Tulane vs LSU

On Halloween night, Colin and I enjoyed one of America's great national pastimes, cheering for the loosing side at football game . The annual LSU Tulane football game was especially bittersweet this year, as it was probably the last time ever that these two teams will play each other. Although both are division one football teams, LSU has for the past few decades so far outclassedTulane that the game was becoming predictable, and, quite possibly, dangerous for Tulane players. Colin and had a great time. We had never been to an LSU game, which is a rite of passage here in Louisiana. Colin and I were really excited because the game was at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, which meant that the mascot of LSU, Mike (VI) would be at the game.

Despite the fact that Tulane lost to LSU 42-0, they actually made some impressive plays.For instance, there were several under 150 pound guys from Tulane who were really good at tackling the larger LSU players by diving at their feet and hanging on for dear life.
The famous LSU Tigerland Marching band.

The LSU cheerleaders on top of the cart that carries Mike the tiger around the Tiger Stadium.

An up close picture of Mike in his cart. He is larger then when we last saw him, and in his adolescence. Apparently , now that he is older, he is a bit more reticent to get into his cart. I do not blame him, since I wouldn't want a bunch of undergrads standing on top me.

Official photos of Mike (VI), from his website. He sure is a handsome cat.

Start of the school year

Hey all, I just thought I would let you know how my first week of classes has been going, and what my life has been like as a newly minted PHD student. First of all here are is my class schedule for this semester:

Monday:
Epidemiology Department Seminar 12:00-1:00

Tuesday / Thursday:
Categorical Data Analysis 9:00-10:15

Wednesday:
Field Methods, Project Monitoring and Evaluation 10:00- 12:00
Observational Epidemiology 1:00-3:45
Healthcare of Women 4:00-5:40

Friday:
Field Methods, Project Monitoring and Evaluation 10:00- 12:00

As a PHD student I also have other official duties besides taking classes. This semester I will be TA-ing for Introduction to Epidemiology. This means I will be grading homework and quizzes and holding office hours from 5:00-6:00 on Monday evenings. My studies are being funded through a brand new grant given to Tulane called Training in Global Reproductive Epidemiology (TIGRE) grant. You can investigate what that entails here. My specific area of research under TIGRE is to examine the effect of Dengue virus infection in pregnant women and children. So, starting this semester, and continuing through-out my PHD program, I will be conducting research looking at the health impact of Dengue on these groups.

Most excitingly, I also get my very own corner in the Epidemiology fellows office. This is my first official office, and I plan on sprucing it up with a houseplant and other swag. I will post a picture next week of my official work area once I finish decorating it.

Graduation Week Dining Guide

Hey all. This week is the lead up to my Masters graduation on Saturday. I will be receiving a Master of Science in Parasitology/ Master of Public Health. This means I get to wear a spiffy yellow hood (for Master of Science) instead of the salmon colored hood that comes with the Master of Public Health degree. My parents are visiting us for graduation, in part because I am graduating and in part because my father, as a member of the Tulane Board of Trustees, is supposed to be present for graduation.

We are going to be dining in some pretty amazing establishments this week including:

Dante's Kitchen
Emerils Delmonico
Herbsaint
Commanders Palace for Sunday brunch

I fully expect to gain five pounds.

Judges Visit

As I mentioned, some of the scavhunt judges were in town last week. Courtney, Claire, Sam Boyd, and Ian were on some larger roadtrip from Florida to Oklahoma. They left Talahassee the morning of last Wednesday, and arrived here that night (having stopped several times along Florida's Gulf Coast). They brought crabs for Hodag. After welcoming them to New Orleans, I took them to Cooter Brown's [1], our favorite local bar.

I played hookey from class and the lab on Thursday to show them around the city. I navigated them along St Charles to the French Quarter. We wandered around there for a bit, and stopped by a couple of antique stores. I purchased an old-looking Tulane beer mug with an angry-looking anthropomorphic green wave on it holding a pennant. The guy who sold it to me claimed to have been present the last time Tulane beat LSU at football (1982, reports this morning's Times-Picayune [2]). I also went inside St Charles Cathedral for the first time. We had beignets and cafe au lait at Cafe du Monde. All very touristy things to do.

After that, we drove out to the 9th Ward. The last time I had been there was in March when we were visiting the city and our departments. There is a little more activity there now than I remember in March, but there is still almost no one there (current population estimates are about 7% of the 2000 census figure). In much of the area, vegetation has completely overrun whatever human activity was once there. Parts of it feel almost like the wild swampland that used to be there. Except for the obvious part that it's dry now. I felt myself tearing up; I almost cried. I didn't do that in March. I take that to mean that I'm more emotionally invested in the city now.

We headed back home. I had picked up some alligator meat earlier in the week, and had been advised that it cooks just like chicken. So we made a stir fry out of it. Everyone loved it. After dinner, all of us (minus Nora, who had to study) drove out to Metarie to sneak into the Metarie cemetery, which is really creepy at night. It's a very old New Orleans-style cemetery with above-ground graves and intricately-designed mausoleums. I tried to take them to Snake and Jake's (warning: Myspace), but the bartender wouldn't let us stay because Sam is not quite 21.


[1] The name comes from an old saying "Drunk as Cooter Brown," which has a short story behind it.
[2] Nora promises a post about LSU's mascot, Mike the Tiger, as soon as she no longer feels sick.