It was 55 degrees today. In late January. In Massachusetts. Basically, it was glorious. There's definitely something to be said for not having to put a coat on just to go outside.
However, temperature controls in the lab were screwed up. I think it hit a high of 84 degrees. Too hot. Also, running back and forth between the warm room (37 deg C) and the lab with residual sweat running into my eyes was not a pleasant experience. Too hot.
But for some reason, I'm still smiling. Maybe because I had an unintentional sauna detox. Maybe because the cold room actually felt good today.
Ultimate Goal: learn to layer more efficiently, for all rooms in the lab. Also, never underestimate the power of the warm room.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Monday, January 28, 2013
Happy Last First Day of Classes!
Good things that happened today:
-Made it to Millis and class on time.
-Classes were awesome. [waiting for tomorrow's class to be super awesome so I won't have such a hard time choosing]
-Randomly saw both BKu and RoTh today.
-The pear I've been ripening for the last week was perfectly ripe and delicious.
-Got back just in time to get a free flu shot.
-The protein prep I ran last week worked beautifully. And the gel is nice and stained and blue where I want it to be.
-I learned how to design primers and no longer feel stupid.
-Made it to dinner with 5 minutes to spare and got the last mushu pork wrap.
Today has been a good day.
-Made it to Millis and class on time.
-Classes were awesome. [waiting for tomorrow's class to be super awesome so I won't have such a hard time choosing]
-Randomly saw both BKu and RoTh today.
-The pear I've been ripening for the last week was perfectly ripe and delicious.
-Got back just in time to get a free flu shot.
-The protein prep I ran last week worked beautifully. And the gel is nice and stained and blue where I want it to be.
-I learned how to design primers and no longer feel stupid.
-Made it to dinner with 5 minutes to spare and got the last mushu pork wrap.
Today has been a good day.
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Balletone
I went to my first Balletone class today. It's like a mixture of ballet-inspired pilates, yoga, and stretching, and wow. I am so sore my legs have turned into jelly. It wasn't cardio intensive at all but dude. Tired. Sleepy.
Peace out.
Peace out.
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Someone I Thought I Knew
Because our class is a two-week intensive bootcamp of science-techniques-that-you-should-probably-know-and-would-probably-be-useful-but-no-one-just-sits-you-down-and-tells-you-these-things, we have a different instructor every day and sometimes, their grad students or post docs come and sit in on the class. Thus, there are occasionally new faces. And then, sometimes, there are old faces. Today, I spent much of my free time wondering who this one girl in the class was and how I knew her. I didn't actually ponder this for a long stretch of time because the lecture was pretty interesting and I was mostly engrossed in that, but every time we had a break, I would look over and wonder, "Where have I met this person before?" I correctly assumed that she was a post-doc in the lecturer's lab and that she had been a grad student in my undergrad chem department. I also knew her name started with an E and that she had probably been my TA at some point, but as I wracked my brains trying to figure it out, I realized, that, I just couldn't. I enlisted Kelsey's help, and although he had nothing to offer (and rightly called me a creeper), I couldn't shake the feeling that I knew this person somehow.
It wasn't that she had especially striking features or remembered me or anything. But I continued to have this nagging feeling that whatever context I had seen her in before was not the context here, so thus, something didn't belong.
So I went through all my classes, dismissed the classes that Kelsey and I had together (which was a surprising lot, considering that our interests are pretty far apart), and listed the TAs of every class I had and at last, AT LAST(!), figured out that she had been my junior year Chemical Biology TA. How ironic that I should see her again during my Chemical Biology bootcamp when it was that class that inspired me to take up research and go to grad school. So, though I didn't go to any of the "TA help sessions" and you gave me one of the worst science grades I received during undergrad, thank you, E, for being a part of my class that changed the trajectory of my life and led me here, where I know I belong.
It wasn't that she had especially striking features or remembered me or anything. But I continued to have this nagging feeling that whatever context I had seen her in before was not the context here, so thus, something didn't belong.
So I went through all my classes, dismissed the classes that Kelsey and I had together (which was a surprising lot, considering that our interests are pretty far apart), and listed the TAs of every class I had and at last, AT LAST(!), figured out that she had been my junior year Chemical Biology TA. How ironic that I should see her again during my Chemical Biology bootcamp when it was that class that inspired me to take up research and go to grad school. So, though I didn't go to any of the "TA help sessions" and you gave me one of the worst science grades I received during undergrad, thank you, E, for being a part of my class that changed the trajectory of my life and led me here, where I know I belong.
Monday, January 7, 2013
Baby Workout
Today, I did a baby workout. Man, the gym sure is crowded before dinnertime. So I biked and stretched. Never doing upright bikes again. Butt hurts. Also, first day of winter classes. 9-5 sure is a long time. And it all begins again tomorrow. Whee!
Oh. And I started looking for apartments. No luck yet, but the year is still young.
Oh. And I started looking for apartments. No luck yet, but the year is still young.
Saturday, January 5, 2013
January
It's January. I don't believe I actually made a list of resolutions last year, choosing instead merely to reflect upon the ones I made in 2010, and I'm not sure whether to make one this year. If I were, I would include things like
- Keep hydrated. (So notoriously bad at this...)
- Cook/bake more. (It would help if I didn't share a kitchen with half my floor, but that's really not an excuse.)
- Be social (and sociable). [I started getting good at this last year! Let's try for more.]
- Take more pictures and video. Document the life. Although I cringe a little when I watch myself on camera, it's always such great memories.
- Get fit. (Resume dancing, maybe? Or try something new.)
The academic stuff is never a real "resolution" for me. Grades, papers, and lab work are always goals that I strive to achieve, but I don't have to steel my resolve to do it.
This New Year's passed, as most do, with not a whole lot of bang. I got to spend it with Kelsey (first ever!) and my family so I was rather pleased, but other than the staying up way passed when I wanted to listening to Kathy Griffin make Anderson Cooper feel uncomfortable, it wasn't really a whole lot of shabang. Which, I'm ok with, considering most of my New Year's have been me cuddled up on my couch watching the ball drop completely unceremoniously (it's not as sad as it sounds, promise).
Other things I did this break were:
-DISNEYLAND!
- Keep hydrated. (So notoriously bad at this...)
- Cook/bake more. (It would help if I didn't share a kitchen with half my floor, but that's really not an excuse.)
- Be social (and sociable). [I started getting good at this last year! Let's try for more.]
- Take more pictures and video. Document the life. Although I cringe a little when I watch myself on camera, it's always such great memories.
- Get fit. (Resume dancing, maybe? Or try something new.)
The academic stuff is never a real "resolution" for me. Grades, papers, and lab work are always goals that I strive to achieve, but I don't have to steel my resolve to do it.
This New Year's passed, as most do, with not a whole lot of bang. I got to spend it with Kelsey (first ever!) and my family so I was rather pleased, but other than the staying up way passed when I wanted to listening to Kathy Griffin make Anderson Cooper feel uncomfortable, it wasn't really a whole lot of shabang. Which, I'm ok with, considering most of my New Year's have been me cuddled up on my couch watching the ball drop completely unceremoniously (it's not as sad as it sounds, promise).
Other things I did this break were:
-DISNEYLAND!
-Went to my first college alumni holiday party.
-First double date with Kelsey's sister + boyfriend (oh, and meeting them. Ramen and karaoke and shopping and YUM SOON TOFU).
-Volunteered with some awesome people at Project Angelfood. Scooped potatoes for a couple hours. Master scooper.
-Walking about in Franklin Canyon.
-Watching a ton of movies (Les Mis, The Hobbit, Rise of the Guardians, The Great Mouse Detective, Adventures of Tin Tin, Ping Pong Playa). We watched Les Mis in the most amazing theater with diner services and reclining chairs.
-Got hooked on QI. Oh, Stephen Fry, you delightful gentleman. (And Phill Jupitus!)
-Traditional board game birthday party complete with R.V.'s delicious brownie cake. YOM.
- A lot of Epic Mickey 2.
- And eats!
And now I'm back in chilly Cambridge, with a stock of soup and hot chocolate and blankets and sweatpants and am comfy cozy, though I do miss LA and the people there. But I have begun putting projects in place for 2013. Hee. Hee. Hee. :)
Snuggles you later,
A
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