biostatistics

i have a love-hate relationship with biostatistics. mostly i hate it. just spent forty-five minutes on one question for the current assignment. let me clarify: part a of one question. my instructor likes to divide the questions into parts and sub-parts so although it may look relatively harmless and straight-forward, it's actually a seven-page answer to 'one' question. hate. biostatistics.

so that you don't think i'm always complaining, i would like to point to the love part of my relationship with biostatistics. i love it when i'm done with an assignment or class is over. and i'm truly fascinated with the biostatistical basis of my field. i just don't like having to actually do the calculations. statistical analysis software? love it! give it to me! let me play with data all day long. hand calculations of confidence intervals using the chi-square distribution with a paired two-sample experiment? well, you can just take that and - calculate it yourself.

fun with carbon monoxide

so last night, rally and i enjoyed a lovely fire in our wood-burning fireplace. it was warm and pretty and i turned all the lights off and watched a movie while rally sat in front of the fire and watched the flames dance. a little after ten, the fire was out, i closed the floo, and started picking things up around the apartment. about twenty minutes later, the alarm upstairs started beeping and a voice declared, warning: carbon monoxide detected. rally and i raced up the stairs, found a step ladder, and tried to quiet the alarm by pushing the 'hush' button, which made the fire alarm go off and the voice to yell, at the top of its mechanical voice, 'warning: fire', siren, siren, siren, 'warning: fire'. and not quietly, i might add. did i mention this is one of those new-fangled tamper-proof alarms? so i'm standing on the step ladder, jabbing at the 'hush/fire alarm' button and trying to open the linen closet to pull a fan off the top shelf. i get the fan, plug it in, get back on the step ladder, and hold the fan above my head to blow the odorless, poisonous carbon monoxide gas away from the alarm. i know i need to open windows and re-open the floo, but every time i move, the stupid alarm goes off again. after a few minutes, i put down the fan, race to one room, open the window, race to the other room, open the window, jump back on the ladder to set off the fire alarm again, hold the fan up for a few more minutes, set the fan down, race downstairs to open the floo and open another window (because 30-degree air coming in from two windows isn't enough), race back upstairs, jump back on the ladder, and proceed to set the fire alarm off again in my attempt to shut off the carbon monoxide alarm. i'm. not. kidding. although i did ask the alarm at one point, out loud, 'are you kidding me?' so let's go back to this tamper-proof bunch of boloney. just because there's no battery to remove does not mean it's tamper-proof. all you have to do is wrench the stupid thing off the ceiling and untwist the cap things holding all the wires together.

you think it's over don't you.

i finally get the alarm to shut the hello-dolly up, my arms are about to fall off from holding the stupid fan above my head, my legs are about to give out from standing on a step ladder and running all over the house, i'm fuh-reezing because all of my windows are open and it's eleven o-clock at night and any minute now i'm expecting my doorbell to be rung by a neighbor or the fire department - oh! i forgot to mention that in the midst of the chaos, i was trying to look up the fire department's non-911 phone number in a totally useless phonebook (while standing on the ladder and holding the fan). never found it, btw. and no one rang the bell. i did a self assessment for carbon monoxide poisoning but i wasn't nauseous or sluggish (although the adrenaline could have counter-acted that) so i felt it was safe to close the downstairs windows and call it a night. i decided to risk leaving the floo open; whatever crawled in, crawled in, that's rally's department. apparently, i've never raised (or lowered) the blinds in my living room because i spent the about fifteen minutes trying to get the stupid things down. up, down, up, down, up, up, dow-nope, up. i was pretty sure i was going to rip them off the wall and have to hang up a classy sheet or piece of foil to cover the window, but i finally got them down and added them to my list of things to talk to the property manager about.

around midnight i got into bed, second-floor windows still open, electric blanket on. i woke up successfully this morning so i'm going to assume the carbon monoxide dissipated to the alarm's satisfaction.

looking forward to the fire tonight.

synthetic christmas trees

i would like to invite comments regarding synthetic christmas trees. please include your name.

fun with credit card companies

so after listening to, 'if this is penny d, press 1,' repeated over and over on my voicemail all day, i finally decided to call chase credit card fraud department and find out what was going on. i called the number on my caller id and the mechanical voice on the other end asked for my six-digit verification number. i tried to explain to the robot that i did not have such a number and thus, could not give it to him (it was a male robot), but he kept asking for the number and when i wouldn't give it to him, he hung up on me. so then i had to look up the number on the website where i had the privilege of waiting to speak to a customer service agent who transferred me to the fraud department. there, i got to speak to a woman i could barely understand (and i'm pretty good with accents) and who took several minutes to find the verification questions she needed to prove i was who i said i was. i'm not exaggerating, several minutes. finally, she began asking me questions, most of which i had to ask her to repeat because i couldn't understand her and because she was asking about things like my address from a hundred and fifty years ago. the best part was when she said, 'yes, that's right' to my response regarding when i graduated. i know when i graduated! yay for me! finally, after several excruciating questions and answers, she was satisfied that i was, indeed, penny d black and could get to the real meat of the phone call. she needed to confirm that i had changed my address and phone number but she kept asking if i had received a change of address and then she changed to had i recently changed my address (why, yes, this morning, on-line, in fact). i hadn't wanted to change my phone number but the system wouldn't let me proceed until i changed it so i put in a 555 number. i thought about putting 867-5309 but someone probably has that number and i didn't want to cause even more problems. then she verified a recent purchase, changed my phone number back to what it should be, confirmed i had received my new card last month (that i still haven't activated), and thanked me for calling. so, so painful.

here's the kicker. the only reason i went on-line this morning to change my address with the credit card was because my netflix account is on hold due to my zip code with netflix not matching my zip code with the credit card. geesh!

thanksgiving 2

mmm, i just finished a turkey and cranberry in a biscuit sandwich, all leftovers from yesterday's fabulous meal prepared by flavia and blake. well, technically, i bought and brought the cranberry sauce but flav opened it, stuck a spoon in it, and put it on the table. oh, and i ran to the grocery store for cans of pitted olives after we discovered flav had bought pit-ful olives. how can you eat pit-ful olives off your fingers? (answer: you can't) the five of us (sam, flav, blake, ziva, and i) had a wonderful thanksgiving and i was sent home with lots of leftovers for which i am thankful.

i am also happy to report that i got a 93 on my second epidemiology exam. this is the class in which i failed the first exam so it was really important that i do well on the second exam. and i did. and i am thankful.

you should probably sit down for this next announcement if you're not already. i went shopping today. it's true. i braved the masses and went to target. i needed a couple of things and i thought if i waited until about 10:30 or 11 it wouldn't be so bad. i was wrong (i didn't get a 93 in day-after-thanksgiving-shopping). it actually wasn't horrible but it wasn't fun. at one point i almost abandoned my cart and left just out of panic over the number of people in every row. but i persevered and when i went to check out, there was actually a checker looking for customers! worked out for both of us. i was thankful.

in other news, it didn't snow yesterday. it's a beautiful, clear day today, about 40 degrees, and the sun is shining. i am thankful.

thanksgiving

i am thankful i have no classes until next tuesday. one week of not having to go to school. i have plenty of homework and studying to do, but i don't actually have to go to class.

i am thankful i went to trader joe's today when only half of madison had the same idea rather than tomorrow when the other half and surrounding areas go to get their thanksgiving dinner fixin's.

i am thankful my epidemiology exam is over and that i have no more exams in that class.

i am thankful that in a couple of days, i get to see blake and ziva and eat turkey.

i am thankful noone can see me wearing my snuggie right now.

my rapscalion

until now, i've resisted writing about rally as i am avidly avoiding being known as the crazy cat lady. but i thought i'd write one post, devoted solely to her because there are so many cute things she does. she's a constant source of entertainment. here are the top 8 (i couldn't think of 10. there are, i'm sure, i just couldn't think of 2 more):

1. she likes soda. as i mostly drink diet coke and fresca, that's what she drinks as well. oh, don't freak out, it's not like i pour it in her bowl, i just let her lick the empty glass or can. this is, of course, after defending my drink for however long it takes me to drink it. not so much cute as annoying, but unusual anyway.

2. she plays fetch. she has a fuzzy little ball that she carries in her mouth and keeps in her food bowl when she's not playing with it so she won't lose it. she drops the ball in my lap, i throw it across the room and she tears after it. when she's got it in her mouth again, she comes back to me, drops it in my lap again, and looks up at me expectantly. she will keep doing this until i get bored.

3. she waits at the second-to-the-top stair until she's sure i'm ready to go downstairs. as soon as i take the first step down, she turns around and runs, full speed, down the stairs. sometimes she can't keep up with herself and kind of sprawls at the bottom for a second. it's pretty funny.

4. every morning, as soon as i show the first sign of life and roll to my back, she jumps on my chest and licks my nose. every morning.

5. my shower has a curtain and a liner; the curtain hangs outside the tub and the liner inside. every time i pull aside the curtain/liner after a shower, rally is right there waiting. she meows and then jumps on the ledge of the tub and goes into the tunnel created by the curtain and the liner. she loves it in there! a few times she's slipped because of the moisture, giving me several minutes of amusement.

6. this might be a bit personal, but she's a cat, she'll never read this. every time she's finished in her box, she races out of there like a bat out of h-e-double-hockey-sticks. clean box, slightly dirty box, box in different locations, doesn't matter, she wants out.

7. when i'm on my computer for any length of time, she curls up on my lap (or chest, depending on how i'm sitting) and falls asleep. i don't think it's very comfortable for either of us but she wants to be close.

8. every night when i get home, she's at the top of the stairs (we have two sets, one up to the second floor and one down to the garage - i come in through the garage at night). as soon as she see's me, she meows and runs down the stairs to greet me. or trip me, whichever comes first.

ohmigosh, ohmigosh, ohmigosh

the great and powerful oz at weather.com is predicting snow on thursday. my first snow!!

free is in the eye of the beholder (experiment results)

so if you figure one roll of tp costs fifty cents then i received three free rolls of tp (in the form of three $0.50 coupons). they're fancy coupons, silver and foily.

i haven't figured out how much a cup of kitty food is worth so i'll just report that i received a coupon for $3.50 off my next purchase of a 3lb or larger bag of kitty food. they also sent me a pamphlet on pet nutrition.

nothing from the third company yet.

the biggest loser

warning: i don't want any over-reactive, concerned e-mails over this post; i'm just typing how i felt today.

i was home with a migraine headache today and couldn't do anything productive, it was not awesome. twelve plus hours after my day started, i felt well enough to pick up the apartment and play some music. 'i'm a loser' by the beatles began playing and i was struck by the poignancy of the lyrics. i think they're using 'loser' like the show, 'the biggest loser', that is, someone who loses something is a loser. my 'someone/her' is my illusion of control over my life.

i’m a loser and i lost someone who’s near to me
i’m a loser and i’m not what i appear to be
although i laugh and i act like a clown
beneath this mask i am wearing a frown
my tears are falling like rain from the sky
is it for her or myself that i cry

i’m a loser and i lost someone who’s near to me
i’m a loser and i’m not what i appear to be
what have i done to deserve such a fate
i realise i have left it too late
and so it’s true pride comes before a fall
i’m telling you so that you won’t lose all

i’m a loser and i lost someone who’s near to me
i’m a loser and i’m not what i appear to be

retraction

everyone should not write a blog.

the writing process

so, i thought some of you, or maybe one of you, might be interested in the process that goes into writing a blog post. not just any blog post, but one of my blog posts. there are times when i don't post for several days, or several weeks as has been pointed out by many of you, and then there are times when i post several posts on the same day. to explain this variability, i thought i would walk you through my very simple procedure.

i don't plan, in advance, what i will write about in the future. when an idea strikes me, i begin drafting the post in my head. these ideas come from everywhere - something someone says, something i see, the dark recesses of my mind, etc. more often than not, i think of a title that tickles me and then develop the supporting text, still, in my head. for every 10 to 85 ideas, one post makes it to the computer. ideas don't make it to the computer for several reasons: i forget them; they're time/context-specific so if i don't post right away, it won't make sense (like about a current event); i forget them; they're too cynical or sarcastic for my diverse readership; i'm too busy to take the time to sit down and compose a post; i can't come up with enough text to support my very clever title; or i forget them. the weather comes to mind a lot here but i realize there's only so much one can read about the weather.

once an idea makes it to the computer, i try to write as much as i can remember from the draft in my head. usually, i'll write something, read it, delete it, re-write it and then edit the heck out of it until it's post-able. right now, my head is resting on the back of my chair, my eyes are closed, and i'm typing as i think. this happens a lot. i usually do it until i run out of thoughts or i get dizzy. it's amazing, upon reflection, how much gets written and deleted. because i type as i think (randomly and unorganized), i write things that seem super funny and clever, but then when i put on my editing cap, i think, really penny? you thought that was funny? other times i make myself laugh - that content usually stays.

when all is said and done (and posted), i usually call my mom to let her know there's a new post.

so, see? simple process. everyone should write a blog.

it's like being in the mountains all the time

my readership, albeit not reflected accurately in the box to the right, has diversified. some are friends and family from southern california for whom i initially developed this blog; some are friends and family from other states and countries who i've met along my lifepath; and some are new friends from madison. so when i say something like, 'it's like being in the mountains all the time', i'm pretty sure the only people who will understand that it's briskly cold everytime i step outside are the people who live or have lived in southern california. the only time we (southern californians) have all-day cold weather is when we're visiting the mountains. visiting. as in one or two days, and then we go back home where it's eighty-five degrees in january. but now i'm in madison and 1) i have to remember that everyone reading this is not from southern california; and 2) i think i'm becoming a little bit midwestern already. i've found myself thinking seven miles is way too far to drive for something and i don't even think about the indoor foodcourt at costco as something abnormal anymore. before you know it, i'll be pronouncing my o's as a's, eating cheese curds, and going apple picking voluntarily.

speaking of cheese curds, wisconsin is america's self-proclaimed dairyland. they make a rediculous number of cheeses and are known for their cheese, beer, and brats (bratwursts). i've tried a brat, don't like beer, and, for the first time this past week, ate a cheese curd. it sounds disgusting (i know, that's what i've been saying for three months), but it's just like fried mozzerella sticks from tgifriday's only with cheddar. they're so popular here, you can get them instead of french fries at many restaraunts. my opinion: fried cheese, good.

experiment underway

so yesterday i was at a meeting where several people were talking about how they had written letters to different companies to say they liked a particular product and had received free products as a result. one gal said she and her father had written to a bottled water company when she was younger and to this day, years later, they still receive coupons for free water. i must say, i loved this idea and decided to conduct an experiment. this morning i went to the websites of three companies who sell products that i purchase on a regular basis. i sent them very complimentary and enthusiastic e-mails about how much i love their product. i provided each of them with my e-mail and mailing addresses. and now i wait. i started with tp, kitty litter, and kitty food. i don't buy these items frequently but i always buy the same brands when i do buy them and i don't buy the cheapest brands (my hiney and rally are worth it). so we'll see what happens. i've identified several possible outcomes: 1. no response; 2. a thank you e-mail with a link back to their website where i can purchase the product of interest; 3. coupons for $0.50 off; 4. free stuff/coupons for free stuff. as to be expected, i'm hoping for #4. if this works, i'm sending letters en masse. if it doesn't, i'm going to have a lot of junk mail. stay tuned.

celebrity guest

two of my classes employ guest speakers regularly to discuss different topics. today, will ferrell spoke in my principles of population health class. ok, it wasn't will ferrell, but it was a professor who could make a living as a celebrity look-a-like. of the two pictures, can you guess which one is the professor and which one is the celebrity? during the entire lecture, i kept expecting him to do or say something crazy but no such luck, he stuck to health economics ad health policy analysis. he's also teaching a course i'm taking next semester so i'll be distracted all semester thinking of my professor as a giant elf (elf), mugatu (zoolander), george w. bush (snl), and countless other inappropriate characters. awesome.

btw, neither picture is used with permission so i'd appreciate it if noone told any regulating agency of my indescretion. thanks.

bought an ice scraper today

and, at the same time, was reminded that all of my christmas decoration disappeared in the move from california to wisconsin. target (and every other store, to be fair) has christmas decorations up, for sale, themed items, etc. everywhere i turned, i was confronted with the memory that i no longer possess the tree my grandparents gave me, the ornaments from my childhood, my stocking to be hung from the mantle. you might think i would have been safe in the trash bag aisle, but no, there are christmas-themed trash bags (with fresh scent). i did, however, manage to find paper towels, tp, and sanitizing hand wipes in non-christmas-themed designs (plain white) so, all in all, it was a successful trip. and, don't forget the ice scraper.

speaking of christmas, i will be enjoying my ohio relatives' decorations and i'm looking forward to seeing my grandparents, uncle, aunt, assorted cousins and their families, pets, etc. i'm sad to not be able to go back to california and be with my parents and sister but airlines barter only in money and i aint got none.

speaking of money, this week i enrolled in a study at the hospital for some extra cash. i 'donated' plasma for money when i was a freshman in college; i was 18 and my friends were doing it. never thought i'd be doing things like this at 32, but life takes funny turns.

the n key and space bar on my keyboard are not working properly so typing all of this is rather painful. were i to not continuously backspace and correct for keyboard (not user) errors, sentences would look like this: the key ad spacebar o my keyboardare ot workig properlyso typig allof this is rather paiful. but i correct because i care.

ice

two mornings ago, i went out to my car and it was covered in ice. not just the windshield, the entire car. the windshield wipers did nothing to remove the ice from windshield, so i had to think creatively. looking around inside my car, i found a piece of cardboard and tried to scrape the ice away. the result was thin scratches of cleared window and wet cardboard. next i found a 3-ring binder with one of those plastic inserts. this did the trick and within a few minutes, I had ice-free windows. twenty minutes later my engine was warm and i was on my way. at work someone told me about an invention called an ice scraper. she said they're available 'everywhere' and that i should definitely get one; apparently my binder insert will be insufficient once winter 'really' hits.

fall is beautiful. a few weeks ago, the leaves on the trees turned all shades of yellow and orange and there is a particular bush that turns bright red. i meant to take pictures but, well, that would have required more effort and energy than i have time for. if i took pictures now, the trees would just be empty branches. the weather is wonderful, if a bit on the cool side. highs in the fifties and sixties, lows in the twenties and thirties. today was an anomyly at 70. not complaining, just reporting.

i'm gettig really nervous about snow. not the falling of so much as the driving in. when i bought my boots awhile back, i also got these metal things you strap to the bottom of your shoes so you don't slip while walking on ice. so here's my next question: you're wearing your jacket, gloves, scarf, ear things, hat, boots, metal-strap-no-slip things because it's freezing outside and then you get inside where they're pumping out the heat to the tune of 80-90 degrees (or so it feels) and you have to take off all of that stuff and put on regular shoes. where do you put all of that stuff? am i going to have to start carrying two bags? one for school stuff and one for winter stuff? how do people do this? so much to learn.