Merry Christmas

Hey all! Hope everyone is having happy holidays!

I'm still writing here from California. I've been really busy as of late because in high school I had a job as a wrapper at a small local high end chocolate shop in my town and ever since then I still go back and help out whenever I'm back in town. Since the holiday season is one of the busiest times for chocolate buying (who doesn't like chocolate, right?) I have been working eight hour days since I got back.

But now it's Christmas which is really exciting. My family always celebrates Christmas on Christmas eve so last night we went to an aunt and uncle's house. It was so nice to see my extended family. I have so many cousins, it's ridiculous. On my dad's side alone, I have sixteen cousins. It was really fun because since I am only one of two of the cousins who live outside of an hour from where we grew up in California (the other being my cousin Kelly who lives and works in Hawaii) everyone wanted to hear about how life was in New Orleans (which was fun telling them about school and my friends and such).

Even though going to school far away from home can cause homesickness sometimes (I really love my mom's cooking and not being able to see my brother and cousin grow up is kind of sad) I wouldn't have it any other way. Your friends become your family, and it's fun to be able to realize that you are a responsible person on your own. Anyways, below are a few photos from my family Christmas.

My cousin, Shaun, who opened up my Christmas present. I got a Save Nola shirt!

Me with my little cousin Gavin (whose present is bigger than he is)

My cousins Rachel (left) and Vivian (right)

(From left to right) Brian, Nick, and Shaun.

Brian and Rachel and me

Happy holidays everyone!

Snow Day

So, I'm home now from school and have been for the past couple of days. Finals went okay although I didn't do as well as I would have liked to. Life moves on, though.

Now that I'm at home, I get to wake up to this...

(my dog, Milano)

Before I left Tulane for a more domestic setting, it snowed last Thursday! That's right. It snowed in New Orleans! Now I know that admissions talks about how the weather is beautiful all year round (which for the most part it is)... but we were so excited to wake up to snow outside our window!! (I got at least ten text messages/phone calls at eight in the morning that said "SNOW!" It was really exciting.

Anyways, here are a few pictures:


Some captions:
Picture 1- Snow on the UC quad (right outside my window)
Picture 2- Snow on the palm trees. A rare sight.
Picture 3- Me walking through Brown field (which was definitely white)
Picture 4 - The quad melting with a lone snowman still sitting there.

It was exciting. Trust me.

Finals

Here's the latest:

It's finals period so basically I've been swamped with a lot of work. Want to know what I did all weekend? Here is a photographic representation:

This was the view from my table at Starbucks (the top photograph) which I was basically been glued to since Friday afternoon. In all seriousness, I think I spent more time studying organic chemistry this weekend than anything else combined (my book, white chocolate mocha, and notebook at in the bottom picture). It was a little sad.

On the plus side, though, I took the test this morning, and it wasn't as horrible as I thought it was. The thing about organic, though, is that you never really know how you do until you get the test back. Anyways, I have a public health final tomorrow and then a physics final on Wednesday and then I'm free!

So, here is a short list of things I am looking forward to after 5 pm on Wednesday:

-Not having to look at an orgo/physics/public health textbook for a whole month

-Christmas shopping

-Taking a nap

-Indian buffet at Nirvana with friends Thursday night

-Just hanging out with friends for a few days with nothing to worry about

-Good-bye-for-a-little-while hot chocolate on Friday night
-And, of course, I go home on Saturday.

Even though I'll be sad to leave my friends in New Orleans, I'm really glad to see be able to see my family and friends from high school.

Okay. Enough procrastinating from my end. Wish me luck!

A Typical Tulane Day

So, you might be wondering where I was at this turkey day, and the answer is… right here in New Orleans. Now, no, my family did not forget about my existence or anything, but I just have a lot of work to do and it was impractical for me to fly out to California, so instead my mom flew out here for a few days, and I stayed with her in a hotel in the Quarter (which was a nice break from school).

We ate so much good food (breakfast at Brennan's in the Quarter is a must do if you visit New Orleans... try their bananas foster!) and went black Friday shopping, so it was a good time. She left earlier this morning, though, so I have the next couple of days to study for an organic chemistry quiz that I have and for all the finals that are coming up in just a couple of weeks!

Anyways, I wish I had more to write about for the past week, but unfortunately my life has been consumed with very little more than alkynes and spectroscopy (Google them if you must...) But, let me outline to you what I do do on an everyday basis. Here is a little breakdown of what a typical Tulane weekday is like for me...

9:30 AM - 9:50 AM - Wake up (always the hardest part of the day) and get ready

10:00 AM - 10:50 AM - Organic chemistry class (fun for everyone)

11:00 AM -11:50 AM - Physics

12:00 PM - 12:50 PM - Lunch with friends at the LBC (the Thai chicken wrap from Sandella's is delicious... or maybe some sushi)

1:00 PM - 4:00 PM - Organic chemistry lab

4:00 PM - 4:40 PM - Free time (usually spent napping, running errands, typing up emails, calling people on the phone)

4:40 PM - 6:00 PM - Mentoring Myles (Myles, picture below, is the sixth grader that I mentor at a local school twice a week)

6:00 PM - 6:30 PM - Women in Science meeting

6:30 PM - 8:30 PM - Teaching English as a second language classes

8:30 PM - 9:00 PM - Late dinner with friends at Bruff

9:00 PM - 11:00 PM - Hanging around with friends (pictured below, Meghan, Amanda, and I were playing Sorry! last week)

11:00 PM - 1:00 AM - Schoolwork and tying up other loose ends

1:00 AM- Bedtime!

So, this is basically what I do on a day to day basis - not too exciting, but I enjoy it.

Hope y'all had a great Thanksgiving! I can't believe it's going to be December!

KaBOOM! Build

So, my life has been a little hectic since last week. I had a physics test last Friday, an organic chemistry test yesterday, and an organic chemistry lab final earlier this afternoon (that's what I get for being pre-med I guess). But now all I have is a public health presentation next Tuesday before Thanksgiving break so I can breathe easy for at least the next few days.

Despite all the school craziness, though, I found some time this weekend to help out with a great community service project called KaBOOM! If you don't know, KaBOOM! is a national nonprofit whose goal is to make it so that there is an accessible playground in every neighborhood. Basically, it was an awesome way to spend a Saturday morning.

About a dozen of us (pictured above in front of the finished playground) from CACTUS (the umbrella community service organization at Tulane) including my good friend Seth (pictured below) helped out at KIPP Central City, a local charter school, to build them a new playground, fix up their basketball courts, and plant them a new garden.

All in all, there were about a couple hundred volunteers who helped do things like paint, spread mulch (which I did for like three hours), mix cement, put up the playground, etc. It was so cool to see because the lot literally started off with nothing there, and six hours later, we had a full fledged playground!

Below are some more photos from the day...

I also went to see the India Association of Tulane University's Diwali show on Sunday which was really cool and colorful (and they served some really delicious food afterward! I love Indian food!).

That's all from my end. More to come next week!

Also, I definitely want to hear from you. If you have any questions or comments, that's what the "comment" button is for!

Voodoo Fest

The number of great festivals in Louisiana never ceases to amaze me. Whether it is Jazz Fest, the Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival, or even the Madisonville Wooden Boat Festival, Louisiana is never short of having opportunities to socialize and eat.

The most recent one to roll through town a few weeks ago was Voodoo Fest, a three-day music festival with big names (Nine Inch Nails, Mars Volta, Panic at the Disco!) as well as local bands (Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Hot Club of New Orleans). My friend Meghan (shown here with me before a night out earlier this semester) had scored us a very good deal on tickets for the Saturday (October 25) – free admittance for a few hours of volunteering at the festival. Considering that tickets usually ran fifty dollars and that when Meghan and I get together a good time usually ensues, I was so in.

So, after a nice brunch at Bruff (because who doesn't love Bruff brunch?), we set off to City Park at around noon.

We ended up tabling for the Ashe Cultural Arts Center, a community center in New Orleans which focuses on education about African American culture. She and I were set loose to pass out flyers to any passersby who would give us a chance (which was an interesting experience to say that least). There were so many people dressed up in bizarre costumes – Meghan’s and my favorite was this girl with bright blue hair, a furry blue skirt, and matching furry blue boots.

After a couple hours of handing out flyers and talking up the cultural center, we were allowed to go.

Of course, the first stop for us was to look around at all the vendor's booths. Meghan ended up buying a great purple “Defend New Orleans” shirt, and I finally bought myself a pair of sunglasses. Then, we peered around at the different concert stages and scoped out which shows we wanted to attend.

After a quick stop to buy Meghan (pictured looking very hungry) a spinach and crawfish bread bowl, we decided to meet up with some of my friends who had places near the stage where Lil’ Wayne was going to perform.

Quick background note: although I can enjoy the occasional Lil’ Wayne song and even know the words to a few, I am not exactly his biggest fan. Neither is Meghan.

After fighting our way through the massive sea of people, we somehow made it next to my friends who were not exaggerating when they said they were thisclose to the stage (notice the picture below). It was quite the spectacle when Lil’ Wayne came to the stage. We were in the midst of the really hardcore Lil’ Wayne fans; they knew all the words to every song, and all the female fans screeched at the top of their lungs every time he did so little as breathe.

My favorite quote from that day was from Meghan: “I wish I could just lay down on a stage and have people just adore me.”

We then met up with one of Meghan’s friends for a while and enjoyed some lemonade, but by that point we were so exhausted that we didn’t stay for the rest of the night. A quick cab ride later, we were back on campus, and I think I lasted about another half hour before I fell asleep.

Just another good day in New Orleans.

Also, a follow-up story: Meghan and I volunteered with this high school Senior, Jamal, that day as well. When we were downtown for Halloween, we both were tapped on the shoulder and it was none other than Jamal, wishing us both Happy Halloweens! Small world.

Coming Soon!

Frances' blog is coming soon!