Stacy Laughs

Below are some general suggestions on storing fruits and vegetables.

Apples: Refrigerate or store in a cool, dark place. Keep for several weeks.

Artichokes and asparagus: Refrigerate and use within 2 to 3 days of purchase.

Avocados, papayas, kiwis, and mangoes: Keep at room temperature until fully ripened and then refrigerate them to keep for several more days.

Bananas: Refrigerate to slow down their ripening. Their peel continues to darken, but not their flesh.

Bell peppers: Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Broccoli and cauliflower: Refrigerate and consume within a week.

Cabbage: Keeps for 1 to 2 weeks in the refrigerator.

Carrots: Keeps in the refrigerator for several weeks.

Celery: Keeps for 1 to 2 weeks in the refrigerator.

Cherries and berries: Keep refrigerated. For best flavor, consume them the same day you purchase them.

Citrus fruits (such as lemons, limes, grapefruit, oranges): Citrus fruits, which don’t ripen further after they’re picked and are relatively long-storage fruits, keep for up to three weeks in the fridge.

Corn: Refrigerate and use the same day of purchase. After corn is picked, its sugar immediately begins converting to starch, diminishing its sweetness.

Cucumbers and eggplant: Keep for 1 week in the cold crisper drawer or the refrigerator.

Garlic: Keep garlic at room temperature, in a small bowl within reach of your food preparation area, to encourage you to use the fresh stuff. Garlic will last longer in the refrigerator, however, so you don’t use it often, keep it chilled.

Grapes: Keep in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Green beans: Refrigerate and use within 3 to 4 days of purchase.

Leaf greens (beet tops, collards, kale, mustard greens, and so on): Very perishable. Refrigerate and consume within 1 to 2 days.

Mushrooms: Store in a paper bag in the refrigerator. Use within a week.

Onions, potatoes, shallots, and hard-shelled winter squash (like acorn and butternut): Keep at room temperature for several weeks to a month. Store onions, potatoes, and winter squash in a cool, dry, dark drawer or bin.

Pineapple: Doesn’t ripen after it’s picked; best if eaten within a few days of purchase. Keep at room temperature, away from heat and sun, or refrigerate whole or cut up.

Salad greens: Rinse thoroughly, trim, and dry completely before storing wrapped in paper towel or in plastic bags in the refrigerator crisper drawer. Keeps for 3 to 4 days.

Spinach: Trim, rinse, and dry thoroughly before storing in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Summer squash (zucchini and yellow squash): Store in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Tomatoes: Store at room temperature for more flavor. Keep in a cool, dark place or in a paper bag to ripen fully. Refrigerate them after they ripen to keep them from spoiling. You may return to room temperature before eating, if you prefer.

Unripe melons and tree fruits (such as pears, peaches, and nectarines): Keep at room temperature so that they can ripen and grow sweeter. After they’re fully ripe, you can store them in the refrigerator for several more days.

Short list here. Obtain more tips by buying the book.

Melissa, Jessy, and I stopped in a bookstore while exploring Wicker Park during my Chicago trip. Melissa shared with us a book called ‘The Places That Scare You’ by Pema Chodron.

I want to share with you a paragraph from page four:

An analogy for bodhichitta is the rawness of a broken heart. Sometimes this broken heart gives birth to anxiety and panic; sometimes to anger, resentment and blame. But under the hardness of that armor there is the tenderness of genuine sadness. This is our link with all those who have ever loved. This genuine heart of sadness can teach us great compassion. It can humble us when we’re arrogant and soften us when we are unkind. It awakens us when we prefer to sleep and pierces through our indifference. This continual ache of the heart is a blessing that when accepted fully can be shared with all.

I don’t think I can really comprehend (or explain) why this paragraph is important to me, but I want to share it. Maybe it will help you. Also, I hope to look back on this later.

I’ve spent the last five days two years struggling to write research questions for my thesis. But I have to do it. Today.

I could watch more episodes of Gossip Girl. I could listen to more Whitney. I could call my mom. I could text my friends. Actually, I did all those things today, and (surprise, surprise) none of it is helping. So I hit up my list of things to do when I’m frustrated with my thesis. Thankfully, Destination Dissertation by Sonja K. Foss and William Waters counseled me on my RQ trauma by stating that it’s the most important part of thesis writing and it takes the most effort and care to develop. No pressure!

Summarized are Foss and Waters’ six point criteria on RQ development (pages 36-41).

1. Write a RQ that clearly identifies the theoretical construct (e.g. phenomena, event, or experience).
2. Write a RQ that has recognizability of the theoretical construct, meaning it supplies a clear unit of analysis, and don’t forget to think about how you will code the data (e.g. “International students’ use of SHS on campus” or “International students’ experiences of anxiety while using SHS on campus”).
3. Write a RQ that has transcendence of data. Usually your RQ should not include mention of the specific data you are using to investigate your question. You want your question to be more abstract than the specific data you are working with. Do not tie your question to a particular kind of data. The example they used was “What is your nature of the resistance strategies used by subordinate groups in their efforts to challenge hegemonic institutions?” Another example used was the wording “nonprofit arts organization” versus “children’s theaters in Detroit.” 
4. Identify your study’s contribution to an understanding of the theoretical construct. Your RQ should name what happens to the theoretical construct in your study —what you are doing with it in your study, or what interests you about it.
5. Your RQ should have the capacity to surprise. You should not already know the answer to the RQ you’re asking. Otherwise, what’s the point? You’re adding little value to your field. And you’re boring.
6. Your RQ should have robustness, meaning it should have the capacity to generate complex results. Your RQ shouldn’t merely produce a simple “yes” or “no” answer.

If you have anything else to add, let me know. I think we could all use as much help as possible.

Stephanie tagged me in a meme to answer a few questions, so I will oblige.

Why does Donald Duck wear a towel when he comes out of the shower, when he doesn’t usually wear any pants?
He requires the towel to dry off with. I like when he has two towels; one around his waist and another wrapped around his head.

How come you press harder on a remote control when you know the battery is dead?
The same reason why I press on the elevator or cross walk button several times. There is a false sense that it will help these products function better.

Do the minutes on the movie boxes include the previews, credits, and special features, or just the movie itself?
Just the movie itself.

If an ambulance is on its way to save someone, and it runs someone over, does it stop to help them?
Yes. I do not think that EMTs are corrupted enough by the evils of society to not stop. (Remember that Rousseau argued that we are inherently good until… well, you know.)

What color would a smurf turn if you choked it?
Red. Maybe purple?

If a cat always lands on its feet, and buttered bread always lands butter side down, what would happen if you tied buttered bread on top of a cat?
The cat would still always land on its feet. Knowing my cat, the buttered bread wouldn’t stay tied to his top for very long.

If you were shrunk to the size of a pencil, and put in a blender, how would you get out?
Being very careful to avoid the blades at the bottom of the blender, I would first attempt to spider-man out, then break the glass, and finally, MacGyver something from whatever was in my pocket to create a rope out. I don’t think I’d be successful, so hopefully all this commotion would alert the real-sized people to help me out.

What do wood and alcohol have in common?
Both have two Os.

Have you ever imagined a world with no hypothetical situations?
Yes. It’d be a world with more awkward silences.

If one synchronized swimmer drowns, do the rest drown too?
No. I do think it’s sad to think about a person drowning amongst a group though.

Why do you call it an asteroid when its outside the hemisphere, yet call it hemorrhoid when its in your ass?
Silly scientists make all the rules.

Now, because I completed that assignment, I get to tag 11 people to do the exact same thing.  First, here are the rules:

• You must post these rules.
• Each person must post 11 things about herself on their blog.
• Answer the questions the “tagger” listed for you in her post, and create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer.
• Choose 11 people to tag and link to them in the post.
• Let each person know that you have tagged them.

I am tagging:

jackietam, nodanaonlyzuul, cheltron, shesgoingplaces, stilemedia, gerl, zofia, chasingjustice, scwlove, alectointhunderland, kevslider

And here are my questions:

1. a/s/l?
2. What are you wearing?
3. What are you going to do today?
4. Is anything bothering you?
5. Are you missing someone?
6. What are you listening to?
7. What is your favorite youtube video?
8. Where will you go for the first time this year?
9. What do you want to learn next?
10. Describe your perfect first date.
11. What would be the perfect gift for someone to give you right now?

If any of you all are not tagged, and want to answer one or more of these questions, feel free to reply or reblog.

Since the library closes in an hour, and I’m feeling extremely discouraged about my thesis, I figured I would make a list to help others frustrated with their theses. (By the way, theses is plural for thesis; this is the stuff you look up when you’re tired of working on your thesis…) Not like I have any end in sight, but maybe the old saying of “fake it ‘till you make it” will help.

Some advice to get you out of the gutter…

1. I’m reading Destination Dissertation by Sonja K. Foss and William Waters. The metaphor that your thesis is an adventurous journey is cheesy, sure, but why reinvent the process? Learn some tips from people that have done this. It may feel counterproductive to spend time reading something other than material for your thesis, but this book should save you more time in the long run.

2. Get a calendar, pick a date of when you want to finish, and then work backwards. I mean, set goals to get to your end goal (which is finishing your thesis).

3. Ask your advisor and cohort for help! A no-brainer, but easy to forget.

4. Know you are not alone! Join PhinisheD, a discussion and support group for students who cannot seem to finish their dissertations or theses.

5. Figure out how you best work. Possible suggestions: you could work in “tomatoes,” 25 minute chunks of time followed by a brief 5 minute break, or “mangoes,” 45-55 minute chunks followed by 5-15 minute breaks.

Alright! Let me go put in one more good hour of work...