Busy to the Max

Lately, I have been swamped at work. I am working on multiple projects now, and some days at work are crazy. It's weird because most graduate students start out with a few projects and narrow it down, once one becomes more promising than the others, but I did the opposite- started on one project and am branching out 3 years later. I feel better spreading out the chips a bit, and it has been fun starting new things.

For example, I transformed and grew bacteria for the last couple of days in order to purify some DNA. This is so exciting for me, because I have never done much molecular/micro biology, and at the end, you get a clear reading of how much DNA you have...in micrograms! Is it just me, or does LB Broth smell like chicken broth? Every time I pour some to grow bacteria in, I think about what LB would taste like. Yep, I'm totally that person who wonders what dog food tastes like. I'll try to restrain myself.

Another new technique I have been trying to master for the past month and a half is performing whole cell recordings in neurons or "patching". I still think it is so nuts that you can place an electrode into a neuron and record its electrical activity. This week, I finally started getting the whole procedure down and successfully patching into healthy neurons.

I guess this is the neat thing about doing research- once things get routine, you can always switch things up a bit, approach the problem from a different angle. Okay well, off to start another busy and hopefully productive day.

RSI

Lately, I have been analyzing a lot of neuron images. This involves clicking on hundreds of regions and as a result my upper trapezius is killing me. Additionally, in order to prepare the cells for fluorescent labeling, I have to pipette... alot. Last night I was sitting at home, and my lower right neck started twitching. I am beginning to understand why computer programmers have such problems with repetitive strain injury. HB has chronic problems with his upper back, and I always thought he was a big wimp with bad posture, but muscle strain really blows. So now I am trying to use the mouse with my left hand, even though it is slow going.

Easter- the best holiday

I have had an incredibly busy week, so I can barely find time to post about things. But I have so many things to write about! First off, my week began with an immensely awesome surprise. My roommate from college just happened to be in town for a work-related project!! I'll call her Atalanta (since that will be the name of her sailboat). It was so great to spend time with her, and to hear about her new life plan (which sounds so much more fulfilling than her current job). I love how hanging out with friends lifts you out of the foulest of moods.

Wednesday night, I hosted a Passover Seder dinner at my apartment. Even though the turnout wasn't as big as in the past, I enjoyed sharing a meal with friends. I love Seder dinners, and I'm not sure why more Christians do not celebrate it, since it was the last meal that Jesus participated in, especially since the Jewish traditions are so beautiful and strangely (or not so strangely) complementary to Christian beliefs. My favorite part of the Seder meal is probably the charoset, because it is supposed to be a sweet reminder of the mortar used between the bricks (can be symbolized by matzoh) and because it is SO tasty.

Friday morning, I was in charge of bringing Krispy Kremes to the 5 am walkabout. Our pastor superimposed Jerusalem onto Lower Greenville, so every year on Good Friday we walk to the sites that Jesus visited on his last day, starting from The Temple (Whole Foods), across from the Garden of Gethsemane where he was arrested and ending with where Jesus went before Pilate for the second time (next to Shell gas station).

Easter Sunday was great, too. Because of some freak weather, where we actually had snow flurries on Saturday (after 84 degree weather three days before), we moved our sunrise service inside instead of the usual outdoor spot at White Rock Lake. The best part was watching all the little kids hunt for Easter eggs after brunch, oh and the annual peep jousting tournament of course (aged peeps work so much better).

Can you tell I love Easter week? It is always such a renewing time for me, especially going through Lent, trying to focus on meditating and centering on God, yet remembering that no one is perfect, nor do we have to be- which is the whole reason for Easter in the first place. And all of this coinciding with the beginning of spring is always uplifting. I look forward to it every year.

Atrophy of the Analytical

I met with the Russian professor today, (the one that gives me such a hard time in my thesis committee meetings) and he was surprisingly cordial. He helped me derive all these equations for my receptor trafficking studies and it all makes sense now! Okay maybe not, but by putting things in perspective, I have a much better idea of what is going on in my system. It makes me wish that I had figured out all these relationships BEFORE I actually performed my experiments, so I would know which parameters were important.



But anyway, the whole thing makes me realize how much of my physics training has gone done the tubes. Seriously, these are simple equations, and I really should have figured them out myself. On top of that, I am taking a statistics class, and yeah my math has definitely suffered. I feel sad that I can't think analytically anymore. :( And a professor from Wellesley just e-mailed me asking about how my major has affected my post-college career. And while I would like to say that it has enhanced it, I realize that it is a big fat LIE, and my physics professors would be ashamed.



Que triste. Oh well, Knut makes EVERYTHING better.

BINGO!

My friend Amanda is heading out into the working world of Flagstaff Arizona, so a group of 4 gals gathered Saturday night to wish her a bon voyage. We had dinner and plans to go bowling, but our plans were foiled due to a 1.5 hour wait for a lane. Clearly, they need more bowling alleys in the suburbs. Determined to have a good time, we settled on....BINGO. That's right, it's the new and exciting place to be for people in their late 20's.

So having no idea what was going on, we purchased a game set and our little ink daubers. Let me just say that first time Bingo is STRESSFUL. There was so much Bingo Lingo that we needed to learn (3 the hard way, wild number, flying elvis -still haven't figured out that one...), it was overwhelming at first, but after we figured out the whole electronic screen, it turned out to be a lot of fun! I have to say that you have to try it at least one. And I can see how it can get very addicting.

None of us actually ended up winning, but we had a good time (and the ink dauber was the best $1 spent in a while).

Exhausted and Lazy

After a morning full of meetings, I am tired and apathetic. Okay, I admit I am mostly tired from staying up late to watch Ninja Warrior on G4 and online Ugly Betty episodes. Luckily, I didn't give up slothfulness for Lent, because lately I have been nothing but. Examples:
1) I set my alarm clock for 7:00 am and snooze for 1-1.5 hours EVERYDAY!
2) After waking up, I'll take 1-1.5 hours just to putter around in the morning before heading out.
3) After 3:00 pm I feel like my brain is fried and either fall asleep or think about going home until I do.
4) I leave my dirty dishes in the sink for a week (I know it's so gross).
5) I neglect my leopard gecko Cornelius for weeks.
6) I haven't read a full scientific article in over a month.
This is really pathetic, I am the worst graduate student ever. Oh well. For now I'll just keep think about getting things done, and maybe soon it will cross over into reality.

Pop! Goes my heart

I watched Music & Lyrics with doctorsquared a few weeks ago and had this song stuck in my head for days. The movie was okay- exactly what you would expect, but this music video is priceless! The two of us laughed so hard, it was difficult to breathe.