Category: college

The Dog Who Thought He Was a Squirrel

Posted in apple tree, apples, candles, college, dog training, dog years, doggie door, dogs, Halloween, memoir, old age, squirrelsLeave a comment

When my middle kid went to college, I kept his Dachshund named Wiener. I asked him if he’d miss his dog at UCLA, and he said, “They have squirrels there, Mom.” As it turned out, Wiener thought he was a squirrel.  Maybe not so much in the big marriage house, but when he got to… Continue reading The Dog Who Thought He Was a Squirrel

X Marks the Spot, A Genetics Story

Posted in chorus, chromosomes, college, conception, eggs, embryo, fertilization, fetus, gender, gene, human reproduction, memoir, sperm, syndromes, zoology, zygoteLeave a comment

My chorus carpool buddy was amused that I took a college course called Baby Zoe. It was 300 women and two guys in a lecture hall, learning about the human reproduction system, pregnancy, and birth, one of the best college classes I ever took. And I took meteorology, horticulture, ice skating, and Swimming 101! Most… Continue reading X Marks the Spot, A Genetics Story

Dieting, Body Image, and Stay Out of my Business

Posted in anorexia, body image, bulimia, college, diet, Karen Carpenter, memoir, mental health, mental illness, pregnancy, restricting, teacher, teaching, weight lossLeave a comment

(re-run) “Are you going to eat all of that?” I was sitting at a table in the teachers’ lounge, my lunch spread out before me. There was a sandwich, a red apple, carrot sticks and a glass of juice, maybe a chocolate or two. Why was the teacher I barely knew commenting on my lunch?… Continue reading Dieting, Body Image, and Stay Out of my Business

Worst Professor Ever

Posted in Chicano, college, grad school, Hispanic, humor, Iowa State University, La Raza, Latino, memoir, Midwestern, Nebraska, professor, racist, relationships, research paper, University of Nebraska at Omaha, UNO, worstLeave a comment

(re-run) She taught the research class at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. I needed the course to earn my master’s degree. It would be easy. I’d written dozens of research papers at Iowa State. She said we could choose any topic. All we had to do was take a position, defend it with an… Continue reading Worst Professor Ever

Hold the Crunch

Posted in California, college, dating, grad school, holidays, humor, marriage proposal, mom, Ohio, peanut butter, Pennsylvania, relationships, singingLeave a comment

(re-run) Jim earned his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He took a job with Proctor and Gamble in Cincinnati, which had just started buying up food brands, like cake mixes and peanut butter. Jim’s job was to put the crunch in the new peanut butter, Jif. One machine chopped the peanuts into… Continue reading Hold the Crunch

Say What in Santa Cruz

Posted in California, college, dating, friends, helpful strangers, high school, marriage proposal, relationships, Santa Cruz, siblings, vacationLeave a comment

(re-run) Jennifer met Brad at San Leandro High school in the Bay Area. She wasn’t allowed to date, but she was allowed to go to junior prom. The next year Brad asked Jennifer to Senior Ball. It was in San Francisco, and afterward, they went to Pier 39 with everyone else in their limo. Brad… Continue reading Say What in Santa Cruz

Bricks, Ricks, & Cardboard

Posted in blind date, college, dating, firsts, humor, Iowa, memoir, Midwestern, relationships, restaurant, Rocky Mountains, worstsLeave a comment

(re-run) The college mixer was hosted by the men of Lorch House in Friley Hall, in the heart of the Iowa State University campus. Tappan House, the top two floors of Barton Hall, was invited. Yes, I am old. Yes, dorm floors are co-ed now. This was in the days of the dinosaurs, girl dinosaurs… Continue reading Bricks, Ricks, & Cardboard

V is for Veritable Quandary

Posted in allowance, beer, books, college, food, Google, humor, Jimmy Fallon, memoir, restaurant, rhyming, sorority, Target, toothpaste, typewriters, White Out, WikipediaLeave a comment

When thinking of a post that starts with v, the most obvious choices would be vacation or victory. I haven’t had either in quite a while, so I had to dig deeper– way back, in fact, to my college days. I went to school in Ames, Iowa, and long about my junior year, a new… Continue reading V is for Veritable Quandary

Q is for Quirky

Posted in California, Carmel, college, dancing, fashion, fraternity, high school, mom, Nebraska, quirky, sorority, stay-at-home mom, thrift store, wingtip shoesLeave a comment

(re-run) When I was in high school and bought some of my clothes at the DAV thrift store, they called me quirky. When I made a cool pair of bell bottom jeans out of my dad’s old work pants, they called me quirky, but they also asked me where I got them. When I broke… Continue reading Q is for Quirky

The Tennis Shoe and the Broken Window

Posted in classmates, college, high school, Iowa, Iowa State University, locker room, memoir, physical fitness, physical fitness award, softball, teacher, windowLeave a comment

(re-run) It was senior year in high school. I was on my last semester of PE, my least favorite class. I maintained a straight-A average in all other classes. Not PE. It alternated between a B and a C. I was feeling good. We were in our next-to last unit, the physical fitness award. I… Continue reading The Tennis Shoe and the Broken Window