Dad & I - Going to Catalina Island

First, congratulations to Ben for getting his dream job! Is it like a kid in a candy store for him? Is there training involved? What is the work environment like? Anyhow, good for him! I wish him success in the field!

Well, dad and I are leaving for Catalina Island tonight to participate in the annual bay cleanup there. Dad will dive to clean the bay bottom and I'll work on land. I am looking forward to being out in the sun and doing physical work. I hope it won't trigger my allergies. We'll tell you how it went.

Sorry about Mike and Leslie not being able to visit you. I hope they have enough work to tie them over the hard times. The economic conditions make it a great time to go to school and gain more knowledge and higher credentials, if people can afford it by tightening up their expenses. When opportunities are available again, they will be able to take the better paying jobs. By the way, Ani is done with pharmacy school. As a graduated pharmacist intern (she is taking her state exam in a few months), she will make about $75,000, which is 3/4 of the normal salary for a pharmacist. Good for her, especially in this economy! I am keeping my fingers crossed for her to move closer to us. She is looking for a position in southern CA and she can work as a pharmacist intern as soon as March. I am very excited that maybe we can do stuff regularly soon.

My predoc application is going well. In the process, Simona, my sponsor professor, became a good friend. She is 9 years younger than I, Italian, and married with 2 little girls. They have had me over for dinner twice, and dad and I are having them come for dinner next weekend. We don't know what to cook yet, but I am excited to reciprocate the dinner. She got me a research job that will last for the next 3 quarters. The goal is for me to publish a journal article based on this research - it's on language development of bilingual children. Boring? No, it's fascinating to find out how bilingual children think and learn, quite differently from monolinguals. I'll keep you posted.

Let's try to chat this weekend, maybe Sunday some time. Could we three-way chat? That'll be cool!

Got to go back to my work. Bye.
Love ya,
Mama