This and That

Rumor has it that some of you have been disappointed with the lack of blogging recently. To that end, I figured it was high time to post something substantial again. I think writers blocks is going around or something, so I thought maybe a list of things that I've been doing recently would be appropriate.

Last weekend I traveled to Alesha's aunt Lanette (one of the greats) so we could do some genealogy stuff. It is no secret I inherited my dad's love for history and my mom's love for heirlooms, which created the perfect conditions for me to be a genealogy buff. Lanette has a lot of information about Alesha's mother's mother's mother's side of the family, so we traveled out to the farm to trade information. It was awesome to see all of the pictures and stories and obituaries she had stockpiled. She graciously allowed us to take some information home so we could scan it and document it. From that session, combined with some internet follow-up, we now know at least the names of all of Alesha's great-great-great-grandparents, 3/4 of her 4th-great-grandparents, and 1/4 of her 5th-great-grandparents. As a matter of fact, on her dutch side, one line can be traced as far back as the 8th-great-grandparents. These Minnesotans keep good records; I can't go back that far with my own family! I've got a half dozen pages worth of places left to research online, including census records to look at, obituaries to find, and cemeteries to visit. I have the pictures from Lanette I'm in the middle of scanning, and my dad brought me a whole box of pictures and newspaper articles to sort and catalog. I interviewed my Dad's Mom for two hours when she was here for Steph's wedding, and we did the same with Alesha's grandmother last weekend. When Dad was in Nebraska, he did the same with his uncle Ted. Those all have to be recorded and transcripted. I'm not complaining here; I'm just letting you know what I've been obsessed with recently.

We were going to lay sod last Saturday. My dad and brother helped to get all the rocks out two weeks ago, and we finally got around to the sod part. When we showed up at our local gardening place to get the sod, they informed us that they had sold out of all seven pallets in about an hour that morning. That moved the sod-work to today, but when I called at 8:00, they said to try again tomorrow. We told our association we'd have it down by the end of the summer; I really hope we can get it done this week!

Alesha and I saw the Bourne Ultimatum this evening. We both highly recommend it.

This article was sent to me, and it was probably the funniest thing I read all week. ("Funny" in the clever sense of the word.)

Tomorrow marks the start of my two day orientation, including my white coat ceremony. Here's the schedule:

Tuesday
8:30 Cultural Competency/Diversity Training
9:30 Registration, Photos & Refreshments
10:30 Welcome from the Dean and Introduction of the Faculty
12:00 Welcome Luncheon: Radisson Hotel- University Hotel
1:30 Team-building activity
2:30 Break & Return to 2-620 Moos
2:45 Your PharmD curriculum
3:15 Your pharmacy career (with career panel)
4:15 Adjournment
5:00 White Coat Ceremony Reception
5:30 White Coat Ceremony
7:00 Class Photo taken

Wednesday
8:30 Registration and Morning Snack
9:00 Student Resources & Assistance
9:30 -
University Resources
Disability Services
University Counseling & Consulting Services
CHIP Student Center
Aurora Center
Writing Center
10:00 ITV Technology, Course Delivery, Technology, Classroom Etiquette
10:45 Break
11:00 Financial Aid
11:30 Honor Code, Honor Council
12:00 Lunch
1:00 Student Organization Presentations
1:45 Wrap-up
2:00 Student Organization Fair & Locker Rental

Oh boy! Diversity training and team-building exercises!

If you're not familiar--and I wasn't until about a month ago--a white coat ceremony is when we receive our lab coats, take the pharmacy oath, and "become pharmacists". I'm so pleased and humbled that my parents-in-law would make the drive out from Waconia to be a part of the ceremony. I'm looking forward to a great night.

Well, enough about me. It's past my bedtime!