Zombie cows?

So my Dad called me this evening to tell me about a Zombie cow that he has on the farm...yes, a zombie cow. The conversation started with him telling me about a cow he had penned this afternoon and its symptoms: flat ears (denoting illness of sorts) a lolling tongue, and some dullness of the eyes (possible blindness). He said that he has had cattle with lead poisoning exhibit similar symptoms...resulting in death of the animal. Then, Dad proceeded to ask me if I'd seen Zombie Land (a movie suggested to him by my brother). My brother has gotten into the mind-set over the last few months that the zombie apocalypse is probable and has encouraged my parents to prepare for the worst. (!!) All I've absorbed is: cardio workouts are good...then you can outrun a zombie (although, do we really know how fast a zombie will run?). Regardless, Dad phoned to warn me that he may have a zombie cow on his farm and that he may be a zombie as of tonight...I am to record this account in the history books so that everyone who does make it out of the apocalypse as a human will know that the carnage started at the Stewart Farm. Our code word, to tell if Dad is still human or not is: pip. It is the definition of the dots on a dice...yes, he has been helping my Grandma do too many crossword puzzles. After all this and a near tearful farewell to my Dad, he informs that it may possibly be rabies. Yup, a cow with rabies...so, it'll go around biting other cows with its herbivorous teeth? Geez...I love my family, but...!!!

MATLAB hell, with a bit of sushi

So, I started my day off in a cheery mood. My Mom slept over last night, I cooked her supper and we sat around and talked and went for long walk to Corydon and back...a nice relaxing night... Because I was in high spirits, I decided that I'd tackle MATLAB, the oh-so-lovely computer data processing programming ickiness (yes, that is the official scientific term) that I've been working with on and off for the last year and half. Up until recently, I've been fairly dependent on other people to help me out, but I've been spending some "quality time" with it in the last week or so and am getting a feel for it. So, now, 8 hours later, I still don't have much to show for my messing around with the program ALL DAY! Despite this, I'm still happy. I'm understanding a bit more how the program works...so maybe my lesson to everyone today is: Don't give up! Keep trying... So, yes, tomorrow I'm meeting with another student to go through the blocks that stopped me today, but my thesis figures are coming together...slowly, but surely. It's a nice feeling.

On the bright side of my day, I got to babysit my office-mate's son, who is 2. He is such a cute little man. We watched Sesame Street...its actually still really good. It kept my attention, anyhow. However, get this, this 2-year-old has a wooden sushi set. The rolls are held together with velcro and then he can cut them into pieces with his little wooden knife and dip them in soy sauce with chop sticks that have velcro on them... It's so great! AND, there is a block of wasabi...which C. puts to his tongue and goes "Ewwww". My babies are definitely getting their own wooden sushi set!

No new German words to report...Georg we need another lesson soon! My favourite German word that I've learned so far is: Meerschweinchen. It won't be of much use to me in everyday life, but it is fun to say (and hear). It means guinea pig. So, remember this word, if you are ever needing to buy a guinea pig in a pet store in Germany.

Osterhase

Well, I hope that everyone had an enjoyable Easter weekend. Despite my mother's side of the family saying that they were all occupied with their immediate families, most of us ended up at my Aunt's house on Sunday afternoon. We had a lot of laughs around a bonfire and caught up with each other's lives. I haven't seen some of my family since Thanksgiving, because I was in Southern Ontario during Christmas. I guess that is what happens when you grow up and get a life... My newest German word that I've learned (and remembered) is Osterhase, which means Easter bunny.
My cousin had his wedding social on Saturday evening at a local pub, with a local band called "Oh So Popular". They were amazing and played a variety of hits from the 80s and 90s. Definitely worth looking into if you need a band for a wedding, social or anniversary.

I have been spending quite a bit of time learning the computer programming software (MATLAB) that I'm using to process my high frequency gas concentration data for my thesis. I'm getting better, but it gets frustrating at times. My advisor wants my graphs for my thesis ASAP and, of course, it is taking longer than I expected to get them drawn up. Have you heard of the pi (3.14) rule? You take your anticipated finish time and multiple it by 3.14 to estimate the time it will ACTUALLY take for you to finish...depressing but true. My goal is to get my first draft completed by the end of May, which is 2 months...does this mean that I will only get it done by September? : ) It better not!!

What am I waiting for?

I always get the feeling that I should write about something monumental that is happening in my life on these things... But how often does something huge happen in a student's life?
I guess I will just let everyone know what I've been up to these days. I'm doing my Master's degree in Soil Science at the U of Manitoba. My thesis is on the effects of including alfalfa in an annual crop rotations on CO2 and N2O emissions. Data collection will occur until the end of April, although I've already started writing and reading (maybe it should be the other way?). My defense will hopefully be sometime in August. After that, I'm heading to Europe for a year to learn German under the tutelage of my German boyfriend, backpack around Great Britain and work on an organic farm in France pour pratiquer mon francais.
It'll definitely be an adventure!

The beginning

Well, here goes... I figured that it is about time for me to let people know what I am up to these days. I am very busy with life and this will probably be one of the easier ways of informing people as to how I am doing and the like. Who knows how often this will be updated... Heaven only knows how often that dusty diary has been written in...
As of now, I have just finished my third year of a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture at the U of M, and am working at an agricultural research station in Portage. What fun, what fun! I hope to be able to post pictures or something so that everyone can see the goof that I am!