Seriously...not the summer for internships for myself...
I talked with Mary from TNC and they're still trying to get everything together, but it seems like I'd be a good fit. Unfortunately for me, they're thinking the easiest way to do this is to make the internship/position I'd be doing as a temp job. Temp job means they have to formally announce it and go through the application process, etc. Which means I'll have to formally apply for the position too. I'll have a leg up on everyone else because I've already spoken to her and my schedule works well with theirs and all that, but it's a bit of a bummer. Oh well. It'd be a 2 month position too (late June to early Sept). She did ask for references, which is a good sign. Plus, since it's a temp job, I'll be getting paid! That's always a good thing too.
Well...I guess it's back to the waiting.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Dentist, joy
Well...Good news is my teeth were in good shape when I went in. Pretty good since I haven't been to the dentist in 1.5 years.
Bad news is I've chipped a back tooth from my teeth grinding and there's evidence of wear on my teeth in general from the grinding. The doc couldn't do my exam today so I'm going back in on Friday hoping he can do the teeth impression right then and there (assuming 1) he doesn't want to fill a dark spot I've had for years and 2) he doesn't want to fix the chipped part of my tooth). Not sure how much the mouth guard will cost, but it's pretty evident I need it at this point. My teeth grinding has gotten worse since I've been here (by evidence of my jaw/ear pain).
The other unfortunate part of this is it takes 2-3 weeks for the mouth guard to be created and I'm trying to leave by Sunday the 6th. That's basically two weeks from this Friday. So...I'm hoping it comes in sooner, but if it doesn't...I may have to make a trip back to Santa Barbara to pick it up. I doubt they'd just mail it to me since they usually want to check the fit of it and stuff. I could wait till the fall, but that's 4 months and if I've already chipped a tooth and experience a lot of pain, why prolong it?
Other than that, the dentist trip was fine. It's a REALLY small facility and all the doctors here have their own practices apparently, but it served its purpose. The cleaning only cost me $15 too. I guess the fee for teeth cleaning was lowered this year or something.
Anyway, with that...back to the salt mill that is school. 2.5 weeks left!! And hopefully I'll officially be offered an internship tomorrow. :P
Bad news is I've chipped a back tooth from my teeth grinding and there's evidence of wear on my teeth in general from the grinding. The doc couldn't do my exam today so I'm going back in on Friday hoping he can do the teeth impression right then and there (assuming 1) he doesn't want to fill a dark spot I've had for years and 2) he doesn't want to fix the chipped part of my tooth). Not sure how much the mouth guard will cost, but it's pretty evident I need it at this point. My teeth grinding has gotten worse since I've been here (by evidence of my jaw/ear pain).
The other unfortunate part of this is it takes 2-3 weeks for the mouth guard to be created and I'm trying to leave by Sunday the 6th. That's basically two weeks from this Friday. So...I'm hoping it comes in sooner, but if it doesn't...I may have to make a trip back to Santa Barbara to pick it up. I doubt they'd just mail it to me since they usually want to check the fit of it and stuff. I could wait till the fall, but that's 4 months and if I've already chipped a tooth and experience a lot of pain, why prolong it?
Other than that, the dentist trip was fine. It's a REALLY small facility and all the doctors here have their own practices apparently, but it served its purpose. The cleaning only cost me $15 too. I guess the fee for teeth cleaning was lowered this year or something.
Anyway, with that...back to the salt mill that is school. 2.5 weeks left!! And hopefully I'll officially be offered an internship tomorrow. :P
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
YAY!
I finally got an e-mail back from TNC and the person I've been trying to get a hold of has been on a research cruise, but she said to call on Thursday about an internship! I'd be helping with a west coast estuary assessment project, which I'd be totally up for. Fingers crossed that it all turns out okay on Thursday!!!
BTW, I saw Iron Man 2 this last weekend. It was good, but not as good as the first one. I think it's partly due to the fact there were so many storylines that were happening at once. You only got a glimpse of everything. Tony also was a little annoying, which served a purpose for the story, but it was annoying. The first movie he's arrogant, but also charming. This one was a little more arrogant and a little less charming. An argument could be made that it was because of the movie plot, though. I do love the special effects in the movie and think RDJ does a terrific job as Tony Stark. I'd give it a B (B- if I was being harsh about the storylines), whereas the first one was an A/A- for me.
BTW, I saw Iron Man 2 this last weekend. It was good, but not as good as the first one. I think it's partly due to the fact there were so many storylines that were happening at once. You only got a glimpse of everything. Tony also was a little annoying, which served a purpose for the story, but it was annoying. The first movie he's arrogant, but also charming. This one was a little more arrogant and a little less charming. An argument could be made that it was because of the movie plot, though. I do love the special effects in the movie and think RDJ does a terrific job as Tony Stark. I'd give it a B (B- if I was being harsh about the storylines), whereas the first one was an A/A- for me.
Friday, May 14, 2010
The End of 207!
Today was our last day for 207, which unjustly started at 8:10am, but...we did get out at 11:15am. Anyway, I really enjoyed the class. I don't want to study law as my profession, but the subject is really interesting. We learned about the major environmental regulations, but also about the issues with them, how devious agencies and corporations are to get around them, and how they impact each other and the World. We also talked about international environmental law surrounding climate change and why the Montreal Protocol over CFCs worked and why the Kyoto Protocol didn't. We also discussed international trade and how that affects environmental law and the protocols when members are apart of the WTO. Overall, the class was intense, but it was interesting. I'm looking forward to his natural resources class next year now. I learned a lot. I kind of feel like I understand a little better why the world functions the way it does. I also understand the whole permit issue with the oil rig now! US FWS did not take other agencies opinions into consideration so the process broke down for permitting (in a nutshell).
Anyway, it made me think about things I hadn't before and it made me think about whether I want to work on international issues or not. I think the U.S. has a lot of its own issues and going internally is hard if the U.S. does not have itself in alignment. For example, COP 15 knew they couldn't have targets/timeline regulations because the U.S. hadn't passed its Climate Bill so it was off the table. The U.S. wouldn't sign if they didn't have their own regulations in place. So...who knows. Doesn't mean I won't work on international issues, but maybe not as much as I thought I'd like to. :P
I am really glad the class is over with, though! No more classes on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday!
Elsewhere in school...Our draft of our proposal is due on Tuesday. So we're getting close to completing that process. I got an 89% on my econ midterm. It was better than I thought I would do so now I'm irked I didn't get a 90%! The weird thing is everyone but 2 people had a 80% or higher on the test. It sure didn't feel like we'd all have such a high curve. That test took a lot of thinking and time! At least I did well! I really only have my econ class (research paper, presentation, and 2 more hws) and final GP proposal stuff left. Unfortunately, my econ research paper has not been touched since the beginning of the quarter. So my next 2-3 weeks will be solely focused on that. I completed all of my marine class assignments requirement so I just have to do the weekly reading now. The nice thing is I'll have class only once a day and they're all in the morning. So it's easing up and also not.
Anyway, it's time for me to RELAX! I am going to be a sloth as much as I can and then it's time to get back into it for the final 3 weeks of the quarter. Oh yeah, no internship yet. And my 2nd shrimp had her babies earlier this week and is now pregnant again. I THINK I can see the babies right when they hatch (it's hard to tell), but I'm not sure. I almost saw Shrimp #1 have her eggs too. I interrupted the egg process and she only had half her eggs. I turned around, did something for like 2 minutes, turned back and she had the rest of her eggs. I JUST missed it! How cool would that have been to see?!
Okay, time to go now.
Anyway, it made me think about things I hadn't before and it made me think about whether I want to work on international issues or not. I think the U.S. has a lot of its own issues and going internally is hard if the U.S. does not have itself in alignment. For example, COP 15 knew they couldn't have targets/timeline regulations because the U.S. hadn't passed its Climate Bill so it was off the table. The U.S. wouldn't sign if they didn't have their own regulations in place. So...who knows. Doesn't mean I won't work on international issues, but maybe not as much as I thought I'd like to. :P
I am really glad the class is over with, though! No more classes on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday!
Elsewhere in school...Our draft of our proposal is due on Tuesday. So we're getting close to completing that process. I got an 89% on my econ midterm. It was better than I thought I would do so now I'm irked I didn't get a 90%! The weird thing is everyone but 2 people had a 80% or higher on the test. It sure didn't feel like we'd all have such a high curve. That test took a lot of thinking and time! At least I did well! I really only have my econ class (research paper, presentation, and 2 more hws) and final GP proposal stuff left. Unfortunately, my econ research paper has not been touched since the beginning of the quarter. So my next 2-3 weeks will be solely focused on that. I completed all of my marine class assignments requirement so I just have to do the weekly reading now. The nice thing is I'll have class only once a day and they're all in the morning. So it's easing up and also not.
Anyway, it's time for me to RELAX! I am going to be a sloth as much as I can and then it's time to get back into it for the final 3 weeks of the quarter. Oh yeah, no internship yet. And my 2nd shrimp had her babies earlier this week and is now pregnant again. I THINK I can see the babies right when they hatch (it's hard to tell), but I'm not sure. I almost saw Shrimp #1 have her eggs too. I interrupted the egg process and she only had half her eggs. I turned around, did something for like 2 minutes, turned back and she had the rest of her eggs. I JUST missed it! How cool would that have been to see?!
Okay, time to go now.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Why California is the way it is
I learned today in my environmental policy/law class why California captures the emissions that leak from gas nossels. I always thought it's because California likes to be more strict with their regulations (let's face it, California carries that reputation) and because the smell of gas is just nauseating, but, in fact, it's because the U.S. Clean Air Act requires it! Since California, in particular L.A., is not in compliance with its air quality (called nonattainment), they have to follow this pyramid of requirements to help them reach attainment. L.A is considered moderately nonattainment for ozone; therefore, they have to capture gas vapors as part of the requirement to reach attainment.
Who'd of thunk...gas nossels to capture gas vapors so California can comply with the Clean Air Act. I guess California isn't progressive in everything. :) Though, I do appreciate the missing gas smell at gas stations in California over other states!
I also found out through our reading that one of the potential ways to reduce traffic into Yosemite Valley that was looked at was a light rail system. It would still suck if you were camping to lug everything you had onto a train, but how cool would that have been?! You can't get a light rail system installed for cities, but let's add one for Yosemite National Park. I think it'd have been fun to enter the park via light rail.
Today is my 8th day in a row I will have had class. I'm more exhausted then I thought someone could be. It's brutal not having a day off to unwind a little from lectures. Not to mention our class on Wednesday goes from 5pm-8:30pm. *sigh* Friday, is it Friday yet?! Friday will be our last law class and my 12th day of lectures in a row. I am 100% vegging on Friday so I can recharge to write my portion of our proposal draft for our internal deadline of Sunday night (it's due next Tues).
Back to the hw.
Who'd of thunk...gas nossels to capture gas vapors so California can comply with the Clean Air Act. I guess California isn't progressive in everything. :) Though, I do appreciate the missing gas smell at gas stations in California over other states!
I also found out through our reading that one of the potential ways to reduce traffic into Yosemite Valley that was looked at was a light rail system. It would still suck if you were camping to lug everything you had onto a train, but how cool would that have been?! You can't get a light rail system installed for cities, but let's add one for Yosemite National Park. I think it'd have been fun to enter the park via light rail.
Today is my 8th day in a row I will have had class. I'm more exhausted then I thought someone could be. It's brutal not having a day off to unwind a little from lectures. Not to mention our class on Wednesday goes from 5pm-8:30pm. *sigh* Friday, is it Friday yet?! Friday will be our last law class and my 12th day of lectures in a row. I am 100% vegging on Friday so I can recharge to write my portion of our proposal draft for our internal deadline of Sunday night (it's due next Tues).
Back to the hw.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Environmental Law and Policy; David Sedaris
First off, I forgot to mention on Monday I was going to see David Sedaris. *doh* I went with a friend and he was HILARIOUS! It was a little slow at first on the laughs, but there were some points I was laughing so hard I had tears rolling down my face. Oh gosh. He read the funniest story about an experience at the airport, his partner's experience with medical care in France, his cousin's therapy miniature horse going to the school she teaches at, etc. He essentially strips the sugar coating off of certain things and slaps reality onto them. Of course, he does this in a funny manner that makes you laugh hysterically because you never thought to think of it that way. He's coming back next year and I'll be sure to see him because it was too funny.
I also got a book signed! Only took me 1.5 hours to see him (one of the fastest signings I've experienced!). He was eating sushi and asked what animal I wanted him to draw in my book. I, of course, said a horse. Then quickly added, "or a turtle." He says, "Oh...Thanks for the choice" with a glint in his eyes. I knew something weird was coming of it...As he's drawing he asked if I was a doctor (weird) and I said no and he asked what did I do. So I said I'm a grad student at UCSB. He asked in what, I said environmental science. Then he asked me about the oil spill and we said like 2 things on that and then he finished my horse-turtle. :P A horse head with a turtle's body. He said it's a horse stuck in a turtle's shell. LoL I laughed and said it was him. Then that was it!
Today (or Friday, that is) was the 2nd day of our Environmental Law and Policy (ESM 207) class. The average class time is 3 hours (some days it's 2 hours 45 mins and others 3 hours 15 mins) so it's a little intense, but it goes by surprisingly fast. Or, well, the first 2.5 hours do. Once noon rolled around, I was ready to leave, but we had 15 mins left. We do get a 10 minute break about midway through. It's amazing, though. He starts class on time and FINISHES on time. He almost stopped mid-sentence yesterday to get us out on time. It was totally amazing to us. LoL Our profs rarely end on the nose like that. He also wears slacks and a sports coat with a collared button-up shirt (I think that's the first professor I've ever had who dressed up so formally). So I occasionally have flashbacks to Legally Blonde since we also are in an amphitheater type seating arrangement and we randomly get called on to answer questions a lot. This prof is our temp, though. Our real prof had a personally crisis or something and won't make it till our Monday class. It's kind of a bummer because I'm enjoying this guy and switching will mean we have to get used to a new style all over again.
I am learning a lot about RCRA, CERCLA, Clean Water Act, etc. They're pretty interesting pieces of legislation, especially since they were all passed in the era of environmental law (70's and 80's). Now that we've had them for 30-40 years, it kind of makes you wonder why they weren't implemented sooner. On the other hand, they do have their issues. They are incredibly important to our health and environment, though. Our prof also said that he thinks the Clean Air Act is one of the most complicated pieces of legislation in the U.S. He thinks it's almost as complicated as the tax code. I never realized the CAA was so complicated! He also said the school he's at teaches a semester long introductory course to the CAA and we get it in 2 days or 6 hours. Joy! At least it'll be a good intro-introduction.
Not much to say about the class other than I haven't done this much reading for a class since high school English, I think. I feel like our lives are consumed by this class to keep up with the readings alone. I am definitely enjoying the class and wouldn't say no to taking more environmental law classes, but I definitely do not want to make this my profession. After 15 pages of reading legislation, I kind of want to put myself out of my misery. I also think legal writing has some requirement that sentences must be as long as possible with as many "or" statements in them while still being grammatically correct. I get lost in some sentences or forget completely by the end what the point of the sentence was. I have to go back and take out all the "or" or serial parts to figure out the actual "meat" of the sentence. I know legal writing has to be thorough, but that's just ridiculous! Anyway, this class will be good prep for next year too. I need to take Natural Resources Law and Policy and that's taught by this same professor. So that should be interesting.
Oh yeah. I saw the Young Victoria. It was a good film. It's missing something to make it great, but I think the acting is really good and it portrays an interesting life the young Queen had to endure. Nice dramatical history piece that's pretty laid back and not overly exciting or anything. It keeps to history semi-well. I'd give it a B/B+. B+ on acting more than the story or movie itself.
With that...Time to go to bed. I have class from 9-12:15...Is it next weekend?!
I also got a book signed! Only took me 1.5 hours to see him (one of the fastest signings I've experienced!). He was eating sushi and asked what animal I wanted him to draw in my book. I, of course, said a horse. Then quickly added, "or a turtle." He says, "Oh...Thanks for the choice" with a glint in his eyes. I knew something weird was coming of it...As he's drawing he asked if I was a doctor (weird) and I said no and he asked what did I do. So I said I'm a grad student at UCSB. He asked in what, I said environmental science. Then he asked me about the oil spill and we said like 2 things on that and then he finished my horse-turtle. :P A horse head with a turtle's body. He said it's a horse stuck in a turtle's shell. LoL I laughed and said it was him. Then that was it!
Today (or Friday, that is) was the 2nd day of our Environmental Law and Policy (ESM 207) class. The average class time is 3 hours (some days it's 2 hours 45 mins and others 3 hours 15 mins) so it's a little intense, but it goes by surprisingly fast. Or, well, the first 2.5 hours do. Once noon rolled around, I was ready to leave, but we had 15 mins left. We do get a 10 minute break about midway through. It's amazing, though. He starts class on time and FINISHES on time. He almost stopped mid-sentence yesterday to get us out on time. It was totally amazing to us. LoL Our profs rarely end on the nose like that. He also wears slacks and a sports coat with a collared button-up shirt (I think that's the first professor I've ever had who dressed up so formally). So I occasionally have flashbacks to Legally Blonde since we also are in an amphitheater type seating arrangement and we randomly get called on to answer questions a lot. This prof is our temp, though. Our real prof had a personally crisis or something and won't make it till our Monday class. It's kind of a bummer because I'm enjoying this guy and switching will mean we have to get used to a new style all over again.
I am learning a lot about RCRA, CERCLA, Clean Water Act, etc. They're pretty interesting pieces of legislation, especially since they were all passed in the era of environmental law (70's and 80's). Now that we've had them for 30-40 years, it kind of makes you wonder why they weren't implemented sooner. On the other hand, they do have their issues. They are incredibly important to our health and environment, though. Our prof also said that he thinks the Clean Air Act is one of the most complicated pieces of legislation in the U.S. He thinks it's almost as complicated as the tax code. I never realized the CAA was so complicated! He also said the school he's at teaches a semester long introductory course to the CAA and we get it in 2 days or 6 hours. Joy! At least it'll be a good intro-introduction.
Not much to say about the class other than I haven't done this much reading for a class since high school English, I think. I feel like our lives are consumed by this class to keep up with the readings alone. I am definitely enjoying the class and wouldn't say no to taking more environmental law classes, but I definitely do not want to make this my profession. After 15 pages of reading legislation, I kind of want to put myself out of my misery. I also think legal writing has some requirement that sentences must be as long as possible with as many "or" statements in them while still being grammatically correct. I get lost in some sentences or forget completely by the end what the point of the sentence was. I have to go back and take out all the "or" or serial parts to figure out the actual "meat" of the sentence. I know legal writing has to be thorough, but that's just ridiculous! Anyway, this class will be good prep for next year too. I need to take Natural Resources Law and Policy and that's taught by this same professor. So that should be interesting.
Oh yeah. I saw the Young Victoria. It was a good film. It's missing something to make it great, but I think the acting is really good and it portrays an interesting life the young Queen had to endure. Nice dramatical history piece that's pretty laid back and not overly exciting or anything. It keeps to history semi-well. I'd give it a B/B+. B+ on acting more than the story or movie itself.
With that...Time to go to bed. I have class from 9-12:15...Is it next weekend?!
Monday, May 3, 2010
Is it finals yet? No...?!
This week is another super busy week thanks to 207 starting. I have to remember I don't have my weekend to relax like normal. There's just something fundamentally wrong with having class from 9-12 Sat and Sun. Not to mention 3 hours a day for 9 days straight.
Midterm is on Wednesday, paper due on Thursday, a debate to prepare for tomorrow (I already wrote that class's paper, phew!), lots of reading for 207, and a memo due on Sat for 207. Next Wednesday I have a presentation and we have to start writing our GP proposal this week and next since it's due the 18th in draft. So that means more research and reading for 401. I also have to research my econ paper and prepare for that presentation too. It'll feel nice once 207 is finished because I'll only have 1 class a day pretty much. I'll also be down to 12 units worth of classes (not including the 207 final, but that's the 4th of June). I'm into the final stretch of my first year of grad school!
I still haven't heard about an internship. I'm coming back home in 5-6 weeks. I'm not sure what day because a) housing is saying I can't cancel my contract till the 14th (stupid!) and b) we have to meet with our advisory committee on our proposal and our proposal is due to them on the 1st of June. It's unlikely they can read, critique, and do their teaching load all before the 4th. So I'm hoping we can fit in the meeting in on the 7th (Mon) and then come home after that. But...we'll see. I'm hoping I hear from TNC this week. It has been 2 weeks since last Friday that I heard that they were checking budgets. If I don't hear from anyone at the end of this week, I'll e-mail again and see what's up with any other group (I'll hear from the TNC when I hear from them).
My foot is better. It's still a little bruised, but it seems to have gotten better over the weekend (didn't walk on it much). The bruising seems to come and go depending on how much I walk and how I walk. I still have pain in the toe and my whole foot in general (seems when I stubbed my toe, I threw my whole foot out of alignment so other toes and parts of my foot hurt at different times), but the pain varies. It hurts more than normal today because I walked on it, but at least it's getting better.
Oh yeah. I saw How to Train Your Dragon over the weekend in 3D. I REALLY liked it. It's a movie buy. The film is a nice family film that the kids would like and won't bore the parents to tears. There is action, humor, and a lot of heart. The animation is also really good. The primary dragon is so cute too! He's like a puppy in ways. It's hard not to get attached to the characters. Dreamworks is definitely keeping to its great animation and films in general. I still enjoy the Ice Age series and of course there is also Shrek. Depending on how Toy Story 3 goes, How to Train Your Dragon might just be my animation film of the year. :) Course, it's still early in the year. :P
With that...time to get back to the homework and rotate my laundry.
Midterm is on Wednesday, paper due on Thursday, a debate to prepare for tomorrow (I already wrote that class's paper, phew!), lots of reading for 207, and a memo due on Sat for 207. Next Wednesday I have a presentation and we have to start writing our GP proposal this week and next since it's due the 18th in draft. So that means more research and reading for 401. I also have to research my econ paper and prepare for that presentation too. It'll feel nice once 207 is finished because I'll only have 1 class a day pretty much. I'll also be down to 12 units worth of classes (not including the 207 final, but that's the 4th of June). I'm into the final stretch of my first year of grad school!
I still haven't heard about an internship. I'm coming back home in 5-6 weeks. I'm not sure what day because a) housing is saying I can't cancel my contract till the 14th (stupid!) and b) we have to meet with our advisory committee on our proposal and our proposal is due to them on the 1st of June. It's unlikely they can read, critique, and do their teaching load all before the 4th. So I'm hoping we can fit in the meeting in on the 7th (Mon) and then come home after that. But...we'll see. I'm hoping I hear from TNC this week. It has been 2 weeks since last Friday that I heard that they were checking budgets. If I don't hear from anyone at the end of this week, I'll e-mail again and see what's up with any other group (I'll hear from the TNC when I hear from them).
My foot is better. It's still a little bruised, but it seems to have gotten better over the weekend (didn't walk on it much). The bruising seems to come and go depending on how much I walk and how I walk. I still have pain in the toe and my whole foot in general (seems when I stubbed my toe, I threw my whole foot out of alignment so other toes and parts of my foot hurt at different times), but the pain varies. It hurts more than normal today because I walked on it, but at least it's getting better.
Oh yeah. I saw How to Train Your Dragon over the weekend in 3D. I REALLY liked it. It's a movie buy. The film is a nice family film that the kids would like and won't bore the parents to tears. There is action, humor, and a lot of heart. The animation is also really good. The primary dragon is so cute too! He's like a puppy in ways. It's hard not to get attached to the characters. Dreamworks is definitely keeping to its great animation and films in general. I still enjoy the Ice Age series and of course there is also Shrek. Depending on how Toy Story 3 goes, How to Train Your Dragon might just be my animation film of the year. :) Course, it's still early in the year. :P
With that...time to get back to the homework and rotate my laundry.
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