Under the Skin

So, my friends, I have changed the title of my blog. I know, I know! It is scary. I had just finished my post below (so proceed to that post), when I looked at my title. I still love linguistics. But it's not really me anymore. When I started this blog, my mind was a whir of words. And I still love words. I will be listening to people talk and have random "I wonder why they used that syntactic construct?" moments. But when I am thinking and having thoughts bumping against the pia, arachnoid and dura maters, they are different thoughts. My mind is a jumble of molecules bonding to one another, blood doing its thing, Latin anatomy terms labeling everything as it goes, cells speeding around in their chosen method of mobility, proteins going along DNA doing their designated jobs, and ideas of how to save the world from the terrors of messed up clotting cascades. So, I felt a shift in focus was appropriate. Yes, I also changed my color. The pink was also just "n...

I am a semi-delinquent blogger. I will fully admit it. But, I suppose that I could be more delinquent. You do have to admit that. Anyways, how did my semester end? Could have ended worse. There are some classes that I feel sad to see go, such as Clinical Lab Techniques, Old Testament and Anatomy. I will especially miss anatomy. I wish I could take it again, just to take it again! Other classes, I do not regret I will not have to return to. Science of Biology for example. I did not like that class, I did not like the teacher, and let's just say I felt a strong urge to go directly to his office without passing go and collecting $200 and slugging that man after he said on our homework that it was physically impossible for girls to get bleeding disorders. I mean, it would be ignorant enough for a college biology professor to make such a blanket statement about hemophilia (which at least selects for males), but when there are bleeding disorders that are AUTOSOMAL , I could ba...

So, we return to Cooking for College Students. I made something up today. It was risky and I was afraid that it would be disgusting, but it was absolutely AMAZING! Baked Pork boneless, lean pork chop potato carrot olive oil nutmeg cloves dried onions Put them all together in a pan, put them in the oven at 375 degrees for awhile. I don't know how long. As long as it took me to visit teach the girl upstairs. Anyways, it turns golden-colored with some kind of carmelized looking things on the sides of the pan. I also did it on top of foil in the pan. Mostly to facilitate easy clean up, but I don't know if it would make a difference. Basically, it was just amazing. I had nutmeg and cloves from making gingerbread, and wanted to try some new spices on my meat. Basil was getting too basic.

So, my roommates recently asked me why I use kosher salt. The answer is complicated. The first answer is just that that's what I bought. The second answer is that I find it to be more flavorful meaning that I use less of it (which is both cost-effective and healthier) and that it contributes more than just "saltiness." But those were things I discovered I liked about kosher salt after I bought it. They mean I'll probably buy kosher salt next time. My mother, on the other hand, has recently started using sea salt almost exclusively. I don't really have an opinion about this one. But she says that she tastes a difference and that she like sea salt better. I could analyze this, but I don't know. So, my question, dear readers, is what about you? What salt do you use? Sea salt? Kosher salt? Iodized salt? Some other kind that I've never heard of but would love to?

I take a short hiatus from Cooking for College Students for a few reasons. 1) Tonight, I just had a boneless pork chop. Which is pretty uninteresting. I just seasoned it and stuck it in the oven. 2) I have something I wanted to share. I have learned that I do have a favorite book in the Bible. It's Jeremiah. I have learned so much from Jeremiah, and it has gotten me through so much. I savor and crave the words of Jeremiah. Today, I want to talk a little bit about adversity in the context of Jeremiah. In the LDS Church, we oftentimes speak of adversity as something that you have to endure. And it's almost as if you don't approach adversity with complete happiness and a gung-ho positive attitude, you are being evil. I would like to put adversity in the context of Jeremiah. Note: Most of this could also be applied to Joseph Smith, whose story, as my Gospel Doctrine teacher pointed out, in a lot of ways is Jeremiah Part II. Anyways, a little bit of history (that I lear...

So, this is kind of a recipe, thus why it goes under this series. However, this is more a story of my life. At some point in your life, you will open up your food storage unit and realize that you have nothing to eat for dinner. Whether this is because you don't have the money to buy food, or your need to visit the grocery has increased from "need" to an actual imperative NEED, or whatever, this day will come. Mine came. And the reason was the second listed. So, I went to anatomy with the assumption that I was going to be eating jello for dinner when I got back. Come on, there are four servings per box, and so if you eat a whole box, that's 320 calories. That could be considered a meal, right? There are even 2 grams of protein in each serving! But, I donated blood yesterday, so I know that my caloric demand is a little higher. So, while studying Old Testament, I came to a realization. In the Book of 1 Kings, Elijah comes to a widow to ask her for food. Her r...

I haven't been to the grocery store in a while. This means that instead of coming home from work and thinking, "What do I want for dinner?", I come home from work, stare at my shelf of the pantry and then my corner of the fridge in turn and think, "What can I concoct out of this stuff?" I mean, the pickings are getting slim. This has lead to a couple of things. One of them, Beth actually invented and I altered it, but I'll share it anyways. The other, I was wary about, but it worked out and turned out to be very good. RECIPE 1: Ranch Chicken chicken ranch dressing basil tiny bit of salt (it makes the meat more moist in my opinion, so even though my dad never liked it and thus my mom never cooked with salt, I do). So, you cook the chicken in the salt and basil using your favorite cooking technique. I like to put a DAB of oil on the pan so that it doesn't burn up, but not too much, or the recipe gets oily. Then, you add the ranch dressing and let it c...

So, I have a new recipe. It was developed yesterday for dinner. It doesn't actually have a name yet. But I liked it, and it was inexpensive. This one, there aren't set proportions. I just kind of decide as I'm going along how much of each to put in there. Ingredients: Turkey that masquerades as ham (you know the stuff) carrots broccoli tomato Montreal Steak Grill Seasoning olive oil Mix it all together in a pan and let it cook. It's very good.

I have embarked on a blog project which may or may not live to adulthood. It's called "Cooking for College Students." Since living in my own apartment, I've learned a few things about me and cooking: 1) my meal choices are heavily influenced by what is on sale at either Macey's or Smith's depending on which car-bear-roommate is going to the grocery store and her personal grocery store choices. 2) While cooking for myself, I don't have to eat things I don't like, and things that I love which basically no one else in my family does, I can eat to my heart's content. 3) My cooking is also heavily influenced by my ability either to not make leftovers or to make an acceptable form of leftover, given my terrible dislike for food that has been adulterated by a microwave. However, I have noticed that the general college student kitchen is governed by two factors: price and time constraints. That is why I am sharing my college student recipes. I know...

So, I have recently had my profile on Mormon.org approved. The Palmyra Stake did a lot of pioneering on this project, and I submitted a profile. I think it's a wonderful idea, and it really helps people understand that Mormons aren't cookie cutters. We're all types of people from all types of places. You can see my profile by clicking on my Mormon button.

Today, I got back from being a counselor at Camp Little Oak. Camp Little Oak is a camp for girls with bleeding disorders such as hemophilia and Von Willebrand's disease, or who carry the gene for it (symptomatic or asymptomatic). I went there for a lot of reasons. For one, because I want to research those types of diseases. But now that I'm back, I can't wait to go back next year. I loved being with those girls, and the staff members. I loved their zest for life and their enthusiasm and optimism. It was one of the most tight-knit places that I've ever seen (excluding the church) and I have most all positive things to say. I also enjoyed the humor with which the hemophiliac counselors treated hemophilia. No taking themselves to seriously there (ex: "Someday, we bleeders might have a revolution, but it'd be a short-lived revolution. Just hit us too hard, and we're all down for the count," or "You clotter!"). I also have now official...

I am approaching having lived in Upstate New York for four months. And as such, I’m starting to notice things about New Yorkers. These are just general observations, and do not mean that every New Yorker is this way, but, living about them in their rural world with almost everyone about having been born, bred and lived their entire within the same 30 mile radius, I’m making generalizations. Further, I must clarify that I love living in New York. I really do enjoy it. It is perhaps one of my favorite places that I have lived (Colorado still wins). But, there are things I’ve noticed. First, Upstaters tend to be short. I know, I know, I’m short. But I’m not the only one to make this observation. I admit fully that I am short, but I feel less short. I’m 5’1’’, and generally, people around me are fairly similar heights. My mother, only about 5’5’’, says that she will sometimes even feel tall in grocery stores when compared with those around her. I don’t have an explanation for this, but m...

More pictures! For the enjoyment of all. We all love pictures of babies, especially of babies that we love, and personally, I love this one. The above is the happy daddy! Sarah holding him Me Holding him He's ready for his close-up Uncle Caleb with the little one. Caleb says that he identifies with the little guy for many reasons (making labor difficult for their mothers with huge heads and the mean ways that doctors try to get those babies out, and huge heads that don't fit in hats among them) and is already telling him secrets and whispering things that he won't tell us what he's saying. He says that he will be the best uncle ever and a favorite. It's the grandpa! I think he's pretty excited to be a grandpa! He doesn't like life in his crib, as he would much rather be held, but that's not quite possible all the time.

So, my mom posted this on facebook, but here he is, my nephew. I suppose the only people who visit this blog anyways are the Hatches, so here's welcome to the family I guess. His name is Adam Samuel Russell (on his US citizenship) and Adam Samuelovich Russell (on his Russian citizenship, which isn't existent yet). He was born on July 5th at 4:23 am and weighs 8 lbs 6 0z. He looks a lot like his mommy, but he has the Hatch head, and doesn't fit into newborn hats. The hat that he's wearing is a 3-month hat. He also has hair! It's kind of light brown, but you can't see it in the picture because he doesn't like his head touched or his hat removed. This picture is Sarah holding him, but there are all the other pictures too, they're just on my mom's camera.

So, good news all around! 1) My computer is still dead, but here's the story. My hard drive failed. Irreparable. So, I bought a new hard drive (a bigger one, I use to have a 60 GB, now I have a 320 GB). I bought a SATA, and I needed an EIME or something like that, but that will be remedied shortly. I can return the SATA for a full refund, so yeah. It's getting there 2) I had a promising interview with a medical personnel temp agency on Tuesday. They think they'll be able to find me something in Med Records or medical reception. They sent my resume to the VA Clinic in Rochester, and we'll see what happens with that. 3) I called Prometric today. They're the company that manages the Nurse's Aid licenses for NY. It's not a sure thing, but my application for my Washington State registration to become NYS certification, has apparently been processed and a "certificate" was mailed on Wednesday. I think that sounds like it was approved. So, there...

So, my faithful Acer 2480, Windows XP Media Center Edition, kicked it on me. On Monday, I pushed the power button, and unfortunately, I got the lovely Acer splash screen, however, after that, nothing but the black screen of death. I am probably too self-reliant. I like to fix things myself. Computers included. If I don't know how, I will go and figure it out. So, I embarked on a mission. This mission included, but was not limited to, buying Avanquest Fix-it Utilities, external hard drives, trying to repair with XP recovery console, loading Linux and trying to rescue my files, all sorts of stuff. I got everything safely off of the D, but the C (which for a long line of reasons is not backed-up) had screwy file allocation, which I think--now that I've sorted through a lot of online info, and played with the computer-- is probably what caused the inability to boot up anyways. There are many, many things that I must rescue from said C drive, so after a successful rescue mis...

So, the job search is not complete. I haven't heard back from hardly anyone. And in the meantime, I am freelance writing. The pay is not great since I'm not well-known or anything like that, but the choices are 1) stay home waiting for a call making no money 2) stay home waiting for a call making measly money. I think I'll take number 2. I don't think that the problem with employment is because of the downturn in economy. I think that Upstate NY is just a stagnant economy. Always has been, always will be. They don't really get ups or downs here. It is, however, a summer resort, so maybe as we get closer to summer, seasonal positions will open up. Maybe as we get closer to summer, I'll get a call from one of my applications. All the same, we'll see what happens.

So, a little over a week ago, I returned home from college. I would here post all the pictures I've taken of New York State since getting here, but I'm not quite sure what I did with the adapter that gets pictures off of my camera and onto my computer. I think I might have put it in a box that didn't come to New York. At least I remembered the one that recharges my camera, and I have approximately 145 picture-taking-spots available on my camera. So, we'll just have to get them off the camera later. All the same, it is wonderful. I know that a lot of people find Seattle to be a beautiful place. I do beg to differ. I find it a dreary, ugly, terrible place to live. And you may quote me, as someone who spent 8-9 dreary years living there. But back to business. I have decided to add Upstate NY, particularly Canandaigua Lake Resort Area (where my family now lives...not because it's a resort, just because it's where they live, but it happens also to be a resor...

On my Russian Literature final there was a prompt that really made me think. And don't worry, our essay questions were out in the open for all to see before the final and we were allowed to think about them prior to the final, so I'm not breaking any Honor Code restrictions by sharing this. It started with a quote from the Russian writer, Ivan Turgenev (whom I've learned to love a lot this semester) from his essay "Hamlet and Don Quixote." I would love to share the exact wording with you, but it seems that I can't find my copy of the questions, and the text is not copyrighted, but the translation is. The basic idea is that Don Quixote is faith. He is faith in himself, in humanity, in life, in others, in something higher. Hamlet, on the other hand, is so analytical that he doubts everyone and everything. He is an egoist, but his doubt goes so far that the natural consequence of his doubt is that he does not even believe in himself. Not even his egoism can...

As many know, most European families (not all, but most) have a coat of arms, a crest, a motto, all that good stuff. So, I decided to look a bit into what being a Russell means. And maybe I'll do the same for Hatches, because I am a Hatch too. The last name Russell is Scottish and means "Red-headed" and derives from the Norman name of Roussel. The Russells are a well-respected Highland Scot clan, complete with Scottish crest and tartan: The motto on the crest "virtus sine macula" means "Virtue without blemish." As Scotland incorporated more and more into England, the Russells became nobility in that world as well, and were thus presented with a coat of arms: And yes, the motto written on that one is "che sara sara." You've got to admit, that's pretty gosh-darn cool. It really does mean "Whatever will be, will be." And in honor of that:

A literature society recently voted on the 100 Best Books of All Time. I've decided to see if I agree. They are, in order: 1. Crime and Punishment 2. 1984 3. Brothers Karamazov 4. Hamlet 5. Les Miserables 6. To Kill A Mockingbird 7. The Great Gatsby 8. Pride and Prejudice 9. War and Peace 10. The Bible 11. Lolita 12. Don Quixote 13. The Stranger 14. A Tale of Two Cities 15. Catch-22 16. Anna Karenina 17. Master and Margarita 18. The Picture of Dorian Gray 19. The Grapes of Wrath 20. On the Road 21. The Sound and the Fury 22. King Lear 23. The Divine Comedy 24. The Catcher in the Rye 25. The Hunchback of Notre Dame 26. The Idiot 27. In Search of Lost Time/ Remembrance of Things Past 28. Lord of the Flies 29. The Lord of the Rings 30. The Odyssey 31. Siddhartha 32. 100 Years of Solitude 33. As I Lay Dying 34. Frankenstein 35. Wuthering Heights 36. Beowulf 37. Dead Souls 38. Madam Bovary 39. The Old Man and the Sea 40. Slaughterhouse 5 41. The Sun Also Rises 42. Ulysses 43. The Adve...

Conference Report: My favorite musical numbers 1. "Abide with Me 'Tis Eventide" I've always loved that hymn. 2. "Guide Us, O Thou Great Jehovah" I've also always loved this hymn 3. "God Loved Us So He Sent His Son" I know that it was the priesthood session, but I had a good number of friends singing in the choir as it was BYU Men's Chorus and then all the boys from the choirs above that, so I went online and watched it. And I found them, and I really liked this arrangement. Of course, I think that all choirs should consist of men only. My favorite Talks 1. Bishop Keith B. McMullin. 2. Julie B. Beck 3. Francisco J. Vinas 4. Thomas S. Monson Sunday Morning. I love the "NEVER" kid. 5. Russell M. Nelson. A note on this one: I am the BYU 17th Ward Family History consultant. I have been praying in my heart and aloud for months now that I would be able to stress the importance of family history to my ward, which on large completel...

I had previously written an essay of the role of women in the LDS society which directed towards non-Mormons. I now find myself writing a second one, but not towards non-Mormons but towards Mormons. I admit it, I want to study. I want a graduate degree. I will not, I repeat, will not not get my bachelor's degree. That is just not happening. I am sorry. I firmly believe that the role of women is in the home. However, I do not think it's any where in God's plan for women to be ignorant, uneducated or suppressed. We are told to gain knowledge in this life so that we can have more in the next. And I think that applies to secular knowledge as well. I mean, we'd better get used to learning about how earths, animals and people are put together, because if we do what we're aiming for, we're going to have to build some ourselves. And as we all know, two heads are better than one, so I wouldn't leave this all to our husbands. I mean, I can just imagine it ...

Today is Hannah either complaining about an issue or just being flat out bitter. All right, to start with, I'm 5'1''. Yes, I'm short. But girls who are 5'7'', 5'8'' plus, you don't want to be 5'1''. There are down-sides to being tall and there are downsides to being short. I acknowledge this, but I don't want to hear about the following and how it makes your life so hard: 1) Boys don't like tall girls. Really? I wasn't aware of this. In fact, why then do girls wear heels? The tall girls on my floor instituted a rule (which is not being obeyed) that short girls may only date short guys so that the tall girls have guys that are taller than they are. The exception to this rule was a 5'6'' 1/4 Japanese boy in our ward who they thought highly attractive and so he was deemed "tall for his ethnicity" and made available to tall girls only. For the record, not all Asians are short, and 1/4 Japa...

So, right now, I'm a nursing major. But this will change in the next few days as I go through the official steps. Three questions I'm sure you have: 1) To What? 2) To do what? 3)Why? 1) To what am I changing my major? Well, my major is changing to Clinical Laboratory Science. Question 1b is "What the heck is that?" Well, Clinical Laboratory Science is a major that focuses on the very small-scale aspect of health care. When the doctor draws your blood and says, "We'll wait for this test to come back," who is it coming back from? Why the Clinical Laboratory Science majors of course! I'll be taking a lot of chemistry, a lot of biology and a boatload of microbiology and molecular biology. At the end of undergrad, I'll be certified to work in a hospital, analyzing that blood (and urine and other bodily fluids you don't want to know about) and also to tell the doctors what the heck any of it means. I still get to take pathophysiology and s...

If you remember from 2008, I'm absolutely in love with the Olympics. Things haven't changed. And our first Olympics post of this Olympics is about something my sister Sarah loves, figure skating. Today, we shall analyze the men's possibilities. First, do the US men have a chance of resolving their medal drought? The US men haven't won a gold medal since Brian Boitano, 1998 in Calgary. And they've been pretty short on all medals since then as well. Do they have a chance this year? The short answer, yes they do. We're coming in with Evan Lysacek, reigning World Champion and the man who beat Lysacek soundly at the Nationals, Jeremy Abbott. Plus Johnny Weir, but I don't have much hope for him. Why? Weir is inconsistent and a diva. That's why. But, back to Abbott and Lysacek. Lysacek is consistent and artistic and well-experienced in international competitions, where Abbott has little experience in international competition (not none, just little)...

This is just a poem that I read in my Russian Literature class. I really liked it, so I thought I'd share it. Yes, I also posted it on Facebook. “The Demon” Aleksandr Pushkin In the days when all the impressions of existence were new to me–the glances of maidens, the rustle of a grove, and the singing of a nightingale at night; when sublime feelings–freedom, glory, and love–and the inspired arts were agitating my blood so strongly, Then, casting a shadow of sudden anguish over hours of hope and enjoyment, a certain malicious genius began to visit me in secret. Our meetings were sad: his smile, his wondrous glance, his wounding speeches poured cold venom into my soul. With inexhaustible slander he would tempt providence; he called the beautiful a dream; he despised inspiration; he disbelieved in love, in freedom; he looked on life scornfully, and nothing in all nature was he inclined to bless.

All right, so last week, there was a Facebook Fad. Girls all over me were posting a color as their status update. Or sometimes it was a pattern, such as polka dot, striped, pinstriped. Or sometimes it was something such as lacy. I didn't really know what was up with it, so I just ignored it. I'm usually out of it. Not really anything new there. Finally, after most every girl I know had posted (especially popular among those whom I do not know from BYU), I figured, "I've got to figure out what's going on here." So I asked. Apparently, all over, girls were posting the color of their bras! Apparently, the boys weren't supposed to know. Apparently, this was somehow supposed to raise breast cancer awareness. How it raises the awareness when we're keeping a secret from the guys? I'm not quite sure. But all the same, I am happy to announce, that you are not going to find out the hue of my undergarments. It's not that I have no sympathy for c...