Our GP Public Presentation is next Friday the 15th! You can find the schedule at this link. We are from 3:00-3:40. 3:00-3:25 for the presentation and 3:25-3:40 for Q&A. The entire event starts at 1pm and the final presentation ends at 5:30pm with a reception following. It's a pretty big day. Each group will have its own table/display for their brief and poster. We will have an extra copy of our report there for people to flip through if they choose. I won't be presenting this time, but I'll be there the entire presentation and, of course, afterwards. Bren sends out an invitation to just about everyone affiliated with the program and beyond to the day since it essentially highlights what Bren is/does. It's like capstone festival day for CSUMB, but I feel this is even bigger since Bren tends to go all out.
I turned our poster, brief, and report in today to get printed. I'm glad I asked for a test copy for the report because the report had some page numbering issues. The brief looked fine. So we need to fix the page numbering issue and then I can return it to get it printed! The messed up one we got bound (we paid for the test print since it's 202 pages) so we'll use it as our "public sample". If it walks off, gets food on it, smudged, etc none of us will cry. :P Last year, a group's report walked off and it was the one for the client -- oops. To say the least, I don't want that happening to us!
We also might be going to the Delta Tributaries Mercury Council meeting in May to present our paper. We still have to pat down the details, but it looks like it's happening. We might have to pay out of our pockets to go, though. Our extra funding from BLM got lost somewhere and we used almost all our money up for the printing. It shouldn't be that bad considering there are 6 of us and it's only one night. We'd go up Monday afternoon and come back Tuesday night. The sad thing? UCSB Arts and Lectures recently added David McCullough to their series and he'll be speaking on May 16th! The meeting is the 17th so we'll be on our way north. :( He'll be signing books and he's got a new one coming out about Americans in Paris at the end of May (I think). A popular historian coming to Santa Barbara, that would be interesting to hear. He's speaking about something to do with the importance of history. Oh well.
I also picked my policy topic for my policy class! I'm going to write on the shark fin ban in California (AB 376). It has an interesting culture vs environment thing going on. Shark fin soup is considered a status food in the Asian culture (specifically, I think the Chinese culture) and some people are seeing the ban as an attack on their culture. At least one cosponsor (haven't read about the other one) was raised as a traditional Chinese so it's interesting he proposed it (recently passed the committee with a unanimous vote). The Asian community is not strictly against the ban either. It seems rather split. Some Asian orgs are for the ban. So, to say the least, it'll be an interesting thing to research and I'm excited to research it. It's always good to be interested in your topic and for the first time in a quarter, I am excited to write a school paper. Last quarter was just not fun with the forced assignments I had no clue what to write on...So, it's a breath of fresh air this quarter.
I will say, I am for the ban. I think shark fining is a horrible and cruel practice; our shark populations are decimated; and shark fin soup has no nutritional or taste value. Shark fin tastes like whatever broth it's cooked in and there's no nutritional value. It's a status food because it's so expensive (around $40 a bowl in some restaurants). However, because more Chinese are moving up to middle class, the demand for shark fin soup has increased. There's a point that banning shark fins in California won't do "any good" because shark fins will still be sold/bought outside of California, but it's a good step in the right direction. Hawaii recently (last year?) actually passed a shark fin ban and Oregon and Washington are both considering it too.
In other news, I strained my back last Sunday. It's been hurting all week and it was bad enough that I did an urgent care appointment. The physician's assistant checked me out and determined I just strained it (no muscle spasm or herniated disc). Told me to baby it, heat/ice it, and not to lift anything heavy. I'm a student...with a laptop...Is that possible?! To say the least, it hurts enough that I have decided I can't make the trip to Santa Anita tomorrow. :( I'm pretty bummed, but I can't imagine the 4-hour round trip and then all the standing/sitting on hard seats at Santa Anita all day tomorrow. I have troubles even lying down and sitting at my chair for my computer. Also, I've got a minor cold so I'm sneezing and coughing a lot and the pain from doing either tends to send me into the fetal position if I sneeze/cough too many times. In this case, health before pleasure. I really want my back to be a-okay so I can start exercising again and so I can go to school and not be in pain as I sit in class! Still bummed, but oh well. I've gone twice this year at least!
Movie update. UCSB was showing free-to-student Michelle Williams videos this past Wednesday. Went with Melissa to see Wendy & Lucy. They were also showing Blue Valentine (she was nominated for an Oscar this year for it), but it was later and neither of us quite felt like being out that late. Wendy & Lucy was a little bizarre. Not quite happy for sure, but the entire movie is basically about her, Wendy, looking for her dog, Lucy, in a small Oregon town. She's traveling from the midwest to Alaska to find work. She's living in her car and has her dog. Lucy is okay (I was worried the entire movie!) and everything, but Wendy ends up losing her car (it'll cost her $2k to fix the car with money she does not have) and decides to leave without Lucy (who's being fostered with this nice older man after she was turned into the pound). So Wendy ends up train hopping. Kind of slow, not horrible, but it was definitely a small independent type film. I don't really dislike it, but it's not one that really grabs you either. Grade: C/C+
Well, with that. Time to go attempt some school reading or watching more Top Gear. Netflix has all the Top Gear seasons on instant now, except season 1. There has been a LOT of Top Gear watching of late. :P We also started watching Smallville, but neither of us are completely enamored of it. Chris just sits there and says how stupid the town is. LoL And how someone always morphs into the bad guy from being exposed to kryptonite. He also complains about how the stories aren't following the comics. Yes, the stories aren't that original, but, it's okay. Going to finish season 1 and then might move on to Chuck or Northern Exposure. We'll see.
No comments:
Post a Comment