Golf and Other Worldly Pursuits

"I know I am getting better at golf because I am hitting fewer spectators."
~Gerald Ford

As many of you may know, one of my closest new friends here in Lafayette is Sarah Hess. We are both first year PULSe students and happened to sign up for the same class schedule first term, and then were also assigned to the same first lab rotation! Sarah has just started dating this guy Tim that we met through some of the other people in our lab, and he is remarkably similar to Dan. This works out exceptionally well for Sarah and I because it's even easier to hang out when you can double date so comfortably!

Among other hobbies they have in common, Tim is an avid golfer, and wants Dan to go golfing with him sometime. This would be a blast for the guys, but Sarah and I are hoping to just tag along and be the "beer girls" since neither of us is much good at golf. We had a euchre night a while ago and it was lots of fun (since Sarah and Tim are both from Ohio they are fellow euchre enthusiasts). Our latest plans include getting together at our house on Halloween to pass out candy. Sarah and I have decided that we can pass out the candy and let the guys rig up something out front to scare the kids. Should be fun, I'll let you know what develops! :)

Pharmacology Research

OK, so I've been promising for a long time that I would post on here about the lab I'm rotating in right now, so here's what's going on:

Dr. Riese's lab is in the MCMP Dept (Medicinal Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology), in the Purdue Cancer Center. Like so many cancer labs, they study cell signaling pathways. In particular, they study a receptor called ErbB4, which is one of the receptors in the Epidermal Growth Factor family.

Interestingly enough, ErbB4, which is present in normal epithelial cells, is missing in many tumors. The receptor has totally disappeared in these cancerous cells, and it has been shown that re-introducing this receptor into these cell lines (and then activating it) leads to tumor suppression. Dr. Riese's lab is trying to figure out how ErbB4 works as a tumor suppressor. In other words, they're asking, "What is the series of reactions in the cell that gets you from start (receptor activation) to finish (cell death)?" Once this important question is answered, people can begin designing drugs to affect various parts of this pathway, which will create a whole new class of cancer therapy options.

I am currently working with a 6th year student, Rich, who is studying ErbB4 in prostate cancer cells. We have been doing a lot of DNA manipulation to build some mutated forms of ErbB4 and get them stably expressed in cells. Without getting too technical, these mutated receptors have been altered at specific spots so we can study the function of that particular part of the receptor. Any of you who have worked in science know that in my 8 week rotation there's no way I could accomplish this. This part of Rich's project was underway long before I came into the lab and he will still be working on it after I leave, but that's what I'm helping with. :)

So, yeah, feel free to ask questions, I hope it makes sense! I'll post again when I move into my next rotation too, which is also in cancer biology but is in the Chemistry Dept and is quite a different project.

Why I love Country Music

Yes, I realize that this statement will label me as a Midwesterner, something I've been fighting since the ripe old age of 6 when we left California. But I was raised on country music (and a wide variety of other music too) and I'm starting to get back into it. I think all the farm fields and friendly neighbors are starting to get to me after all. Anyway, I'm the type of person who likes songs for their lyrics more than the beat or melody, and so here's just a couple reasons I'm liking country:
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I'm for the low man on the totem pole
And I'm for the underdog God bless his soul
And I'm for the guys still pulling third shift
And the single mom raisin' her kids.
I'm for the preachers who stay on their knees
And I'm for the sinner who finally believes
And I'm for the farmer with dirt on his hands
And the soldiers who fight for this land
And I'm for the Bible and I'm for the flag
And I'm for the working man, me and ol' Hag*
I'm just one of many Who can't get no respect
Politically uncorrect
~Gretchen Wilson
*Hag is Merle Haggard who sings the song with her.
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And for the first time in a long time
She bowed her head to pray.
She said I'm sorry for the way I've been living my life.
I know I've got to change, so from now on tonight
Jesus take the wheel
Take it from my hands
Cause I can't do this on my own.
I'm letting go,
So give me one more chance,
Save me from this road I'm on.
Jesus take the wheel.
~Carrie Underwood
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This one's for the girls
Who've ever had a broken heart,
Who've wished upon a shooting star:
You're beautiful the way you are.
This one's for the girls
Who love without holding back,
Who dream with everything they have,
All around the world,
This one's for the girls.
~Martina McBride

Twilight Zone

See if you can figure this one out:

Dan and I joined a Life Group at Elmwood Church, which are small groups that meet on Sunday nights for fellowship, Bible study, prayer, etc. Last night was the first meeting, at the home of John and Sherry Marks, an older couple from the church. We had a great time!

Dan gets a voicemail this morning that goes something like this, "Hi, this is John Marks. A Mr. Thomas Wilson called me from this number and I'm just returning the call. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to know you or not, but you can get back to me at this number: blah blah blah." So somehow the man we just met last night got a call from Dan's cell, but from a different person.

The kicker?

For those of you who don't know, Thomas Wilson is my dad.

Dan's cell has no record of the call. My dad didn't call anyone last night or this morning. If John returned the call he may have dialed the wrong number, but our cell phones still have our Rochester area code, so then someone else he didn't know, from our hometown, with my dad's name, was calling him? Unlikely. Even if he did dial the wrong number, he just happened to dial the cell of someone he just met last night? Unlikely too.

Welcome to the Twilight Zone.

Crazy Weekend

Well, let me just start by saying that 7am came very early this morning!!!

Friday was a long day in lab (we were running a Western, for all my fellow labrats who would understand what that means). I got home and hurriedly packed and got the house ready for us to leave. When Dan got off work, he made a quick stop at the bank to deposit his paycheck (YEAY for money!!!) and rushed home. We left around 6:45 pm and got home to Rochester after midnight.

Saturday morning we loaded up the car again (my truck went into the shop, we borrowed my mom's truck) and headed over to Dan's parents' house, where we loaded up his mom's car for the trip (yes, lots of junk transfer at this point), and drove 4 hours up to Traverse City.

Sunday morning we got up early, drove 4 hours back to Rochester, unloaded and reloaded cars, ran a couple quick errands (including Dan getting measured for his tux for Cameron's wedding... so Cameron, you don't have to worry about that anymore!), and drove 6 hours back to Lafayette, getting in around 11pm.

What was the driving force behind all this craziness? Dan's cousin Mary got married this weekend!!! SOOOOO............... Congrats to Mary and Brian!!!!!!!!!!!

It was a very nice wedding in a little chapel at a park on Glen Lake (any of you who have ever been to Sleeping Bear Dunes know how beautiful it is there, and those of you who haven't are really missing out) followed by a fun reception in town. We haven't gotten to know Brian yet, but judging by what the rest of the family is saying, Mary picked pretty well! :)

So, on that note, this is going to be left as a shorter post, because I have two tests on Weds to study for and lots of catching up to do from being gone all weekend! Maybe we'll see if I can get Dan to post on here soon, per Cameron's request (but don't hold your breath...). :)

Housework and Homework and Labs... Oh My!

Yes, after proving to be quite the slackers with this blog thing, we're back (or, really, I guess just me since Dan hasn't actually posted anything to "our" blog yet)! So here's the latest:

Orientation week was just as boring as anticipated, sitting through some rather useless "training classes" in biohazard, chemical, and radiological safety. To be specific, the chemical safety training consisted of a PowerPoint explaining all the training classes that were available, each followed by the statement, "...but this is not that training." So, totally useless. The biohazard safety person didn't even show up, so we have a handout of her PowerPoint slides, which I will admit to having filed away unread. On a better note, there was an ice cream social with the older students on Monday night and our "retreat" on Saturday featured some awesome free food and alcoholic beverages.

The first week of classes went smoothly. I am taking Biochemistry, Endocrinology, Lab Techniques in Molecular Biology, and Scientific Communications, which is supposed to help us hone our presentation skills but is basically just a class for the first-year PULSe students to get to know each other (for example, we are scheduled to spend four class periods on personal introductions). I interviewed seven faculty members between orientation week and last week, and have submitted my top choices for lab rotations, which begin this Thursday. In the interest of not jinxing myself (scientific, I know) I'll post my choices once I know who I've been assigned to, at which point I'll elaborate on what I'll be doing, etc.

Work is going well for Dan, he's impressing everyone by catching on quickly and performing beyond expectations (is anyone who knows him surprised??). Not much else to report on that front, I'm afraid.

His family came to visit this weekend and bring us our new bedroom furniture!!! It was an awesome (albeit short) visit, the first time Steve has seen our new house!! We love having company. The bedroom furniture is absolutely beautiful, we're all so pleased with it!! When we have the room all put back together I'll take a picture to post. In the meantime, here's Kai and his newest favorite thing to do: help me wash my face and brush my teeth in the morning, and then curl up in the wet sink and watch me finish getting ready for school.

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Yes, today was a beautiful day. Yesterday too, actually. As many of you have heard, Dan's job at Best Buy pretty much secured my dreams of soon being the proud owner of a washer and dryer. When we began looking, we found out that we could buy the set now and that Best Buy would do a price-adjust when Dan's discount kicks in (it works just like their low-price guarantee). So, yesterday Dan came home from work with my truck bed filled with goodies -- two really big ones to be exact. Last night proved to be rather stressful as we found ourselves one coupler short of a full dryer vent system (this after having struggled for quite some time with the parts we had, having been told that it was all we needed to make it work).

This morning, while Dan was hard at work earning us money (and that discount!), I fixed the dryer vent and installed the washer. I would love to tell you that I did it entirely by myself -- strong, independent woman that I am -- but it just isn't true. Without any solicitation whatsoever, Koa cleared his busy morning schedule and volunteered to help ensure that the washer was installed correctly. Lacking opposable thumbs, he took more of a supervisory role: inspecting the hoses, checking for debris in the water cleared from the line, even sticking his nose under the washer to examine the pedestal feet and confirm that the unit was level. After making sure that I properly stored all tools and equipment (which included an otherwise forbidden voyage into the garage), Koa paused for a photo op before resuming his regularly scheduled activities (ie: a nap on the rug):


In addition to a satisfactorily productive morning, I'm preparing for a trip this evening and tomorrow to Grand Rapids to celebrate Bryan's 25th birthday (we're all getting so OLD!!). It will be a quick trip, which will allow us to return home in time for Dan to join the Best Buy softball team in their tournament game tomorrow night.

Then Monday morning starts orientation for me. Yesterday I met up with four other incoming PULSe students for a few hours. It was nice because we found the room where we are expected to be on Monday, and also because now there will be a few familiar faces when I get there. It has made things a little less stressful, which is really nice.

Finally, we received word last night that our much-anticipated bedroom furniture has arrived! This means that the Martin family will be making the long voyage down here soon to bring it and to visit! Yeay!!! We love company!!! When it's all set up and our room is looking beautiful, you can be sure I'll post a picture for you all to see. :)

A Tale of Two Kitties

The posts with this title are reserved for updates on our two wild orange boys, Koa and Kai. There will probably be many such posts, since they are invariably cuter and more interesting than Dan or I could ever hope to be. And they do lots of stupid things that make for great pictures and funny stories.

Today's photo op belongs to Kai (aka "Munchkin" or "Little Man", because he's roughly half the size of his brother, and promises to remain rather kitten-sized his entire life). Friday is trash day, which means Thursday night is gather-up-the-trash night. Of course, our good little boys always help us with the household chores however they can...

A Fun-Filled Weekend!

My parents came down to visit this weekend, which meant we were really really busy. We've only been in the house for three weeks, so this wasn't a, "Hey, we really miss you, we want to come see you" kind of visit. This was a, "Hey, you left a lot of your crap at our house and if you take it we'll help you with yardwork for a weekend" kind of visit.

Yes, I was rather unsuccessful in moving all my stuff in one shot. It may have been due to the three-day window Dan and I left for me to sort through 17 years' worth of accumulated junk in my room as well as pack my life and Dan's into a small trailer and a couple of cars. It may have been due to the flood in my parents' basement two days before we moved that soaked everything I had packed, destroying a large proportion of my life on paper (high school yearbooks, college class notes, childhood books, etc.) and consuming most of my packing time. Whatever the reason, I packed the essentials and left a lot of the rest behind.

So my parents made the 6-hour drive again this weekend (which was again made longer than 6 hours by the wonders of highway construction) with boxes, furniture, and lots of yard tools. We worked hard all weekend, and our front yard is unrecognizable! It's still a work in progress, BIGTIME, because we're saving up for furniture before we buy plants for the yard. However, my mom brought some daylilies and my dad brought an ax, and it's well on its way.

In this first picture, which was taken before we closed on the house, notice the large shrubs that hide the prettiest part of the house, the brickwork. also notice how the grass grows right up to the bushes and to the house, leaving no area for flowers and a rather uninteresting, overgrown look to the yard. Finally, notice the multicolored tree in the foreground. This is a crabapple which has been overtaken by rust and other diseases, and is now also being overtaken by the wild apple tree onto which it was grafted. Overall, not a pretty yard. Not one that is oh-so-nice to come home to. Not one to be proud of.

Here is a picture of Dan and my dad digging up the stump of the large but dying tree. We also dug up the four largest bushes (see picture #1) and enough grass to create a simple, decent landscape in the front. We trimmed the other trees around the house and filled in the large holes in the yard left by the last tenant's dog. Finally we planted some daylilies from my parents' yard to fill the space for now. I would love to show you how beautiful it looks already, but as I said it's a work in progress and it's certainly not finished yet. I guess you'll just have to wait! :) In the meantime, you can marvel at the gun show...

Dan's New Job

HOORAY!!!! Dan got a job!!!

He's working at Best Buy near the mall. He'll be working full-time in the Home Theater department. The GM said they're giving him a 90-day (or maybe less if he's really impressive) "trial run" at which point they're hoping to promote him to supervisor. It seems like this is a company where you can move up the ladder quickly and they really take care of their employees (bonuses, a great 401K, etc). We're hoping everything goes well, because management experience will look great on Dan's resume no matter what career he ends up in!

Here We Are!

Let me tell you a joke. It starts like this:

"So these two newlyweds walk into a bar... wait... I mean a cornfield..."

Yes, we have moved from the cornfields of central Michigan to those of Central Indiana. Even the local amusement park feels it is necessary to remind you: "There's more than corn in Indiana!" Which is true, because there are also quite a few cows.

But just as we found our own little niche and made ourselves quite content for the last four years (and those of you that shared our last cornfield with us know exactly the sentimental, warm fuzzy, we-made-our-own-fun, love-hate feelings I'm talking about), we are confident that we will be very happy for the next at least five or six years here.

Since our friends and family are scattered throughout the country (but at least for now are all in the US!!) we decided to start this blog as an alternative to the mass-email form of answering the constant question: "How's married life going?" Any of you who were familiar with my own personal blog know that frequent posting isn't one of my strong points, but we're going to try and prove the old adage, "two are better than one." So check back frequently and we'll try not to disappoint you!