Happy Halloween!

I'm still alive

Some people may be wondering if I am still around. Rest at ease, I am alive and kicking. Right now I am in the process of working on some research, so things are a bit busy. I have a few talks to give in the upcoming weeks and time is flying far too quickly. You know what the tough thing about research is? It doesn't matter how hard you work, if ideas aren't coming, there is not a whole lot you can do. When I reach that level of frustration, I try to read a lot of papers. Hopefully in doing so I will reach some sort of HAHA, oops, I mean AHAH moment. It is also helpful to just start TEXING up ideas. The exciting thing is that you don't know when the light bulb will go off. Exciting times, huh? Have I convinced anybody to go to graduate school?

In writing this I am really thinking that I need another hobby. Nothing really seems to stick..any suggestions? I am open for anything. Well almost anything.

Ahhh, California

La Jolla_Oct142009_0348.jpg, originally uploaded by arikamarie.

I want to delete this but am too dumb to figure out how,..

Easy as 1, 2, 3

My last class in "Digital Darkroom" is tomorrow. Our final project consisted of laying one image on top of another and merging them together. Here's what I came up with...

Ta Da! 

Cute pic of Ronia for... well, everyone

Okay, so this is really frustrating. On my computer screen, in photoshop, this picture looks very colorful and just perfect. I upload it and it looks flat and boring. This is apparently a common problem, but I'm converting the file and doing everything the book says and it makes no difference. Anyway, I guess it's still cute. But it's a whole lot better in photoshop. grrrr.

The Joys of Editing

So this is a terrible quality shot, but I love that he looks almost like a drawing!

Here's the old one:

Hi, Do You Remember Me?

It has been a while from my last post. In fact, my lack of posting has probably limited the number of Erica's posts! Well, it is a good time to write now, a lot has happened since last time. The issue with trying to recall two weeks of spine tingling excitement is that you don't even know where to begin. To organize my thoughts, I will make a list. Erica LOVES lists, let's see what all the fuss is about.

1. Work: I went up to Carlsbad again. At the rate things are going, I'll probably have to head up there again. My PhD thesis will involve working on a problem very near and dear to a company up there.

2. Family Life: Taught Ronia the running man. The problem with teaching Ronia dances is that somebody will eventually have to unteach her and then teach her the right way.

There is more to say, but I'll leave that for another time.

If you need a laugh...

Today I looked into pre-school options in our area. 
This was the first one I checked out since it's practically next door.
I tried copy and pasting the tuition table, but it didn't work out. Check out the link for the prices. 
La Jolla Country Day School
http://www.ljcds.org/page.cfm?p=1982

Ha ha! Now that was worth it wasn't it? Always good to have a laugh.

Superbad

We had a great weekend at Joey's parents full of amazing food: filet mignon, belgium waffles, smoothies, hot chocolate, asparagus, oatmeal, Red Lobster biscuits, pizza and everything else you could imagine. Mmmmm. The only thing missing...?

Okay, so not really. But isn't this funny? I love that my grapes are Supergrapes! Of course, after a weekend away, they are now super bad.

So, now that we're back I am being lazy and immersing myself in cyberspace.  Joey is sick but won't let me baby him, so I guess that gives me an excuse to baby myself. :)

Since many of you haven't seen our place yet, here are some pics that show our awesome fall decorating and give you a feel of what our comfy home looks like.

 

Also, an update regarding my list and recent post...

Here in California, you're supposed to get a new license within 10 days. (It's the law.) But alas, the earliest appointment the DMV will let me in is November 5th.  Also, be prepared when calling the establishment known as the DMV. The music is surprisingly similar to the soundtrack of one of those XXX numbers.* I kept waiting for some lady to come on with a low, husky voice and say, "Ready for some fun? Press one to register your vehicle. Feeling lucky? Press two for information on smog testing." Once this day passes, I will have checked off a good chunk of my to do's.

In the mean time, we have decided to enroll Ronia in at least a part time day care/pre-school to get our foot in the door and keep her socialized. Paperwork is in our hands, now we just have to complete it.

Thank you notes are being written, and Ronia has some new shoes, socks and pants (thank you Grandma!).

Other fun things I've squeezed in include greeting cards. Here is an example of my Halloween variety.

That's all for now! Back to work.

*Note: I do not regularly call XXX numbers, but have incorrectly dialed once or twice at work. :)

List

I love lists. They help me figure out what I need to do, and also help me procrastinate by keeping me from actually doing the things on my list. Here's my current to do's:

Get a new drivers license. (This includes making an appointment at the DMV, taking a test and paying a lot of money, so I guess that's 3 things right there.)
Smog check my car (more money)
Oil change (more money)
Register my car (more money)
Get new car insurance (I see a theme)
Look into new health insurance (you know what goes here)
Remake my resume
Check into the waiting list at preschool/day care
Upload pics from trip out here
Finish unpacking Ronia's clothes
Organize filing cabinet
Call dentist about ridiculous charges
Call the bank about incorrectly printed checks
Buy Ronia new socks, shoes and clothes that fit (yes she's growing!)
Finish my dang thank you notes
Make and send a few overdue packages
Return our movie rental
Go grocery shopping (ugh, more money)
Find out how to make money to do most things on list.

*sigh*

Hey, I tried.

Leave it to me to mess up boxed muffins.

Inspirational

Last night Erica showed me some of the machinery she has learned in her photoshop class. It was remarkable to say the least. After two classes and about a week of toying around with the program, she can turn good photos into master pieces. The fact that she is into it rubs off on me. That seems to be the way things work, passion is contagious!

I couldn't help but read that Erica mentioned I let her sleep in. What hasn't been said (she is protecting me), is that my alarm is probably waking up Ronia. So I should be watching her early in the morning anyway. Plus, I get to convince her that early mornings are great. Speaking of Ronia, I successfully taught her the moon walk last night. The "Queen of Pop", is well on her way. Its funny, Ronia seems like she can become anything she wants. Whether it be painter, piano player, athlete, or mathematician (hey, you never know, one can wish :) ). The sky is the limit for her! I'm just blessed to see it happen.

1st attempts (new small size)

I have bats in my house. (Paper ones)

Puppy chow. Muddy buddies. Chocolate and peanut butter deliciousness all wrapped up in powder sugar. Whatever you call it- it's plain amazing.  And I have some. Mmmm.

For some reason I'm especially tired today. Who knows why since Joey pretty much lets me sleep in every single day... (Did I mention I married the perfect man?)  Anyhoo, I plan to spruce up this page sometime soon and will hopefully be able to put up a couple of my 1st attempts at editing.

Stay posted! 

Why can't they just move over!

Who do you think I am referring to? You may have guessed because you may have the same question yourself. Joggers and bikers seem to think they own the world. Don't get me wrong, I think that both activities are great. Running is one of my favorite past times. But I for some crazy reason, I think that running/jogging is preferable to being hit by a car. And now I return to the question, why can't they move over....out of traffic! It's all about safety folks.

I hope I didn't offend anybody with the last paragraph, I had to get that off of my chest. What else is going on? I am starting to prepare for my advancement talk. The mathematics graduate program at UCSD has three main hurdles. Your first few years are taken up with what are called qualifying classes. These are a sequence of three classes you must take (you can choose from about five possible types of courses), which culminate in qualifying exams. This is hurdle number one, and perhaps the most stressful. If you pass these exams with high enough marks, you hopefully have an idea of what type of mathematics you would like to research. Believe it or not, the possibilities are nearly endless. So you start to "shop around", doing some reading with different professors. Finally, you select an advisor. After some time, you have probably done some good stuff. At this point, you need to get a committee of five faculty together and tell them how you are spending your time. This is called advancement, and is hurdle number 2. If you have been keeping up with your work, this is no big thing. Up to this point, you may have started your dissertation. After a bit more time, you complete your dissertation and give your final defense to your committee. This final step is hurdle number three...it should be a formality. Hopefully at this point, you also have a job lined up.

Wow! That was a lot longer than I intended it to be. If you got lost in the clutter that was my last paragraph, let be reiterate that I am about to advance. At the moment I am preparing my presentation on Electrical Impedance Tomography. The presentation is being prepared with a type setting language called Latex. Latex has a presentation class called beamer....imagine powerpoint, only harder to use. Instead of drag and click, I need to type computer code. Despite the pain, the program gives you a lot of freedom.

My committee talk will probably take place in late November. Maybe I will be lucky enough to have it on my birthday. Nothing like public speaking on a day of celebration. There is an open invitation to anybody who would like to attend! Erica and Ronia have already RSVP'd :)

Tales to tide you over

I really have a lot to write about, but alas am not feeling very creative. So I guess I'll just blurt stuff out to get it out there.

Yesterday, I went to the emergency room of the UCSD hospital. Nothing too serious, just a bladder infection.  Three hours of unease for 6 little pills and a bill starting at $150 out of pocket. Things to note: people in good moods. The young couple next to me (both in the waiting room and also on the hospital bed next to me once inside the ER) were very happy and quite entertaining. At one point the patient (the guy) takes out a marker and starts drawing a big smiley face on his unsettling blue face mask. The man who brought people back to the ER actually introduced himself and I thought that made all the difference in the world.

What I didn't like was that they made people walk through the waiting room with specimen samples and then made you sit on hospital beds after you made it past the ER doors. Also, I found it a little uncomfortable that the janitor just barged through closed doors of occupied emergency rooms without warning to empty the trash.

On a totally separate note, the air show is going on. Loud loud planes. Big fancy planes.  And for the second time in my life, I was able to witness a flying formation that made me gasp. Both incidents have happened while driving and not prepared to see large, loud, military planes fly right in front of my windshield.  The most recent incident was yesterday on my way back from Henry's Fresh Market. Just driving down a low profile neighborhood street when 4 of the Blue Angles literally cross the path in front of me appearing no higher than 100 feet from the horizon.  Coolest thing. Of course, I have never had a camera.

Speaking of cameras, thanks to everyone following up on my photo editing class. It was highly intimidating and I missed the first class, so also a bit hectic.  Digital is a bit different from 35 mm in my opinion. More buttons.

Lastly (since I'm dang tired and this is the most boring post in history), Joey and I actually were able to have a date day. It was very nice. Noel took Ronia and we drove down to Coronado, walked past huge houses and people watched. Then came back here and did a photo shoot for class, went to Blockbuster to use one of our gift cards, then Starbucks to use another.

Well, time for bed for me. Wishing I could be at Robin's wedding tomorrow. I miss my girls!