The Sudden Silence

Alternative title: I guess it's break? 

This morning I woke up to snow. Not much, mind you. Barely a dusting collecting on car hoods and rooftops. The snowflakes cruised on by my window, borne on a strong northern wind. I dream of the day I'll look out my window and see an expanse of nature. But for now, I'll settle for bushes, a parking lot, and the occasional squirrel. I'm still a student after all, though this whole getting a paycheck thing has been amazing. 

So today marks the beginning of my Thanksgiving break! I'm not the type of person to skimp on my eight hours of sleep-- ever! The closest I've come to pulling an all-nighter was one absolutely miserable computer science assignment which had me stumbling to bed around 2 am. However, there is something to be said about the bliss of sleeping in, even if, when the alarm blares, I technically have had my eight hours of sleep. 

I'm excited about my first (massive) solo road trip coming up on Monday. I'll be traveling down south to spend Thanksgiving with some relatives – – as my parents were inconsiderate enough to be (safely) in France till Christmas. Six hours with just me, the road, and an audiobook of my choosing. Oh, and a AAA card in my back pocket. 

By some weird fluctuation of the universe, I don't exactly have homework over the break. However, I am excited to finally have time to devote to my biophysics reading. I've been swamped with either work, or a need to take a break from physics, and haven't read as much as I would have liked. 

The sun is threatening to come out and soon the snow will be whisked away. That's alright-- I have loads of laundry to do and a library run to make. After all, I can't let the beauty of the past interfere with my appreciation of the present. 

It'll snow again, mostly likely before I leave for Christmas break, and it'll be a rich, deep snow that'll have me griping about wet shoes and messy roads. Until then I'll enjoy the delicate balance of fall and winter, a patchwork quilt spread over my city. 

After Thanksgiving break, I have two weeks of classes and then finals. Though to be fair, I only have one final during finals week – – my other classes have take-home finals before the week of finals. And then, poof, my first semester of grad school will be completed! Only nine more (hopefully) after that. 

A couple years ago, I wrote Thanksgiving post in which I don't believe I said that I was thankful for it all. So in parting, I am thankful for a challenging, but not overwhelming first semester, the friends I've made here, my beautiful apartment with a cheerful little fireplace, and the friends I have scattered around the world. 

As always, thanks for reading :)

My Life Thus Far and other random tidbits

I believe in random capitalization. Just call me Margo from Paper Towns.

I was going to write a blog post this morning. After all, I just entered the crazy post-midterm part of the semester where strangely enough I'm suddenly more busy than before. Who wants to work on an impossibly, devilishly hard take home math exam when you could just write a blog post instead?

Then, I read my friend Sami's blog post. I would prefer you to read it after you've read mine-- or else your standards will be impossibly high. She literally quotes Dickinson and writes such beautiful metaphors I feel like I have a unique, small window into her life.

And I could totally quote some poetry here-- I've been rereading my favorite poem anthology called She Walks in Beauty curated by Caroline Kennedy.

She walks in beauty, like the night

Of cloudless climes and starry skies

Lord Byron

But I'll admit, I don't have the skill to weave beautiful feelings and expressions into this poem, to describe my life in such a way as Sami does. 

So I wasn't going to write a blog post this morning. After all, I knew it wouldn't be like hers-- and I loved hers!

But then I looked at my math exam and figured almost anything would be more fun than that, so here I am. 

Side note, I don't necessarily consider myself a "math person", a random fact which throws many people off. After all, I study physics! How can I not be a "math person"? But doing math for physics is very different then just a strict math course; one is a means to an end, the other is just plain difficult. 

The other day at Praise Team practice ((I sing in the band at my church)) the pianist asked me if grad school was like what I thought it would be. I just stared blankly at her, trying to remember what my expectations were. Yes? No? It's...different than I expected. I have more free time than I had anticipated, and labs are so much easier than I had thought. 

I was so worried my lab students would ask super difficult questions about the set ups-- derivations of the equations, etc. Ha, no. My lab students are algebra based which means they don't want to be physics majors. Most of them are there to quickly fulfill a requirement and then get out. 

I don't mind teaching the labs-- after a quick pre-lab lecture, I mostly just meander through the room, helping each group out. Grading the lab reports-- now that's a different situation. I have around 70 students total, which means I have 70 lab reports to grade each week, on top of my own homework and responsibilities. 

Taking three courses is manageable, but definitely not easy. I never feel that I have enough time to fully think about what I'm learning-- it can be a scramble to just get everything done. 

One thing I really enjoy about my program is that it is highly research oriented. What that means is that they are not too crazy about grades-- you do the work, take the exams, and you'll end up with a B. That's it. Classes are important, but research is more so. I'm already dreaming of the day when I'll be done with classes and can just do research. 

Speaking of research... When it comes to academics, I'm the type of person who throws themselves head first into a subject without looking back. If I could have signed up as a physics major before starting classes at Hendrix, I would have. I wasn't entirely sure what physics as a whole would entail, but I knew I wanted to major in it. I've no experience in the realm of biophysics, but I know that's the area I want to get my doctorate in.  I've meet with one the professors here already about research-- and now I have a textbook and tons of papers to read, which is exciting! 

It's almost November and it's crazy just how quickly the semester has flown by. It reminds me of my freshmen year in undergrad-- I feel like I blinked and it was Christmas. Not that I'm complaining-- I can't wait to go home for Christmas, see my family and my cats! 

I'm going to wrap this odd, slightly rambling?, post up by promising to post again soon. I felt like a brief update was warranted. Next time, I'll talk about the struggles and excitement of moving to a new city and starting over. 

See you then! 

A Tale of Two Graduates : What You Need to Know About Me

Check out Dave's first post here!

And the award for the longest title goes to me!

A couple of weeks ago, my friend Dave eagerly approached me with this idea of a joint blog series where we depict two paths which diverge after college graduation. Him, entering the workforce. Me, entering graduate school.

The hopes are to provide dubious advice by telling our story, our attempt to enter the real world-- or perhaps just to entertain you. But before that can happen, you need a little backstory! And since Dave seems intent of drudging up bad photos from freshman year, that's where I'll start.

((I actually have a whole treasure trove of worse photos but I'll be nice and just leave you with this Dr. Who watching party :))

Dave and I met pretty early on freshman year. From day one, we were confident in what we wanted to do. I wanted to get a bachelors in physics, minoring in French, and then go on to graduate school (for astrophysics at the time), and Dave wanted to get a bachelors in history.

Why physics?

I was tempted to cut and paste my personal letter from my graduate school applications where I addressed that same question but I think I'll just sum it up in two words: Star Trek. I was introduced to Star Trek when I was in middle school and quickly became enamored with their romantic portrayal of space and science. I decided I wanted to go into astrophysics-- a title I stumbled across on Wikipedia. I wasn't entire sure what 'physics' was, but I knew that I needed to get a degree in it first, before I could move on to astrophysics.

And that's pretty much how I found myself at my first physics class on the first day of classes at Hendrix. I wasn't entirely sure what I had signed up for, but I knew I wanted to major in physics.

Luckily for me, I loved physics! Literally I was sitting in a general physics lab (background: aka known as some of the most boring labs) timing a ball dropping from a height and I was so taken with the determinism of it all. Give me enough parameters and I could tell you exactly when the ball was going to hit the ground, without actually dropping the ball-- and that, oddly enough, was what made me believe that maybe this whole physics major thing would work out.

A year later I was in yet another lab (background: these were the really cool labs) measuring the charge of an electron, a fundamental property of the universe. I was definitely hooked. :)

My Plan

So, four years and one degree down, I find myself studying at the University of Missouri on a five-year track to get both a master's and a PhD in physics. Now, if we look briefly at the financial side of my plan, I'll tell you straight up that I've been incredibly lucky.

Since I'm from Arkansas, I received some really awesome scholarships if I went to college instate (which I did). Paired with some generous donors at Hendrix meant that I got out of undergraduate debt free (I know! I'm very lucky).

In most physics graduate programs you work for the university while studying, and they pay you. This means that I'll be teaching three intro physics labs this semester and in return will be paid enough to cover my expenses (and hopefully put a little into savings!). Not all graduate programs have such a generous stipend. Some graduate programs have you teaching actual classes (like English 101) while a grad student which to me just sounds crazy. I'm not at all ready to teach general physics to undergraduates!

That's it!

That's me! The major challenges I have up a head are mainly in the realm of time managment; with three courses to keep up with (which is a challenge!), and three labs to teach, making time to keep sane/do laundry will be interesting!

Thanks so much for checking this out! Dave and I will (hopefully) put out a new post every Monday so check his blog next Monday and then come back here the following Monday to hear more!

An Upcycled Loveseat

Next up on my search for furniture was a loveseat. My apartment isn't the largest, so I opted for a smaller loveseat rather than a couch. At first, I figured this was something that I would just have to buy new. After all, loveseats from the thrift store conjure up all sorts of bad imagery.

However, after seeing the price of loveseats today, I decided to consider a secondhand loveseat. The cheapest loveseat I could find new was around 350-- and I didn't love it, just the price.

But where could I find a decent, clean, affordable loveseat? A co-worker recently raved to my mother about this thrift store she had found in a nearby town. She got some great pieces for even better prices, so we headed to check it out.

And we hit jackpot. My entire apartment was like 80% furnished by this one thrift store (or antique mall; I use the words interchangeably, though I know for some people they mean very different things. This place was clean and organized (not like a thrift store) and had quality pieces (like an antique mall) but for thrift store prices (see my confusion?)).

I found this adorable loveseat tucked away by the front window. It was small-- two cushions wide rather than three-- but lovely. It had a yellowish cream damask fabric that I wasn't loving, but it was for the most part clean and without stains. The cute wood feet hinted at the age of the loveseat.

I plopped down on the loveseat and promptly found my first problem-- it needed a new cushion; it had so much give I figured the cushion was just shot. Also, the fabric wasn't the color or pattern (or century) that I wanted and reupholstering isn't cheap. I figured it was a lost cause until I saw the price. 86 dollars!

86 was a steal for the loveseat. It was in great condition (no smell and only one small stain), even with the thin cushion. If I needed to, I could've used it as is. But with that price, I had room in my budget to update it and still come in less than a new loveseat.

Here's where I lucked out-- my father knows a guy. He owns an upholstery shop called Trumann's Upholstery in Bay, Arkansas. Trumann is small town and Bay is an even smaller town, barely a wide spot in the road, near mine. It's a rundown old white brick building with absolutely no signs anywhere. Every time we drive there we're leaving Bay before we realize we missed it.

Bubby (that's his name. For real. It's great) has been in the upholstery business nearly his whole life-- and if you stop by you're guaranteed to hear at least a part of his story. Most likely he'll start in the middle and leave you trying to puzzle the stories together. The shop itself must break every fire code ever written. The front portion has every square foot covered with the bones of old furniture and dusty fabric to the point that you can't even walk in. Instead you have to go to the unmarked white door to the workshop and walk in. The workshop isn't much better-- there is a thin path, one person wide, carved out between work stations and projects.

He also doesn't really quote prices, he just assures you it won't be much (and it never is!). When we brought the loveseat to him we still didn't have fabric. Upholstery fabric can run 20 a yard and we didn't know how many yards we would need. Bubby was able to tell us the age of our loveseat-- it was made either in the 1940s or 1950s, judging from the way it was constructed. Also, that cushion I thought need to be replaced? It was down feathers! This loveseat was quite fancy back in its day-- instead of a foam cushion, they had a large pillow that was full of down feathers.

Bubby estimated it would take 8 yards of fabric-- which is also how he prices the work. The work he estimated would run around $240, still making the loveseat less than the new ones (which are found in big box stores that mostly certain do not have the history mine has;)). I explained how I was looking for some neutral color, not too dark, but not light enough to show stains. He dug around in his shop and pulled out a huge bolt of light green/grey fabric, which he graciously threw in for free. ((Perks of knowing the right guy!))

This brought my loveseat up to 326, all in. Bubby added a zipper to the main cushion, stuffed it with some batting to make it super comfy, made arm covers, and made two little pillows, as I had mentioned wanting some.

It turned out great! The new fabric is gorgeous and it looked great. Not only that, but the extra batting in the cushion makes it perfectly comfortable. It'll look great in my apartment. :)

I originally titled this post "DIY loveseat" but then I realized I didn't do really anything-- I had a professional do it instead. Seat cushions are one thing-- an entire loveseat is way out of my crafting league.

Anyway, just wanted to share my story! Apparently it is possible to shop for couches at the thrift store and not end up with a smelly/stained/awful mess.

Thanks for reading!

DIY: Upcycled Thrift Store Chairs

This summer I've been browsing through flea markets, searching antique malls, and hitting up local thrift stores all in search of apartment furnishings. There are plenty of old tables out there, but most of them don't come with chairs decked out in the most modern fabrics.  

My parents found this old wood dinning table with four chairs for a great price. The only problem was the seat fabric wasn't really what I wanted for my apartment.

 As you can see the fabric isn't really bad, it's just a little outdated and not the color I was looking for. As I'm living in what's technically a 'basement' apartment I'm trying to bring in bright colors whenever I can.

This type of chair is the easiest type of chair to recover. The seat, after a little unscrewing, just pops off, allowing you to strip the fabric and staple on the new.

Which is exactly what we planned on doing! To pick out my fabric, I headed to Hancock's Fabric, armed with a 50% one fabric item coupon. Turned out I didn't need it. I perused the clearance rack and stumbled upon a couple yards of fabric that I thought would be just right.

And for 5 dollars a yard, it was a steal! Most upholstery fabric retails for closer to 20 a yard. There was four yards in the clearance section-- which was more than enough for the four chairs.

I thought if I covered the chairs with this, I could go back and do bright yellow/blue pillows on my couch for even more color.

Now comes the fun part!

Step One:

Unscrew the seat. There should be four screws, one in each corner. Once they are out, the seat will just pop right off. 

 

Step Two:

Strip the old fabric off. Most likely it was stapled onto the seat, so just pull the staples off and the fabric should fall off as well. This isn't a necessary step-- you could leave the old fabric on and use that as a little extra cushion.

Step Three:

If desired, add more more cushion to the chair. You can do this by buying some batting at a fabric store, then using the seat to cut it to size. Make sure to cut it large enough that you can wrap it around the back of the seat in order to staple it.

Using a staple gun, staple along the edge to adhere the batting. Then, fold the corners and staple them down as well. The corners require a little trial and error to figure out which fold works best.

One way to fold the corner is to pull the sides in, leaving a top flap, and then pulling the top flap down, stapling it, and then cutting any excess off.

[[As a side note, my first assignment in computer science 101 last fall was to write down how to fold an origami owl using only words. I thought it was an interesting assignment-- I got style points for my LOTR reference, but when my roommate tried to follow my directions, the resulting blob of paper looked more like a mishapened creature of the dark rather than a cute owl. This flashback brought to you by the batting description ;)]]

Step Four:

Next up, the fabric! You're going to do the same procedure as with the batting-- use the seat to trace out how much fabric to cut, allowing a good 3 or more inches on either side to pull over. Once you've done one seat, you'll see how much excess you really need. For the first seat be sure to err on the side of caution and cut out a large square of fabric.

Note: Be sure not to cover up the screw holes in the bottom of the seat with your new fabric. If you accidentally do, then just take scissors and dig the holes out so that you can properly reattach the seat.

Step Five:

Now, just pop your seat back onto the chair and screw it back in. You're done! You've transformed a dusty old chair into a hip new one. 

((I'll post a close up later when I got home! I'm blogging from the road today and this is the only 'after' photo I could find)) 

EDIT: here you go!

As always, thanks for reading! And be sure to stay tuned-- I have some fun posts coming up including more up cycled furniture and possibly a collaboration! 

The Move: stage 1

Last Tuesday night I began to process of packing up all my stuff for the first stage of my move to Columbia. Since my lease began earlier than I wanted to move to Columbia, I thought I would make the move in two parts-- which also allowed us to use a small U-Haul for part one and then just load up the car for part two.

 

I wish I had taken a photo of the inside of the U-Haul! I think my dad broke some world record as he Tetris-ed a desk, a dinning room table (with two removable legs), 5 chairs, a coffee table, a tv-table, a twin mattress, a twin box springs, a huge dresser, a shower rod, a curtain rod, two small bookcases, and a lot of packed, heavy boxes all into that small trailer! Suffice it to say, when we were done, the trailer had reached maximum capacity.  

And that's not even all my stuff. 

Still to go are all of my clothes/shoes/tv/love seat (which will get its own post soon!)/crafting supplies/misc. But those will all fit between the two cars we'll take up for my final move-in to Columbia. 

We took the long way up to Columbia-- we wanted to stop at a flea market/antique mall an hour or so outside of St. Louis. This route took us through my favorite national forest-- the Mark Twain National Forest where we stopped for a quick picnic lunch at an old abandoned town-turned park. Unfortunately, this route also took us through the bedlam that is St. Louis ten-lane traffic (I wasn't driving so maybe there were less lanes but it sure didn't feel like it) so this isn't a route I would take up myself. Which is sad because I love any opportunity to visit my favorite national forest.

The flea market stop was successful and I picked up a huge four drawer well-loved dresser (pictures later!).

After 8 hours, and as many stops, we finally arrived in Columbia and set about the very fun task of moving every piece of furniture into my semi-basement apartment.

Here's the before picture of my living/dining room area! Note the fireplace on the left wall :) The space is huge! More than enough room for me.

It was surreal to get keys to my very first real-world-non-Hendrix-off-campus apartment! The complex I'm in is very nice. Not only is it pet-friendly but it has a lot of security, which is great. It's a short drive from campus. If all goes well, I should be able to park at my church and walk the short distance to the physics building!

Flea Market Finds:

I thought I would share just a couple of the furnishings I got from scouring dusty flea markets/over-stuffed antique malls.

Isn't this cute? I found it when we stopped to get a dresser from a flea market outside of Farmington, which is close to St. Louis. It's funky and when I saw it I realized my search for a nightstand was over! It's solid wood with a leather top and two functional drawers. For those playing along at home, this piece was around 40 dollars. I probably could've bought a cheaper nightstand but it would have been cheaper materials. For what I'm getting, this piece is a better buy for me. 

While we were in Columbia we headed a mile or so out of town to visit the plethora of antique stores/flea markets that surround the city. I'll write a more detailed post about the stores but I wanted to share a great find.

We were browsing through the many stalls at a place called Veranda Antique Mall when I found a tub of hand-crafted photo mats! The map mat above really accents my photo of Big Ben. And the total cost?

Mat : 5

Frame at Hobby Lobby : 3.60 (use the 40% off coupon!)

Photo : 2.84

Total : 11.44 for a personal, gorgeous wall hanging 

This was another mat I picked up at the antique mall. It's hand-crafted and cost only 2.50! The total cost for this wall hanging was just over five dollars!

I love how the colors complete this photo of my roomeis and I :) It's going to be a change, to say the least, to live on my own as I have been spoiled with amazing roommates. 

Here's a panoramic of the almost-finished living/dining room! Fun story, that isn't my couch. As we were pursuing the antique malls, my parents stumbled upon this antique love seat that was in great condition. The fabric is in pristine condition-- with fabric on the back of the love seat as well, which meant it was pretty spiffy back in its time. When they saw the price of 48 dollars they were sold. Unfortunately, it wouldn't fit in the car on the way back home while still leaving room for me. So, it's hanging out in my apartment until I make my final move up in a few weeks when my parents will drop off my love seat and pick up theirs.

That's it! I still have the love seat to put in the apartment and a lot of decorating to do. But, for now I'm just going to enjoy the last two weeks of my (possibly very last!) summer before grad school started. I bought two of my textbooks today-- I can't wait to start classical mechanics, quantum mechanics, and math methods (okay maybe I can wait on the math class).  

Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for a couple apartment crafts and flea market adventures!

Change Is Exciting and other lies we tell ourselves

In four short weeks I'll be in Columbia, Missouri starting a PhD program in physics.

I'll be trading the comfortable -- the green, leafy, haven of Hendrix, where all of my friends lived within walking distance -- for the unknown. My friends will be scattered around the US which makes for great road trip opportunities, but not great Friday night Catan/movie/over ambitious baking projects parties I had grown to expect. 

I'll be trading two(four) roommates and spontaneous Batman singing for a lovely one bedroom (with a fireplace! #winning #sorryforthehashing). And hopefully I'll be trading wild party animal neighbors for quiet, friendly neighbors. The will-there-be-vomit-on-the-stairs-today? game got old fast. 

I said goodbye to the physics professors who introduced me to the wonders of the universe -- my graduate application essay referenced that one lab sophomore year where we measured the charge of an electron, a fundamental property of the universe. I'll go from tutoring maybe one student a month in physics to teaching an entire general physics lab (by myself!). 

We tell ourselves change is exciting -- but it's not. 

I'm a creature of habit; I like my routines, as dreadfully boring as that sounds. Change is scary and annoying and wouldn't life just be better if it didn't exist?

But of course if there was no change, then I would have never gone to Hendrix and had the amazing time that I did. And I have a feeling that the University of Missouri will be much the same -- a nerve-wracking start that leads to a great time. 

Change sucks, but it can lead to some awesome things, awesome things that become clear once the chaos of moving settles down and new routines are established ((okay okay I think we can all agree that I'm basically 80)). 

I just wanted a brief moment to rant and rave before the adventure starts and I forget why I was ever stressed. ((Sounds ridiculous but that is what happened when I went off to college)) 

This summer has been spent scouring flea markets and antique malls and everything in between to furnish my new apartment. I found some great deals that I can't wait to share with you once everything's moved in and organized. 

Another thing you can look forward to are cooking blogs, as I'll be entirely in charge of my food. No cafeteria cooking and cleaning for me, no fresh fruit already cut for me in the morning. Man the real world is hard; I already miss the sandwich line at Hendrix...

As always, thanks for reading :)

6 Things You Realize Senior Year

Warning: Entirely Sappy, Cheesy, and Nostalgic words ahead.


1. Holy Cow It's Almost Over
If you're like me, you have a blog that records all the foolish things you said freshman year, including but not limited to: "oh no! It's Christmas break! I won't get to see my friends for an entire month!".
 
Yeah. Past me? One month is no big deal. Four weeks compared with the foreseeable future? You had nothing to complain about.

Denial runs pretty thick senior year; it still hasn't fully hit me that in a couple very short days, I will be saying goodbye to all the amazing friends that I have made here. Luckily with Skype, Google+ hanging-outs, and road trips, I know that we will all keep in contact. Still, I know that I will never live within a 5-min walk of almost all my friends again; that is a peculiarity known only to college.

2. Wait, there's no cafeteria in the real world?
Next year, one of the hardest adjustments (and believe me there is a long list) will be going from only cooking a meal or so a week to cooking every single meal I eat. I've been tremendously spoiled here at Hendrix; our caf has literally won awards for the quality of food. And while, after four years, some of the dishes have grown old, I will sorely miss both having meals already cooked for me and having all the dishes done for me.

3. Dreams don't necessary come true
"You can do everything right and still lose. That's not fair, that's life."
A friend recently posted that on Facebook, and I've been repeating it every since. As everyone knows, hard work doesn't always pay off. I had a rough graduate admissions season-- I worked very hard, crafted what I thought was the perfect resume and cover letter-- and then proceeded to get rejected from almost every school I applied to. Luckily I struck gold on one of my applications-- they contacted me to accept me even before my application was officially complete.

Which, coincidentally, is why I'm proud to say I'm attending the University of Missouri this fall to start the long, arduous process of getting a PhD in Biophysics.

For those playing along at home, you might be wondering whatever happened to my dreams of astrophysics? Around my junior year, I began to realize that what I wanted most out of my career was the ability to help people, to somehow actively strive to make their lives better. I had briefly toyed with the idea of going into medicine, but with my lack of med school pre-requestite classes that was never a serious option. However, I realized that there was a way to marry my love of physics and desire to help others: biophysics.

4. Liberal arts education is not the norm
These past four years have been a wonderful amalgamation of courses in physics, french, English, history, mythology, and more. I didn't come to Hendrix because it was a liberal arts college-- quite honestly I didn't know what that even meant.

What that meant was that while my friends at other universities had schedules weighed down with only math/science courses, I took courses in Classical Mythology, History of Medieval Europe, Minimalist French Literature, Intro to Film Studies, and many others. Heck, I took an entire semester away from math and science and only studied the French language.

That breadth of academia will be gone next year as I enter a very focused physics program. And while I adore physics, I will miss the opportunities I've enjoyed here.

5. When Panera does Bagel Tuesday, hop on that
But for real though. That's an awesome deal. ((Baker's dozen for like seven dollars))
While perhaps the least deep revelation here, I felt the need to mention that recently my breakfasts have been brought to you by the wonderful world of Panera.

6. How easy it is to forgot about your blog
I might have forgotten to post this entire semester.....I wish I could say life got in the way, which it did, but still I always had something that I could've written about. My new resolution is to try and blog this summer (perhaps once a week? I have an overload of opinions, so writing opinion pieces would be easy to do). 

And that's it!

As graduation draws closer and closer it's hard not to label everything we do as "the last time". The last Sundae Thursday, the last game of Catan, the last hike, the last coffee shop visit. In a couple days I'll be saying goodbye to this beautiful campus which has become a home and my friends who have become like family.

Women in Physics

This past weekend a couple other Hendrix students and I headed to Ole Miss for the Southern Undergraduate Women in Physics conference. ((Think that's a mouthful? Try the acronym! SUWiP. Yeah. Catchy.))

Having a conference solely for women in physics might sound a bit odd, until you look at the numbers. Recently a university emailed me to check out their physics graduate program. They boasted a relatively large number of female students-- almost 20%!

20%. That means the student body is 80% male. And that's supposed a number that they want to brag about? That describes, in a nutshell, why there is an entire conference whose purpose is to encourage women to study physics.

There are cautionary tales of sexism women face in pursuit of the sciences. Personally, while I have been told I'm unable to do plenty of things because I'm a woman, physics has never been on the list.

However, physics is still lagging far behind the other sciences, which are getting closer to the 50%-50% gender ratio.

I've never cared or really noticed that I was in the minority in my physics classes, being a woman. Though that tells you sometime-- I've come to fully expect to be in male-dominated classes, so it is no surprise when that is true. The only instance where I've ever been really frustrated with the lack of other female students was when I was trying to make assertations about the way society views female physics students.

You see, whenever I tell a stranger that I'm a physics major they typically respond with two emotions: shock and awe. Awe is too strong of a word, but you get the idea, right? Here's a typical interaction.

Them : "So what do you study?"
Me: "Oh I'm a physics major."
Them: "Wow! Physics! Man, I could never do that. It's so hard. You must be so smart!"

Which is not true, but that's a topic for another post. Anyway, it was only after a couple years that I began to really analyze the typical response. While there is the whole "you must be super smart" which, once again, needs to be delegated to its own personal post about societal perceptions of science, there is always an element of surprise.

As a scientist-- or rather, as a rational human being-- I can't just jump to any conclusions. I can't declare 'oh they must be so surprised because I'm a woman! They must not expect me to be into the sciences'. While this might be true, there are too many other plausible answers. Perhaps they don't meet many physics majors-- and would respond with the same level of shock if a guy told them he was a physics major.

To try and ascertain if my gender actually did play a role in peoples' responses, I turned to other female physics majors.

Oh wait.

 There's only one in my grade besides me-- and she's a physics/English double major, which skews the results. Peoples' response could be due to the duel major or just the English part-- I have no way of knowing how people perceive just her role in physics.

Out of the eight senior physics majors, two are female. Could be worse, but it could be better. There are three female physics majors in the class below me, but there are also a lot more male physics majors.

The purpose of the conference was to encourage those still on the fence about physics, hoping to trickle the numbers so that eventually schools will be graduating a physics class that is half male, half female. Of course, we really need to talk about science education starting even younger than college freshman-- somewhere in elementary school girls start dropping out of the sciences.

But that's a topic for another time! I've already put off application work long enough. I only have two more graduate schools to apply to but I need to go and actually apply.

Thanks for reading! :)

DIY Watercolor Mugs

Do you remember the water marbling nail craze? I was in high school when it was most popular, and never was able to pull the technique off on my nails. It was fickle and wasn't worth the effort, as I knew my nails would chip in a day or two regardless.

However, a couple weeks ago, I stumbled onto a DIY which put the water marbling technique to great use on a surprising subject-- mugs!

While I loved the idea, I was worried that water marbling mugs would be just as difficult as my failed-nail attempts. After all, the finished product looked gorgeous-- and anything that looks that cool had to be impossibly hard, right?

Wrong! I was happy to find that water marbling mugs was delightfully straight forward. In less than 10 minutes you can have a beautiful watercolor-inspired mug!

What you'll be making:

 

What you need:

• A mug. I like using white mugs, so the color shows better, but they can be a little tricky to find. I've had luck at Walmart and various thrift stores.
• Nail polish. For the color to show up, you need a really vibrant polish. Not all nail polish works-- it takes a little trial and error. For me, as long as the polish is really colorful it works.
• Dishwasher safe Mod Podge. This is the most difficult product to find, but essential if you want your mug to be dishwasher safe. If you skip this step, the design might come off, even if you just hand wash the mug.
• Plastic basin to do your marbling in. I used an old tubberware container. Just make sure that the container is big enough to dip the mug into. 

That's it! Like I said, the dishwasher safe Mod Podge is a bit tricky to find-- Hobby Lobby doesn't carry it, but Michael's does (unfortunately I don't live near a Michael's and had to buy mine online at Overstock.com).

Step One:

Fill your plastic container with warm water from the sink. It doesn't have to be hot, but the warm temperature will help keep the polish from setting too quickly.

Step Two:

 Pour a little nail polish into the container. It should spread out over the surface of the water. It won't look too dark-- and that's okay. It will take a little trial and error to see how much polish you need; obviously the more your pour into the water, the darker the final result will be. For a reference point, I didn't use a lot of nail polish for the mugs pictured here.

Step Three:

Working quickly, so the polish doesn't dry and set into a unusable film, dip your mug into the water. Some nail polishes set quicker than others. If you wait too long, the polish will become a hard film on top of your water and won't adhere to the mug properly. I don't have a picture for this step because I was too worried the polish would set while I was messing with my phone.
It's hard to anticipate exactly how the polish will go onto the mug, which for me is part of the fun. Experiment with different angles and different depths until you find a result you like. If you don't like your mug-- or if the polish gets too close to where you'll be putting your mouth-- simply use nail polish remover to take the design off and try again.

Step Four:

Now it's time for Mod Podge! While this dishwasher safe Mod Podge is non-toxic, it is not food safe. This means that you need to keep the Mod Podge away from where the drink/your lips will be going. I used painter's tape to tape off about an inch around the top of the mug to keep the mod podge from going there.

The Mod Podge container recommends 2-3 coats, allowing a couple hours in between coats for it to dry. Before you seal the mug you can use sharpies to decorate it further//write a quote///whatever your crafty heart desires.

The container also recommends waiting 28 days before washing the mug. This obviously is just a suggestion-- if you just must use the mug before then, you should probably gently hand wash it, avoiding the design if at all possible.

I've heard positive reviews of the dishwasher safe Mod Podge, but I'll be sure to write an update in a month or so to let you know how the mugs are holding up! 

Exciting News!

I just opened an Etsy shop! If you love these mugs, but don't want to buy the materials and make them yourself, please click here to check out my mugs. :) 

Thanks so much for reading! I really enjoyed this craft; I'm off to make some more mugs.

Be sure to check back; I have a least one more sewing craft up my sleeves before the semester starts!

2014 Book List

Last year I constructed a 2013 book list, populated mainly by books I read while over in France. I thought I would continue this trend this year!

To call it a 2014 book list is slightly misleading, these are mainly books I've read since August of this year. As I have a good number of very talented English-major friends, I'm staying far away from critical reviews or academic insight of these books. Mainly I just want to share some great books I've enjoyed recently, and try to convince you to read some if you haven't already. If I magically convince you to read one of these novels please tell me so I can earn bragging rights, as that is not a feat I believe I've ever accomplished before.

 

The Awakening by Kate Chopin

8 out of 10

I found this title on a book list I wrote on my phone ages ago, I'm not sure where I heard about it. It's a short novel written during the turn of the century. It tells the struggle of one women as she tries to reconcile herself with her role in society as a woman. I loved how Chopin portrayed the main character as she chafes under restricting societal norms, as she searches for love and happiness, while trying to define what those things mean to her. It was surprisingly interesting, given that early 1900s literature isn't my forte.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

9.5 out of 10 

I finally broke down and read this classic, mostly because I felt like I should. However, from the first page I was hooked and really enjoyed the novel. Not only was it surprisingly funny in parts, the characters were fully fleshed out, and the story was captivating. It also breaks the glass on some of those cutsy love quotes you see on Pinterest taken from this novel, which turn out to have not so cutsy back stories.

The Faithful Place by Tana French

10 out of 10

I am in love with this author. If I wrote fan mail, I would send her letters, gushing about how much I adore her writing. She writes detective mysteries set in Dublin, Ireland, and is well known for her skill in character development. On top of multidimensional characters, her plots are twisting and haunting. Throw in her poetic skill with words and you'll see why I read anything that she writes. This is actually the 3rd book in a (loosely associated) series. While you can read them out of order, you should probably start with Into the Woods first, which is one of my all time favorite novels.

American Gods by Neil Gaimen

8.5  out of 10

Another classic, though not in the same sense as Wuthering Heights. American Gods is a classic, as it has influenced the entire genre of modern magic novels. This novel twist to magic and mythology was captivating from page one. Gaimen is already a giant in literature, and this book proves why. The main character was likeable and easy to root for, which is something I always love in a book. 

 

Neverwhere by Neil Gaimen

8 out of 10

This is the first Gaimen book I've read and I loved it. It's a fascinating story set in London featuring a really unique modern day magic system. It's not as well known as American Gods, and is not as massive in its undertaking, but I really enjoyed this little book.

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

7 out of 10

Guaranteed by Buzzfeed to change my life, I pinned this title on Pinterest and finally got around to reading it. This light sci-fi novel is written like a memoir, a style that I was not expecting. It portrays one woman's life in a future with a dsytopian sheen; not all encompassing like 1984, but the type of dsytopian which does such a good job of passing itself off as normal you almost don't see it. After reading the novel I spent the better part of an hour ranting and raving to my poor roommates; it's a good, but frustrating novel.

Shades of Milk and Honey by Kowal

6.5 out of 10

I'm pretty sure that this novel was recommended in one of Hank Green's vlogs. It's a light fantasy set in Victorian England. While the magic system set up is quite unique, I went away feeling like I had read a watered down Jane Austen novel. The main love interests could easily be plotted on a Darcy at the beginning of Pride and Prejudice vs Darcy at the end of the novel graph. All of their main characteristics being traced back to classical underpinnings, like the close connection between the Darcy-look-a-like and his sister; or the gruff, arrogant demeanor of Darcy-look-a-like-number-2. It felt a little artless at times-- which isn't a fatal flaw, I just wanted a bit more poetry in the words. Regardless, it was a fun, short read.

Don't Breathe A Word by McMahon

6 out of 10

I found this title on Pinterest, promised some high title like best books of 2014! or best mystery books ever, as per usual on Pinterest. This book is a quick modern fantasy read. The plot seems straight forward at first, but the more you read, the more convoluted and twisting everything becomes. Allegiances shift with every page until you don't know who is real, and who you can trust. That part I felt was done well. The reason why it has such a low rating, then, is because towards the end the plot reached critical capacities of convoluted-ness. I'm still not entirely sure what happened on a couple plot points. At the end the novel began to resemble Dreams and Shadows by Cargill mainly in the surprising dark and hopeless events. Even if I'm still bitter at the ending, it was a page-turner, and worth the read. 

So that's it! Just a little list of some great books that I've enjoyed reading. I hope that maybe I've inspired you to pick up one of these novels. If so, I would love to hear what you thought about it! 

Thanks for reading, and be sure to check back to see more crafting adventures!

DIY Crayon Lipstick

What? I'm still alive?

I know it has been months since I have last posted here. I couldn't think of a creative way to convey how much physics homework I was buried beneath, and since that's basically what my life  has been like this past semester, I haven't written a post.

Now that it is officially the Christmas holidays, I have more time to get back to crafting! Most of my crafts have been Christmas gifts, thus the continued lack of posts. But today I did a quick DIY which thus far I don't plan on gifting out.

All you need is some crayons, some Vaseline, olive oil, and in less than 10 minutes (or at least, that was the plan) you can have a customized colored chapstick/lipstick!

Most people use coconut oil and if you happen to have that then go ahead and substitute that in. I do not own coconut oil, and it's too expensive to pick up for this craft, so I just grabbed my handy-dandy Vaseline. ((Okay, technically it was my lovely mother's handy-dandy Vaseline that she lent me))

Can we just take a second to appreciate the little photo set-up I have going here? I took advantage of the light that was temperamentally streaming through my window, and grabbed some white paper to reflect the light onto my subjects.

I decided to go the normal route, and grabbed a red make my lipstick. I didn't want my lipstick to be too blood-red dramatic, so I grabbed a pink crayon to soften the color.

I used two inches of red crayon and one inch or pink crayon.

Tip: Use disposable everything. Cut the crayons with a plastic knife, put them in a disposable (but microwaveable safe) bowl. You don't have to, but this will make your life better. Crayons have a nasty habit to sticking to something-- say a knife edge-- and never letting go, which makes clean up a mess.

I ended up using (after much trial and error) 1 1/4 teaspoons of Vaseline and probably 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil with my crayons.

Put your crayon pieces,Vaseline, and olive oil, in a microwavable safe bowl and start to microwave. I did 30 second intervals. I read one tutorial which said only do 5 second intervals or your mixture will explode. They must have been working with a restaurant grade microwave because my little microwave took much longer to melt the crayons. It took me maybe 5-6 minutes for my crayons to finally melt.

Another way to melt your mixture is set up a double broiler (just put a bowl over some boiling water on the stove). I never have much patience to set up a double broiler, so I stuck to my microwave.

Every 30 seconds I used toothpicks to mix up my slowly melting crayons.

The hardest part of this craft is finding the right crayon:Vaseline:olive oil ratio. I first made a batch using 1/4 teaspoon per inch of crayon and no olive oil. This seemed to work fine, but after sitting on the counter for five minutes the mixture was hard and unusable. Since I had used the last of my Vaseline in this attempt, my craft was put on hold until I bought some more Vaseline.

I reheated my last attempt and threw in more Vaseline and slowly poured in some olive oil. The olive oil seemed to help liquify the crayon mixture. Also, it feels great on your lips, even if I began to feel like a rotisserie chicken ready to be broiled after slathering the mixture onto my lips.

Once you've heated your mixture until it is liquid, pour it into a small container.

And the award for the sketchiest chapstick container goes to me for this pill container I picked up at Dollar Tree.

Hey. Whatever works, right? I twisted off the top container and it looks like a perfectly normal little chapstick holder.

Et, volia!

I put some on my hand to make sure that I had not diluted the color too much with all my Vaseline and olive oil. I like the color! It turned out more vibrant than I had expected. It goes on the lips quite smoothly, thank you olive oil.

This craft is great for make Halloween/stage makeup where you need odd colored lipstick. As far as safety goes, as long as you don't wear this everyday you'll be fine. This definitely won't replace any cheap lipstick I buy at the drugstore, as it is annoying and messy. However, if you want weird/cheap colors for costumes, this is a fun craft which actually works.

I have a couple more crafts in the works, so be sure to check back!

Thanks for reading :)