The One with the Last Thing!

List 10 things you would hope to be remembered for.

Ten is a long list!

1. That I am a good person; a good friend, daughter, sister, wife and mother (to be).
2. That I try to always be there for people when they need me; as a listening ear, shoulder to cry on, volunteer house painter, whatever.
3. That I am a hard worker and do a good job.
4. That I am intelligent.  Not just “smart” or “good at chemistry” but intelligent.
5. That I am wise.  Again, not just "smart," but wise.
6. That I am capable.
7. That I sincerely care about others.
8. That I am funny.
9. That I always win word/trivia games!  (Maybe not always, just pretty often)
10. That I have good taste.

The One with Thing 29

What do you think people misunderstand most about you?

I had to ask Justin for help on this and I think he gave a good answer.  It’s something most people don’t understand about both of us actually and that is- our jobs.  Yes, we are students; no, we don’t take classes; yes, we get paid; and no, we don’t pay tuition (technically we do, the department just pays it for us).  I’ve explained this to so many people and some of them multiple times and it’s hard to separate the typical “college student” idea from what we do.  That’s because we’re science graduate students.  Science and engineering grad students get paid to go to school.  We don’t say that we’re “majoring” in chemistry anymore; we do chemistry research.  We took classes our first year but since then (so for over 3 years now) we have been paid research assistants.  Most other graduate degrees take more courses than what we did but if you think about it, they also typically have a hands-on section at the end of the program.  They just usually call it a “clinical” or “rotation.”  Science/engineering PhD programs are organized to not just train you how to use multiple instruments and follow procedures but to be able to develop those techniques yourself so the hands-on portion is longer and you learn a lot on your own during that time.  My research (plasmonics) is in a fairly new field (it’s really only been recognized as its own field for ~25 years) so there aren’t many textbooks about it.  I read a lot of science articles and see if I can get any ideas about what my own results might be indicating.  That’s what we really do.  Next year you won’t have to worry about it though.  We’ll actually have jobs and I’ll just say “I teach chemistry.”  So much easier to understand!

The One with Thing 28

What is your love language? (See Gary Chapman's 5 Love Languages) 

Apparently my love language is:

Quality Time

In the vernacular of Quality Time, nothing says, “I love you,” like full, undivided attention. Being there for this type of person is critical, but really being there—with the TV off, fork and knife down, and all chores and tasks on standby—makes your significant other feel truly special and loved. Distractions, postponed dates, or the failure to listen can be especially hurtful.

Hahaha!  Love this- “nothing says, “I love you,” like full, undivided attention.”  That’s right!  It’s actually 100% accurate, just ask Justin.  This is how I show other people I love them too.

The One with Things 26 & 27

What popular notion do you think the world has most wrong?

The phrase “It’s my life.”  Hate to tell you but even though it is “your life,” every single decision you make will have an effect on somebody else.  Every single one.  It may be good or bad or not really matter at all but it does affect someone else.  Not to mention it is just plain selfish and I hate selfish people.

What is your favorite part of your body and why?

I’d have to say that while there are definitely things I don’t necessarily love, I am overall pretty happy with my body. Shocking right?  Apparently beauty ads aren’t convincing enough because I’m ok with myself!  My favorite part would probably be my legs because I played volleyball and tennis for so long and now I’m into mountain biking so those suckers are strong!  They’re ridiculously skinny but it’s pure muscle baby!  At my bridal shower we played a game where my bridesmaids had recorded an interview with Justin and asked him what physical feature of mine was his favorite.  He actually really shocked me when he said legs because he had honestly never told me that before!!  I guess he thought it was too saucy to say before we were actually married.

Check out that quad!  Woot!  Hahahaha!!  More like check out the lack of tan!

The One with Thing 25

If you could have dinner with anyone in history, who would it be and what would you eat?

I honestly don’t know.  I don’t really have any personal heroes from history, scriptural or otherwise.  I mean obviously it would be cool to have dinner with Jesus but hopefully I get to do that for the rest of eternity right?  Other people I like from history (in no particular order) Queen Esther, Marie Curie, Einstein, Newton, the Beatles, Jane Austen, James Dean, Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly, Peter (the apostle) & Ammon.

If it was my last meal I would definitely want to go to Rodizio’s with Justin.  That’s where we went to dinner the night he proposed to me and for our first married Valentine’s Day so it’s kind of special to us.  And delicious.  It’s a Brazilian barbecue restaurant- Dad, you would think it’s heaven.