Famous Last Words Week 10

Well, this past week has been the craziest out of all of the crazy weeks. I feel like I write that every time I write a ‘Famous Last Words’ post, but it’s true! This past week I had a big paper due, an exam, the post-lab from Hell, two experimental proposals, and career advisement to try and get my life together. Whew!

The week before last, Spring Break, was mostly spent lounging on the warm sandy beaches of North Miami. Yes, it was glorious. Even though I was still in the United States, it felt at times as if I had traveled to a completely different country. This is because Miami is heavily populated with Cubans and other peoples with Latin American ancestry and almost every shop I walked into had five or more conversations held completely in Spanish.

Probably the most fantastic thing I found there was not the sandy beaches, or the seashells, or even the Keys West salad I discovered at the Publix by our hotel (a delicious combination of shrimp, imitation crab, bell peppers, tomatoes, and mozzarella): it was the Cuban coffee.

Let me tell you about this coffee - it’s not ordinary coffee. It’s the breath of life itself. I went with a total of five people (including myself) and we had to share two beds in a tiny hotel room. It goes without saying that we didn’t sleep comfortably, but we slept hard. 6 hours was the perfect amount to cram a restful night into what we needed to take on the next day.

But still, no matter how well I sleep I will need coffee in the morning. I’ve had to switch over to decaf due to health reasons, but after having a cuppa every morning for the past ten years (I started drinking it regularly when I was 12), it’s hard to give up.

So me and one of my friends would go on the hunt for coffee every morning when we first woke up. Within a block of our hotel was a Latin American Cafe, a Latin American Market, a Peruvian cafe, and down the street was a Publix, a Buenos Aires cafe, and countless other small cafes, bakeries, and restaurants. Each morning we went to a different place and got a shot of Cuban espresso ranging anywhere from 60-80 cents a shot.

A tiny shot of heaven - Cuban espresso. Yum!

Image: The Ground Bean

You might be thinking, “One shot? That’s it?” But trust me - one is all you need.

These little shots of Manna are brewed with with darkest Cuban roast along with two teaspoons of sugar to give a beverage that’s black as night and sweet as sin. Ever since I came back to Norman my heart and taste buds have cried out for something more than what starbucks can offer, but to no avail. I would try to make some myself, but I’d likely screw it up to the point where I’d never be able to have coffee again.

Unfortunately, our hotel had crappy Wi-Fi, so I couldn’t work on anything while we were there, which meant I had to scramble to do stuff on Sunday evening when we got back.

But I feel refreshed and ready to tackle the rest of the semester with vigor and drive! Yay for Spring Break, and YAY for almost graduation!

Famous Last Words Week 7

Well, it's been another one of those weeks where I didn't get as much writing done for this class as I wanted to. But I got tons done for another class! This week was spent working on a rather large paper for one of my major lab classes. Unfortunately, I spent so much time focusing on that paper alone that I didn't get much reading done for this class (or assignments for any class, for that matter).
The paper was due Friday, so after that was turned in I treated myself to the extended edition of the Lord of the Rings! I had never seen the extended edition before, and it was wonderful. Really long, but what else is to be expected from a film of one of the most epic trilogies of all time?
I think my favorite scene in the Fellowship is when our travelers venture into Lothlorien and Frodo meets Galadriel. When I saw the movie for the first time in theaters, I was transfixed by her ethereal beauty. Watching the movie now, that same wonder and awe still holds true (but some of the effects are really outdated and it takes away from the magic).  I remember wanting to be her for Halloween once, but I think I changed my mind at the last moment to be a zombie instead. Oh, the fickle mind of a child.

Who wouldn't want to be an Elven queen for Halloween?

Image: LOTR Wiki

Looking ahead, some thing I'm really excited for (as I'm guessing most everyone is), is spring break! My friends and I plan on going to Miami and I'm super excited because I've never been before! Of course, I think everyone will still be studying while we're down there. Maybe that way I can get some actual writing done! 

There's still a lot of work to do before I can hit the beach, however. The week before the break I have an exam, a group project, and yet another big paper due. Yikes. Thankfully, we're coming up on week 8 in our unit and have time to take a little bit of break so I can prepare for the upcoming hell week. Maybe I can squeeze in a few episodes of Lost Girl too, while I'm at it. 

Now that I think about it, I haven't commented about all the snow we've had this weekend. Honestly, the roads here are so much worse compared to Colorado, but that's probably because Oklahoma doesn't prepare for the Snowpocalypse. I went out and walked around for a while, enjoying all the white, but I couldn't sled or ski in it. I'm ready for the warm rejuvenating breath of Spring. 

Famous Last Words Week 6

This week was yet another roller coaster ride (I seem to have a lot of those) and next week won’t be much easier. This past week I had my first paper for capstone due and, like an inexperienced freshman, I waited until the day before it was due to really work on it. Granted, I thought the results section would be easier to handle and write out, but Lawdy it was not. Don’t worry, I learned my lesson. I have another paper due this Friday (for a different class) and I started on it last Wednesday.

One of the bright points to this week was that my Grandpa came into town! He drove all the way down from Colorado to visit friends down here and to deliver me some delicious Colorado honey and some unrendered lard (courtesy of my strange mother). I got to spend some time with him this weekend, which was very nice. I also made quiche for the first time in forever for one of my dear friend’s birthdays.

I also watched Scott Pilgrim vs. The World for the first time in YEARS. I had forgotten how much of a great movie it was! I was also really surprised to learn it was kind of a flop and the makers of the film lost about $13 million from making it! It’s just such a good movie, I never would have expected that!

Go watch this right now.

Image: Amazon

Looking back, I think my best writing this week was the storytelling I did, “The Lawless Heart.” I adapted it from “Urashima Taro and the Sea Turtle,” a japanese fairytale.  Of course, the biggest complaint I have about it is the word count limit. Gets me every. Single. Time. How can I put the description and detail I want to make a story come alive AND have a good, conclusive ending in only 1000 words? It’s impossible, I tell you!

But I digress. This week was incredibly busy, but I got everything done and I’m proud of myself for it. So I’m going to sit back with my roommate and watch the rest of the Oscars. Have you seen the dresses this year!? Incredible!

Week 5: Famous Last Words

This week was pretty hectic. I had my first exam in Physiology of Microorganisms, which is one of the hardest classes of my last semester (woohoo senior year!) and I studied my butt off for it. One of my friends, who is extremely brilliant, helped me understand the pathways and mechanisms over the microorganisms we had learned about and nearly made my head explode from dropping so much knowledge on me. If it wasn’t for him, though, I probably wouldn’t have made the grade that I did (which was pretty great - no complaints)!

Unfortunately, at the same time this was happening, I was also starting on a paper for my capstone class about the characterization of a certain type of bacteria we had isolated, preparing for an exam in one of my hardest lab classes, AND battling a head cold that left me feeling like crap. Bright side to this is that I got a looot of sleep… but as a consequence, I neglected my reading and writing for this class. I was able to crank out a few stories, but I’ve been extremely underproductive in comparison to the last few weeks. Oh well.

Academically, this past week has been more productive in some areas than others. I did well on both of my exams and am feeling confident about my writing abilities for this paper (because it’s due tomorrow, hahaha). Outside of school, I caught up on a lot of sleep and missed working out because this week was so busy and I was sick.

But yesterday made up for all of that! I worked hard on Friday so that I could spend all of Saturday with my boyfriend. Cliche? Very much so. But worth it! We had originally planned on going ice-skating, but the rink was jam-packed with other couples and kids. Seeing as how we’re both not great skaters, we decided to go on a nature hike at the Sutton Wilderness Area. If you’ve never been and you live in Norman, go check it out! It’s a nice little secluded spot of woods for when you want to get away from the city vibe.




Lake in Sutton Wilderness Area
Image: Kb0kqa on Flickr

Then we came back to my place and I made roast beef. It was my first time making it, so I was really apprehensive, but it turned out delicious!

All in all, this week was ridiculously busy, but productive. Onwards with senior semester!

Here’s my recipe for the roast beef (super simple and delicious!)
You’ll need:

• One large baking pan (glass or disposable aluminum)
• One beef rump roast (1.5 - 2 lbs)
• 2 large baking potatoes
• 1 large yellow onions
• 3-4 celery stalks
• 3-4 large carrots
• Marjoram, Thyme, Parsley, Salt, Pepper, and minced garlic. 

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Dice all the vegetables up after you’ve washed them and lay them in the baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil and add salt, pepper, marjoram, thyme, and parsley. Toss in the minced garlic. Salt and pepper the roast and then brown it in a skillet (with a blend of vegetable and olive oil - the smoke point is higher than if it was just olive oil).

Once the roast is browned, sprinkle all the green herbs and minced garlic on it and rub well. Lay it in the middle of the baking dish atop the vegetables and cover the pan with aluminum foil. Stick it in the oven for 45 minutes. Take it out and add 1.5 cups water to the pan, cover, and put it in for another 45 minutes - 1 hour. Take the pan out, uncover, crank the oven up to 400 degrees, and let cook for another 30 minutes (or until a meat thermometer registers the roast at 160 - 170 degrees.

This was super easy AND delicious! I love foods that you can toss in an oven and forget about. This is one of them!