The Iron Ring

Here it is--

Can you see my tiny green sprouts??? I will try to contain my excitement and not post new pictures each day (although if another type of spice planted here begins to sprout as well I may not be able to contain myself)---

To change topic for a minute, I wanted to share something from class today. I'm not taking a class, I'm actually a TA this semester (extra points to students who find this blog??) and today I was able to take part in, or at least observe, a class discussion. The professor posed a question; what is more important for medicine, to help people survive or to make life more comfortable? It seems as if the answer should be survival, but then, how much of our health care system exists to make our lives more comfortable? It got me thinking about my own research, which happens to fall into the 'make life more comfortable' arena. I study something debilitating (pain) but not life-threatening. I intend to change my field of study after I graduate, so perhaps this is the fundamental change I am seeking. Maybe in my next research life I would like to study something more closely connected to survival. In any case, in the spirit of survival, I must go, as I am hoping to revive my freelance writing career and this involves some reading and research in my precious 'spare' time.

Goodnight!