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A Paintful Experience

I played paintball when I was a teenager a few times and then, like most people, I forgot about it. That was until Jason and I attended a paintball birthday party for one of our friends a couple of weeks ago. Now it’s fresh on my mind and skin.

When I played paintball in high school I did so with a large number of girls therefore I was somewhat surprised to discover that this pastime apparently isn’t too popular with the ladies in general. I turned out to be one of only two girls in our sixteen-person group and definitely the only girl in the bunch that actually enjoyed herself. It’s true that paintball can be a startlingly painful experience; if you get hit in the wrong place or at close range there is usually bleeding involved. This isn’t a tag game for sissies. Many members of our group limped away from our matches with oozing battle wounds. I got a few whelps during the action but I didn’t mind too much. Dishing out punishment to the boys was worth the occasional insults I received.

Our group looks ridiculously tough right? Okay, maybe just ridiculous.

I’ll admit that I made no heroic attempts to offensively sprint across the arena like a few on my squad did repeatedly but my cowardly sheltered stance provided cover for many of those masochistic darters and served my team well. I took out quite a few of our opposition and made it through the majority of the games without being hit myself.

I would be happy to participate in a paintball showdown again. Who cares about a few bumps and bruises when there are boys to shoot? Next time we play though I’m hoping for a stronger female showing. Come on ladies, surely you are tougher than your wimpy husbands. Here’s your chance to prove your might and hurt them good all at the same time. Even if I do end up being the only woman at our next epic battle, be prepared boys cause there’s a whole lot more paint and pain where that came from!

Rachel April 4, 2012 No Comments

My Secret Life as a Leprechaun

I discovered recently, after long holding beliefs to the contrary, that I am in fact part Irish. I’ve always enjoyed celebrating St. Patty’s Day, even when I wasn’t Irish, but now I can pompously claim that I’m just honoring my heritage when pinching greenless bystanders mercilessly.

‘Tis the wee feet of little lucky lads.

This year I decided to do something a wee bit special for my nieces and nephews to pay homage to The Emerald Isle. I sewed tiny drawstring bags out of appropriately festive fabric and filled them with chocolate coins. Then, when my family had their St. Patrick’s Day get-together, I arrived early to simulate a leprechaun visit with tiny footprints and a series of notes that led to the end of the rainbow. My leprechaun treasure hunt was a mystical success! Sadly, after all that work, not all of the kiddies were able to be present but the ones that were seemed to find it as magically delicious as I intended.

These bags may look super simple but without a pattern they took more ingenuity to make than you might think.

Seeing as I’m not quite short enough to be a leprechaun, I have vowed to give up my shamrock shenanigans for now. Who knows though, maybe next year I will break out the little feet and gold-laden cauldron again. After all, people have been telling me for years that I look elfish so maybe, considering my newfound Irish ancestry, my impish charades are only a wee stretch.

Rachel March 28, 2012 2 Comments

Nerds at the Park

When a bunch of chemistry geeks get together you might expect the periodic table of elements to get dragged into casual conversations and redox reactions to be discussed as if they were the flavor of the week. Perhaps your assumptions aren’t too far off but you may well be surprised by what else goes on when chemists gather. We don’t just enthusiastically gossip about the latest trends in silicones and quaternary ammonium compounds, as intriguing as those topics might be. Merely chatting about the functions of keratin is not enough for us; we scientists like to grab life by its keratin covered bones.

Jason was so toasty he opted for jeans when we were tubing regardless of whether they transformed him into Mr. Soggy Bottom or not.

Last week Jason and I spent a couple days in Park City with my chapter of the Society of Cosmetic Chemists. Admittedly, there was some hardcore nerdery involved. During the seminar portion of our meeting we learned how to develop green actives that target cell receptors. Additionally, one of our presenters, Chris Kilham the medicine hunter, talked about sustainable harvesting practices in the Amazon. You may have seen Chris featured on The Dr. Oz Show or Fox News. Yes, we mingle with the famous.

At Canyons Jason coached me on how to do a wall hit. My first attempts were sad indeed but eventually I started getting the hang of it.

After filling our heads with data we were off to Gorgoza Park to let our butts soak up the soggy snow. It was an incredibly pleasant afternoon. Most of our tubing group just wore light jackets or skipped jackets altogether. We geeks linked our tubes in a variety of geometric configurations as we traveled downhill at an accelerated velocity. Wahoo!

The view from the top of the Echo run was pretty spectacular.

That night Jason and I headed off on our own to sample Reef’s Restaurant. We’ve long wanted to try their Middle-Eastern cuisine. Yum! The food there was just the right mix of spicy and surprising.

Jason used to board at Canyons a few times a week in his college days so he was pretty excited about riding his old stomping grounds again.

We couldn’t have asked for better weather the next day when we hit the slopes at Canyons. With a high near 57 degrees Jason didn’t even bother wearing more than a thin hoodie. I did sport my coat but mostly for its plethora of pockets; I unzipped everything to allow for massive air circulation. We hadn’t been to Canyons for a few years and I have to say that it was hugely gratifying to go on some of the runs that I distinctly remember having difficulties navigating before only to find their terrain super easy now. Yes, I suck less!

By the end of the day storm clouds had gathered but after hours of uninterrupted sunshine it was okay.

What a nice mini-excursion: celebrity speakers, fun snow activities, and warm spring sunshine. Geeks know how to have a good time, just ask anyone who’s attended a D&D party in their friend’s mother’s basement.

Rachel March 22, 2012 No Comments
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