Mercenary Science, Inc.

"Ma'am, we don't recommend dismounting."

2008-06-27T13:50:00.000-07:00

Having my sister in Seattle was both helpful (on the moving front) and fun (on the everything-else front). It was also incredibly nice to have my parents there to help pack the ReloCube -- my dad is a pro at securing weird-shaped things into the smallest amount of space possible, and my stepmom derives a weird amount of joy from fitting things inside of other things (the thought of purchasing her a really elaborate set of matryoshka has crossed my mind).

I managed to graduate with Full College Honors and with my American Chemical Society certification intact; I even ended up with good marks for last quarter. Then I moved. Then I got a job (sort of -- I don't actually start until August). Then I applied for graduate school at Hopkins. Excitement!

The last person to live in my house here in Baltimore was apparently an indoor smoker, because there was kind of a grimy film over everything. A cleaning crew has allegedly been here, but you really wouldn't know it -- Matt and I put in 53 hours worth of cleaning (including the time I spent stripping and re-caulking the tub, which was desperately needed). I still have a couple of sets of blinds left to take down and scrub. Ick. I do not, have never, and now definitely won't ever smoke inside my house/apartment/abode. It's now much cleaner here and the extra space is nice; we're also negotiating some compensation for all the work. If our landlord wants to contract me to re-grout and/or remove the ridiculous popcorn ceiling in the kitchen, I am totally down for that also.

Today's task was fixing the garbage disposal. Gross. The drain's been slow all week, but it finally stopped earlier today after Matt dumped a pot of old coffee down. I was definitely not aware of the key socket in the base of those things until I called the In-sink-erator help line out of frustration. However, it is clear now and actually works when the switch is flipped (the wiring is another project altogether). I win.

Symposing

2008-05-16T11:12:00.001-07:00

I'm presenting at the Undergraduate Research Symposium here today for the third and final time. Oh, the memories.

It's too nice outside for school.

My sister is coming to stay with me for a few weeks soon. I'm excited. I probably won't be very much fun with all of the lab writing/studying I need to do to graduate, but it'll be nice having her around. She gets me. I could also really use the help packing -- the boxes I ordered have arrived and I am again realizing that I have too much stuff, even after having dramatically thinned the herd since Christmas. Why is it so easy to accumulate things I don't need?

I had a TB test placed last week that came back inconclusive and was seriously scaring me. I had another one placed on Tuesday, and I just had it read -- negative. So, good. I am not in imminent danger of being carried off by the galloping consumption and can still do my student teaching in Philly this summer.

I broke an $85 quartz cuvette on Monday, which I will have to pay for out-of-pocket. That put me over the edge: physical chemistry laboratory is my absolute least favorite class of my entire college career. I had been waffling between this class and my debate course a couple of years ago, but there really is only one choice. The combination of thirty-to-sixty-page lab writeups of inane, irrelevant experiments and exorbitantly expensive, breakable equipment has reached Terminal Lameness.

My thesis was approved on Wednesday. Barring any major catastrophes, it looks like I will graduate with my honors degree. Now to finish my classwork. Ugh.

PS: I realize I am being a fussy baby about school. Wah.

Dear diary

2008-05-07T12:32:00.000-07:00

Road to partition function

2008-04-28T21:05:00.000-07:00

Does this look like something you want to understand?

If you answered 'no,' then you and I are in the same boat.

My normally take-no-prisoners immune system has let me down. I am sick this week. Total mouth-breather, really loopy. Unfortunately, I have an exam and a boatload of lab write-ups (as ever) due in the next 48-72 hours. If I actually manage to finish this quarter and get my degree with all its bells and whistles intact, I will be incredulous.

However, while this quarter has not been scholastically thrilling, I've been having/will continue to have more of a life outside it than I usually do. I like having visitors because it gives me a reason to do all the fun touristy things one last time before I move.

And ah, yes, moving...I am seriously, seriously hoping this goes relatively smoothly. I'm going to make my actual moving reservation this week and probably order a packing kit. I sort of hate myself for all the bubble wrap I will inevitably use, but I can imagine my rage in meeting 336 cubic feet of shattered crockery on the other side of this process.

"Those bike cops are sort of like velociraptors."

2008-03-27T19:02:00.000-07:00

WHY IS OBAMA THE KEYNOTE SPEAKER AT THIS YEAR'S NORTH DAKOTA DEM-NPL CONVENTION?! I don't remember who the speaker was when I went in 2004, but it certainly wasn't anyone I liked that intensely. I think it's fabulous that Obama will be appearing, as I'm sure he's very busy and I doubt very much that North Dakota's three electoral votes could ever conceivably end up in his column. He's got a very populist approach to politics, and I think people in North Dakota can appreciate his sincerity if nothing else. If you are 18 or over and still living in ND, consider becoming a delegate. Even if you aren't interested in going to the rest of the convention, you can get a ticket for free and just attend the speech. It was really encouraging for me at that time in my life to find that there are literally thousands of people, even in "conservative" North Dakota (where most people are not, I think, as conservative as they would like to believe), who didn't think I was completely off my rocker for opposing preemptive war.

Yesterday's experiments didn't go. Like, at all. I'm regrouping.

Early morning lab worker, teil zwei

2008-03-26T08:17:00.000-07:00

Monday didn't go so hot. If things aren't off the chain this afternoon, I am going to start panicking.

I've been re-reading Bulfinch's Mythology and learned the origin of that word, panic. I don't know why, but I've always really liked reading about mythology from all over. I even like reading several different accounts of the same myths. It's just very entertaining to me. I suppose it's further indication that I am in fact in the wrong field. Maybe this week is just the powers that be trying to tell me to get out of the lab and hop a flight to some obscure archaeological site in the Holy Land.

I think my kidney hurts.

My grades from winter quarter came back. Thermodynamics was to winter quarter what biochemistry was to fall. At some point in my college career, I got really good at knowing when to cut my losses and focus on the classes I actually understand, so my quarterly and cumulative GPAs are fine. Not that I'm terribly concerned with either so long as I can keep it above the threshold for finishing with Honors. Of course, if my experiment today fails like Monday's, I won't have a thesis, and therefore won't be able to get Honors anyway. I've come to grips with it not being the end of the world, but I think I would be pretty disappointed.

Charles Mudede at The Stranger wrote a kind of amazing article on Vampire Weekend. My own ranting diatribes had mostly focused on their being pretentious, overrated Ivy League snobs, but I think Mudede raises some good points. Plus, using terms like "postcolonialism" and "cultural appropriation" makes the whole argument sound really, really smart and legitimate.

Early morning lab worker

2008-03-24T07:41:00.000-07:00

Greetings. I am in the midst of one of two two-day experiments to be carried out this week. Provided everything goes correctly (knock on Benchkote), it's all that stands between me and being able to complete my thesis. I don't really get a spring break as a result (we're on quarters here so I just finished up finals last week), but it's sooo much easier to do these now rather than trying to work them around my spring quarter schedule.

I've been here every six hours for the past twenty-four and will be staying on through this evening. Even in its new, lesser Zipcar incarnation, Flexcar is still seriously, like, the best thing ever. (Note: I will continue to reference the halcyon days of Flexcar being Flexcar, not Zipcar, indefinitely...$50 late fees? Come on, guys). Rather than taking the bus up from Capitol Hill to the U-District at 6:00 AM on Easter Sunday to walk half a mile onto campus in the rain after a recent string of assaults, I booked an hour with a Honda Civic hybrid for $10.50, drove up, and parked 20 feet away from where I was going. I did the same thing for the 1:00 AM run. Driving in the rain is assuredly less terrifying than being dragged off into the shrubs and bludgeoned.

I had best start labeling my tubes. Happy Easter and/or Spring Break.

"Something something Shawshank Redemption something..."

2008-03-18T15:22:00.001-07:00

Current location: Stumptown

Current occupation: Writing long, long comparative ideology paper

I only feel compelled to blog when I'm procrastinating because I feel overwhelmed, which I think skews my internet presence (such as it is). I don't hate my life or feel bummed out all the time or anything -- I just never feel like blogging when I'm not in quiet crisis mode.

Hank Williams is on the turntable and it's making me think of my dead cowboy grandpa and home. It's funny -- home is often just where I'm not at the moment. When I'm having a tough time here, I miss North Dakota and vice versa.

I do like Seattle, like, 90% of the time. And I do like Hank. And I wish I could have two-stepped with my grandpa.

Standard addition method

2008-02-28T15:03:00.000-08:00

Now is the time of the quarter at which I begin the slow decline into despondence. I was on a really good streak up until recently, feeling all effective and productive in my multitasking existence. I just really dislike the feeling of spinning my wheels, or wasting effort in general. Someday I will move past my deep-seated habit of linking my self-worth directly to efficiency.

Something I suppose I should be happy about, however, is all the wonderful music I've been listening to lately. Some old albums, some new ones, all good ones. I went through this period (is two years really a period?) where I was sort of just hanging out inside my late-90s-indie-pop-loving turtle shell, clutching copies of Very Emergency and Left and Leaving and generally living in fear of the sounds drifting in from outside. Consequently, I missed a lot.

Also, God bless Arrested Development. I've watched every episode more times than I can count and I still love it so very, very much. Hi-larious.

Spin forbidden

2007-11-09T19:24:00.001-08:00

Today I faced yet again the Dilemma of the Ungive-able Compliment: someone behind me on the bus was wearing really nice cologne, but it's never quite right to tell a stranger that he or she smells good.

Another issue I encountered today: I'm already starting to schedule pretty heavily well into the new year, but my planner (which I use religiously -- seriously, I'm a little obsessed with it) ends with 2007. So now I have to carry around two planners for, like, two months of the year. Does that defeat the purpose of buying one-year planners? I was going to just buy another eighteen-monther but they didn't come in Moleskine's special edition red. I effectively chose style over practicality, which is something I strive to minimize. My life is hard.

Also: I have a job lined up for after I graduate. I was pretty pumped to hear that I was acccepted. It's a program I really believe in, but it's going to be a real challenge. However, I already have some very nice folks who have been offering me help. Plus, rent in Baltimore is way more reasonable than here. I'm moving in June. Ask if you'd like details, because I feel a little weird posting personal things on here.

Husky pride?

2007-10-18T21:38:00.000-07:00

There is someone sitting in front of my here in the computer commons wearing what appears to be a UW-themed yarmulke. Like, it's purple and gold. I talked with someone this morning with a purple and gold bowtie -- since things come in threes, I am going to pay really close attention to the accessories the other folks on the bus home tonight are wearing.

I am so bad at studying sometimes. Physical chemistry is not chemistry. I've been tricked into another year of math classes.

I'm also really bad at writing in this thing. So in summer summary (summery?):

Countries visited:
Germany
Poland
Hungary
Czech Republic
Slovakia
Austria
Slovenia
Croatia
Switzerland
France
Netherlands
Denmark
Sweden
Finland

Rounds of PCR performed: like, a million

Bouts of pancreatitis: 1

Freedom isn't free

2007-07-17T11:12:00.000-07:00

...in fact, today it cost me €50. My internal network card decided it no longer wanted to be a part of my life, so I had to purchase a USB-adaptable one. The tech support guy from my ISP was awfully nice. And he spoke English, which I feel probably made the situation far less confusing for both of us.

Two weekends ago some UFZ folks took a day trip to Dresden, which was a lot of fun. I took some sweet photos and saw a bucketful of churches. Then we came back to Leipzig for the Nacht der Offenen Kirchen here and saw what could only be termed an additional bucketful.

This past weekend I was in Heidelberg for a conference for the internship program I'm in hosted by the Deutscher Akademischer Austauchst Dienst. I went on a corporate tour and learned that the German Merck (merck.de) hasn't been the same thing as the American Merck (merck.com) since, like, 1917 and that I'm not a huge fan of Weiβwurst. Friday night was dinner at the Heidelberg Cultural Brewery, Saturday there was a city tour, and later that afternoon some other Leipzig kids and I took off for Basel, Switzerland. Since it's incredibly close to the border, we walked to France (it was Bastille Day, so nothing was open), watched the sunset at the Rhine back in Switzerland, and hopped an overnight train for Salzburg, Austria. Castles, crypts, strudel -- all in all, a good day trip.

In other news, I've also been working.

Since my camera died this weekend, my four-countries-in-24-hours hijincks have not been documented. It was fun, though.

Off ice, but out of the country

2007-06-29T13:56:00.000-07:00

Hello again.

So I was back in Seattle for a few months for Spring Quarter at the University of Washington, but am now in Leipzig, Germany as a research intern at the Helmholtz Umweltforschungszentrum (Environmental Research Center). The project I'm working on is investigating possible remediation (read: cleaning-upping) of a former industrial site nearby which has been contaminated with chloroethenes (read: nasty stuff) due to the shady environmental regulations under the former Communist government. I just started this week, so I'm not too deep into the actual research yet, but the literature and what I've done thus far is pretty engaging.

My German is conversational at best, so being here has been a great exercise in getting my point across while circumventing the use of words I do not know auf Deutsch. I've managed to get the landlord to fix the bathroom light, though, which bodes well.

I'll be posting the first batch of photos later on tonight now that I've got ye olde information superhighway up and running here at my flat and have nothing more productive to do because I am sick. Every time I board an airplane there seems to be someone waiting for me with my next cold. Ick.

The photos, as usual, are here.

I also made a YouTube account so I can post neat videos. So far the only thing exciting enough to warrant this treatment has been the coffee machine at work. I'm moving on up in the world of technology.

Day of Presidents

2007-02-19T00:53:00.000-08:00

Hello, and Happy President's Day! Hopefully everyone will soon be enjoying their federally mandated day off of school. Unless your school observed it on Friday, in which case welcome back from a three-day weekend.

I uploaded my photos from New Zealand at the usual place. Have a look-see if you'd like.

For the most part, I'll probably be signing off of this blog. If and when I go on further adventures, I'll use it some more, but until then I don't think my usual daily life is interesting enough to warrant frequent updates. Maybe photos, though. Also, I'll post the link to the group journal entries Kenny has compiled as soon as I get it.

Thanks for reading -- until next time.

Big White

2007-02-11T23:59:00.000-08:00

What a long and weird trip it's been. Turns out the internet connection at WAISDC is pretty much not worth bothering with unless you want to get up very, very early. Thus, there wasn't any blogging from there. Sorry. I definitely didn't freeze to death, in case anyone was worried by my lack of communication.

After a week of preparations at WAISDC, the five of us headed out into the field for three weeks. I have to write up some kind of reflective journal thing for Kenny, so I'll post that when I'm finished. I was intending on doing a big update from McMurdo, but we were only there for one night -- we lucked out and got on a National Guard rotator flight back to Christchurch the next morning. I was in New Zealand for five days or so and have been back Stateside since. It's been a crazy and amazing few months, but it's good to be home.

The real point of this wasn't to make excuses for not updating earlier. No. The point was to shamelessly advertise the new batch of photos I uploaded to my Picasa account -- they're the highlights of WAIS Divide Camp and being out in the field. I'll be doing my trip through New Zealand separately. Check them out here.

Happy holidays from the future

2006-12-24T20:04:00.000-08:00

You know, since I'm almost a full day ahead of Seattle time while I'm down here.

Our flight out to WAIS has been rescheduled for Wednesday (the 28th). I think we're all getting pretty excited.

The 23rd was McMurdo's town Christmas party, held at the Vehicle Maintenance Facility. There were a ton of people there, and it was a lot of fun. I totally got my picture taken with Santa on a snowmobile. Last night (Christmas Eve) we had Christmas dinner, which was wonderful. I miss home, but Christmas in Mactown has been pretty fun.

I hope everyone enjoys their time off of school (or work) and gets to have a relaxing (and safe) holiday. I might upload some more photos, but my next update (knock on wood) won't be until we get to WAIS, so until then!

Photos!

2006-12-15T19:58:00.000-08:00

I discovered that Picasa has this neat web uploading feature and made an online photo album.

You can see it here: http://picasaweb.google.com/vrpalmer

Preparations for the field

2006-12-13T23:41:00.000-08:00

First off, my apologies for not updating sooner. We've been really busy up until recently here at McMurdo Station, getting supplies together and testing out the radar equipment. Plus, I've been studying for finals. I finished my physics final today (I took it here and Kenny emailed it to my professor), and we're tentatively scheduled to fly to the Went Antarctica Ice Sheet Divide Camp on Monday morning. We'll leave for the deep field (just the five of us) as soon as we can after that.

A quick recap: HC and I went to "Happy Camper School," which is an overnight trip where new Antarcticans go to learn basic survival techniques for out in the field. We made snow walls, pitched the big yellow Antarctic tents (they're called Scott tents), and learned how to use a high-frequency radio. Some Happy Campers before us had made quinzhees, which are hollowed-out snow mounds, and I got to sleep in one. It was surprisingly warm.

Kenny and Donovan safely made it down here five days after we did, and we've just been getting our gear together since then. Everything's almost ready to go, but there are still some last-minute checks to be made on the radar equipment.

Yesterday, Donovan, HC, and I got an amazing opportunity to see some of the sights of Ross Island (where McMurdo is located). We went out with a group of scientists to see the winter-over huts of the great Antarctic explorers Shackleton and Scott, which are still really well preserved even after almost 100 years. They stay in such great condition because the temperature here rarely gets above freezing -- everything seems as if it were left there just recently. On the way, we saw seals, Adélie penguins, and (my pick as a highlight) an emperor penguin! It was by far the most exciting day of my trip so far.

With that, I had better get back to studying for my glaciology exam tomorrow. I'll post some photos of what we've been up to and of all the cool things we saw yesterday on our field trip.

McBrr-do

2006-11-30T01:27:00.000-08:00

We made it! The "ice flight" this morning down to McMurdo Station (head base of the United States Antarctic Program) was delayed a couple of times, but here I am. Qantas even managed to get my bags to me this morning -- I was worried they were going to be waiting for me when I went back through Auckland in February.

Today was a very nice Condition 3 day (Condition 2 entails lower temperatures and decreased visibility among other things, while Condition 1 requires that all personnel not leave the building they're in). The cold here today reminded me a lot of winter in North Dakota -- it's very dry, and with layers definitely not bad at all. We'll see if I'm singing the same tune once we get out into the field in a couple of weeks.

Living arrangements in McMurdo remind me of a typical college dorm. It's quite nice, actually.

Tomorrow morning, I am starting on a two-day overnight snow survival course out in the field. I think I'm going to call my parents to let them know I'm alive and then call it a night. I've attached some pictures below -- one is from the plane, one is on the ice, and one is a funny mix-up on name-tags.

Down under

2006-11-28T14:39:00.000-08:00

Greetings from the Windsor Bed and Breakfast in Christchurch, New Zealand.

I'm waiting for my room to be prepared, having just arrived in Christchurch from LAX via Auckland. Lots of travel! My flight from Seattle to LAX was very late (who knew that fixing a seat could take an hour and a half?), so my luggage is still somewhere over the Pacific. Hopefully it will get here before we leave tomorrow morning for the ice!

Kenny got sick and Donovan got held up by bad weather in Montana, so it's just HC and me headed down. We're just about to head over to the USAP complex to get our gear.

Christchurch is quite nice, and the weather is warm (it's the beginning of the austral summer). Driving on the left side of the road always makes me feel a little disconcerted.

My room's ready. Until later!

Into the wild white yonder?

2006-11-27T02:57:00.002-08:00

Well, tomorrow is the big day. Kenny and I are leaving Seattle around 4:00 and then are off to Christchurch, New Zealand via LAX (where we'll meet up with Donovan and Hans Christian, who make up another 40% of our party) and Auckland, New Zealand. We're meeting up with Maurice Conway, whom I haven't met yet, in Auckland. He'll be our medic and guide for the trip. HC and myself are the two rookies, while everyone else has already been to Antarctica at least once. I learned this past week that Kenny spent over 500 days in a row there once!

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving. My dad, stepmom, and sister came out from North Dakota to visit me. We ate a whole bunch and I bought fancy socks at REI so I don't get cold feet. I am also now in possession of a digital camera, so hopefully I'll be able to upload photos relatively frequently. I also got a pretty severe haircut this weekend. I just didn't want to deal with my longish hair while out on the ice, so I chopped it all off. The picture below is my boyfriend, Matt, and me after my haircut. He's got more now than I do!

I had better get back to the makeup work I've been slowly chipping away at. Since I'm missing two weeks of classes, I have to try and get my assignments done in advance. I've got a lot left, and it's already 3:00 AM. It's looking like my last essay for debate will likely be mailed from the McMurdo Station.

Statement of Purpose

2006-11-09T16:36:00.000-08:00

Hello out there.

My name is Vanessa. I am 20 years old, and this blog will be about my trip south for the winter.

Very south.

I'm a chemistry major at the University of Washington in Seattle, but from November 27th until sometime in February, I am moonlighting as a glaciology intern on an National Science Foundation-sponsored expedition to the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. Dr. Kenichi Matsuoka, a faculty member here at UW's Earth and Space Sciences Department, is heading up the project. (You can read more about Kenny's work here.)

I heard about the project through the Chemistry Department advisors and applied thinking I wouldn't be selected because the project is outside of my major. Much to my surprise, I was notified in September that I had gotten the position. I had to get a massive physical and have my wisdom teeth taken out -- and get through the mountains of paperwork! But here I am, 2.5 weeks from deployment. I'm very excited, and not at all scared of the cold (I grew up in North Dakota! Come on!) but the whole idea of going on ice feels very surreal right now.

If you're wondering about the URL, it's a reference to the telegraph the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen sent to his rival, the Englishman Robert Falcon Scott, in 1910. Amundsen and Scott were racing to be the first to reach the South Pole. By the time Scott reached Melbourne, Australia, Amundsen had already set off for Antarctica, leaving word for Scott: "Am going south. Amundsen" Long story short, Amundsen won and Scott's party died on the ice. (I'm going to choose to believe that this only happens to intrepid explorers, not glaciologists).

Well, I suppose that's all for right now. I'll be updating more as prep work starts to ramp up.