Got a package of the Starbucks’ Special Reserve Hervest 2003 coffee beans today (left one on this picture). Was about $16, a bit more expensive than some usual ones. I don’t think I have any kinds of a skill of taste-distinguishing or whatsoever, but I can tell this one is good, because it smells increadibly good. I looked up the Starbucks Official Site and found another one (right on this picture) is sold at selected Starbucks Stores. I should go get one of those sometime soon huh?
Abstract
I finished the abstract I was working on. I originally had 570 words in it but Val kindly edited it for me to shorten it (the abstract must be 500 words or less). Now my task is to make a poster about it. I have a design idea in my mind and I have all the data I want to present, so all I have to do is to take time to make the poster!
Yesterday I went out for a dinner with Ben. When we were leaving the restaurant, a bizarre thing happened. I got really upset by this so I called everything that we planned the rest of the night off. I called Akinori right away and tried to go home as quickly as possible, but the bizarrer (by hundreds times!) thing occured! The Pullman-Moscow highway was closed because of a major accident. I did not know how we could get home without using the Pullman-Moscow highway. I opened the window to ask someone, then before I opened my mouth, somebody looked very very nice drove by, and asked me “Are you goin’ back to Pullman?” “Yeah,” I said. He smiled and said “follow me!” so I did. He went on the old Pullman road (what a dumb of me, I forgot about this road!) so we went back. Anyway it was a terrible night out. I’ll never go out with him.
When I got back, two of Akinori’s friends were at home watching a sports news. Lots of upsets happened in the college football so WSU might go up a big time today (could be within the top 10)! I cannot wait to see the ranking this afternoon.
Appreciation
It’s been a while I’ve given a deep thought on the topic of Food Safety, my major field of study. It’s been crazy, I have too much focused on the prelims and everything. Yesterday I looked at the data analysis that I ran about 3 months ago, and I went, “I actually had a good data set!” I’m so satisfied with what I have done so far in terms of my research project.
Val sent me a nice e-mail message that I would keep for a long time. It says:
Subject: welcome back to the world of food safety
Masami,
It is so great to have you back working on food safety topics now that you are through studying for prelims. I enjoy working with you and appreciate your wonderful talents.
Val
I DO enjoy working with her and cannot appreciate her patience, encouragement, and everything she gives me as much as I’d like to. I am so happy about the fact that she is my advisor, mentor, friend, parent and all.
Swimming
Went to swim this morning. I’ve been doing this 3 mornings in a row. When I get to my locker, I do the combination unlocking. 28-18-10, then the lock clicks, door is open. I take out my swim suit and a gogle and change. Then I take a shower a bit with my suit on (it is required, right?).
Go out to the pool, greet with a lifeguard or two, and I quietly get in the water. First water feels really cold but I quickly get used to it before I know, and it actually starts feeling comfortably warm in a minute. Then I slowly start breaststroking. It takes roughly just over a minute to do a turn-around, so I keep stroking for a half hour. By the time I get about 1000 meters, I notice I’ve been thinking in the water.
It’s like you’re alone in the whole world, talking to yourself, and thinking deeply about stuff you really don’t have to think about. Then I think about what I just think, and go like, this is a quite luxury that I have time to think about stuff I really don’t have to think about. Lucky me, I’ve been feeling as if I’m almost like “suffered” by doing a bunch of things that I really don’t have to do, like Prelims. Lucky me, I have such luxuries in my life.
October
I’ve been waiting for today badly because I knew when it’d come to the 1st of October, I have already got things over. And yes! I got things over now!
My next task is to write up a paper that Miriam and I are working on. I also want to present my research at the International Food Safety and Quality Conference Expo held in November (Orland, FL) and the abstract due is coming soon.
So I have no time to take a real rest, but it surely feels good to get rid of a too overwhelming stress.