the new vet and when Dr. L's new office opened, I took Lily for a second opinion. Since the switch she is doing much better and so are we. I am happy with our decision!

Letter

Luke AFB is west of Phoenix and is rapidly being surrounded by civilization that complains about the noise from the base and its planes, forgetting that it was there long before they were. Apparently, an individual who lives somewhere near Luke AFB wrote the local paper complaining about a group of F-16s that disturbed his/her day at the mall.

Question of the day for Luke Air Force Base:

Whom do we thank for the morning air show? Last Wednesday, at precisely 9:11 A.M, a tight formation of four F-16 jets made a low pass over Arrowhead Mall, continuing west over Bell Road at approximately 500 feet. Imagine our good fortune! Do the Tom Cruise-wannabes feel we need this wake-up call, or were they trying to impress the cashiers at Mervyns early bird special?
Any response would be appreciated.

The response:

Regarding 'A wake-up call from Luke's jets' On June 15, at precisely 9:12 a.m., a perfectly timed four-ship fly by of F-16s from the 63rd fighter Squadron at Luke Air Force Base flew over the grave of Capt Jeremy Fresques. Capt Fresques was an Air Force officer who was previously stationed at Luke Air Force Base and was killed in Iraq on May 30, Memorial Day.

At 9 a.m. on June 15, his family and friends gathered at Sunland Memorial Park in Sun City to mourn the loss of a husband, son and friend. Based on the letter writer's recount of the fly by, and because of the jet noise, I'm sure you didn't hear the 21-gun salute, the playing of taps, or my words to the widow and parents of Capt. Fresques as I gave them their son's flag on behalf of the President of the United States and all those veterans and servicemen and women who understand the sacrifices they have endured..

A four-ship fly by is a display of respect the Air Force gives to those who give their lives in defense of freedom. We are professional aviators and take our jobs seriously, and on June 15 what the letter writer witnessed was four officers lining up to pay their ultimate respects.

The letter writer asks, 'Whom do we thank for the morning airshow?' The 56th Fighter Wing will make the call for you, and forward your thanks to the widow and parents of Capt Fresques, and thank them for you, for it was in their honor that my pilots flew the most honorable formation of their lives.

Lt. Col. Grant L. Rosensteel, Jr.

Only 2 defining forces have ever offered to die for you....Jesus Christ and the American Soldier. One died for your soul, the other for your freedom.

Air Conditioner: DOA

I went to the grocery store to pick up a few items to make a farewell-to-summer lasagna and came home to a very warm house. The air conditioner appears to have taken a dump AND on the eve of my first day back to school.

The rental agency says they cannot get anyone out until between noon and 3 tomorrow and it is supposed to be about 104 degrees. Piper starts to vomit if it gets above 80 or so and in the last hour the temperature has crept up to 81.

I venture that tonight is going to be a very warm, uncomfortable, and grumpy night with an even hotter and uncomfortable day to follow.

Scholarship and New Classes

I earned my scholarship back. This will be the only semester, so it won't cover my last and final semester in the spring, but I will take what I can get. It has been a long road and I am grateful that of the six semesters at UA, three of them were tuition paid. Hey, guess what...I graduate in 9 months!!! Yeahhhh!!!

My Second to Last Semester Classes:

The Archaeology of Food
Paleoanthropology
Primate Behavior and Ecology
Egyptology
Conservation Biology

I didn't really realize it before, but this schedule is quite the smorgasbord of knowledge. A little bit of everything that I find interesting.

Star Trek Podium: Proof

When we were at the convention we heard about a company called DigitalProperties (http://www.digitalproperties.ca/exp/). Before The Experience closed, photos and 360 degree virtual tours were created. When we got home we took a look at the site and found a couple images which show the podium we purchased at the Propworx sale. It is nice to have proof positive that the little piece of Trek history we purchased was the real deal!

These images are the property of DigitalProperties, Paramount Pictures, and or CBS Studios. No infringement is intended and photos will be removed upon request.

See posts from April 12, 2010 and July 7, 2010 for podium pictures.

Jerry Doyle

Before Hubby and I left for Las Vegas, I emailed Jerry Doyle (he lives and broadcasts in Vegas):

Hi Jerry,
My husband and I are going to be in Las Vegas August 4-8 for a convention. If you aren't up for making your own dinner one night we hope you will agree to let us take you out. If you are interested, please give us a call at 520-___-____.
P.S. I promise we aren't stunods or loonitrons, just fans of your television and radio work!

You will never believe my surprise when we returned home to an email in my in-box from Jerry:

Kristi - thanks for the offer but my mom is in town & leaving this Sunday. Only have a few days left with her and we've got a lot on the schedule.

Maybe we'll cross paths @ the airport Sunday morning. Her flight leaves @ 6:30A

If you need any show or restaurant ideas - let me know.

Hope you guys have a great trip.

I am still giddy with excitement!!! I never expected him to call but I am floored that he emailed back. I have met a lot of celebrities but he is by far the nicest!!

Favorite Convention Memories

Hubby commented the other day that my posts regarding our time at the convention, were...well...boring. I apologize to those of you who read my drivel, I try to keep it light and to the point but in my haste it appears I made it quite a snoozer!

So, in an effort to redeem myself, I thought I would regale you with some of my favorite memories from our vacation:

6) Tour of the Hoover Dam. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the tour. If we ever go that way again I hope we will be able to take the longer, expanded tour.

5) Yoda was a huge hit! Starting at the Dam until we returned to Tucson, we were accosted everywhere we went (including the bathroom). People wanted to know where we got him and some just simply wanted to strike up a conversation. I am used to remaining anonymous so the notoriety was nice but I admit that I was glad to return Yoda to his spot above the china cabinet when we got home.

4) Mmmmm, buffets! We ate 4 buffets in the 4 days we were in Vegas and I liked all of them. The buffets we went to were at Mandalay Bay (Bayside Buffet), Planet Hollywood (Spice Market Buffet), South Point (Garden Buffet), and the Rio (Carnival World Buffet). Hubby and I disagree on our favorites but that is simply because of food choice and dietary restrictions. I miss eating at much as I want...now back to the diet!

3) Hubby meeting Jeri Ryan was one of the highlights of the entire weekend. She was so gracious and lovely, and he was so very excited which made me so incredibly happy!

2) Seeing Sir Patrick Stewart is not simply one of the highlights of the weekend, but actually one of the highlights of my life!! All of the convention goers were told to not speak to Sir Patrick when getting his autograph, but I bucked the system and said "thank you". Sir Patrick lifted his head, looked at me square in the eyes, and said "You are so very welcome", and smiled. I met Captain Picard!! AHHHHH!!!

1) Meeting Richard Hatch (Tom Zarek) from Battlestar Galactica was probably the most memorable event that occurred the entire weekend. He was so amazingly kind and gracious. He was willing to chat and genuinely seemed interested in the conversation, even going so far as to ask us questions about our lives. What a lovely man! I cannot say enough about him, such a rapid difference from his character on Battlestar. And to think that I almost did not want to talk to him because I hated him so much on TV. I guess that goes to show what a good actor he is!

Hoover Dam Bridge Almost Complete

This pic is for my dad, who is probably the only one who will care:

Star Trek Convention: Day 4

People we saw:
* Sir Patrick Stewart (Captain Jean Luc Picard from The Next Generation)
* Brent Spiner (Data from The Next Generation)
* Michael Dorn (Worf from The Next Generation)

People whose autographs we got:
* Sir Patrick Stewart
* Brent Spiner
Events we attended:
* None today!

Star Trek Convention: Day 3

People we saw:
* Jeri Ryan (Seven of Nine from Voyager)

* Chase Masterson (Leeta from DS9)

* Voyager Cast Reunion including Ethan Phillips (Neelix), Scarlett Pomers (Naomi Wildman), Garrett Wang (Harry Kim), Robert Picardo (The Emergency Medical Hologram or Dr. Zimmerman), Tim Russ (Tuvok), and Jennifer Lien (Kes).

* William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy (If you don't know they are Kirk and Spock, you are a lost cause!)

* Jonathan Frakes (Commander William Riker from The Next Generation)

People we met:
* Jeri Ryan
* Virginia Hey (Zhann from Farscape)
* Claudia Christian (Ivanova from Babylon 5)
* Richard Hatch (Tom Zarek from Battlestar Galactica)
* Aron Eisenberg (Nog from Deep Space Nine)

People whose autograph we got:
* Jeri Ryan
* Jonathan Frakes
* Robert Picardo
* Claudia Christian
* Richard Hatch

Events we attended:
* The Most Star Trek Costumed People in One Place: World Record Attempt (which was successful!! Now in the Guinness Book of World Records!!)
* Remembering Star Trek: The Experience

Star Trek Convention: Day 2

People we saw:
* Deep Space Nine Dominion Panel with Casey Biggs (Damar), Marc Alaimo (Gul Dukat), Andy Robinson (Garak), Jeffrey Combs (Weyoun), and Salome Jens (Female Changeling).

* Avery Brooks (Captain Sisko from DS9)

* Deep Space Nine Promenade Panel with James Darren (Vic Fontaine), Armin Shimmerman (Quark), Rene Auberjonois (Odo), Nana Visitor (Major Kira), and Aron Eisenberg (Nog).

People whose autograph we got:
* Armin Shimmerman (Quark)

Events we attended:
* Star Trek From a Fan's Perspective with Anthony Pascale
* Star Trek and Genre Collectibles No Minimum Bid Auction
* Comedic skit called Q vs. Janeway performed by Dean Haglund (Langley on The X-Files) and Claudia Christian (Ivanova from Babylon 5).

Star Trek Convention: Day 1

People we saw:
* Walter Koenig (Chekov from The Original Series)

* John de Lancie ('Q' on The Next Generation)

* Panel of Guest Stars from The Next Generation including: Patti Yasutake (Nurse Ogawa), Jerry Hardin (Mark Twain and from The X-Files), Eric Menyuk (The Traveler), and Stephanie Beacham (Countess Barthalomew and also from Seaquest DSV).

People whose autograph we got:
* John de Lancie ('Q' on The Next Generation)

Events we attended:
* Vegas Rapid-Fire Star Trek Trivia Challenge (Hubby won a prize!)
* Star Trek Collectible & Sci-Fi Genre No Minimum Bid Auction (too expensive!!)

Official Star Trek Convention 2010

Hi everyone! Just wanted to let you know that we returned safely from our trip to Las Vegas for the Official Star Trek Convention. This officially closes out what hubby and I lovingly call "The Summer of Geekdom". Over the next four days I will be posting descriptions and pictures of our adventure. I am trying to break it down into four categories:

People we saw: These are people that we saw on stage but never talked to
People we met: These are people we actually spoke to in person and had a short conversation with
People whose autographs we got: self explanatory
Events we attended: throughout the weekend there were numerous other pavilions being utilized for the convention, this area will tell you what other events we attended in-between the guest speakers

I am hoping to not make it too boring for all you none Trek fans out there but interesting enough for those of you that are as hard core as us! I look forward to your comments!

Another Ski Going to College

I went to lunch today with my little sis and while we were out we got her signed up for her first college course at the community college. She is just taking it for fun after work but I am so proud of her for making the venture into the big, bad world of higher education. A huge congratulations to her as she embarks on this new adventure!!

5th Wedding Anniversary

Today is Hubby and I's 5th wedding anniversary and as a surprise he had the wedding video, which our friends made but we have never seen, transferred from mini 8 to DVD format. We sat down and watched it this afternoon and it was wonderful! The group who attended our wedding were an interesting mix of none Star Trek people and hard core Star Trek people, so a majority of the footage is our knowledgeable friends filling our less sci-fi inclined friends in on the history of Trek. The best part, and most bittersweet, was the footage of Joe. He was so out of his element but he looked and sounded to be having a good time. I am so glad that we waited five years to watch this video, it all means so much more now in hindsight.