Ready for Travels

It is way too early for me to be up but a cute black lab by the name of Annie decided I had slept long enough and it was time to play fetch with her new toys. Now that I have that out of her system, I can squeeze a blog in before I play in the garden.

If I had a rose for every time I thought of you, I would walk through a garden forever.

 So, it's obvious to tell I survived my half-marathon and birthday weekend. I was super sore after my run but it was a good pain. I like to think of my pain as a feeling of accomplishment (although I may complain about it for awhile). So, i bet you are dying to know my time for a 13.1 mile run. How does this sound for a first timer?  1:46:18  By the way, I beat a girl from my high school (who thought she could walk on the XC team senior year and be good) by over 24 minutes!! HA - I could have run another 3 miles before you finished!!!! That makes me feel so good. Here are my official stats from the race:

Overall, I finished in the top 15% which is more than I thought I was capable of.

So after recovering from my half marathon, I went out for my birthday. I would call it a success - I even made it back to Lena's place and brushed my teeth before falling asleep. BONUS - I didn't have a hangover the next day either :) Some people would say that's a failure of a 21st birthday but I am calling it a success. The drive back to dad's was a little boring by myself but I made it!

Free drinks at the Nitty. Yes, I loved the green balloon.

This is why I love my friends - thanks Kiley for the photo :) xxx

What else have I been doing? Kayaking...that's about it. I finished packing and there is barely any room in my bedroom for me to sleep!! Oh well, in 11 more days I'll be hitting the road. Yes, I"ll be leaving some of my closest friends but I know I'll be seeing them soon enough. If Anna and I can make it work with a freaking ocean between us, I don't think a rolling mountain range and a few hundred miles will be any challenge. I found this quote somewhere a long time ago and I guess it would work in this situation:

We are together; never apart.
Maybe in distance; but not at heart.

So in 11 days I'll literally be packing my life into 2 vehicles and driving into the darkness with only the stars and moon to guide me to Raleigh. Then I'll be driving into the sunrise once the sun decides it's a good time to show her face again. It will be goodbye to everything I've ever know and hello to grits for breakfast. *Grits aren't nearly as good as oatmeal and look disgusting. All I know is that Raleigh feels like home to me already. I could feel it when I was visiting NCSU for graduate student recruitment weekend. It wasn't an overwhelming feeling that I got when I first toured Madison, it was something totally different. As I stood on campus, I felt like I had been there my whole life and it felt right - like there was no other place in the world for me to be spending the next few years of my life. That's good because I have to be there now for awhile!! As long as a certain 3 people come visit me (you know who you are!!) whilst I'm becoming a Master in my studies, I think life will be pretty damn good.

Now off to entertain the Tank again. It will be her birthday on Friday. My little puppy that slept in my arms now takes up 2/3 of the couch. Happy First Birthday Annie <3

First day we got her :) Little Tank

Needless to say, Annie isn't this small either. Now I have a full-fledged Tank at a whopping 70 some pounds.

Packing, Packing, Packing

Guten morgen my apple blossoms! Did ya'll survive the frost last night? I want the 70s and 80s back please! So I have some cool facts to share with you guys. It starts with packing and ends with packing. Sounds fun huh?

Some crazy photographers got super close to this lava flow - thank you dude!

Once again - crazy photographer risks getting bashed by waves to get epic shots

Green Elf Cup Fungus

First of all, I am officially a graduate of Madison! And they said a Bachelor degree takes 4 to 5 years! Guess they under-estimated the power of a PlantPath Geek like me :)  My closest friend, Kiley, also graduated Madison in 3 years - degree in Chemistry! We got some cool photos (I even did one with some Badger pride - the one and only photo of that)!!

Thanks for coming to my graduation, Kiddo

Secondly, I turn the big 21 tomorrow! I also will be waking up at 5:30am on my birthday to run 13.1 miles for fun. WHO DOES THAT?! Well, me obviously. Here's the plan. Wake up, have caffeine, run, shower, eat, sleep, eat, relax, eat, get ready, go out, eat, brush teeth, sleep. Great plan eh? HA - I'm sure I'll stick to that!! Anyways - I'll survive!

PLANTS ARE THE SHIT! LOOK AT WHERE THEY GROW!!!

I like the ocean. I like the mountains. I like this place.

Yay for lava.

Thirdly, I discovered I have a lot of kitchen stuff. I don't think I'll have to buy any kitchen utensils of any sort (thanks Mom). Trying to get all of my stuff into bins and boxes is a lot of fun! You're more than welcome to join me!!  Then once I have it packed, I forgot what I put in there so I have to unpack it,  repack it and make a list of what is in there so I can do a quick check over before I cram it all into the vehicles!! My life is literally in boxes right now. It is oh so enjoyable. I wish I could always live in boxes.

Someone has this figured out!

Cool fact #4 - I bought a car. Since I'm going to be miles and miles and miles and miles and miles and miles and miles away, I figured it might be a good idea to have one to go grocery shopping. Actually, I just want to go to the mountains like all the time and play in the forest and climb things. You all just think I'm going to NC to study! My car is a 2003 Cavalier - and in darn good shape. It's obviously not a 2014 Camaro Z28 but it will do. I also discovered I have expensive taste in cars...which is not good for the graduate student wallet/budget. Oh well...in a million years I'll be able to afford my dream car!!

I DID IT!\
Now for the best fact you will ever learn about me:

I MADE DEAN'S LIST FOR MY FINAL SEMESTER AT UW-MADISON!!! I BROKE MY RECORD FOR HIGHEST GPA: 3.967

OVERALL GPA: 3.370 *started at 2.75 - boo yea!

I am not excited about this what so ever. I'm actually very disappointed in myself for achieving the worst acknowledgment you could in university. :(

Goodbye Undergraduate Days

The sun is shining and PlantPath Girl is done done done as an undergraduate!! That's right - I am no longer an undergraduate - buh-bye Madison!! So I haven't officially graduated (that's in 1 day, 16 hours,11 minutes, 9 seconds). Here's my live countdown: http://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/party?iso=20130518T10&p0=142&msg=GRADUATION

Got to sit on Abe's lab once I graduate!!

Anyways...I only had 2 finals for my last semester at Madison (who can pull that off?!) and I was done on Tuesday already. To be honest, I'm pretty bored now that I have nothing to do but have been managing to entertain myself. For instance, I went rockclimbing with Aaron, Lizzy, and Eric at Devil's Lake. Today, I went to work, got my cap and gown, read some books in the sun with my fellow roommate/graduate Kiley, and now am informing ya'll on my super important life. Tomorrow is Friday - finish work, finish packing and go crazy!! And by go crazy I mean, go for a run & dance like an idiot to my music until I'm too tired to sleep. Then Saturday at 10a, I will be sitting in graduation trying to be patient until they read my name and hand me my empty diploma holder thingy. Then off to Olive Garden for celebrations!!

I'm just so happy to be done with physics! (Sorry, Abhi - I know that's your Master's Thesis and all). By the way, Abhi was the best TA I have ever had in my college career. He brought in snacks (ice cream, cupcakes and cookies) the week of exams and to our last discussion! Plus he was super smart and always had a smile! I'm still happy that I'm done with physics (hopefully forever) and that I passed both semesters!! Now on to bigger and better things, I guess.

Anyways, have some Megan tested, Kiley approved pick up lines! See ya'll soon before I move to the big town of Raleigh! Let's graduate!

And some puns...

 Also, some "Keep Calm" stuff...

10 more days!!! YAYAYAYAY!!!

 

2013 is Awesome

I AM DONE WITH CLASSES AS AN UNDERGRADUATE!!! YES YES YES!!

So hi ya'll! A little cloud cover to prevent more sunburn is nice (I guess). At least my freckles are saying hello to the world once again and my hair too cute red! How does it feel to know you're related to someone who graduated UW-Madison in 3 years instead of the usual 4.5? Pretty cool eh? I know. Contain your excitement - I understand that might be a little difficult, but please try :)

A shout out to my cousin Nicole Cardamone - you are a great role model! I look up to you :)

Anyways, 8 more days until I am officially a Badger Alumni. Just give me my diploma so I can skip off into the sunrise towards Raleigh, NC. Yay for time zone changes. Oh by the way, don't move to another state as a graduate student. IT SUCKS TRYING TO FIGURE EVERYTHING OUT!! I recommend moving to another state as an undergraduate where you can live in a dorm and meet people to live in an apartment with. I called about 7 landlords and they were all full for the upcoming lease year but I finally found a place. Damn, is it a nice place - I am so lucky I found this place.

Mom - you ready for this? You won't be able to see out of the van!

I'll be living in a 3-bedroom (unfortunately I only know 1 of the 2 roommates). Ironically, one of my roommates has the same last name as I do - they kept asking me about my sister which confused me at first until I connected the dots. Anyways, the apartment is a 3 bed and 3 bath, fully furnished, with electricity/water/sewage/garbage/parking/internet/basic cable included, a workout facility, A POOL, and a lot of other stuff. Rent is cheap compared to other places I looked at. Let's just say my rent is under $600/month and most places are unfurnished with nothing included with rent being way over $700/month. LUCKY.

Especially in NC! Hot hot hot!!

I was thinking today about how awesome 2013 has been and will be to me. You're going to read all about it, don't worry. See below!

MOST IMPORTANTLY - I WENT TO ENGLAND TO VISIT ANNA!! I CAN'T WAIT UNTIL THE NEXT TIME WE REUNITE!! I MISS HER LIKE CRAZY :(

1. I went to Guatemala for a class trip and met some of the most amazing people ever! I miss my Guate boys so much! I especially miss my tour guide Luisa - she is absolutely amazing! Can't wait to go back and see them all again!
2. Started and finished my last semester as an undergraduate
3. Got into my dream capstone research project - Plant Disease Diagnostic Clinic
4. Discovered I made Dean's List for the previous semester!!!
5. Got accepted into my dream school for graduate school - I applied to NCSU thinking I would never be accepted into one of the top schools in the country
6. Got flown to Raleigh for free, got pampered, and met my future department
7. Figured out which lab I will be working for come fall - Carbone & Payne - yay for biological control of Aspergillus and Ustilago!!!
8. Offered an incredible package to study at NCSU - thank goodness for stipends
9. Made some kicking new friends, especially Aaron, AKA rock climbing guy
10. Registered for a half-marathon (16 more days!!!!)

Can't wait until race day!!

11. Started to figure out everything for North Carolina - which is a lot by the way
12. Got a new tattoo - the bird and tree describes me perfectly
13. Discovered I can run a half marathon in 1:44:07 (practice run)
14. I will be graduating early in 8 days - I'm too young to graduate!!!
15. I will be moving to Raleigh, North Carolina in 36 days - yippee!
16. I will be starting research of biocontrols in 51 days - scary.
17. I will be turning 21 and competing in a half marathon in 16 days

18. Discovered a new hobby thanks to Rock Climber - climbing rocks obviously
19. Got my first 100% on an exam in college (it was even physics - bam)
20. I have 3 families to love me and to love back - sucks to be someone with only two families - they are missing out!
21. I found my place in life. I know exactly what I want to do, what makes me happy, what I want to accomplish...all of that. I found my niche - now I just need to get there and love the journey just as much.

So yeah, I best be studying for finals. Aiming for the Dean's List again!!        

Come on. This made you smile. I moved on from science pick up lines to animal ones. Someone help me.