... and now add "first scientific talk" to that list :)

my hell week is officially over. the thought of spending a weekend doing nothing but staying in bed watching tv has never sounded more appealing.

how the hell did we ever get through hell-week for the musical every year and still maintain sanity?

a bunch of firsts...

I was in sunny, warm Austin Texas from Tuesday - Sunday for the annual BMES conference. The trip was totally kickass, and it marked a big series of firsts for me:
- first time getting on a plane since getting diagnosed with POTS
- first time further west than Toledo, OH
- first time leaving Eastern Standard Time
- first time dealing with connecting flights
- first time setting foot in Tennessee and Texas
- first time staying in a hotel with over 20 floors
- first time at a big national conference
- first time seeing the famous toupee :)
- first time dancing at a nightclub with sharks in the floor
- first time holding a steer
- first time getting busted by hotel security for noise

...i'm sure there are more, but i can't remember them right now haha. it was also my first time (obviously) having real Tex-Mex and Texas BBQ. ...food here in Ohio has been ruined for me!!

thanks to all my BMEs that made the experience SO AMAZING!

back to the playoffs!!!

Wheeeeeee this post serves no purpose but to rejoice in the fact that the Phillies have made it to the playoffs for a 4th year in a row! Here's hoping we can redeem ourselves for last year's World Series...

I'm gonna have to break tradition and not wear Phillies gear every day that the Phils play in the playoffs this year (at least for NLDS) since I'll be at a conference... but I definitely plan on finding sports bars at night and watching the games. Here's hoping Texans are willing to put up with a Philly fan...

Inaugural Post!

Though LJ has been faithful to me since high school, it's finally time to move on to a new journal, mainly so I can more easily keep in touch w/ the college peeps who seem to frequent blogspot rather than LJ :)

This blog will be a smattering of anything and everything -- music, charities, photography, books, and even the occasional life updates when i remember to log in :)

As my 1 year anniversary of relocating to Cleveland for grad school rapidly approaches, I feel like I should write something to commemorate the occasion. I'll save that for the next entry I guess.

For now, I leave you with a link to my favorite charitable organization and one of the first things I became passionate about in Cleveland:

Project Sunshine is an amazing organization that works to give kids a little happiness while they are stuck in the hospital. As a BME grad student, the ultimate (perhaps unachievable) goal of my research is to somehow have an impact on patient care. But my work is so removed from the clinical side of things, and any research impact that could potentially happen would be years and years down the line, and I wanted to have a more immediate effect on patients' well-being. My experiences with Project Sunshine @ Case have been amazing so far-- giving up a few hours on an afternoon to work on crafts with children (and their parents) @ Cleveland Clinic, read to them, etc, is so rewarding. For those few hours, the kids are distracted from their illnesses and having fun, and, well, being kids.

There are tons of volunteer opportunities with Project Sunshine around the country (Project Sunshine Programs). Check out the website for ways you can help make a difference!

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Stay tuned for my thoughts on my first year in Cleveland!

Until next time!

~Violachica