It's amazing how a head cold can severely reduce one's willingness to go to class. It's already enough of a struggle to wake up at 7 am for an 8 am class, especially when it's cold outside. But when you've got to wake up early, and you've got a killer sinus headache, going to that class may just not happen. It's so much easier to stay in bed after all.

In college, being sick really sucks. Chances are there isn't anyone there to make you soup, and do your laundry and make tea for you. You're essentially on your own wallowing in a nest of blankets and used kleenex wondering if it's worth it to get up and find something to eat. I know, it's a pitiful image but it's the truth.

The best (and by that I mean also the cheapest and easiest) cure for sickness is sleep. Sleep also happens to be one of those things college students never have enough of... along with money and time of course, but back to what I was saying. I find that by drinking water, taking a shower and going to bed at 7 pm or whenever is the fastest way to recover. Problem with that is adjusting to the usual 5 hrs of sleep per night after you're well.

Posted by Leighna Baxter at 12:21 PM | Permalink

Washing hair and academic semesters are similar. Semesters always go through the same set of stages, always in the same order. Washing your hair always goes in the same order, just like the academic year.

There's the beginning stage (or as I like to call it, the "I-can't-believe-that-90-minute-lecture-just-flew-by" stage) where class is exciting (because it's new) and since it's the beginning of the year there aren't many assignments. The lax atmosphere of this portion of the semester often causes student to ignore homework and studying because they're too busy catching up with friends or getting back into the academic swing of things. I think that it's probably easier to slack off at this point of the year because as far as students are concerned, exams are a whole month away at this point.

Continue reading "Lather, Rinse, Repeat" »

Posted by Leighna Baxter at 4:53 PM | Permalink

Just 5 minutes ago I finished knitting my first sock! I’d probably have to say this is my main accomplishment this week. After all, I have been working on it on and off for a few months. I know, it took me a few months to knit just ONE sock, but it’s my sock and I made it. The best part is that the sock actually looks like a sock AND IT FITS on MY foot (I’m wearing it right now)!

Continue reading "A Sock" »

Posted by Leighna Baxter at 12:04 AM | Permalink

Greetings internet world!

This is my first post... and quite appropritately so since I've only recently become a Molecular Toxicology major. So about that... it's a long story. I started at Cal in 2006 as a Chemical Engineering major. After about a year in that major, I decided it wasn't a good fit (I couldn't pass Math 1B even after a few tries) and I really wasn't happy. I searched for another major that would improve my mood and settled on Molecular Toxicology. It took both my sophomore and junior years (summer school included) to work towards meeting the minimum requirements to be eligible for filing a petition to change major. Those two years of college were nuts! At one point I was taking a full course load at Cal, working part time and taking a 5 unit class at night at Laney City College in Oakland!

All the hard work was worth it... after 2 years of working to meet the requirements I finally received notification of my acceptance into the College of Natural Resources as a Molecular Toxicology major! YAY!!! I have a major!!! I can graduate next spring!!! HOORAY!!

What? Graduate in spring 2010? You've only been there 4 years... and you changed your major your senior year?? These are questions probably running through your mind about now... Thanks to the guidance from advisors in both College of Natural Resources and College of Chemistry, and due to endless hours of planning my schedule... and due to my advisors' support, I enrolled in classes for Molecular Toxicology while I was still a Chemical Engineering major on paper. It sounds like a great plan initially and it looks like it's going to work out just fine for me... but it could all horribly backfire. Here's how: by taking classes for molecular toxicology for two years but not actually having that major, if my petition to change major wasn't accepted I would have effectively had lots of course credit that wasn't applicable for any degree and my time at Cal would not have resulted in earning a Bachelor's degree. No pressure, right?

So now enough about that... and a little bit about who I am. I'm a first generation college student raised in a small town in the high desert of Southern California. My mother and I were born in the same hospital, and we both graduated from the same middle school AND the same high school (we even had some of the same teachers). I love the Bay Area, and hopefully will never leave. I'm a campus ambassador for the university which means that I give campus tours out of the Public Affairs office. I have been an active member of UC Rally Committee since my freshman year. That's about me in a nutshell.

On Friday I'm participating in a Strawberry Creek clean up project to help remove invasive species. I'm really looking forward to splashing around in the creek for a few hours.

My class schedule this semester is as follows: PH 162 (Public Health Microbiology), PH 162L (the microbiology lab), MCB 104 (Genetics), IB 117 (Medical Ethnobotany), and two PE classes, Introductory Taekwondo and low intermediate swimming.

There will be additional, fancier blog entries to follow. :)

Posted by Leighna Baxter at 12:30 PM | Permalink