This was so NOT the answer I was expecting, LOL!!! But between the fact that I haven't exercised regularly over the past month or so, AND I was using the Wii fit board backwards (duh), I wasn't very surprised!!! That was 4 days ago and yesterday morning with the board in the proper place, my Wii fit age was a nice 32. Here's a screen shot of what that looks like when you're exercising (I'll try to screen shot mine next time):
I've set a goal to have rock hard abs by the time I turn 50 in September by doing a combo of walking, boxing, and yoga at least 5 days/week. And between my MUCH better diet and regular exercise, I'm on my way!!!
So I had my first day of class this week and not only was it a LOT of fun, it was just the coolest thing I've done in a LONG time! The pic above is what I took just before I entered my classroom, so needless to say, I probably wasn't what my students were expecting, LOL!!
My new Supv is an equally fly middle aged woman with an agenda very similar to mine, get more minority students into STEM careers. And my department dean is a high heeled boot and mini skirt wearing former Biologist turned administrator. So it's an understatement for me to say that for the first time in a VERY long time, I fit right in with my new colleagues!
I've said many time before that Texas has some of the nicest people I've ever met in my life and the people on this new gig are NO exception! But the thing I like most is that we're all pretty different culturally, representing every race, religion, and creed on the planet. And yeah, I think diversity makes the workplace a MUCH better place!!
Movin' on, I'm neck deep in Bio and Biochem review for the MCAT and I'm also considering teaching an MCAT course at my new school. And even though I'm enjoying this educational experience, it doesn't decrease in the slightest or take away my desire to also finish med school. But it does make my goal of staying connected to 2 year colleges for the remainder of my career pretty much a done deal.
So due to my reasonably flexible schedule (outside of med school/residency I can't EVER see myself in a "traditional" work environment again), I get to explore the downtown of my city again and have decided to post some pics of all the new and interesting things I see in a given day. I'm no photographer, but here are a few:
Substance abuse is a HUGE problem in Texas, I saw this empty bottle of Jack at the metro station earlier today.
I live very near the ARTS district, so unusual sightings like this one are quite common, LOL!!!
These are my absolute favorite pair of sneaks, I don't wear shoes like this often except when exercising. But my knees have been bothering me lately so I decided that comfortable/healthy was better than cute in this case.
Finally, in an effort to make Chemistry interesting, I decided to at the beginning of each of my classes to play a song/video related to the topic we're going to discuss in class as the students are entering the classroom. One of those songs was this one by Rihanna, since we were talking about carbon:
I'm not usually the kind of person that has negative feelings about one year ending and a new one beginning, but that's exactly how I felt at the end of 2015!! Last year was one hellva' year for me on every front possible, mentally, personally, emotionally, physically, academically, and most especially, professionally!! So I was VERY thankful to end the year on such a high mental and emotional note with my teaching gigs lined up, my academic goals moving forward, and my health in a MUCH better "glad I no longer need to have an immediate surgery" place!! WHEW!!! :) Best yet, we're leaving for our multi-state vacay later this week which had to be postponed because I had the dumb arse idea to take 2 courses over the winter break.
Movin' on, the chemistry class I'm teaching this semester will be my largest EVER, in a room that looks a LOT like this:
This is also my first time in a LONG time, teaching chemistry for chemistry and engineering majors which could potentially be challenging since premeds, ect, tend to sometimes be "know it all" kinda students. Still, I'm really looking forward to it since I've been given free latitude to teach however I want as along as I'm getting the message across to students. Along those same lines, I'm going to also start posting again on my Chemistry with Kimberly website on a regular basis too! So anything related to my teaching experiences will be discussed there.
Interestingly enough, I've also started a blog in health data science though I'm not quite ready to go public with that one yet! Turns out there aren't ANY blogs by women in health data science that I've been able to find, so it will be interesting to see how much "traffic" I generate! Speaking of health data, I'm going to a meet-up later today to see a demonstration of IBM-Watson Analytics. My interest in this platform started with IBM Watson Oncology which I learned about while working at The MD Anderson Cancer Center. I'll let you click on the links to see for yourself what it's all about, needless to say in interface between computers and healthcare is here to stay and I'm so excited about the future holds for someone like me, with a strong interest in both!!
Speaking of medicine, I've already started back with my simultaneous review of both general chemistry and biochem for the MCAT, and will start with practice tests in those subjects when I finish my current course next week. Yep one thing ends, another begins, that's how I'm happily rolling these days! :)
