Today I looked at the calendar and I discovered that there is a little over a week of winter holiday. My reaction: YAHOO!! Though breaks are nice and inviting, I prefer the short ones over extended holidays. I did take advantage of the break by going to my lab (in the Cowles Life Science Building) to do some research. Early on in the break, my parents refused to let me go to lab. They wanted me to “relax." There was no way I could sit still while my plants in the greenhouse were withering away. My parents also said to stay at home. I planned to wait for them to leave the house and sneak out to the bio lab. It sounded really elementary the more I thought about it. I called Bianca for advice. My roommate laughed and thought I was joking about going back to school. So I called Dr. Lyons to help convince my parents to let me go. I hung out with some friends from high school and my beloved Porsha (from Trinity). We saw Sweeney Todd. I am not into horror flicks but the last time I saw a rated R movie was never. It was a tragic story but it was very well done. I also went to get my eyes checked (I am too embarrassed to tell you what my prescription is), and I also gathered 120 stars on Super Mario Galaxy.

I also got to do some yard work with my family. My dad planted some winter radishes (daikon) a few months ago. They are still tiny but he wanted to pull them up. I helped pull as much as I could. Food tastes so much better when you watch it grow from seed. We also have a tangerine tree in the backyard. Tangerines fruit in the winter season so they are common around New Years. I have been eating about four a day. My parents think the fruit is still very sour but I think it is very sweet. It could also be the fact that we watched this tree grow from a seed that was accidentally thrown outside into a pot. It germinated and now, 12 years later, it bears the brightest, sweetest tangerines in the world. Now you know what else I have been doing all break; eating. I eat, sleep, play video games, and do ecology research. I really need to get back to school.

Aren't they cute? I love radishes!

Our tangerines! They look so good next to the teapot.