Marco and Polo Say Goodbye... To Marco and Polo

Marco and Polo here,
This week we come to you right after our final finals (and bar night with Dr. Mom, The Cultured One and Kilo)... It is a seriously bitter-sweet feeling looking back at the last four and a half years and looking forward to whatever comes next. This week we are saying goodbye to us, tragic we know! There is no way for you to really understand what it means for us to be leaving and going our 'separate' ways. To even begin to understand, you have to understand how we came to be...
Who would have thought that two people not getting into their 'perfect' school, the economy crash making it hard for two college sophomores to find co-op jobs, and an unorganized cold room could bring two people together? Seems insane but we like to believe that it was fate. Marco wanted to go into biology at U of M and Polo was applying to the Naval Academy in Annapolis. Had either of us gotten into our preferred school we would have never met, would have never been given the opportunity to work in the biochem department at Kettering and would have never moved into the Hobo House.
Even though we have a few classes together our freshman year we never really talked and we could hardly be considered friends (Polo was afraid of saying Marco's name wrong so basically avoided even saying hello for fear of calling her by the wrong name). It wasn't until we were both accepted as co-op students in the department the summer of our sophomore year, along with Whirly, that we even began to talk. The first Friday of work found us cleaning/organizing the cold room in the department... Doesn't sound so bad but we were elbows deep in pseudo-formaldehyde liquid bagging cow eyes and throwing out molding cardboard boxes (this was not a job for the faint of heart). It was over those buckets of cow eyes that we bonded, after all, "there are some things you can't share without ending up liking each other" (J.K. Rowling: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone). After that horrifying bonding experience we really started talking and by the end of that work term we did just about everything together within the department, a dynamic that has just gotten stronger the longer we know each other.

Macro and Polo reminiscing in the cold room
with a bag of masterfully sorted cow-eyes.

Since that fateful day, elbow-deep in cow-eyes, we've been inseparable. So inseparable that we've had professors tell us that we are basically the same person (yet they won't let us take tests together...go figure...).
   While we are sad to see our time at Kettering come to an end and to be saying 'goodbye' to the places and people who have helped us become who we are and have encouraged us to stop riding the lab coat tails and find our own adventures, it is the harsh realization that our lives may lead in very different directions that makes today an almost apocalyptic crisis in our lives.  Over the last term we have had to come to terms with saying, not goodbye but...

Stay nerdy and hope to see you (and each other) soon,
Marco and Polo

Marco and Polo Say Goodbye... To The Biochem Dept

Marco and Polo here,
   We can officially see the light at the end of the tunnel, or maybe that's just the train?  In light of our feelings of impending doom... Er we mean ecstatic accomplishment, we take this time to say goodbye to the place and the people we have come to call home over the last four and a half years.  The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the arguably insane but undoubtedly brilliant faculty and staff residing there.

The window into the department conference room,
where the weekly meeting of the minds occurs
(if the world is destroyed or saved in the near
future the plotting will probably happen here)

It is impossible to accurately express how much of our lives has been spent learning, labing, laughing, crying, eating, sleeping, hyperventilating, studying, working, scheming, nerding, and generally surviving within these walls over the last four years.  You think we're kidding or over-exaggerating, we thought so too until a janitor recognized us in the parking lot as 'those girls who live in the Biochem department'.  That moment made us pause to re-examine our lives...  After brief consideration and little debate we agreed to change absolutely nothing, a decision we have yet to regret.  Our love and dedication to the department has less to do with the amazing instrumentation and demanding schedules and a lot more to do with the incredible faculty and staff who are there arguably as much as we are.

Our board to introduce the professors and provide their schedules
for those souls who do not haunt the halls

• Dr. Adamantium: The impossibly sweet and brilliant professor of inorganic and bioinorganic chemistry who had the misfortune of putting up with the shenanigans of Marco, Polo and the Kid during our ambitious and nearly manic research phase
• Alchemik: There is no one better to go to if you want to hear about how chemistry used to be done.  Trust us, if you are worried about BPA, GMOs, or carcinogens be glad you were never a chemist in Poland...  And if a story about the good-old-days doesn't cheer you up there is always his kitten slideshow as backup
• Beaker: The first professor to break ground in the Chem E program
• Mrs. Captain Von Trapp: A chem E professor who doubles as Dr. Mom's sidekick and partner in crime
• La Catedratica: The MVP of Marco and Polo's 'faculty therapy team'...  Let's face it she is a good part of the reason this blog is not brought to you from within an asylum or is it?
• Chief: The glue, rubber band, and duct tape that holds the department together and who has survived the creation of Marco and Polo and the madness that has ensued since
• The Count: A genius of a P-chem professor, who spends much of his time convincing students his math isn't really magic, that we really are getting smarter, and that P-chem is any self-respecting-chemists favorite class...  We aren't drinking that Kool-Aide (which is a generally safe practice in chemistry since it's usually not Kool-Aide)
• The Cultured One: One of the first Applied Biology professors.  Who caught on to the ridiculous-ness which is Marco and Polo much to fast for our liking and who gave us one (or several) final swift-kick-to-the-ass
• Inspector Gadget: Kilo's right-hand-man and general lab Guru, who earlier this term attempted to make himself bionic while playing at home improvement.  He also gets a little sassy after five
• Kilo: Our primary candy supplier and landlord of our future desk-fort/home (she also puts up with way more Marco and Polo than anyone should have to)
• Lord of the Benzene Ring (LotBR): An ingenious, or possibly just straight-up genius, Organic professor...  Let's just say we hope he never joins the dark side and always remember 'There's No Crying in Organic Chemistry'
• Dr. Mom: Marco and Polo's crazy aunt and psuedo-mom all wrapped up into one insane package...  She's the person to thank, or maybe blame, for bringing about the dynamic duo of Marco and Polo
• Speed Racer: Our very first chemistry professor who taught us the importance of things we didn't fully appreciate or understand until now, not to mention the really important things like how to sleep in class, chemistry is just mixing drinks, and the real difference between a PhD and an MD
• Waldo: The tallest ChemE professor to ever walk the halls, quite possibly the tallest professor period...  We have spent the last few years trying to figure out a way to get him to wear red stripes in order to play the ultimate game of Where's Waldo

We cannot express our thanks to all of our professors, those listed and not, who have helped us reach this point.  We can only hope that we can make you proud and use everything you've beaten into...  Er we mean taught us over the years.

   Though finals week is just around the corner and students and faculty are buckling down for the storm there is still time for a little holiday cheer with a nerdy flair (really did you expect it any other way around here?).

This is the department's chemistree (made by Chief)!
Yes those are round-bottom-flasks.

This is our NMR (just about the coolest instrument in the school)
it's all ready for Christmas.  One of the students has even re-written
'Oh Christmas Tree' as a tribute to this nerdy decoration

   It is with heavy hearts and souls that we will be saying our last goodbyes and leaving this place that's become home and these people we call family.

As Always Stay Nerdy,

Marco and Polo

Marco and Polo Say Goodbye... To Kettering

Marco and Polo here,
   We hope everyone had an exceptional Thanksgiving holiday Marco and Polo were not saying goodbye to anything last week but have returned to school for our last few weeks.  Which for you, our readers, means a few more weeks of saying goodbye.
   Very much like the city of Flint, and Michigan itself, Kettering has deep roots in the motor industry.  Yes for those of you who haven't figured it out we are Kettering students.
       A Brief History of Kettering:
         There once was a small car company called General Motors (GM), it decided it needed engineers and business majors so built a University to mold their employees minds both in the classroom and in the workplace...  This little school (GMI) would, many years and a downsize in GM later, become Kettering University.
   Since those early days of engineering and business Kettering has expanded its educational horizon to include majors such as: computer science, physics, mathematics, and of course our very own biochemistry/chemistry/applied biology majors.  It also became the place Marco and Polo would find their serendipitous meeting.
   Here for your viewing, and reading, pleasure are just a few of the things that make Kettering unique:

The front of the Academic Building (AB),  in case you can't see it
General Motors Institute of Technology is written across the top,
 is the home of many of the majors at Kettering.

This is the bell tower, it is hardly EVER chiming at a rational time...
The year it was built the student body was also wanting a pool,
in that honor the cement area it is built next to is called the Pool by the student body.

Meet General Determination (a.k.a the Bulldog)
Kettering's trusty mascot who moonlights as a billboard...
Behind him you can see the lovely beach.

   Though we have a serious love-hate relationship with Kettering, this is our school, in a sense it is the place we have called 'home' for the last four and a half years.  Without our experiences here we aren't sure where we would be, or who we would be today.  For all the friends we've made, for all the things we've learned, for all the moments we've shared we own Kettering a proper goodbye.

Stay nerdy and we'll see you next week,

Marco and Polo

Marco and Polo Say Goodbye... To Flint

Marco and Polo here,

   This week we say goodbye to our city, a place we have lived for the last four and a half years.  For those of you who haven't solved the great mystery of where this friendship and this blog was born and have managed to completely miss the extremely subtle hints,  we say goodbye to Flint.  For our readers out there who have never been here Flint is an old city with a lot of history and though in recent years it has taken hits, and trust us those hits show all over the city, this city has character, a personality.  As we thought of just how to express the soul of a city and better yet how to say goodbye to a home we decided to let the city speak for itself.  After all a picture's worth a thousand words:

Flint has a very rich history,  history whose roots are entangled in the very heart of General Motors (GM)

A stones throw from campus stands this
memorial reminding people of this history

Welcome to Flint, Vehicle City

A city where downtown still has a red brick road

Where the churches are masterpieces in their own right 

Where ads are a part of the city itself

Where a giant glowing ball in the sky
can predict the weather, using a rhyme of course:
When the weather ball is red, higher temperatures ahead.
When the weather ball is blue, lower temperatures are due.
Yellow light in weather ball means they’ll be no change at all.
When colors blink in agitation, there’s going to be precipitation.

And where despite everything the people have seen,
trust can still be found

A city is not built solely on its history and landmarks, a city is nothing without the places that bring people together.  Places that for us, and our stomachs, were a comfort and break from the insanity of college.

Westside Diner is something you can only find in Flint, Marco and Polo have spent many a lunches, or breakfasts, or dinners, in their fifties style booths

Of course what is a city without its people?  The people in Flint are what give this city its character, its soul.  While Marco and Polo do in no way condone graffiti as a form of vandalism (or any type of vandalism) there is no way to live in Flint and not see how graffiti can express the soul of a city and bring buildings to life. 

The Flint Block, an icon in Flint always covered in different paint designs and messages

This is our city, a city of history, of art, of flavor, a city of people.  It is all of these things that you must remember when you hear all the dark things about Flint because hidden beneath the shadows this city has soul.  After all "happiness can be found in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light"  (thank you J.K.Rowling for teaching us all the important lessons in life).

Stay Nerdy,
Marco and Polo

Marco and Polo Say Goodbye... To Roommates

Marco and Polo here,
   This week we would like to take the time to say goodbye to all of our incredible roommates.  Some of them you have already met, like our not-gay-gay-best-friend Tex, and the secret genius Ace, and the other you haven't.
   Our first roommate, the Addict, takes a little of explaining.  We assure you he doesn't need any sort of intervention...  Well maybe he does but for nothing illegal, just a nasty caffeine habit.  Now Marco loves her coffee and during finals can consume more coffee than water but compared to the Addict she's a lightweight.  The addict mainstreams coffee and converts said coffee into pure and crazy physics and mathematical genius.  Seriously people, we've seen him do math and it's magic.  Dark magic, black magic, voodoo magic, we're not sure, he might have sold his soul to the math gods...  His addiction to coffee is not the only reason he has been deemed the Addict, he also has the worst ideas/suggestions to ever be spoken in the hobo house.  We think it might be his way of trying to steal our own souls to sacrifice to his math magic.  His suggestions became so infamously bad that we had to make a rule to NEVER listen to his ideas, especially while drinking (it's one of the sacred hobo house drinking rules).  On the rare occasion that he emerges from his math-den and his mouth isn't busy consuming coffee or trying to inadvertently sacrifice the roommates, he says some pretty hilarious things:

We figured this was an appropriate photo for
the Addict since we're sure it's what his internal
organs are slowly turning into.

• “It was like I met God...  Because there was coffee in the pot”
• “Little bit of jazz hands too...  That’s how you know it’s serious”

  Ace you met briefly amid the chaos that was Loki, he has recently been deemed the Carbon of the department by La Catedratica, because of his 'cool' demeanor and subtle genius.  We kid you not, Marco and Polo have spent many a chem class feeling utterly inferior and completely inadequate compared to the genius that is Ace.  In another Marco and Polo stroke of genius (we really need to stop having these people) we asked Ace to wake us up at 6:30 am to do morning yoga twice a week...  Genius right?  Get a light exercise in the morning, wake-up a bit, and get the blood flowing for those way-too-early 8 am classes...  Ya that's what we thought until we had the rude awakening of pounding on our doors at 6 am and the discovery that the only yoga Ace knows is the kind used in P-90x...  It was like morning torture, we finished our half hour 'light' work out drenched in sweat, exhausted, and more sore than after a 5k.  Superior intellect and yoga torture aside Ace never fails to keep us entertained with his crazy antics, strange eating habits, and unique humor:

Ace chopping onions on a plate with Marco's lab
goggles to protect from crying

• “Did you try just talking to her? That’s always my approach but then again I’m very single”
• “I was bitten in the ovaries by a radioactive spider”

   Tex you've known for a while now, and we've already sort of said goodbye, but how do you say goodbye to someone who wears so many hats, and yet no real hats at all.  Over the years Tex has taken up many a hats, these include (but are by no means limited to) a ninja warrior, a drill sargent, and a dish fairy.  Once upon a time, Marco and Polo became obsessed with American Ninja Warrior, a competition to complete the world's toughest obstacle course. We watched the show religiously and one day decided that Tex would kick ass if he competed.  In one of our shining moments of intelligence we convinced Tex to attempt one of the obstacles that we could mimic in the hobo house. This resulted in Tex climbing up the underside of the spiral staircase, probably not the safest idea we've ever had... but he was awesome at it! Another of Marco and Polo's bright ideas was to have Tex accompany us on a run, figuring he'd be a motivator/inspiration, boy were we wrong. Tex was more of a drill sargent, yelling ultimatums as he lapped us and stepping on our heels to make us run faster. Needless to say we haven't gone running with Tex since.  When not being a hard-ass-ninja-warrior Tex moonlights as the dish fairy.  This hat entailed doing all the dishes at the Hobo House (you'd be amazed the number of dishes five people can generate) at random intervals.  With the beginning of our final terms and the migration to the Hobo Apartment (yes Marco and Polo have left the Hobo House, or were rather rudely kicked out, which ever you prefer) we fear this particular hat has been lost forever... Or was possibly destroyed since it seems we have all misplaced our various dish fairy hats.  We're thinking of placing the kitchen under quarantine soon people.   Even one hat short Tex still never ceases to amaze us in his own Swiss-army-knife way.

• "Are we gonna start a moonshine band? I can go get a banjo"
• "Look at the frickin' mountains! They're just standing there!"

Tex and Marco at a Chinese dinner with the roomies

As Always Stay Nerdy,
Marco and Polo

Marco and Polo Say Goodbye... To Awkward Conversations

Marco & Polo here,

We find ourselves in the middle of 5th week and frankly we're not sure how we got here...  How can our final term be half over already...  In honor, or maybe terror, of this we have decided to write this newest blog on one of the people who has been here with Marco and Polo since the very beginning.

Dr. Mom was not only there in the dark ages of pre-Marco and Polo but she is arguably one of the catalysts [due to extreme emotional circumstances this story will not be told until the end of this series, so stay tuned].  Over the years Dr. Mom has been many things but eloquent has rarely been one of them.  She has a way of saying things that is on par with a bull in a china shop strapped to a malfunctioning jet-pack.  As such there have been many a conversations had with Dr. Mom that have never been had before between student and Dept. Head, and should never ever be had again...  Ever.  No seriously, there isn't enough Bleach in the world to properly scrub our brains with, people.  A frequent observer and occasional commentator to these awkward conversations is, Dr. Mom's partner in crime, a chemical engineering professor, Mrs. Capt. von Trapp.  Though rarely an instigator, Mrs. Capt. von  Trapp, has never hesitated to scale up the conversation, like any self-respecting chem-E would.  There are far too many conversation had and words spoken that are better left partially bleached and un-repeated but here, for your reading pleasure, are some PG-maybe-13 bits (cause bits are Dr. Mom's favorite):

• “I could star in those videos”
• “Create a standard curve” [that's five data points... We'll let you decide what the "data" is]
• “They better put that shit on my tombstone”
• “It’s going to be a continuum of no’s, from now until infinity”
• “You need to do less, better”

Get your minds out of the gutters people, they're not all what you think they are.  For all the conversations that can't be un-had, we'd never trade Dr. Mom for anything.  Being true to her name she really has become like a second (or third) mom to Marco and Polo.  How, you ask, does one join the ranks of Marco and Polo Mama-hood?:

• She's always there when we need a hug, a hug only a mom can give and ours are too far away
• Awkward conversations aside she's always there with at least a few wise words
• She never fails to listen to the seemingly endless panic attacks we seem to suffer from
• Never running out of interesting career advice
• Not to mention advice in our personal lives

Like the many members of our 'faculty therapy team', in her own unique way, Dr. Mom was always exactly what we needed when we didn't even know it.  We can't count the number of times when a few minutes with Dr. Mom could turn a no-good-very-very-horribly-bad-day into a fit of tears from laughing so hard.  For that we don't know how to even begin to say good-bye.  So here's to you Dr. Mom, for just being you, and letting us see a glimpse.

Marco, Polo, and Dr. Mom posing for Dr. Mom's Christmas snow-globe [2011]

Stay Nerdy and Study On,
Marco and Polo

Marco and Polo Say Goodbye... To "Free" Therapy

Marco and Polo here,
   Seven more days come and gone and we're still here.  This week we take time to reflect on all the "free" therapy we have had access to over the last four years (tuition aside of course).  We like to think that we have assembled our very own Faculty Therapy Team.  They cover all our bases, from career, to stress, to life, and although the advice isn't always welcome it is always exactly what we need to hear.
   In an attempt to widen its horizons the department has begun an applied biology program, just in time for Marco and Polo's graduation :( ...  As a result the department family has welcomed two new victims...  Er we mean faculty... One of which has quickly become the newest member of Marco and Polo's "Faculty Therapy Team", we'd say we took a vote but it was more like she shangheid the whole damn boat out from under us... The Cultured One has been the swift kick-in-the-pants that we have needed to begin planning our lives post-graduation.  Barely two weeks into knowing us she gave Marco and Polo deadlines for job applications, the deadline is today in case you were curious, and became an unsuspecting business consultant for The Helix (for more information on how you can become a consultant yourself read Marco and Polo Make Life Decisions... Again).  It's not all nose to the grind stone with The Cultured One though, she supplements her drill Sargent ways with a slew of witty quotes and an easy laugh in Microbiology:

• “Carbon knows he’s cool, if Carbon were in this class he would be sitting in the back corner and yet we would all want to be his friend”
• “If you get a Nobel Prize for it, it can be described as sexy”
• “There’s no magic in micro”

Marco, Polo, and The Cultured One

   Kilo's office has become Marco and Polo's very own white padded room...  Having a bad day?  Visit Kilo for some rant time and candy.  Have a ten minute break from class?  Visit Kilo for some 'pick-me-up' candy.  Marco's doing research or Polo's in P-chem?  Visit Kilo to pass the time and candy.  Kilo not in her office? Hunt the department until you find her for some candy.  You may notice the theme here...  Kilo's pretty awesome!  Between her sheer awesome factor, the candy, and fun nerdy toys (like bobble-head-Einstein, Schrodinger's Cat, and the ACS Mole) she has to put up with a TON of Marco and Polo. We have spent many a days losing track of (precious) homework and study time in the vortex of Kilo's office.  Kilo stars primarily as our "stress" therapist, listening to and even joining our ridiculous rants when being a biochem and dealing with people (usually not-biochems) is just a little too much.  Hidden (or maybe not so hidden) among the irrational rantings of Marco and Polo we've participated in a variety of discussions ranging from our favorite TV shows (Kilo's got excellent taste) to where mermaids come from (cause you know the stork doesn't do underwater deliveries).  In recent events Kilo has finally agreed to, or rather has conceded to the immovable logic that is Marco and Polo, the idea that we will be living under her desk for the rest of our lives.  [Want to read more?  Read Marco and Polo Spread Christmas Cheer]

Marco, Polo, and Kilo (with the ACS Mole)

   The most veteran member of our therapy team, La Catedratica, was there to witness the beginning of Marco and Polo and has been right there Gibbs-slapping us (only when necessary) everyday since.  From the early days of O-chem freak outs, to the final days of graduation freak outs (cue the tears people...  We need tissues) La Catedratica has been there holding our hands, kicking our butts, and making us laugh when we may have wanted to cry.  What do you write about someone who has been like a mom, a mentor, a sister, and a friend for the four most stressful years to date?  We can tell you one thing, whatever we manage to write will never be enough to express how we feel and who La Catedratica is to us.  Just today we spent a good hour having a patented 'Life Chat' with La Catedratica in the chem labs.  It is a nice change of pace from our everyday lives because she simply wants us to be ourselves and be happy, or as happy as anyone can be.  The passion La Catedratica brings to class and to chemistry in general, will always serve as a reminder to us of what it's all really about... Being nerdy (of course)...

Marco and Polo with La Catedratica in her natural habitat (the Organic Lab)

 With that we'll leave you with one of the many life lessons we have learned from La Catedratica:

“The more you know, the more you realize you don’t know anything.”

As always Stay Nerdy,
Marco and Polo

Marco and Polo Say Goodbye... To Good Friends

Marco and Polo here,
One more crazy week down of term and one week closer to the end...  We are using this week to say goodbye to all the amazing, funny, and insane friends we have made over the years, some of them you already know like the Kid, Tex, and Nestle, others this will be your first time hearing about.
The Kid has long been a part of our duo (or is that trio?).  She started as Marco's freshman mentee and lived in the same hall as Marco, Nestle, and our friends Creeps and Duckie.  Although the Kid is in biochemistry Polo really didn't get to know her too well until they spent a term working in the department together, the term after Marco and Polo became Marco and Polo.  Since those fateful days the Kid has become a reoccurring character in the story of our college lives.  We have spent many an hour studying, plotting and ultimately corrupting the Kid.  We have done such an incredible job with this that there are more than a few professors who make it sound as though the Kid will seize to exist upon Marco and Polo's graduation in December.

Marco, Polo and The Kid making fluorescent nanoparticles!

Tex wormed his way into Marco's life as her much needed, 'not-gay-gay-best-friend'.  For those of you who don't understand 'Marco-speak' this means Tex performs all the stereotypical 'gay-best-friend' duties without actually being gay *please note Marco and Polo have no problems with any sexul orientation Tex just happens to prefer the ladies*.  Although Tex has remained Marco's 'not-gay-gay-best-friend' he has morphed into so much more in the crazy lives of Marco and Polo (tune in in three weeks).

A Comic Tribute: The Many Hats of Tex 

We wish we had the time, energy, and brain capacity to adequately tell the many stories of Marco, Polo and their band of Merry Misfits but there is not enough time in the word let alone in this term to do them justice. So here's to our band of Merry Misfits:

• Nestle: Marco's college 'twin' and her 'dorm-days' roommate
• Creeps: Our closet-hiding, dirty-minded, goofball of a friend
• Duckie: Marco's "My Drunk Kitchen" co-chef
• Judgement J: Marco's AGD big who lives life unfiltered
• Kitty Wrangler: Polo's kitten-loving 'dorm-days' roommate who was always willing to share her family for a long weekend or holiday
• Boot-leg: The one who taught us to do as he says and not as he does
• Fiery: the antagonistic Old Spice wearer

There are so many more we wish we could mention and thank for their small and big parts in the most recent chapter of our lives.


As Always Stay Nerdy,
Marco and Polo

Marco and Polo Say Goodbye...To Clubbing

Marco and Polo here,

  As second week rolls onward we bring you the second post in our 'say goodbye' series, saying goodbye to clubbing. It's probably not the kind of clubbing you're thinking of though... we're talking about the kind of clubs you join because you're interested in something.  Whether your interest is in rock climbing or anime or anything in between, there's a club here for you.  We happened to find a few clubs here on campus that have peaked our interest in the past four years such as Pre-Med Club and the Green Engineering Organization.
   The Greener Engineering Organization (GEO) was in its second infancy when we first started school four years ago.  The term we started school GEO in b-section did not have enough students to remain a club.  Our first summer working in the department, the term Marco and Polo became friends (believe it or not there was a time before Marco and Polo), we kept running into the A-section GEO-ers.  When we returned to our school term we helped to revive our own GEO.  In the last three years we have done the Flint River Clean Up (see Marco and Polo are the Voices of the River), helped to build a garden for a local homeless shelter, made self-watering planters with the Flint Children's Museum, and held several Battle of the Bins.

Marco, Polo, Tex, and Nestle after helping with building the beginning of a garden  for a local homeless shelter

Polo helping kids build self-watering planters

The GEO crew helping teach about going green at the
Children's Museum

An aerial view of commons during Battle of the Bins (look at us and all our recycling power!)

   At one point or another Marco and Polo had high aspirations, in other words we were both pre-med.  Although these dreams were quickly destroyed...  Er we mean traded for even better dreams...  We have continued to attend and participate in the pre-med club.  There are many opportunities we would never have had if not for being members of this club.  We have gotten to hear at least a dozen professionals in an incredible variety of specialties within the medical field, we have helped with Doctor for a Day (an event inspired and plotted by our very own Mr. Dr. Bones), shadowed a medical examiner, and last but certainly not least this is where we first learned about the Mexico trip that would turn into Marco and Polo's Great Mexico Chronicles (see Marco and Polo Ir a Mexico).
   Marco and Polo don't always go clubbing together, sometimes we do change things up and pretend we are our own people.  Marco has done this through joining a sorority, AGD, while Polo has tried her hand at several different clubs.
   Marco:  It came as a shock to pretty much anyone who knew me prior to college, but I decided to join a sorority. Not just any sorority, the best sorority (in my unbiased opinion), Alpha Gamma Delta.  Joining AGD was one of my best decisions because I met some incredible people who became my sisters and will forever be my lifelong friends.  Along with the friendships and the great memories, AGD gave me the opportunity to improve my leadership through the two positions I held, Ritual Coordinator and Vice President Scholarship.  The lessons I have learned, the memories I have made and the sisters I have gained through AGD will forever be a part of who I am and what I will become.
   Polo: I decided to try my hand at several clubs, I spent a few weeks attending the fencing club, another term was spent in the aquaneering club, and this term I have endeavored to try the cliffhangers.  Fencing was fun and certainly a work out, I wasn't very good at it but I enjoyed it.  I spent the several weeks trying it and would have continued had it not interfered with my classes and homework schedules.  The Aquaneers are a club for scuba diving, once again I truly loved doing this and had the chance to earn my scuba license but being on a limited air supply and taking off the mask underwater was a little panic-inducing.  As for the Cliffhangers (our rock climbing club) Tex is the former president.  I promised him last term that I would try to go to a few of the climbing events this term.  Looking back I really wish that I had stuck with and even tried more things while here but I will never regret any of the decisions to dip my toes in these different waters.

As Always Stay Nerdy,
Marco and Polo

Marco and Polo Say Goodbye... To Being Co-op Students

Marco and Polo here,
   As we begin our final term of school we have endeavored to write at least one post a week about saying good-bye and 'moving on' from college.  This week marks the beginning of the end of this chapter in our lives and as such needs to be properly mourned and remembered.
   As of last week Marco and Polo had our last days at the jobs we loved.  These looked a little different for each of us as our jobs themselves were.
      Marco: I've spent the past three years learning the ins and outs of a molecular biology lab at a food safety company.  Alongside with working on project involving organizing and identifying around 6,000 strains of bacteria, I got the incredible opportunity to work on R&D for a new product able to detect Salmonella and other pathogens in food commodities. Spending entire days in the lab and always learning something new, I was truly in my element.  Between all the hours spent in lab and the countless learning experiences, I met and worked with some inspiring and incredible people, not to mention hilarious. I can't come up with the words enough to thank every coworker, every friend that taught me something new (especially the Molecular Bio group Baby Gorilla, The Brain and Magellan).  At this point in time, I can't even begin to appreciate all that I have learned from my experience but if I had to pick one thing that I will never forget it's that if you don't love what you do, it's not worth doing.
      Polo:  I have spent the last 2 years working at an optometrist's office (Doc's for those of you who remember him from Marco and Polo's Mexico Adventures).  A unique part of my co-op was that the practice was home to two wonderful behavioral optometrists, this means that they offer vision therapy (VT) and sensory learning at our office.  The education I got working there is priceless, I had the opportunity to work in an office setting, learn about optics, work directly with 'normal' vision patients as well as those with vision problems.  I got to work with children, parents, elderly, autistic, and people suffering from traumatic brain injuries (TBI).  Not to mention the incredible staff, therapists, and doctors in both the main office and the VT office.  I cannot express the thanks I feel to all of my co-workers and friends for helping me on this part of my journey.  To all the patients and their families who have touched my life, thank you for letting me be a small part of your own incredible and promising journeys.
   It is with sadness that we close this chapter in our lives, a chapter that has taught us more about ourselves as people then it did about our careers, as Doc always says 'Never let school get in the way of your education'.

Stay Nerdy,
Marco & Polo

Marco and Polo See Mexico in Panoramic

Marco and Polo here,
   It's been almost 6 months since our trip to Mexico, and with the prospect of our final school term on the horizon we really wish that we were there.  This post comes to you with us wishing to relive our unforgettable Mexico experience before we don't see sunlight for the next several months...

From our hotel balcony at night [see the lack of sun in the sky?]

The view from the top of a baby mountain.  It was a fun little hike

The same view from the balcony [note the sunlight this time ;) ]

Continuing to try and find the perfect angle from the top of the baby mountain

The other side of the hotel

Perfect angle found!  All those things that look like rocks?  Well most of them are rocks but lots of them are shell bits washed up from the Sea of Cortez

Our first three days...  Yup that was what we did, all day long [Polo even got a tan! (a little one anyway)]

We were trying to capture an amazing sunset...  Not quite a success but the view was still breathtaking

   We hope you enjoyed our flashbacks from Mexico!  We're hoping some to the sunshine we absorbed in Mexico will have clung to our cells for this long and we will feel a little of that relaxation in the coming months.

Wishing we were there and that you were too, stay nerdy,
Marco and Polo

Marco and Polo Run Like the Wind... Or Maybe a Breeze

Marco & Polo here,
   We have recently completed our very first 5k run...  What possesed us to start such an endevour you ask?  It all started with a bucket list.
   Many years ago Polo had to make a bucket list, fifty things she wanted to do before she was sixty, for a health class.  One day Polo decided to share this list with Marco.  This is really where we got into trouble, Marco decided to make her own (or rather make the one in her head official, you know, google docs official).  Marco's bucket list, among other things, included running a 5k.  Funny thing about this all is Marco and Polo absolutely HATE to run...  Nothing kills one of our work out days as trying to make it a running day, we tried to get into running we really did, we failed.  After about a year of trying to become runners, or at least pretend like we were, the Crim sign up sheets came out.
   The Crim is first and foremost a 10 mile run around the downtown Flint area.  It is incredible to see, the city changes the weekend of the Crim, it comes alive.  The roads shut down, work places close, people line the streets to cheer runners on, to hand out water, it truly is something to be a part of.  Along with the 10 mile event there is also an 8k walk and run, a 5k walk and run, a 3k walk and run, a 'Michigan Mile', and a Toddler Trot.  This year we signed up for the 5k run, our fates were sealed.
   In all of our infinite wisdom neither of us started 'training' for the Crim until 3 weeks before race day.  Despite not feeling ready and being worried about possibly dying, we were excited the night before when we picked up our bibs.

   Trying to get to the start line was crazy, we had to park and walk several block to get there, we counted this as our warm up.  We each had our own goals, Marco to finish in less than 45 minutes and Polo to walk no more than 1k of the races.
   We are happy to say that we reached these goals, finishing the race at an official time of 40:14 and with identical running form might I add. Further evidence that for all those who believe we really are one person...

   There was something incredible about the race, seeing all those people, those cheering and those running, it supplied a certain energy.  Running in the Crim wasn't like running on a track or training, it was an entirely unique and exhilarating experience.  So much so that we were crazy enough to sign up for another 5k in October...

  If there's anyone out there reading this saying that they couldn't do it, couldn't run a 5K (or whatever your fitness goal is), you're wrong. You can do it, we did it and so can you!

As always stay Nerdy (and swift),
Marco and Polo

Marco and Polo Break a Leg

Marco and Polo here,

   The end of this last term came quickly, Marco and Polo are now proud 'owners' of our very own concentrations in bioengineering (it's like we're almost real engineers). For this concentration we had to take Mech 350 (Introduction to Bioapplications).  Lets face it, we decided on this concentration just so we could take this class.  So this is our account of playing surgeon engineer.
  To start this had to be the funniest class we have ever had the pleasure of taking, Mr. Dr. Bones, the professor for the class, couldn't go one period without making us laugh so hard we were on the brink of tears.  Some of our favorite moments and quotes:

• “There’s a lot of women in this class, that’ll greatly increase the maturity level”
• “Oh he’s a cave person.  Probably gets chased by dinosaurs in his spare time”
• Mr. Dr. Bones breaking out into a rap/metal/ACDC dance session in the middle of class...
• “Sometimes people rip the muscle off their bone...  Don’t do that”
• “Anyone a vegetarian? Good, you’re all T-rexes”
• Showing off his mad-magician skills to a room full of engineering students...  These usually had nothing to do with the class and stumped a worrying number of classmates...
• “Have you ever watched Jeopardy with a non-engineer? You realize you’re an idiot”
• “I call it my nerd-klase, it’s like a necklace but for nerds”
• “All men, even the Pope and the president, are perverts”
•  Mr. Dr. Bones agreeing to rap again so that we can get it on video for your viewing pleasure...

   Other than being hilarious Mr. Dr. Bones was an amazing prof to have, he took the idea that engineers learn by doing to heart and as a result we spent many hours this term scrubbed up and preforming simulated surgeries. These activities included a gall bladder removal, cholecystectomy, from a Tall Paul, a PVC pipe angioplasty using a toilet snake, and building and repairing a leg.

   Marco, Polo and the Kid were in a group for the leg project, we started by building a leg from the bone out, using elastic, yarn, foam, tights, and a LOT of screws and zip-ties.  We lovingly called our leg Simon.

Polo and the Kid with Simon [everything but the skin]

Marco With Simon [that's his hip joint capsule]

   Unfortunately the next step consisted of breaking Simon's femur and trading him with another groups leg.  We named our new leg John Doe and spent the next few classes doing an ExFix, inserting a nail, and finally plating the break.

Marco  drilling into John's femur to insert a nail while Polo holds the muscles and skin out of the way

 After we had the femur plated we preformed a hip and knee replacement using play-dough as our bone cement.

   Overall this class was incredible and we wish that there was a Bioapps II we could take this next term.

As always Stay Nerdy and remember, the moral of this story is DON'T GET INJURED,
Marco and Polo