Kyllan and I are headed to her sister’s to celebrate the coming of the New Year. My Parent’s are hosting what may be becoming an annual New Year’s Eve party. Hopefully my dad will post some pictures of the event.
Speaking of pictures, Kyllan received a new camera (from me) this Christmas. Pictures can be found on her flickr account.
Happy New Year everyone!
I have made it safely to Dallas.
Denver is getting approximately 1inch of snow an hour with 20-30mph winds. I am supposed to be flying out to Jacksonville, but Denver International Airport is now closed.
Update: A state of emergency has been declared. My flight for tomorrow has been canceled.
Update: -9am 12/21- My flight is now leaving at 7pm, but I will have to spend the night in Houston and fly to Jacksonville on Friday morning. It is still snowing and the city is saying it will be another 24 hours before side streets are clear. I am not optimistic about getting out of here.
Update: -11am 12/21- It’s official. After 25 consecutive years, this will be the first Christmas I do not spend with my family. My flight has been canceled. It’s still snowing, the plows that were out have been recalled so the National Guard can move the abandoned cars that are blocking there path. The streets aren’t expected to be clear until tomorrow afternoon, when the airport re-opens. The airline says the earliest they can get me to Jacksonville is the 27th. I am still holding out hope that someone else will cancel their flight on Saturday or Sunday and I can book that… I didn’t make it to the first floor of my building, but there are a few pictures on my flickr page.
Update: -4pm 12/21- So it looks like Kyllan and I will be spending our first Christmas together. The snow has stopped and the plows are back out. Sitting at home by myself was not an option, so I will be driving to Dallas sometime this weekend. From there I will catch a flight to Jacksonville with Kyllan for my parents’ New Year’s Eve party. (She was already planning to go. ) It’s the same airline, but they would not change my ticket to Dallas. They wanted to charge me a bunch of fees if I did anything other than fly out of DIA or another small airport 194 miles away. It was cheaper for me to just cancel my ticket and buy a new one online. Yes, the online ticket was cheaper than what the rep on the phone could give me… I miss my family’s Christmas tree.
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 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.)
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.
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***
Yesterday marked 365 days until the wedding on September 8, 2007 in Dallas, TX! William and I are both in Memphis for his mom’s family reunion, so it was good to be with William and think about what we would be doing exactly one year from now. We are enjoying ourselves here in Memphis and I have had the opportunity to meet William’s aunts, uncles, and cousins. I had already met his grandmothers at the Cody Family Reunion. Today we will celebrate his grandmother’s 90th birthday! I know William will have several pictures to post from the family reunion when he returns to New Orleans. If you haven’t seen already, William has posted additional pictures of the house on his flickr page and you can also watch the video in the previous post. Stay tuned…
William and I are officially home owners! The closing went very smooth. My bank account is crying, but I am thrilled to have a beautiful new home. It’s the best money I have ever spent. I have posted new pictures on my flickr page. So now the long weekend of moving begins. I am moving tomorrow, mainly b/c my lease expires and I don’t want to pay for an additional month, but since the house is ready I may as well move now. It gives me the long weekend to unpack. My internet service here is suppose to turn off tomorrow, so I will be MIA for a while. I may not have internet service until sometime next week, but I will still have access to my e-mail via my phone. I will try to get an e-mail out as soon as possible with my new address. Thanks for everyone’s support during this process. It has been very exciting, but I am glad is is finally over!
I lied. As you see I have in deed made a Katrina post.This is all you are getting out of me… Below is a link to a six minute video about Xavier’s recovery efforts since the hurricane. It’s a quicktime clip, so it may or may not play in your browser. For those of you who know little about Xaver, read up.
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After Katrina: Rebuilding Xavier University of Louisiana