Thoughts About the Boston Marathon

This shit is scary. I wasn't there, running or standing at the finish line, but my heart hasn't stopped pounding for over two hours. My fingers are tingling, my head is spinning, and my stomach, though happy with the delicious salad that I just ate, nevertheless has felt a little sick since I heard the news. As far as I know, no one I know has been directly affected by the blast (thank goodness), and every message I get that someone else is ok really should make me feel better, but in reality, I'm on edge like I've never been before. I want to laugh and hug someone and tell them that everything will be alright, but right now, I'm not alright.

I. am. not. alright.

Today was supposed to be a good day. I got my ID (finally) and a fancy new lab notebook, and have an experimental plan and don't have too much homework and everything was supposed to be fine. And relative to some people, I expect I have had a good day. But maybe this hit a little too close to home for me. Literally.

I don't know if I want to be alone tonight, or if I should be with people. My dinner with DL and NS was nice because it took my mind off things for a little bit at least, but later, will I be able to sleep? I take that route to school every day.

The streets were eerily quiet as I walked home today. Was it just me? I don't usually go home so early, so maybe that's what it's like at 5:00 pm....nope. The cars that are usually making it home around this time are gone. The bustling pedestrians, gone. Among the smattering of people I do see, there are only silent footsteps and rustling wind.

Just some thoughts. Now, just to breathe.

Updates: Bits and Bobs

It's been...a rough semester. Not so much rough, as in "I hate life and want to drop out of grad school" rough, but more like the "I'm so busy when will I have to breathe" rough. In fact, it's been really awesome, and I've had a ton of adventures, and I've worked really hard, and as a result, my body completely broke down this past weekend and I have been quite laid up in bed with what can only be described as a chest cold. My throat has decided it's going through puberty and I sound like an adolescent boy, my lungs are all phlegmy, and my body is just exhausted. But through a strict diet of soup, ice cream, and rom coms, I have pushed past this weekend and in a few days, I'm sure I'll be in tip top shape again. Let's take a breeze through the past couple of months and see what I've been up to.

January:
- CB Bootcamp. *snore* Some cool moments, like seeing E again, but mostly...>.>

-CB Bootcamp Happy Hour. Much better.

- Lab holiday party: Fish, gift exchange, and a new shark best friend.

- SF's housewarming party. That was a hoot and a half. Definitely some memories from that night, including the massive game of Cards Against Humanity and decorating the place with post-it notes.

- Brunching at Craigie on Main. DELICIOUS.

- Winter Luau. Shorts under snow pants is the way to go.

- Grafton Street Rum and Food pairing night. Also delicious.

During this month also existed the coldest week of winter. It was so cold! The river froze over!

Oh also, I got new glasses.


February:

- Dumpling Day! Success.

- Chinese New Year in NJ with family, friends, and Captain America. Success.

-Heard James Watson talk about Oxidants, Anti-Oxidants, and Incurable Cancers. Kinda a hot mess.

- Recruiting weekend. Major success.

- Milken Alumni Event in NY. Also, success.

Also, I learned to, you know, clone genes, grow bacteria, and get protein, and...stuff. Also, there was the giant blizzard that buried everything and almost made it so that I couldn't get back to Boston from NJ. Bad blizzard! Bad!

March:

- Ended my rotation.

- Started a new one.

- Celebrated my spring break/anniversary (3 years!!) in San Francisco, doing amazing things and having an amazing time. My favorite picture of the bunch was our post-Challenge Nation picture. We got 57th/215 and it was an amazing journey of running and leaping and exhaustion and afterwards, we sat in a food court and watched Downton Abbey until our phones ran out of batteries and then saw Foodies: the Musical. What a great day with my best friend.

There really are so many more memories from March and this trip but I'll keep them for another time

Also, EASTER!

April:

- Pulled pretty much my first working all-nighter ever. Napped for an hour from 7 AM - 8 AM and then went to class. ALL THE RAGE TO THE MATLAB.

- ChemBio retreat. Interesting...could be longer....

- Started the process for finding an apartment to settle down in! 

And that brings us to....now. There's been a lot of work involved and a lot of fun and I'm getting ready to recharge for the day. So....here's to the cool things that are happening in just a couple of weeks and....I'll leave you with this delicious specimen: