L'aventure américaine

Our homemade Christmas wreath made from salvaged greenery and Randal's capable hands. Dear family and friends, I take my last final in an hour and a half. And then I'm on Christmas break.  I cannot wait.  Neither can Randal.  He is eagerly waiting for this manic month to be over. It has been chaotic and hard and wonderful.  I have been crazy from eating too much sugar and burst into tears when laundry didn't go well.  I have presented petitions to the dean and president of the university and been interviewed by the paper.  I have not cleaned one of the bathrooms since moving in.  I have developed an assessment tool that will be used around the state of Maryland in local health departments.  I have become inordinately fond of a 26 pound cat.  I have never been aware of so many public health issues and their daunting solutions.  I have stopped listening to NPR because the news is too sad.  I enjoyed my final and even laughed in parts of it on Wednesday.  Two tear

The Presidential Election of 2012 is upon us.  I have been wearing my Obama t-shirt every day and hand-washing it at night.  Again, I marvel at how Obama can spark conversation between me and anyone on the street and bridge the gaps that normally exist in our socioeconomic divides. Randal and I are hosting an election night party on Tuesday.  Not because we're gluttons for punishment or because we're suddenly inundated with free time, but because the solidarity of a presidential election, especially when you watch the returns with other thoughtful voters who care just as much as you do, is not to be missed.  Also, you don't have a reason to make and decorate cupcakes with a political symbol very often and it's important to take advantage.  In other news, Baltimore survived the hurricane unscathed.  Classes have started in full force again.  I am starting an internship at the Maryland State Health Department and I think that Randal and I are going to move down the b

What am I up to you ask? This is what I'm up to.  And Randal too.  Get involved.  Get passionate. Check out: www.refuelourfuture.org Randal said that he would not donate to MIT until they divested from fossil fuels.  Will you make the same commitment? Refuel Our Future.

            We are addicted to oil and it’s time that we did more than just acknowledge the problem.  It’s time we beat this addiction.  As we strive to capture every last drop of oil, we are like the alcoholic that turns to antifreeze to feed his addiction because there is no liquor left.  Both forms of addiction can and will have catastrophic consequences.             Why is our addiction to oil so bad?  First, it’s bad for the economy.  We are increasingly vulnerable to its price fluctuations, which can have tremendous effects as we have seen in recent years.  Second, it’s bad for foreign policy: instead of focusing on peacekeeping and humanitarian needs, we let our foreign policy be driven by foreign oil.  Third, it’s becoming more expensive to extract.  Oil is no longer readily available; tar sands and shale oil are unlikely to meet our demand and have a very low amount energy returned after taking the energy invested into account.  Lastly, it’s dangerous to our health and our pl

  I thought that I would repost the speech I gave at his 90th birthday.  What a celebration it was.  Grandpa loved a party...  and tonight, I raise my glass to him.    Grandpa and I celebrate Obama's election in November, 2008. May 29, 2011 A celebration of 90 years.   Wow.   I've been telling people about this party and going home for my grandpa's 90th birthday blowout for weeks now and I know what people imagine when I tell them this: a small party with food that doesn’t require too much chewing, but does allow for an early bedtime.   And I try to tell them that this party is different, that this is a party .     Not many people have a grandpa that is willing to plan such a big party, although it seems that we Shanks have always been big on birthdays. But not many people have the enthusiasm and the family and the friends and the life, 90 years worth, full of passion and excitement that my grandfather does. And he has been able to maintain that for 90

Well, disaster might be a big exaggeration, but it has been an eventful week post-Malea's fabulous wedding.  We did have a wonderful time last weekend with family and old friends and delicious food and sunny weather.  Malea looked so beautiful and so happy. And then we returned to Baltimore...  We have had a bit of a mold problem that was supposed to have been fixed upon our return from the weekend.  One week later and we're still waiting for the fix.  So, it's like apartment camping!  We sleep in the living room.  We cook food among all of our personal belongings (since our dressers are in the kitchen) and the bathroom is a tight fit.  We were hoping that it was going to resolved yesterday, but the unreliable mold man never showed up.  The saga continues...  But, this story had better be closed by Friday, because my dear friend, Nicole, is coming and I need my bedroom back! Down and out Bogey The real victim this week has been...  Bogey the cat.  He went outside

It's no fancy French cookie that brings me rushing back to summers of my childhood...  it is the BLT. I am home in Indiana for a very brief stay, under sadder circumstances than I would like, but I grasped one moment of joy today when I made myself lunch. I fried up three pieces of bacon until there were crispy bubbles of white amidst lines and textures of brown.  I washed and dried 3 pieces of lettuce and laid them out on my multigrain bread.  And then I sliced a homegrown tomato...  blood red, with juice just pouring out of it.  I finished the remainder of the tomato like an apple before applying a tiny layer of Miracle Whip and closing my sandwich. As I bit into the first bite, tomato juice dripping down my chin and hands, I reminisced on the multitudes of BLTs that I have consumed at home.  We awaited with great anticipation the first ripe tomatoes and it would be one of the few times of year that Mom would buy bacon.  I remember my very exact layering of the sandwich an

It is interesting that Mitch Daniels has chosen his INShape campaign as well as the construction of new terrain Interstate 69 as his legacy in these waning days of his time as our governor of Indiana.   I have been very pleased with his “Eat Better, Move More, Avoid Tobacco” campaign [1] , but his push for this interstate seems very incongruous.   This interstate will inevitably have negative effects on the citizens of Indiana living near new terrain I-69.   While supposedly reaping the benefits of the new economic opportunities, they will be suffering from the health effects of having an interstate running through their front yard.   Studies have shown that living near an interstate substantially increase one’s exposure to ultrafine particulate matter [2] .   This means that although we may not be able to see the pollution, we are breathing in tiny particles of molecules such as iron or nitrates or aluminum.   When we’re near

"The August day came out at them like a parched and coated tongue." Fannie Hurst While I may have felt this sentiment more in dry Phoenix than humid Baltimore, I loved the image nonetheless.  Here's hoping for some rain for those 50% of counties that need it.

This is just a quick update as Sterling and I attempt to psych ourselves up for the biggest art fair in the country.  It's rained all day and I find that I'm wiped out after a week of school, so it's far too easy not to leave the apartment.  We probably should though. We are still settling into our place and are figuring out new roles and habits.  As I told Sterling last week, "I don't make the rules."  And he said, "Yes, you do."  And I replied, "That's true." So, our happiest new rule is that we must read the New York Times together for at least a half-hour on Sunday mornings.  Last Sunday it was much longer than a half-hour and it was wonderful.  I'm so full of useful trivia from "The New Yorker" and "RadioLab" and "The New York Times" and my classes that I don't even know what to do with myself.  Sterling does though.  He tells me to hush.  Not really, he's the best audience I'

Due to a fantastic letter (my first mail!  Car insurance was my second piece...) that requested pictures from our visit to Montana, I have posted some pictures of our days in Stevensville.  It was just a beautiful town.  I loved eating Kristie's homemade breakfasts and trying to make Waylon smile for me (he's in a shy stage.).  It was great to drink beer with Paul and watch he and Sterling bond over heavy machinery.  And their place is gorgeous.  Kristie was an amazing hostess, especially in lieu of the fact that she had little to no notice that we were coming.  In short, everyone should go visit Montana.  There are some Jochim's up there who will take good care of you. Kristie and Sterling take Jazz and Dakota for a ride. My head is cut off, but Waylon was happy, so it's a keeper! The Jochim living room; see Charlotte's windows? She is such a natural...  Mother Earth Incarnate. Happy with my family! Of course, this all seems a far cry from

I just updated my address and logged into all of my new Johns Hopkins accounts.  It asked for my emergency contact on one page.  For the first time ever, I didn't list my mom as my emergency contact.  I listed Sterling. I think that this means it's serious.

Wow.  It was an amazing vacation...  amazing.  Sterling and I saw so many beautiful places and things. Porcupines, bears, seals, whales, bison, mountain goats, prairie dogs, bald eagles and so many more things that I'm sure I haven't remembered.  The ferry rides, the mountains, the glaciers, the Pacific Ocean, the aspen groves, the wildflowers...  And a fantastic travel companion who could put up with me and I with him, so happily.  It was an epic vacation...  truly a once in a lifetime trip.   Sterling and I prepare to enter Alaska. We celebrate our entrance to Alaska! A false front in Dyea: a town that was the starting point to the Klondike Gold Rush (and the Chilkoot Pass) in 1898.  Hardly anything exists there today. Sterling is happy to be on the ferry, headed through the Inside Passage. A labyrinth that we walked outside of Juneau. Sterling in front of the Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau. Calving off the Mendenhall Glacier.  The ice always has a