Hi. My name is Rose-Anne, and I am the author of Life, Love, and Food. I like to write about food and cooking, kitchens and shopping, and my attempts to keep myself organized and well-fed. I dabble quite a bit in writing about other areas of my life too: my job (which I'll explain in a moment), my relationships, and anything that strikes me as interesting and inspiring. I think of this blog as a food-and-writing blog, which means that I write a lot about food, but I also use it as a medium to explore the world through writing. I do a lot of thinking "out loud" on the blog, which I hope results in a site that is thought-provoking for my readers.
Welcome! I'm glad you're here.
* Career
I am a research scientist at the Texas A & M Health Science Center. The lab in which I work studies taste in fruit flies. We use flies as a model system to understand the genetic and neural underpinnings that are responsible for chemical sensation. I am particularly interested in behavioral approaches to neuroscience. Right now, I'm studying female sexual behavior in flies. Sexual behavior and taste may not seem connected to each other in a direct way, but fertility and nutrition are, so my current research goal is to figure out the connection between a female's ability to sense a particular nutrient and her willingness to mate.
My long-term career goal is to teach at a small college like the one I attended. I enjoy research and university life, but I think the size, intimacy, and passion of small colleges is the best fit for me. Alternatively, I'm also thinking about becoming a career counselor for scientists, as I seem to have a knack both for listening to people and for problem-solving. Whatever I do with my career, I hope to help people in a tangible way.
* Education
I am what you might call a nerd: I've been in school for most of my life. I love learning! I earned a BA at Albion College, majoring in chemistry with minor in philosophy. I went on to earn a PhD in neuroscience from Northwestern University, and it was during graduate school that I started this blog. Now that I'm finally done with school, I find myself reading good books, watching nerdy movies, and cultivating my intellectual side with people who are smarter than me.
* Why I Write This Blog
I really, really love to write. That alone is enough to keep me motivated to write. After four years of blogging, this site is so much more than writing. It's photography and artistry. It's recipes and developing a cooking style. Most importantly, it's forming friendships with like-minded people. I love meeting new people on-line, so if you write a blog and you'd like to say hello, don't be shy! I tend not to do link exchanges; I prefer that those things happen without an explicit agreement. But I do love to find new blogs, and leaving a comment on a post is a great way to grab my attention.
* Want to Know More About Me?
Check out my (not so) Frequently Asked Questions. If you're here for the food, click on over to the Recipe Index.
Thanks for stopping by!
PS I realized, after writing this page, that it reads like a CV, but I do approach the kitchen with the scientist's love for experimentation. So it doesn't seem too wacky to give you some idea of who I am outside of the kitchen!
PPS For those of you who may be thinking about going to graduate school or becoming a scientist, feel free to ask me questions! I have many thoughts on the subject, and I'd be happy to share them with you. You can reach me via e-mail at lifeloveandfood {at} gmail {dot} com.
