A Master’s Degree in Pictures (Day 5:687)

Got a bit more sleep due to a nice late afternoon nap. I was able to pick up some fresh pasta, a parsley plant, garlic, and snow peas at the Lakewood Farmer’s Market during my lunch break; I am really digging the local produce and how wonderful the dinner’s made by their ingredients turn out.

This dinner Mary made a nice anti-pasta with garlic, basil, parsley, and olive oil mixed with fresh-made whole wheat pasta. IN-Credible.

Other than that, enjoyed a nice cup of tea and a pastry at the local coffee shop during my remote work, and was able to push through some more of my maternal & child health literature review. I finally conquered a large retrospective Medicaid study that was using some funky data displays.

Now, time to continue the sleep! 1 year, 10 months, 17 days to go!

Today’s Note: I’d like to remember…

- how interesting Lakewood is in terms of the variety of people. Some ethnically diversity, but more so diverse in terms of personalities. The Root is a wonderful place to see it in action.

- the power of an incoming storm. In the end we are all just the playthings of physics and imagination.

- having a mind to see past what the eyes can see.

- this time when Mary and I have nights free, when kids are still a pleasant dream, and we are navigating the new horizons of financial independence.

A Master’s Degree in Pictures (Day 1:691)

I have decided to follow in the example of many others before me and keep a pictorial record of my journey through a Master’s degree. Starting this Fall, August 24th, I will be entering the Master’s of Science in Public Health (MSPH) degree at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. It will be a daring and bold trek lasting two years – including internship and dissertation – and I will be working as a part-time graduate research assistant to boot. I have a feeling that journal-worthy material will never be in short supply.

However, with that said, I don’t expect this to be a prolix project, and at the very least will be a creative work in progress with the only common theme throughout being a picture taken once per day, and a line or two of something I want to remember. At the end, you get bonus points for counting how many wrinkles and gray hairs I accumulate; I get bonus points if anyone posts a congratulatory comment once I’m finished.

The countdown begins… 1 year, 10 months, 21 days to go!

Today’s Note:  Things I’d like to remember…

- That I started this project to remember all the daily minutia that makes a life out of a lifetime.

- To enjoy a good cup of homemade fruit punch daily.

- That I am actively reducing my gas purchases at BP until the oil spill damages are normalized… not because I feel assured that other oil companies are any better prepared to handle such an event or haven’t cut corners, but because it my cathartic way of expressing grief for the years of damage left in the wake of mismanagement.

-Lunch: A local-made molasses spice cookie, a tomato, snap peas, 2 carrots, some chips, and rooibos tea.

- That “tea” refers to the white/green/oolong/black spectrum of beverages made from the tea plant, and herbal teas are considered “tisane“, meaning without tea leaves. By gum!