Thoughts on a Thursday

Hello Again! I don't have anything too monumental to report today, just a few minor excitements and things I've forgotten to mention recently... First off, I feel great about the exam that I had yesterday. I'm fairly certain that I got every question right. There's no better feeling in my opinion than walking out of an important test knowing that you knew everything you needed to. That was the only test for the class before the final exam, which will happen in mid Feb. I celebrated yesterday with a yummy dinner of pasta with some roast veggies, and a mango sorbet/ lemonade float for dessert. I made the sauce for the pasta just by throwing some diced tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, onions, basil and cilantro  in a pan and letting it simmer for a little over an hour. It was fantastic on top of linguine. I also had some roasted butternut squash and carrots. There was tons of left over pasta and a bit of sauce, so for lunch today I'm planning on throwing in some chopped raw tomatoes and basil and having it cold.

Speaking of food, my fantasy of picnic + planetarium in the park that I mentioned the other day will finally be realized this evening! I'm planning on bringing my camera with me. I'll likely get some shots of One Tree Hill as well, because the planetarium is in Cornwall park also.

Lost the Wicket! (Photo Source: http://cricket.yahoo.com/)

I forgot to mention yesterday that I watched the cricket test match between Australia and India on tv over the weekend. I've seen very little cricket before watching this match. My familiarity originated almost solely from the 2001 film "Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India". Anyway, after this weekend I can confidently say I know how the game works. I was with some true cricket enthusiasts and they were incredibly disappointed that what was scheduled to be a five day test ended after only three, with Australia taking the win. It was funny to me that their disappointment was not over the match's victor, but over the fact that they lost two days of watching cricket. I certainly wasn't as enthusiastic about the game, and much prefer to watch tennis or rugby. I've been watching the Melbourne Open this week as the ATP World Tour continues. On the topic of rugby, I have a ticket to go to each of the eight Auckland Blues super rugby matches starting at the end of February and I'm really looking forward to it.

When I wrote about my research yesterday, I forgot to include a link for an interesting and related Youtube video. Its a BBC production called, "The Nine Months That Made You." Its in four parts, and discusses the significant impact of a mother's nutrition during pregnancy on a child's future health. It explores the recent discoveries of scientists that imply that maternal diet can potentially have a greater effect on a person's health than lifestyle choices. The researchers at the Liggins Institute have produced many of the same findings as those in the video and this would give you a bit of insight into some of the work that I'm involved in.


Each day I have a 15-20 minute bus ride from my house to university. Coincidentally this is the perfect amount of time to listen to Ted Talk podcasts. This makes my time on the bus feel productive and meaningful because I always feel so stimulated by the new ideas and incredible research. I desperately want to give a Ted Talk one day! One of the talks I listened to most recently was by the three teenage winners of the Google Global Science Fair. All three winners were women which I thought was really neat. I also just found out that a friend of friend recently gave a Ted Talk as well. I really admire these teenagers presenting their ideas and I think Ted is an incredible organization for recognizing extraordinary thinkers, no matter their age.


One of the things that I really like about Ted is that almost all of the talks concern, in a way, the speakers opinion of what should be done about an issue that can be examined in a very factual manner. I use the word opinion loosely in this statement, because almost every solution proposed by a speaker is backed by fact and research. However, given all of the facts and background research, the listener still often has the opportunity to consider whether or not he agrees with what the speaker proposes. This brings me to something I've been considering recently; that is that it is crucial to respect everyone's right to have an opinion, but it is a personal choice whether or not to value it. This thought was inspired by a person I've spoken to several times, who each time rants about how terrible America is in a purely inflammatory manner. However, this person does not remember my name or anything about me despite having heard me reiterate these details a number of times. Because of this and my general impression of the person's character, I've decided that I respect this person's right to an opinion on American military and politics, as it is obviously based on their own life experiences, but there is no need for me to value it. I choose rather to value the opinion of people like my parents who have both served their country and continue to serve their communities in their current careers. Anyway, I'm excited that I'll be able to express my opinion and vote in the presidential election later this year!

I'm so happy to have received great feed back from you all about my posts. I love hearing from you! Thanks for reading : )

P.S. Lacrosse started up again this week!

Until Tomorrow...

Lots of Love,
A