Author: William

Holiday Movies

William 15 Comments

What are some of your favorite holiday movies? Classics? Are there any new Christmas movies coming out they you plan to see? My favorite Christmas movie is A Christmas Story. TNT airs a 24 hour marathon Christmas Eve. I have no idea how it started, but it has become a Cody family tradition to leave the TV in den on all day and let the movie play as we prepare for Christmas morning. Elf is a more recent film that I enjoyed. I thought Bad Santa was hilarious, but I think you can only call it a Christmas movie on a technicality. If you are trying to find that holiday spirit, this is not your film. (I think this was the last movie I saw in Ithaca. It was in the theater that I realized that I was getting sick… Long story.)

A few other favorites? Christmas Vacation, A Charlie Brown Christmas and… I can’t think of any others. What should I watch over the holidays?

Med Obsession

William 2 Comments

A former undergrad from the lab has decided to enter the blogosphere. Now in her 2nd year of medical school, the author plans to blog about her daily experiences as a med student. The blog is med obsession, and for now, the author chooses to stay anonymous. Unlike the lewis report, with is averaging less than 1 post a month, she seems committed to updating the site frequently. I encourage you to stop by when you get a chance.

A link can be found on the right hand sidebar, under Friends & Family.

Wake Forest- ACC Champions

William 4 Comments

Wake Forest defeated Georgia Tech 9-6 to become the Champions of the Athletic Coast Conference. Kyllan will be making a post about her alma mater and their victory tomorrow. (Not only was Kyllan forced to pass up tickets to the ACC Championship game in Jacksonville, she was unable to watch on television as well. No worries, I kept her updated by phone and text message.)

Denver- The Lab

William 6 Comments

I meant to post earlier about the lab. How do I like it? I love it. I have no idea where the state of Colorado came up with the money for this place. It is beautiful. Core facilities, prep rooms, on-site freezer programs and I’ve never seen seen administration and facilities run so efficiently. I spare you the particulars. Let’s just say I once dreamed of the perfect place to do research, and it wasn’t this nice. Below are a couple of pictures of the unboxing two weeks ago. You would have to go a few pages back to find them in my flickr account. This is of one of our two bays. And yes, you can see snow capped mountains from my PI’s office. I will have to take some better pictures of the view sometime this week.

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Day 1 Day 2

Thanksgiving Holiday Weekend

William 6 Comments

As Kyllan told everyone in her post, my parents and I spent Thanksgiving with Kyllan and her family. (When I say her family, I mean her family. There were around 30 people at her parents house on Thanksgiving.) The weekend also included a surprise engagement party. Kyllan and I were told that we were going to a surprise birthday party for her cousin’s wife. We were probably socializing for about 15 minutes before we were told the surprise was on us. The next night Kyllan and I went to one of her cousin’s house to watch the Wake Forest vs Maryland game. It wasn’t long before more cousins showed up. We ended up playing board games late into the night. It was a fun trip and it was great to get to know Kyllan’s cousins better. Now we won’t all be a bunch of strangers at the wedding.
There are plenty of pictures on my flickr account. Kim N., Kyllan’s sister, has also posted some pictures to her flickr account.

Denver- First Impressions

William 2 Comments

I arrived in Denver Monday after a 15 hour drive. I saw my new apartment for the first time on Tuesday, after the movers had already started moving things in. (Apparently the locks were being changed when they arrived and the guys let them in while I was in the office signing my lease). I haven’t actually been down town yet, but the parts of Denver I have seen look nice. The weather is not any where as bad as Ithaca. The highs have been in the low 60s and the lows in the high 30s this week. While I haven’t seen any yet, it is supposed to snow tomorrow. Everyone says it usually melts by the next day. It is incredibly flat here. You can see for miles from the third story of my building. If my apartment was facing west, I would be able to see the mountains way of in the distance. I have a few boxes left to unpack, but I am starting to settle in. I can’t believe how much stuff I have collected over the years. Every time I move I get rid of things, but when I get to my new location I still have way to much junk.

I live about 4 miles from the lab. I stopped by today to go to a seminar and fill out some paper work. The facility is beautiful. It is an open lab setup, which I am not sure how I feel about. (Anyone ever been in a school built during the 70s where the classrooms have no walls? Good idea, bad execution or just bad idea? Either way, it actually works well in a laboratory setting, but it makes me feel like big brother is always watching). My PI’s office has a view of the mountains. The labs in a second research building, which is being constructed and will partially block his view, will have a view of the mountains.

I am having a hard time adjusting to the altitude. I have been exhausted and out of breath since I arrived. No matter how deeply I breathe, I don’t feel like I am getting air. People tell me it will take about two weeks to get adjusted.

I plan to do a little exploring this weekend. I also plan to post a few pictures of the apartment. I would watch the Wake Forest vs. Florida State game, but it is not airing here. (It is not airing in Dallas either). Thursday will be my first official day at the new lab. I will try to take a few pictures and post more thoughts about it then.

Hitting the road

William 2 Comments

That’s it people. Next time you see a post from me, it will be while I am on the road. The packers come tomorrow and I will be headed out Tuesday. The lab is sitting in a warehouse in Baton Rouge waiting to be picked up. I will stop over in Dallas for a few days before I head for Denver. Rumor has it that Kyllan and I will be taking engagement photos while I am in town.

Kim N. posted some new pictures to her flickr account. Of course it is still locked down, so if you don’t see anything, mouse over the photo by her screen name “Drewnick,” and click the add as contact link. Maybe she will add you as a contact too, and then you can see her pictures.

Caroline Cody

William

This plaque is of my sister Caroline Annette Cody. It sits in the lounge area of the Biology Department at Xavier University of Louisiana. Today would have been her 29th birthday. There is an identical plaque in the “Caroline Cody Library” at the University of Florida College of Medicine. The library is located in a medical student lounge and provides free access to medical text books. The College of Medicine has also established the Caroline Annette Cody Memorial Scholarship Award, “presented to a third-year student who best exemplifies Caroline’s remarkable personal characteristics and altruistic service to the community.” The Jacksonville Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity also presents a scholarship in memory of Caroline. It is a competitive scholarship awarded to a local graduating senior who will be attending a four year university the following year. The first recipient attended Xavier and is now a in medical school. The Gamma Alpha Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority presents a book scholarship every year to a current Xavier University student.

I could write for days about my sister, her life and her accomplishments. So many people seem hesitant to ask me about Caroline. I have so many memories of my sister I could share with you. I promise, the stories I would tell wouldn’t make you cry. They would make you smile and they would make you proud. That is one of the reasons I discussed the scholarships above. The other? I think the easiest way to explain the impact Caroline’s life had on her family and friends is to see the things done to preserve her memory. Some more examples are below.

Read about Caroline being posthumously awarded her M.D. here and here

Read about the “Caroline Cody Act” which was passed last year in the state of Florida here and here

It is more important to me that you read the articles above, but here are two articles from after the trial here and here

… I have blocked commenting on this post. I would, however, enjoy calls or e-mails from you sharing your thoughts and memories. I am sure my parents would as well.

***EDIT 4/10/09*** Contact information can be found the page dedicated to my sister’s memory. In addition to the information found above, it will continue to be updated. Please visit it here. ***End Edit***