American Chemical Society meeting

so I said this blog would be about chemistry and attempting to get myself set up as such. Yesterday was the Minnesota section of the American Chemical Society meeting. First off, there was a crap accident on I-94 on Hennepin. which made me late. grr. . . I missed a lot of "How to be a Chemistry Ambassador". Most of which seemed to boil down to "look on the national ACS webpage" and "talk about interesting applications of chemistry." Good ideas, though I wasn't sure how to use that to take any kind of steps. Maybe I'm not in a position to be a chemistry ambassador. then there was dinner and talking. Most people seemed to be really nice. I got to talk to a couple of other job seekers, and at least one lady who knows her husband's company is looking for a chemist. Is this the "networking" they speak of? okay, sarcasm done. but that was good. There seemed to be a lot of teachers there too. an interesting social interaction mode that reminded me of both my high school chemistry teacher and a couple of professors at the U of I. very . . . distinctive, though I'm not sure I could really describe it. But it made me giggle. I also might have volunteered to judge for a science fair on Friday. They seem to be looking for working chemists, but hey, I've got time. It'll be good for me. Making a name as a chemist and all that. Then there was a presentation about biobusinesses. If I was looking to make a start-up, I'd have been fascinated, though apparently Minnesota doesn't have all that good of an outlook for startups. Not enough capital and support. Hmmm. . . If I was an investor I'd see what I could do, because I do actually want to take chemistry knowledge and make it useful-to see products that make someone's life better as a result of my research.

Social weekend

So not a chemistry post. But haven't done much chemistry because this was a very social weekend. which is good.
Friday. well, okay, didn't do much Friday. I was a bit grumpy about social things, I will admit.
Saturday. Saturday was roller derby. I was awesome. really truly awesome. I had been really tempted to do this in Iowa. But by the time they had a team, I was dissertationing. Yes, I made up a word there. But didn't have time. Now, however, I can. am seriously tempted to try out in May. If I can get my gear act together in time, I will. However, these women are seriously hardcore. I think it will be take down or be taken down. fun.
Sunday was a pretty amazingly geeky day. it starts out with Firefly. sadly I couldn't stay for the whole marathon. but still. I love that show. and Christina Hendricks.
After that, we had people come over for dinner. tasty stir fry and miso soup. Iffy sushi. I've got to get a better knife. Then we started to play a Battlestar Galactica board game. Not enough time to really play long, but it was cheezy and perfect for fandom. Made my weekend. Now, if only it wasn't snowing all the time. I remember being told it didn't snow here as much as in Iowa. I think this is a lie.

Books

Books Books Books. As I'm sure most of those who have taken a chemistry class in college know, they can be expensive. Really expensive. but really useful. I've got a shelf and a half or so of simply chemistry textbooks. Many of them are useful-I don't have to remember the periodic table if I can look it up, and that helps. But I'm not sure that all of them are helpful. I mean, am I going to need to do the proofs that I did in physical chemistry class ever again? I really hope not. I trust the laws of thermodynamics. really.
But which ones do I get rid of? How many $150 books can one get rid of? and it's not like I can resell them, of course there are new editions now. I wasn't taking organic chem that recently. And yet, I like the idea of having a bunch of knowledge at my fingertips. If I had a job I'd buy a lot more detailed and specialized textbooks. It's not like I don't have space to store them. and I do need something to make me feel like a chemist. So perhaps the books stay for now.
what do you do with old books? am I the only one that keeps them? Is it different for books and class work?(I don't keep that at all.)

First Post!!

Well, this is new and all. I realize that nobody probably reads this yet at this point. but. I have moved to a new city and need something to do with my time. The name of this blog, trite as it is, sort of reflects the double plans that I have here-chemistry, and adjusting to living in the cold of Minneapolis, MN. There will be some of both.
I should probably start with a bit about me. I'm a chemistry PhD, pretty serious geek. It fascinated me to hear about protons neutrons and electrons in 3rd grade, and the inherent coolness stuck with me to grad school. I'm now looking for ways to keep doing chemistry for money. Most of what I've done is inorganic chemistry. I've never gotten into carbon enough to really love organic chemistry, and analytical. I do like analysis. I have taught, and that made me realize that I just don't have it in me to be the one that motivates a bunch of Chem 101 students at 8 am. I have nothing but respect for all my professors and my high school teacher. Go Mr. Crumm. but I just can't do it.
I am also going to write about adjustment. I moved up to Minnesota to be near the man I love. This is great. But it is also not a very interesting live in and of itself. So. Better living comes in a variety of formats.
1. Friends. I do know some people up here through college, but he's closer to them. I need to figure out how to have my own relationships and life.
2. Hobbies. I do love dancing. some I do with the man, some I do alone. I want to perform. I do love that. I do near eastern dance and Irish dance. I would love to get into performance troops for both, or maybe just Irish. but Irish is partnered, which means there needs to be more men. I also knit and am trying to learn how to sew.
3. Job. see above.
4. cold tolerance. I swear I moved here in the coldest week of the year. It was about 5 degrees for a week after I got here. It has gotten warmer since, but I still hate it.
So that's me. This will mostly be a pretty personal blog. I'm considering a bunch of posts that really do address "better living through chemistry" take a chemical and explain what it has done for the world. I think that will be fun.
There will also be posts about feminism from time to time. It's important. Everyone who says that it isn't is lying. I really believe it's that simple. It's flat out b.s. that women make 77 cents on the dollar to men doing the same work, and way less if they're mothers. since this will be a chemistry blog and chemistry is my work, a lot of the feminism posts will be work related, I'm thinking. Not to say that other topics aren't important or will never come up.
so that's who I am, and what I'm doing right now.