As a new grad student, you can imagine I've been very very busy and haven't been writing. I will post photos of my room soon! Now that I'm a grown up and pay taxes and all, I'm trying to not just say everything that comes to mind. However, this is my blog, a place where I can express my feelings, therefore, I will say whatever I want. But just to make sure I am conscious of my word choices, I will use this cross out feature to edit things that I would not say in public.

I find myself editing my words now. People don't like me to be me here. Apparently my cynicism, sarcasm, and essentially "funniness" don't translate well from the West Coast to the East Coast. For instance this is my response to the head of my program on how I liked it here----

Welllllllllllllll, Baltimore is a horrible, depressing place different. Most of the time I look around and think I made the wrong choice to come here for grad school how I'm not used to such surroundings. It's so sad how prevalent poverty is here and, in turn, crime.


While I was thinking the crossed out portions, because that's how I truly feel, I didn't say them.

Here's a get to know your neighborhood factoid: I found out two things which likely go hand-in-hand. Baltimore is apparently the syphilis capital of the world. As I'm now a "scientist," I should not be quoting inaccurate statements as facts. So, I've checked the statistics and I don't know that that is necessarily true now so much as something people just love to brag about (who knows why?), but I did find that back in the 90s it was entirely too true. Secondly, since sexual education isn't a Federal requirement, they don't teach it in the schools AT ALL here. They don't take the more progressive- "we know you are going to do it but protect yourself" stance. They don't take the "sex until marriage because God doesn't like it" stance. They don't even take the ever popular "this is the sickest and worst case scenario and only happens in 0.0009% of cases a photographic depiction of gonorrhea. If you have sex, you will get this, and you will die" scare tactic stance. Whoever designed the Maryland state budget needs a briefing STAT about the necessity of teaching a traditionally poverty ridden and undereducated community about the spread of STDs/STIs and prevention of pregnancy.

I have officially been here 47 days and my car hasn't been broken into and I haven't been mugged.. so that's good.

I follow the Baltimore Police Department on Twitter.... and Facebook.

We did have a scare a couple of weeks ago. Nothing special, just the usual mad gunman running on a wild shooting rampage on the campus where I attend school
http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/09/16/shooting-reported-at-johns-hopkins-hospital/

Update: I spoke too soon, my car was keyed 10/2010, $900 worth of damage. Welcome to the neighborhood!