Tuesday I had my first day as an intern at Seattle BioMed. They are insanely nice people, I think I'm really going to enjoy working there. I mainly did written research, as well as safety training for new employees. Afterwards they went ahead and showed me around the labs again. I would love to work there for the summer, but I'm going to start applying for everything now, just in case. Working next to Whole Foods is dangerous anyways- I just want to try everything they have (this week I got rolled barley to try instead of oatmeal- much better texture!).
Wednesday I managed to get my insane workload finished (Wednesdays are the day that everything is due), and came home ready to talk to Leo. Unfortunately, he got some rough news from home, and wanted the night to absorb it, which I understand. I just wish I could have been there. Instead of talking to him, I went to Zumba class, which is Spanish for "torture." Ha, it was actually a lot of fun, I'm just not in good enough not shape to do a full hour now. My left side with all it's atrophied muscles was screaming the next day.
Thursday I did get to catch up with Leo, and while we talked I started work on a portable cold frame for my garden. A cold frame is basically a tiny greenhouse, usually made with glass or plexiglass that you can put over plants (or open and close) on cold nights and days. Mine is not that long-term, but it is certainly economical. I took a really heavy-duty Costco cardboard box and cut out panels on all the sides (leaving a little cardboard connecting for stability between all panels). Then I used clear packing tape to cover all the exposed edges. I bought a dollar store clear vinyl shower curtain and taped it together, effectively making a little greenhouse. I think it should at least hold up for this year, and eventually I'll have a place of my own and it will be worth my time and money to make a real set-up.
Later Thursday my bad tummyache turned into the stomach flu, pretty strong and rapid. Actually, I don't really know what it was, as it felt like my egg allergy combined with that mysterious ulcer problem I had freshman year of college. Painful. I wasn't able to go to school on Friday, which started out as relaxing, and migrated up to boring and irritating. I'm not really meant to sit still for 24 hrs straight. I wanted to check on Starla, but as getting dressed was a struggle, I didn't think handling a 1000lb animal would be in my best interests.
Saturday I was able to eat food, and life was instantly better. My stomach was still tender, but I take what I can get. I finally got to ride Starla. We rode bitless for the first time since Sept, and I thought she did really well. There were a group of four men on the ground in the arena roping "cows" (sawhorses with plastic bull horns), and they were really impressed Starla didn't care at all about the ropes flying around. They joked that I should work with her on cattle roping, she might be a natural. I think Ms. Starla would find it beneath her considerable dignity to work with cows though. In further good news, I think her gums are getting better from the mouthwash. Turning back to normal horse-y pink.
I came home and celebrated actually being able to eat by making pasta with cherry tomato halves, black pepper, and smoked cheese. It was very yum. The picture isn't great, but it tasted awesome to someone who had been "eating" Gatorade for days.
I was going to go to a seed starting class in Woodinville, but I didn't want to try being somewhere new with a tricky stomach. I'm really excited about some of the free class opportunities. There is an herbal class next month. I have been thinking that next year I'd like to get my Master Gardener certification. It would be really great to teach people about sustainable ag and eating healthy. Honestly, I can't think of many better ways to help public health in America.
I am also really interested in the growing trend to sustainable livestock. I can't wait until I can actually handle all of Starla's care. There are some really innovative ideas for green horse care. I'm hoping to make it out to some of the Horses for Clean Water talks this year. But I'm also really interested in food animal sustainable production. I wonder how many people realize that 50% of antibiotics used in the US are used in food animals, and that is the reason we have kidney-destroying e. coli, and are facing a day in the near future where antibiotics are useless because of widespread resistance? And I wonder how many people would be outraged to find out the reasons we pump animals full of antibiotics is because we don't want to pay to feed them food they can digest, or give them space to be healthy. M. Pollan talks about how farming in the US before WWII was incredibly sustainable and healthy- farmers fed the cows and chickens the vegetable waste, and the farmers fed the veggies the animal poo. Now we've separated the processes, so we have farmers needing to put environmentally destroying phosphorous and nitrogen on plants, the run off of which gets in our water. And we have cows growing up on lots, chocked full of food they wouldn't normally eat, given antibiotics, and the poo goes into "manure ponds". And guess where the manure goes? Oh, yeah, our drinking water. Yays. No wonder the vast majority of microbiologists I've met are vegetarian. It's hard enough to get antibiotic free veggies.
So I'd like to do more studies in sustainable ag, and maybe work on human impacts of livestock zoonotic diseases and impacts of antibiotics. I wonder if anyone would take me seriously as a vegetarian in that line of work? People are so freaked out about the "Vegan Agenda", the secret plan to make everyone in the US give up meat. I haven't been told about this plan yet, but I still drink milk, so maybe I'm not a high enough level vegan to be in on the plans. Honestly, they need my help, as I think only 2% or something of the population is vegan. Slowest. Takeover. Ever.
Leo comes in one week. I'm so excited! Ready to celebrate the end of the quarter with my fella. I'm going to have lots of fun with him, and then Spring break will mainly be for working on my internship, riding Starla, and trying to wrap my mind around the fact that I have another quarter ahead of me before summer. I miss semesters.
I still have Sunday left of the weekend, but I think it's mainly going to be pony, lots of homework, and cleaning. I mostly feel like I have a handle on things for this week and next, but we'll see. Things have a way of going south quickly. Oh well, a week from Wednesday I'm done with this quarter, and get to do my favorite things with Leo. I'm picturing a week of movies, Indian food, arcades, oh, and my birthday! I get to take a painting class from my folks as a present. I'm so very excited to take it. I can't wait until I have some time to paint this summer. I feel like I have some good ideas I haven't had time to put into action. God willing, I'll get to take art class this summer.
Well, this post has mainly become a bunch of rambling, which is a good sign sickie needs to go to bed. I'll try to update before Leo comes, depending on how far along I am in on Operation Get-the-apartment-clean-study-for-all-my-finals-before-Leo-gets-here-and-turn-in-everything-due-this-last-week-of-school. We'll see.
No comments:
Post a Comment