Events!
This was a very successful weekend. Friday night, Chris came to Palo Alto and we managed to unite all three of us FES'ers at Stanford (Fran, me, and Kyle Wayne) for a fab dinner in the town. It was just wonderful to hang out with a whole group of familiar faces and talk about Yale and life after Yale and all that fun stuff. Afterwards, Fran and I went to a really lame party with too many people, too much pushing, and not enough dancing. I did, however, manage to hang out with two people in my cohort. Go go gadget friend-making!
Saturday we had our cohort picnic, which was quite fun. Etc etc.
On Sunday, I went to the other Palo Alto's Farmer's Market and it was SO MUCH BETTER. Not only did I find all the fruits and veggies I wanted, they also have eggs, cheese, chicken sausages, pasta, and sorbet. And Indian food. It was a total success. I got firecracker jack cheese, an onion, some apples, a peach, some green beans, and some blood orange juice. I feel like there was something else too, but I can't remember. It's more expensive than the Saturday Farmer's Market, but far superior. If I was really ambitious, I would get fruits and veggies from Saturday's market and everything else from Sunday's. We'll see. I am relieved, though. There is hope yet.
Also on Sunday, Ellen, my friend from college, took me to an amazing brunch and showed me around the area, since she grew up here. We got Sprinkles cupcakes and saw her old high school/summer camp, amongst other fun things.
I went running on Saturday and it was annoying. I like running because it makes me feel very fit and healthy. But I don't like it because I don't get out of breath, but my legs hurt a lot for pretty much the whole time. And that's probably not good. So today after yoga I decided I would go erging. This was a good decision. I felt way more tired after a half hour and way more hurting in more of a sore way. Also, I saw Tracy's sister at the gym! So, success all around. I think I'm going to run to the gym, erg, and run home whenever I don't have yoga. That sounds like a good plan.
Also today I got my second piece of mail - a package from Zoe with beads in it! It was quite excellent and happy-making.
There's lots of other things I could talk about but I need to go to bed because I have class in nine hours and that's how much sleep I need. Don't judge me.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Thursday, September 23, 2010
When All Else Fails...
...at least there are classes.
So classes started this week and that's been a huge relief. It's been a welcome break from watching episodes of Angel, even though I do love Angel.
Learning Sciences and Technology Design Seminar - 1 hour, three credits. That's all I'm going to say.
Proseminar - The first of two classes I have with all of the other first year doctoral students. Apparently, with 40 students, we're the largest cohort ever. Go us! I definitely feel out of the loop for missing orientation, so I have some bonding catching up to do.
Inquiry and Measurement in Education Research - The second of two classes with all of the other first year doctoral students. For today, we had to submit a brief statement of our research. In class, the professor read the opening line of mine out loud and said that it was an "excellent lead-in, great motivation." I was pleased, especially since mine was the only one she chose. Too bad I peaked in that class and it's only the first week.
Assessment and Evaluation in Math and Science Education - I haven't had this class yet. We'll see. It's Friday afternoons. How gross.
Other than that, I met with my adviser for the first time since getting here and she continues to be amazing. We just talked about zoos and research and possibilities for research for an hour. I'm feeling like I've got some pretty good options for my first year project. And by pretty good I mean things that I can do while working at a zoo, hopefully in Portland.
I also met with my project team for my research assistantship, and that went well. I think it's going to give me great insight into behavior change research really early on. If I have a methodology, I can start researching for my dissertation as soon as possible. Which means I would graduate on time. Which I really, really want to do.
Lastly, I am going to talk about my dinner today. I made a delicious bento stir-fry with green beans, mushrooms, bell peppers, onions, and broccoli from the farmer's market, plus pasta and Trader Joe's amazing Island Soyaki sauce. I also attempted to make fried potatoes with chili peppers. That was a huge fail. I am never cooking with oil again. It splatters everywhere, and it hisses in a really scary away. And then, half of my potatoes were burnt little black crispers. It reminded me of when Britta and I tried to make enough home-made churros for 60 people. Almost as hilarious and ridiculous as trying to explain the concept of a churro to a German exchange student. No more homefrying for me. Baked potatoes only, from now on. In related news, only two days until I can go buy some chicken. I have been dying for some chicken all week.
This weekend should be good. Hypothetically, my friend Chris from Yale should be coming to Palo Alto for the day tomorrow. Saturday we have a doc student bonding picnic, and Sunday, dear Ellen from Claremont is taking me to brunch at James Franco's favorite brunch place in Menlo Park. Throw in a little reading and some writing, and a couple phone calls with people I miss, and call it a weekend.
So classes started this week and that's been a huge relief. It's been a welcome break from watching episodes of Angel, even though I do love Angel.
Learning Sciences and Technology Design Seminar - 1 hour, three credits. That's all I'm going to say.
Proseminar - The first of two classes I have with all of the other first year doctoral students. Apparently, with 40 students, we're the largest cohort ever. Go us! I definitely feel out of the loop for missing orientation, so I have some bonding catching up to do.
Inquiry and Measurement in Education Research - The second of two classes with all of the other first year doctoral students. For today, we had to submit a brief statement of our research. In class, the professor read the opening line of mine out loud and said that it was an "excellent lead-in, great motivation." I was pleased, especially since mine was the only one she chose. Too bad I peaked in that class and it's only the first week.
Assessment and Evaluation in Math and Science Education - I haven't had this class yet. We'll see. It's Friday afternoons. How gross.
Other than that, I met with my adviser for the first time since getting here and she continues to be amazing. We just talked about zoos and research and possibilities for research for an hour. I'm feeling like I've got some pretty good options for my first year project. And by pretty good I mean things that I can do while working at a zoo, hopefully in Portland.
I also met with my project team for my research assistantship, and that went well. I think it's going to give me great insight into behavior change research really early on. If I have a methodology, I can start researching for my dissertation as soon as possible. Which means I would graduate on time. Which I really, really want to do.
Lastly, I am going to talk about my dinner today. I made a delicious bento stir-fry with green beans, mushrooms, bell peppers, onions, and broccoli from the farmer's market, plus pasta and Trader Joe's amazing Island Soyaki sauce. I also attempted to make fried potatoes with chili peppers. That was a huge fail. I am never cooking with oil again. It splatters everywhere, and it hisses in a really scary away. And then, half of my potatoes were burnt little black crispers. It reminded me of when Britta and I tried to make enough home-made churros for 60 people. Almost as hilarious and ridiculous as trying to explain the concept of a churro to a German exchange student. No more homefrying for me. Baked potatoes only, from now on. In related news, only two days until I can go buy some chicken. I have been dying for some chicken all week.
This weekend should be good. Hypothetically, my friend Chris from Yale should be coming to Palo Alto for the day tomorrow. Saturday we have a doc student bonding picnic, and Sunday, dear Ellen from Claremont is taking me to brunch at James Franco's favorite brunch place in Menlo Park. Throw in a little reading and some writing, and a couple phone calls with people I miss, and call it a weekend.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
HAHAHAHA.
I want to post this everywhere you can post things.
me: i'm lonely and friendless here. haha.
me: i'm lonely and friendless here. haha.
Eric: aww well i'm jobless and homeless!
me: with our powers combined, we form a not pathetic person
Eric: so with our powers combined, we make one big LOSER
This is more impressive/hilarious when you realize that we sent these messages at the exact same time. I'm still laughing.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Last First Day....
...at a new school.
First things first, I dutifully went to the doctor like a logical person. We talked about my wrist and she recommended me for physical therapy, so that's going to happen, I think. We talked about my panic attack/hypoglycemia/gluten allergy and she suggested I try switching the order in which I take my medications. So that's going to happen, I think.
I checked my mail for the first time and was rewarded with a postcard from Otter Camp Jessica and a copy of the New Yorker left from the last tenant. Win, win. Getting the postcard reminded me that one of the good things about living far away from people you care about is the mail. So please send me mail. You know, if you want to.
Fast forward a few hours to my first Ph.D. class ever. As is to be expected, I got lost and was a little late to class. But I was as lost and as late as several other people, so it turned out to be okay. This class was a seminar for all the people in my sub-discipline, Learning Sciences and Technology Design. We have to take it for nine quarters (I learned today), so there are a mix of first, second, and third years in the class. I half really enjoyed it and half wanted to throw up when I started thinking about the future and how long this might take. The professor reminded me of Dr. Skelly - nice, and funny, but no-nonsense. I like that, perhaps that's because that's what my academic personality is like also. Academic Me is nice about things, but don't bullshit me. Seriously. I know what I'm doing. Like today, when the professor asked if any of the first years wanted to introduce themselves. I volunteered to go first and started by saying, "When I was 16, I decided that I wanted to be a zoo director." Some people laughed. So then I said, "Oh, you can laugh, but it's a very real goal." And then went on to describe my research interests, blahblahblah. It seemed to be a good first impression because no one on the elevator after class wanted to talk to me. Deep sigh. And I even left out the Y-bomb.
But that was it, my first class. It was only an hour. I have no idea what the class will entail because there is no syllabus and no homework. Tomorrow is my all-first-year-doc-students seminar, which I'm pretty excited for. And my first yoga class. So that's good.
But I effing miss F&ES. So much that I've started looking at plane tickets. I can't stop thinking about all my friends there and how within a few days I felt like I had tons of amazing people in my life. Owen and I talked on the phone last night for a long time and it was insane to hear his voice. So happy and exciting but also so sad and missing. I keep looking at my phone and wanting to call people but I keep stopping myself because I don't want to be the first one to be missing.
Enough, though. Day one, year one, down. Keep calm, and carry on.
First things first, I dutifully went to the doctor like a logical person. We talked about my wrist and she recommended me for physical therapy, so that's going to happen, I think. We talked about my panic attack/hypoglycemia/gluten allergy and she suggested I try switching the order in which I take my medications. So that's going to happen, I think.
I checked my mail for the first time and was rewarded with a postcard from Otter Camp Jessica and a copy of the New Yorker left from the last tenant. Win, win. Getting the postcard reminded me that one of the good things about living far away from people you care about is the mail. So please send me mail. You know, if you want to.
Fast forward a few hours to my first Ph.D. class ever. As is to be expected, I got lost and was a little late to class. But I was as lost and as late as several other people, so it turned out to be okay. This class was a seminar for all the people in my sub-discipline, Learning Sciences and Technology Design. We have to take it for nine quarters (I learned today), so there are a mix of first, second, and third years in the class. I half really enjoyed it and half wanted to throw up when I started thinking about the future and how long this might take. The professor reminded me of Dr. Skelly - nice, and funny, but no-nonsense. I like that, perhaps that's because that's what my academic personality is like also. Academic Me is nice about things, but don't bullshit me. Seriously. I know what I'm doing. Like today, when the professor asked if any of the first years wanted to introduce themselves. I volunteered to go first and started by saying, "When I was 16, I decided that I wanted to be a zoo director." Some people laughed. So then I said, "Oh, you can laugh, but it's a very real goal." And then went on to describe my research interests, blahblahblah. It seemed to be a good first impression because no one on the elevator after class wanted to talk to me. Deep sigh. And I even left out the Y-bomb.
But that was it, my first class. It was only an hour. I have no idea what the class will entail because there is no syllabus and no homework. Tomorrow is my all-first-year-doc-students seminar, which I'm pretty excited for. And my first yoga class. So that's good.
But I effing miss F&ES. So much that I've started looking at plane tickets. I can't stop thinking about all my friends there and how within a few days I felt like I had tons of amazing people in my life. Owen and I talked on the phone last night for a long time and it was insane to hear his voice. So happy and exciting but also so sad and missing. I keep looking at my phone and wanting to call people but I keep stopping myself because I don't want to be the first one to be missing.
Enough, though. Day one, year one, down. Keep calm, and carry on.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Food and Fauna
Okay. So we talked about career stuff and in effort to not talk about my life (or lack of life) at Stanford with any substance, let's talk about food.
So the intelligent thing to do would have been to go to the Farmer's Market on Saturday and then go to Trader Joes afterward to fill in any gaps. Well, that's not what I did. I couldn't wait to get food, so I went to Trader Joes Friday night. My intention, at first, was to try to only eat what I could find at a Farmer's Market for one quarter. Then my intention was to at least get all my produce and animal products from the Farmer's Market. In other places where I have lived, this would have been possible. Sadly, so far it does not seem to be the case in Palo Alto.
At Trader Joes I got things like corn tortillas, salsa, guacamole, etc. In an ideal world, I would make all of these things from scratch. But in an ideal world, I would also not have to read for four classes every week. Not that I have to do that yet. But soon.
On Saturday, I tried to venture to one of the Farmer's Markets I'd heard about but in true Kathayoon form I forgot to check the day. Apparently, they're only open Sundays. UGH. So I refused to give up and drove myself to a different Farmer's Market in Palo Alto. All in all, the Farmer's Market was a pretty positive experience. Let's make a list:
Positives:
- Delicious produce! I bought lettuce, an onion, potatoes, strawberries, peaches, apples, green beans, an avocado, and a bell pepper all for about $15.
- Everything is in season all the time in California. Awesome.
- Nice people.
- Delicious sheep's milk cheese which I plan to get next time.
- Really cute children everywhere.
Negatives:
- The only meat-selling people were selling pork. So I'm still chickenless. Which is making me cranky.
- Everything came in plastic fruit bags. Seems...counter productive...
When I came home I made a black bean burger and a strawberry/lettuce salad with blush wine vinaigrette. It was delicious. Next week I plan to scope out the Sunday Farmer's Market and see if I have more luck getting chicken and eggs there. Isn't that interesting? I thought so.
So the intelligent thing to do would have been to go to the Farmer's Market on Saturday and then go to Trader Joes afterward to fill in any gaps. Well, that's not what I did. I couldn't wait to get food, so I went to Trader Joes Friday night. My intention, at first, was to try to only eat what I could find at a Farmer's Market for one quarter. Then my intention was to at least get all my produce and animal products from the Farmer's Market. In other places where I have lived, this would have been possible. Sadly, so far it does not seem to be the case in Palo Alto.
At Trader Joes I got things like corn tortillas, salsa, guacamole, etc. In an ideal world, I would make all of these things from scratch. But in an ideal world, I would also not have to read for four classes every week. Not that I have to do that yet. But soon.
On Saturday, I tried to venture to one of the Farmer's Markets I'd heard about but in true Kathayoon form I forgot to check the day. Apparently, they're only open Sundays. UGH. So I refused to give up and drove myself to a different Farmer's Market in Palo Alto. All in all, the Farmer's Market was a pretty positive experience. Let's make a list:
Positives:
- Delicious produce! I bought lettuce, an onion, potatoes, strawberries, peaches, apples, green beans, an avocado, and a bell pepper all for about $15.
- Everything is in season all the time in California. Awesome.
- Nice people.
- Delicious sheep's milk cheese which I plan to get next time.
- Really cute children everywhere.
Negatives:
- The only meat-selling people were selling pork. So I'm still chickenless. Which is making me cranky.
- Everything came in plastic fruit bags. Seems...counter productive...
When I came home I made a black bean burger and a strawberry/lettuce salad with blush wine vinaigrette. It was delicious. Next week I plan to scope out the Sunday Farmer's Market and see if I have more luck getting chicken and eggs there. Isn't that interesting? I thought so.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Full sentences aren't really my thing,
Palo Alto -> Houston -> Palo Alto
First of all, drove to the wrong airport. I've never lived in a city with more than one airport before.
But got to the right airport with time to spare. Arrived in Houston, survived blasting heat and humidity, ended the day at Cody's apartment.
Tuesday: Day One. Took the bus to the convention center. Hung up my poster, met the education coordinator of the Palm Beach Zoo. Entered opening ceremonies, located a familiar Oregon Zoo face, listened to Jim Collins speak.
Sessions for that day included something about how to make zoos go from good to great. Highlights of this session included seeing Tony (former OZ director) and Tiffany (former ZooCamp counselor, now director of education at the Santa Barbara Zoo). Also having Tony tell Jim Collins, "That's my intern. She goes to Stanford." I like to think with a certain amount of pride.
Other sessions: using social media. Not many highlights. And Translating Science Speak. Met the woman at Disney who tried to hire me for the research associate position. Conversation was brief:
Her: Are you done yet?
Me: Not quite.
Her: Well hurry up and finish. I still need to fill that position.
Me: I'm working on it as quickly as I can!
Her: Do you speak French?
Me: Yes.
Her: Good. We'll be in touch.
Ate lunch with a big group of Oregon Zoo people. Anne and Charis convinced me to come to the Education Track Reception to network. Attended. Met a grad student from OSU who studies basically the same thing as me. Met two women from the Ellen Trout Zoo who wanted to know absolutely everything about ZooCamp. Met the director of ed from the Knoxville Zoo who, after hearing my story, called me the Taylor Swift of the zoo world. Also notable quotes from that interaction included, "She nice, super smart, and she's not white. We'll all be working for her someday." and "What zoo do you want to direct? Because you can choose any of them" (from the Denver Zoo ed guy). Like Anne, these people also offered to introduce me to anyone I wanted to meet. Go go gadget confidence boost!
Returned to apartment whereafter Cody and I went to a tiny bar and listened to some amazing blues performed by a man with no teeth and white dreadlocks who looked to be about a thousand years old.
The next day, opening session included a talk from Joel Sartore. Empty words, beautiful pictures. First session was about engaging youth to drive environmental awareness. Tons of amazing research methodology. Met the director of ed at Woodland Park and re-met the director of The Ocean Project who invited me to sit at their lunch table so we could nerd out over evaluation techniques. On our way to lunch, we ran into the director of the Steinhart Aquarium/Chief of Public Engagement for the Cal Academy of Sciences who saw my name badge and (I'm not even kidding) goes "Ah! I've been meaning to find you. I would like to invite you out to the Cal Academy to talk about evaluation research." And he ate lunch with us too. And I freaked out. Inwardly. Honors lunch was inspiring. OZ won the best exhibit award. I cheered loudly. And they honored a woman named Karen Sussman who is now one of my new heroes. Luckily, I got the chance to stop her in the hall and tell her that and she looked genuinely appreciative. She told me to just do it, go forth, and conquer. I told her I was working on it.
After lunch, session two on children and nature. Then session three on zoo opposition. Met the development director for OZ who somehow I've never met, but who was very nice. Very emotional session, for me. Touching stories about how zoos overcame attacks from IDA, PETA, etc. Very educational. Harked on something Jim Collins said...how zoos and aquariums are one of the only sectors where when one institution succeeds, we all succeed. And when one fails, we all ask what we can do to help. Cooperation, not competition.
And then the long-awaited poster session! I scurried to my poster and entertained discussion and questions pretty constantly for the full hour and a half. Met a girl from the Houston Zoo who had come to shadow my Otter Camp years ago and somehow still recognized me. Met a woman who's Masters thesis was extremely instrumental in forming my research. Got much support from other OZ staff which was heart-warming. Got invitations from two zoos to come do dissertation research with them. Re-met my evaluation idols, and received invitations from them to attend the round table session for the Conservation Education Committee the next day. (!!)
Tired but buzzing, returned to apartment. Cody and I got dinner then went to a Turkish coffee shop where there were belly dancers. Ahaha. Priceless.
Next day, last day. Arrived early and helped my evaluation idols set up for the CEC round table. Ended up in a group with the deputy director of the Toledo Zoo and three managers from the Columbus Zoo, the San Antonio Zoo, and the Seneca Park Zoo. The D.D. for the Toledo Zoo introduced me as "the girl we're all going to want to hire someday." Would like to think that I contributed a few things to the conversation. Earned my invitation. Had a lovely chat with the Seneca Park manager afterward.
When that was done, something strange happened. I sat down to plan out my day. Wanted to make it to the zoo, but also catch my flight. Exchanged phone numbers with Tanya and Krista, planning to meet them at the zoo. Started feeling nauseous, went to bathroom, started dry heaving. Came outside and started sweating, feeling faint, feeling more nauseous. Anne attempted to introduce me to a women from Brazil who seemed very cool but I had to sit down. Waited for about fifteen (but felt like an hour) minutes to pass before trying to find OZ people to tell them I didn't feel well. Found Anne and Tanya, told them that I suspected that I was having a mini panic attack. Anne took me back to her room so I could lie down. I feel guilty for imparting my troubles upon them but they were very kind and offered nice advice and assured me that they were there to support me, etc.
Feeling better, headed to zoo day. Met Jill Mellen, one of my zoo heroes. Conversation:
Anne: This is Kathayoon, she's one of our zoo prodigies. (Insert me wanting to die) She grew up with us. She also applied for your research associate job.
Jill: Ah yes, I know who you are.
Me: I would really like to work with you sometime, perhaps doing my dissertation.
Jill: Well, as long as you keep doing what you're doing, there will be a job for you when you're ready.
Internal me freaks out. But, not much time to do a lot more since I only had 20 minutes at the zoo. But I'm really freaking proud of myself because these are all the animals I saw in 20 minutes:
Sea lions
Flamingos
Zebras
Storks
Cranes
Eland gazelles
Lions
Tigers
Little birds
Elephants
Cheetahs
Ocelot
Fossa
Jaguar
Clouded leopard
Meerkats
That's a lot. That's almost one animal a minute. I am sad that I didn't see the reptile house or the naked mole rats but I would definitely have missed my bus if I had. The nice people at the Houston Zoo let me store my bags in a private room which made my running around possible. They also called the Metro for me to see where I should pick it up and they Zoomered me to their equivalent of Gate A so I would be closer to the Metro station and wouldn't have to walk in the heat with my bags. They win.
And that was basically that. I came back to Palo Alto with a big stack of business cards and an ongoing love for this crazy zoo world. Last night, an hour after I got back, I went out with my roommate and actually maybe made some friends. At least one. Maybe two or three. Today I drove to San Francisco to spend the day with Christine, who was in town for a wedding. Tomorrow is Farmer's Market day, so definitely expect my first food-related entry.
I realize there might have been a lot of horn-tooting on my part in this entry but I'm just so darn excited that I'm actually managing to make headway in this profession while working on my degrees. I feel employable and like my expertise is coveted. Furthermore, I feel like people within my institution and in institutions around the country respect me and believe in my abilities and want to help me succeed. It's a pretty great feeling. I know I'm scared for this whole Stanford experience, but I think now I have something calming to focus on: the fact that I'm slowly becoming a real player in my industry, not just a girl with dreams who worships people who do cool things (although I am that as well). I wish I could go to the International Zoo Educator's conference, but I think Anne is going to present my research for me because another trip in two weeks is just too much stress.
Could go on and on, but won't. Instead, will just be content to look forward to AZA 2011...Atlanta!
First of all, drove to the wrong airport. I've never lived in a city with more than one airport before.
But got to the right airport with time to spare. Arrived in Houston, survived blasting heat and humidity, ended the day at Cody's apartment.
Tuesday: Day One. Took the bus to the convention center. Hung up my poster, met the education coordinator of the Palm Beach Zoo. Entered opening ceremonies, located a familiar Oregon Zoo face, listened to Jim Collins speak.
Sessions for that day included something about how to make zoos go from good to great. Highlights of this session included seeing Tony (former OZ director) and Tiffany (former ZooCamp counselor, now director of education at the Santa Barbara Zoo). Also having Tony tell Jim Collins, "That's my intern. She goes to Stanford." I like to think with a certain amount of pride.
Other sessions: using social media. Not many highlights. And Translating Science Speak. Met the woman at Disney who tried to hire me for the research associate position. Conversation was brief:
Her: Are you done yet?
Me: Not quite.
Her: Well hurry up and finish. I still need to fill that position.
Me: I'm working on it as quickly as I can!
Her: Do you speak French?
Me: Yes.
Her: Good. We'll be in touch.
Ate lunch with a big group of Oregon Zoo people. Anne and Charis convinced me to come to the Education Track Reception to network. Attended. Met a grad student from OSU who studies basically the same thing as me. Met two women from the Ellen Trout Zoo who wanted to know absolutely everything about ZooCamp. Met the director of ed from the Knoxville Zoo who, after hearing my story, called me the Taylor Swift of the zoo world. Also notable quotes from that interaction included, "She nice, super smart, and she's not white. We'll all be working for her someday." and "What zoo do you want to direct? Because you can choose any of them" (from the Denver Zoo ed guy). Like Anne, these people also offered to introduce me to anyone I wanted to meet. Go go gadget confidence boost!
Returned to apartment whereafter Cody and I went to a tiny bar and listened to some amazing blues performed by a man with no teeth and white dreadlocks who looked to be about a thousand years old.
The next day, opening session included a talk from Joel Sartore. Empty words, beautiful pictures. First session was about engaging youth to drive environmental awareness. Tons of amazing research methodology. Met the director of ed at Woodland Park and re-met the director of The Ocean Project who invited me to sit at their lunch table so we could nerd out over evaluation techniques. On our way to lunch, we ran into the director of the Steinhart Aquarium/Chief of Public Engagement for the Cal Academy of Sciences who saw my name badge and (I'm not even kidding) goes "Ah! I've been meaning to find you. I would like to invite you out to the Cal Academy to talk about evaluation research." And he ate lunch with us too. And I freaked out. Inwardly. Honors lunch was inspiring. OZ won the best exhibit award. I cheered loudly. And they honored a woman named Karen Sussman who is now one of my new heroes. Luckily, I got the chance to stop her in the hall and tell her that and she looked genuinely appreciative. She told me to just do it, go forth, and conquer. I told her I was working on it.
After lunch, session two on children and nature. Then session three on zoo opposition. Met the development director for OZ who somehow I've never met, but who was very nice. Very emotional session, for me. Touching stories about how zoos overcame attacks from IDA, PETA, etc. Very educational. Harked on something Jim Collins said...how zoos and aquariums are one of the only sectors where when one institution succeeds, we all succeed. And when one fails, we all ask what we can do to help. Cooperation, not competition.
And then the long-awaited poster session! I scurried to my poster and entertained discussion and questions pretty constantly for the full hour and a half. Met a girl from the Houston Zoo who had come to shadow my Otter Camp years ago and somehow still recognized me. Met a woman who's Masters thesis was extremely instrumental in forming my research. Got much support from other OZ staff which was heart-warming. Got invitations from two zoos to come do dissertation research with them. Re-met my evaluation idols, and received invitations from them to attend the round table session for the Conservation Education Committee the next day. (!!)
Tired but buzzing, returned to apartment. Cody and I got dinner then went to a Turkish coffee shop where there were belly dancers. Ahaha. Priceless.
Next day, last day. Arrived early and helped my evaluation idols set up for the CEC round table. Ended up in a group with the deputy director of the Toledo Zoo and three managers from the Columbus Zoo, the San Antonio Zoo, and the Seneca Park Zoo. The D.D. for the Toledo Zoo introduced me as "the girl we're all going to want to hire someday." Would like to think that I contributed a few things to the conversation. Earned my invitation. Had a lovely chat with the Seneca Park manager afterward.
When that was done, something strange happened. I sat down to plan out my day. Wanted to make it to the zoo, but also catch my flight. Exchanged phone numbers with Tanya and Krista, planning to meet them at the zoo. Started feeling nauseous, went to bathroom, started dry heaving. Came outside and started sweating, feeling faint, feeling more nauseous. Anne attempted to introduce me to a women from Brazil who seemed very cool but I had to sit down. Waited for about fifteen (but felt like an hour) minutes to pass before trying to find OZ people to tell them I didn't feel well. Found Anne and Tanya, told them that I suspected that I was having a mini panic attack. Anne took me back to her room so I could lie down. I feel guilty for imparting my troubles upon them but they were very kind and offered nice advice and assured me that they were there to support me, etc.
Feeling better, headed to zoo day. Met Jill Mellen, one of my zoo heroes. Conversation:
Anne: This is Kathayoon, she's one of our zoo prodigies. (Insert me wanting to die) She grew up with us. She also applied for your research associate job.
Jill: Ah yes, I know who you are.
Me: I would really like to work with you sometime, perhaps doing my dissertation.
Jill: Well, as long as you keep doing what you're doing, there will be a job for you when you're ready.
Internal me freaks out. But, not much time to do a lot more since I only had 20 minutes at the zoo. But I'm really freaking proud of myself because these are all the animals I saw in 20 minutes:
Sea lions
Flamingos
Zebras
Storks
Cranes
Eland gazelles
Lions
Tigers
Little birds
Elephants
Cheetahs
Ocelot
Fossa
Jaguar
Clouded leopard
Meerkats
That's a lot. That's almost one animal a minute. I am sad that I didn't see the reptile house or the naked mole rats but I would definitely have missed my bus if I had. The nice people at the Houston Zoo let me store my bags in a private room which made my running around possible. They also called the Metro for me to see where I should pick it up and they Zoomered me to their equivalent of Gate A so I would be closer to the Metro station and wouldn't have to walk in the heat with my bags. They win.
And that was basically that. I came back to Palo Alto with a big stack of business cards and an ongoing love for this crazy zoo world. Last night, an hour after I got back, I went out with my roommate and actually maybe made some friends. At least one. Maybe two or three. Today I drove to San Francisco to spend the day with Christine, who was in town for a wedding. Tomorrow is Farmer's Market day, so definitely expect my first food-related entry.
I realize there might have been a lot of horn-tooting on my part in this entry but I'm just so darn excited that I'm actually managing to make headway in this profession while working on my degrees. I feel employable and like my expertise is coveted. Furthermore, I feel like people within my institution and in institutions around the country respect me and believe in my abilities and want to help me succeed. It's a pretty great feeling. I know I'm scared for this whole Stanford experience, but I think now I have something calming to focus on: the fact that I'm slowly becoming a real player in my industry, not just a girl with dreams who worships people who do cool things (although I am that as well). I wish I could go to the International Zoo Educator's conference, but I think Anne is going to present my research for me because another trip in two weeks is just too much stress.
Could go on and on, but won't. Instead, will just be content to look forward to AZA 2011...Atlanta!
Sunday, September 12, 2010
The Adventures of Invisigirl
Arrived at one Stanford University, Saturday, September 11th.
Met roommates. Three girls: one econ, one law, one education (!) teacher's program.
Decorated room and unpacked in an effort not to live in a lifeless concrete box.
Obligatory Target trip.
Ate delicious foods #1 and #2 with parents.
Attended first Stanford party at the apartment of Asa, brother of Rae, accompanied by Fran from FES.
Met many people but remember few. Got frustrated with throwback to college attitude and seeming invisibility.
Slept.
Drove parents to airport.
Went on an angst-reducing run.
Ate delicious food #3 with education roommate.
Called four friends. Reached zero.
Call returned from Kristen. Talked for quite a while. Realized there is no cell reception in my apartment.
Spent the duration of the day doing really nothing.
Houston tomorrow, back Thursday. Will deal with loneliness and seeming invisibility then, but not until then.
The end.
Met roommates. Three girls: one econ, one law, one education (!) teacher's program.
Decorated room and unpacked in an effort not to live in a lifeless concrete box.
Obligatory Target trip.
Ate delicious foods #1 and #2 with parents.
Attended first Stanford party at the apartment of Asa, brother of Rae, accompanied by Fran from FES.
Met many people but remember few. Got frustrated with throwback to college attitude and seeming invisibility.
Slept.
Drove parents to airport.
Went on an angst-reducing run.
Ate delicious food #3 with education roommate.
Called four friends. Reached zero.
Call returned from Kristen. Talked for quite a while. Realized there is no cell reception in my apartment.
Spent the duration of the day doing really nothing.
Houston tomorrow, back Thursday. Will deal with loneliness and seeming invisibility then, but not until then.
The end.
Monday, September 6, 2010
UGH.
This is going to be an entry about my left hand. Recall last entry when I said that my thumb felt less sprained and that was good. Well, that turned out to be a false alarm. Oops. Let's talk a little bit about the history of my left hand.
In my earliest recollection, I threw out my wrist one summer afternoon when playing tennis with Kieran and Karin. Karin taught me how to properly wrap my wrist with an Ace bandage which turned out to be a very useful skill. My mom seems to recall some point at which I hurt my wrist again while rock climbing in Darwin, Australia. I do not recall this specific incident, however, but that doesn't mean it didn't happen.
Senior year of college I had some sort of carpel tunnel situation and had to get an EMG where my doctor asked me where I went to school and then proceeded to inform me that CMC was not as highly rated as Pomona. I got angry and asked him where he went to school, then informed him that Yale was not as highly rated as Harvard. Ironic, how that turned out. However, I can't remember if that was my left hand or right hand so that might not be pertinant.
Then, first year of grad school, I was building my IKEA desk on very limited sleep. I accidentally turned the top board around and when I went to pull it off, I hurt my wrist Very Badly. I instantly went into denial and ended up tearing most of the deep tissue in my wrist. I wore a brace for a year and it sucked.
Then, last Thursday, I did something. Something, but I don't know what. I've been telling people I dropped an exhibit model and then tried to catch it, bending back my thumb. This did happen, but I don't remember it hurting. Anyway, the next day it felt like I'd gotten stung by a bee, or gotten a shot in my thumb. Identifying this as problematic, I wrapped my wrist using the aforementioned skill I learned. Things got better, and then they got worse. Now my thumb pops when I rotate it, hurts Very Much and I have lots of funny nerve things happening in my first three fingers, the most annoying of which is a lot of itchiness underneath the skin.
I'm sure that was all very interesting but the basic point I'm trying to convey is that hurting your hand sucks a lot. Colleen's mom looked at it today and suggested I get an MRI. That sounds frightening but I am willing to do it. Because I am realizing lately how, even though I'm right-handed, I use my left hand a lot, especially for things like driving, making jewelry, playing guitar, mini-golfing...you get the idea. Things I do all the time.
I have no solution for this problem except going to the doctor, like a logical person. This would be easy except I don't have time to go before I leave and I can't go at Stanford until I get back from Houston. I also don't have a solution for this problem. Let me know if you do.
In the meanwhile, I'm going to go get reacquainted with my old wrist brace. UGH.
In my earliest recollection, I threw out my wrist one summer afternoon when playing tennis with Kieran and Karin. Karin taught me how to properly wrap my wrist with an Ace bandage which turned out to be a very useful skill. My mom seems to recall some point at which I hurt my wrist again while rock climbing in Darwin, Australia. I do not recall this specific incident, however, but that doesn't mean it didn't happen.
Senior year of college I had some sort of carpel tunnel situation and had to get an EMG where my doctor asked me where I went to school and then proceeded to inform me that CMC was not as highly rated as Pomona. I got angry and asked him where he went to school, then informed him that Yale was not as highly rated as Harvard. Ironic, how that turned out. However, I can't remember if that was my left hand or right hand so that might not be pertinant.
Then, first year of grad school, I was building my IKEA desk on very limited sleep. I accidentally turned the top board around and when I went to pull it off, I hurt my wrist Very Badly. I instantly went into denial and ended up tearing most of the deep tissue in my wrist. I wore a brace for a year and it sucked.
Then, last Thursday, I did something. Something, but I don't know what. I've been telling people I dropped an exhibit model and then tried to catch it, bending back my thumb. This did happen, but I don't remember it hurting. Anyway, the next day it felt like I'd gotten stung by a bee, or gotten a shot in my thumb. Identifying this as problematic, I wrapped my wrist using the aforementioned skill I learned. Things got better, and then they got worse. Now my thumb pops when I rotate it, hurts Very Much and I have lots of funny nerve things happening in my first three fingers, the most annoying of which is a lot of itchiness underneath the skin.
I'm sure that was all very interesting but the basic point I'm trying to convey is that hurting your hand sucks a lot. Colleen's mom looked at it today and suggested I get an MRI. That sounds frightening but I am willing to do it. Because I am realizing lately how, even though I'm right-handed, I use my left hand a lot, especially for things like driving, making jewelry, playing guitar, mini-golfing...you get the idea. Things I do all the time.
I have no solution for this problem except going to the doctor, like a logical person. This would be easy except I don't have time to go before I leave and I can't go at Stanford until I get back from Houston. I also don't have a solution for this problem. Let me know if you do.
In the meanwhile, I'm going to go get reacquainted with my old wrist brace. UGH.
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