Marco and Polo Remember...

Hello everyone,
   We hope you are all enjoying your long weekend from school.  While we are enjoying our weekend we thought it would be important to honor the reason why we are enjoying the time off from school.  For our non-American readers, today is Memorial Day in the US.  Memorial day is celebrated on the last Monday in May (i.e. today), and is celebrated in honour of all of the men and women who have fallen in the fight for the freedom of the United States and her citizens.  Although it may seem so, today is not National Barbecue Day. But what better way to spend free time with family and friends.  Cause while there are parades, flags hung at half-staff and people visiting national cemeteries and war monuments it doesn't seem enough for the people who have given their lives for our right to live freely.  I remember as a child only thinking of this day as a get-out-of-school-free card I now consider it under a different light, so this year, today I plan on recognizing this day and the men and women it honours by participated in the 'National Moment of Remembrance' taking a few minutes at 3 o'clock to sit in silence and thank God for all the people who have fallen in the line of duty and pray for those that continue to fight today.

 So enjoy your barbecues today, just take a moment and remember those men and women who have fought and who fight now for your freedom to enjoy your life as an American.

Remember, and stay nerdy.
-Marco and Polo

Marco and Polo Thank the Creators of IcyHot

In case you haven't caught on we are crazy, as such a couple of weeks ago we decided to have one of our signature 'death' workouts.  a death workout is a day for us to go to the rec and see how far we can push our bodies, this means working out for hours, switching between muscle groups, consuming protein bars, and lots and lots of water (and power drinks).  We know, we know, this cannot be healthy, especially since we only do it about once every 6 months.  But we don't do it for the physical health, we do it for the mental health.  The incredible 'high' we get out of pushing ourselves into our chemical homeostasis is so off balance that we can't stop trembling, and the relaxing calm we receive as a result.  So what do these insane work outs of death look like?

Protein Consumed:
   Marco: 115g
   Polo: 87.5g
Time Spent at the Rec: 4.5 hours
Work-Out:
   10 minute stretch
   Run: 2k (Tex ran with us as our honorary Drill Sergent)
   Walk: 1k (between the run)
   Benching: 3 sets of 15
      Marco: 75 lbs
      Polo: 65 lbs
   Bicep Curls: 2 sets of 15
      Marco: 20 lbs
      Polo: 15 lbs
   Tricep 'thingies': 2 sets of 15
      Marco: 20 lbs
      Polo: 15 lbs
   Leg Press: 2 sets of 15
      Marco: 290 lbs
      Polo: 200 lbs
   Calf Press: 2 sets 15
      Marco: 290 lbs
      Polo: 200 lbs
   'Hulks': 2 sets of 15
      Marco: 15 lbs
      Polo: 10 lbs
   'Arm Hangs': 2 sets
      Marco: 13s & 26s
      Polo: 40s & 37s
   Roman Chair: 4 sets of 15
   Stationary Bike: 30 minutes
   Sit-ups: 2 sets of 30
   Sit-ups Tex style: 2 sets of 15
   Leg Lifts: 3 sets of 15
   'Death by Ball': 2 sets of 15
   Leg Extensions: 2 sets of 15
      Marco: 60 lbs
      Polo: 37.5 lbs
   Leg Curls: 2 sets of 15
      Marco: 80 lbs
      Polo: 37.5 lbs
   Plank: 2 sets (60s & 45s)
   Back Press: 2 sets of 15
      Marco: 150 lbs
      Polo: 100 lbs
   Side Plank: 2 sets (30s)
   Wall Sits: 2 sets (60s & 30s)
    Assisted Pull-ups:
      Marco: 3 sets of 5
      Polo: 1 set of 15
   Abductor: 2 sets of 15
      Marco: 100 lbs
      Polo: 50 lbs
   Adductor: 2 sets of 15
      Marco: 87.5 lbs
      Polo: 50 lbs
   'Blast-Offs': 2 sets of 15
      Marco: 50 lbs
      Polo: 25 lbs
   Military Press: 2 sets of 15
      Marco: 37.5 lbs
      Polo: 12.5 lbs
   Angled Crunch: 2 sets of 15 with 4 lbs
   'Knees to the Boobies Jumps': 3 sets of 5
   10 minute stretch
IcyHot Applications:
   Marco: 2
   Polo: 3

We know it's crazy but we love to do it, we're thinking it's about time to overhaul, increase the sets/reps.  We're up for suggestions, please drop a few in the comments :)

Stay Nerdy
   Marco and Polo

Marco and Polo give Thanks to Moms

Polo here,
As you all may or may not be aware today is Mother's Day.  A day put aside every year for kids to give thanks to their moms.  So here is our thanks to moms everywhere!!!  We both have several people in our lives we find need to thank on this day, so here is our public thanks to all those women who are not our biological moms but who are just as important in our lives.  So here is our personal thanks to all our moms out there:

How did you find the energy, Mom?
To do all the things you did,
To be teacher, nurse and counselor
To me, when I was a kid.

How did you do it all, Mom?
Be a chauffeur, cook and friend,
Yet find time to be a playmate,
I just can't comprehend.

I see now it was love, Mom
That made you come whenever I'd call,
Your inexhaustible love, Mom
And I thank you for it all.

-Author Unknown-

Love you mom, and thanks.

As Always Stay Nerdy!

   -Polo

Marco and Polo make life decisions.....for now.

Marco here, what a week...It's been a rough one for Polo and I (hours of homework, Analytical Chemistry Exams and dying fish) but it's definitely had some up-times, like playing Twister with Tex, free lunches and 2 pancake nights).  Maybe the best part though? Finally making some life decisions for post-graduation (trust me, this is a big deal for the two us, we're pretty much the most indecisive people ever).

For Polo, it happened on Monday around lunch time when some recruiters from the U.S. Navy came to talk to our Pre-Med club about their Health Professions Scholarship Program.  It was love at first sight for Polo; She actually applied to Annapolis for undergrad.  I can let Polo elaborate on this front but her current plan? Go to med school (paid for by the Navy) and then serve at least three years active duty.
   Polo:  I'm not entirely certain about the medical school bit, I am tossing around a few things, (i.e. pediatrics or forensic pathologist, neurobiology w/ behavioral psychology, anthropology, teaching, and if you ask my boss I'm going to be an optometrist)  lets be serious I'm all over the board on the future bit.  But I am definitely in love with the Navy route no matter what I go into.  Go Navy!!!

For me, it happened today when La Catedrática and a few of our other chemistry professors gave a presentation on grad schools.  I've always known I wanted to go on to some form of higher education but haven't been able to decide what to study (current top three: Forensics Chemistry/Biology, Epidemiology and begrudgingly Pharmacy) and I've been back and forth on the whole master v. PhD front... Today however, I decided. I'm going to get my PhD. Now I just have to decide in what.....but I'll save that for another day.

So a roller-coaster week and two big life decisions for Polo and I. We'll see how long they stick...like the title of this post says "For Now"

As Always, Stay Nerdy,
Marco

Marco and Polo Are Little Shits

Marco here, ever been greeted with the phrase "You little shits!"? Well, Polo and I can cross that off our bucket lists as of today.  Okay, so maybe we deserved it...we decided on Friday that it would be hilarious to tape a post-it note over the sensor on the bottom of Dr. Mom's computer mouse. Turns out,we were right, it was hilarious! Dr. Mom spent 10 minutes trying to figure out why the buttons worked but the cursor wouldn't move. I just wish we had been there to see it... In all fairness, this prank was intended for motivational purposes; the post-it note said "Sometimes you just need to laugh!" and laugh she did.

 Getting a new nickname was only the beginning of our 'experience' with Dr. Mom today. She was talking all about this new book series she just finished reading (50 Shades of Grey) and how it was just about the raciest thing she's ever read, I believe the term 'soft-core porn' was used to describe it. Anyway, she went on and on about how great this series was and how we should read it. Then she decides that Polo wouldn't be able to handle reading it but I would probably like it. [sidenote: Polo basically reads every vampire book ever written, which according to her are sometimes just as bad as this book Dr. Mom was describing I'll let Polo chime in on that one; vampires aren't my cup of blood (I mean tea!).] By the end of the conversation, Polo was dying to read this series and I had no interest. So once again Dr. Mom pegs Polo and I almost completely wrong...

A short list of all the other times Dr. Mom has pegged us wrong?

• She thought I was a quiet person- I'm definitely louder than Polo....
• She thought I wouldn't be in a sorority- I'm in a sorority
• She thought I used to beat up girl scouts when I was a kid- I WAS a girl scout for 10 years, and I'm a lifetime member

As Always, Stay Nerdy, 

Marco

Marco and Polo Take a Shot

Polo here, this week has been a hectic one...  As always despite the load of homework and insane schedule Marco and I still found time to goof off and take a 'sanity' break.  We spent some time talking with Dr. Mom (one of our professors) which is, needless to say, an adventure.  She has a lot of ambitions for Marco and I, educational and otherwise...  This week she was once again telling Marco that she would be perfect for pharmacy school, (Marco wants to be a forensic geneticist, or epidemiologist) understand that this is practically a weekly occurrence, and that I need to relax...  We love talking with Dr. Mom but it leaves our minds to questioning, Marco spent the next two hours looking into pharmacy school...  While at lunch we were mulling over what Dr. Mom had been telling us and Marco decided that speaking with Dr. Mom was like taking a shot...  It seems like a good idea but without a chaser it isn't all it's cracked up to be...  Our chaser of choice, a 'life chat' with La Catedrática (One of our AMAZING organic professors)

As Always, Stay Nerdy
Polo