I gave a presentation on a paper for one of my classes today. It was a really cool piece that used siRNAs to treat Herpes Simplex Virus 2. For those who don't know, siRNA is the prizing winning discovery for this year's Nobel prize in Medicine and Physiology. Anyhow, I thought I had 15 minutes, but as it turned out, everyone before me took longer than usual. So I had 10 minutes to give this presentation. I did it in 9.
Side note: Merck bought Sirna for $1.1 Billion. Its stock doubled. Note to self: must make use of all the paper reading for investment in Biotech firms.
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Broken Coffee pot
I broke my coffee pot today. I had left the coffee maker on all day. So I took the coffee pot to the sick and filled it with really cold water. The bottom cracked.
So I bought a new one. Walgreens had one on sale. Now I have two coffee makers and one coffee pot. They're exactly the same.
PS. I picked the 4-cup one because the 10-cup (although at the same price) would have been encouraging an already bad habit.
So I bought a new one. Walgreens had one on sale. Now I have two coffee makers and one coffee pot. They're exactly the same.
PS. I picked the 4-cup one because the 10-cup (although at the same price) would have been encouraging an already bad habit.
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Love for $149.95
So I've been looking for tall high heel boots (FMB's for those in the know) for a while since I threw my last pair out. (It was way overworn). At first my budget was $100.00, but there were no hits.
Today, I went to DSW and found a pair that was seemingly perfect in my criteria. Tall, snug, but not too snug such that I can still wear my pants under it. It's a pointed toe, but doesn't look like it could stab someone's eye out. The heel is also pointed, but not stiletto style.
Yeah, it's perfect. Until I took a look at the price. It was $149.95. Technically, I can afford it, since it's payday soon, but I don't want to blow my budget for November before November even starts. Plus, I have other stuff I need to get. Like more long sleeve shirts.
I know these boots can last me some time. Should I keep it?
Oh yeah, there's another pair for $129.95, but it's not as nice. It doesn't fit as perfect, but the two are closely analoguous. Should I get this one instead?
Today, I went to DSW and found a pair that was seemingly perfect in my criteria. Tall, snug, but not too snug such that I can still wear my pants under it. It's a pointed toe, but doesn't look like it could stab someone's eye out. The heel is also pointed, but not stiletto style.
Yeah, it's perfect. Until I took a look at the price. It was $149.95. Technically, I can afford it, since it's payday soon, but I don't want to blow my budget for November before November even starts. Plus, I have other stuff I need to get. Like more long sleeve shirts.
I know these boots can last me some time. Should I keep it?
Oh yeah, there's another pair for $129.95, but it's not as nice. It doesn't fit as perfect, but the two are closely analoguous. Should I get this one instead?
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Laziest Dinner EVER made by me
I got too lazy to make a proper dinner and too cheap to buy it. So here's what I did
1 can of Tuna - Drained
Lime Juice
Pepper
Salt
Crumbled bleu cheese
Cherry Tomatoes that are shriveling because it's been in the fridge a bit too long.
Hey, it could be worst, I guess
Try uncooked top ramen straight from the packet with a simmer of the MSG on top.
Amen, sister!
P. I have not tried the top ramen thing. Let me know how it went if you have.
1 can of Tuna - Drained
Lime Juice
Pepper
Salt
Crumbled bleu cheese
Cherry Tomatoes that are shriveling because it's been in the fridge a bit too long.
Hey, it could be worst, I guess
Try uncooked top ramen straight from the packet with a simmer of the MSG on top.
Amen, sister!
P. I have not tried the top ramen thing. Let me know how it went if you have.
Awesomeness
I have this class called Micro 230. In there, we read a lot of papers and critique them. The sick thing is that my new instructor for that course is KEVIN STRUHL. I presented one of his papers in my junior year HHURP journal club. It's gnarly to put a name to a face and personality.
---
In the past, my lab had been criticized for techniques (ie RNase Protection Assays and Nuclear run-on with G-less cassettes) that fell out of favor with the general community since chromatin IP and quantative RT-PCR came onto the scene. One time, I mentioned how I had to do a CsCl spin to isolate DNA and my classmate said "Wait, we're in the same generation, how come I never did it?" Anyhow, together, it made me feel very archaic.
After being owned by the midterm, I still had molecular biology class. The professor, Steve Buratowski (whose work I am decently familiar with since the Martinson Lab was interesting in many of the same things) talked about RNase Protection Assays, Nuclear Run-ons, and G-less cassette analysis for studying transcription. I felt very vindicated that someone still talks about these techniques.
---
In the past, my lab had been criticized for techniques (ie RNase Protection Assays and Nuclear run-on with G-less cassettes) that fell out of favor with the general community since chromatin IP and quantative RT-PCR came onto the scene. One time, I mentioned how I had to do a CsCl spin to isolate DNA and my classmate said "Wait, we're in the same generation, how come I never did it?" Anyhow, together, it made me feel very archaic.
After being owned by the midterm, I still had molecular biology class. The professor, Steve Buratowski (whose work I am decently familiar with since the Martinson Lab was interesting in many of the same things) talked about RNase Protection Assays, Nuclear Run-ons, and G-less cassette analysis for studying transcription. I felt very vindicated that someone still talks about these techniques.
OWNED!
I just had a midterm that made me feel owned. I haven't felt like this spring quarter of sophomore year. This is the first time that I couldn't finish the test. It's not that I didn't know. It just too much time to sort out the markers in the genetic analysis setup. Thankfully, many from the class felt the same way. Hopefully, I did relatively well enough.
Friday, October 20, 2006
Things go up and down
Just an update of the good and the bad of my life so far
The weather
Good: It's not going to rain tomorrow, so I can go jogging
Bad: It's going to be about 37F and maybe up to mid 40s
Health
Good: My cold is finally ebbing. It was pretty miserable earlier the week
Bad: I'm having more headaches from this cold than ever. I dont like it. Plus, it's taken a toll on my exercise.
School
Good: Vanilla experiment for rotation project has finally worked after the third try
Bad: Class commitments are taking all of me until next friday
Food
Good: After 4 consecutive meals of Pizza, I'm finally moving on to other foods
Bad: I'm totally winging the recipes and mostly failing
The weather
Good: It's not going to rain tomorrow, so I can go jogging
Bad: It's going to be about 37F and maybe up to mid 40s
Health
Good: My cold is finally ebbing. It was pretty miserable earlier the week
Bad: I'm having more headaches from this cold than ever. I dont like it. Plus, it's taken a toll on my exercise.
School
Good: Vanilla experiment for rotation project has finally worked after the third try
Bad: Class commitments are taking all of me until next friday
Food
Good: After 4 consecutive meals of Pizza, I'm finally moving on to other foods
Bad: I'm totally winging the recipes and mostly failing
Saturday, October 14, 2006
Fall Foliage and Cold
Boston is getting really pretty lately. The fall foliage is slowly setting in and I have the pleasure of admiring the Charles's riverfront as I commute along the Harvard Bridge each morning and afternoon. I hope this lasts for a while before all the leaves fall.
On a side now, starting to feel the chill now. It's about 50s during the day. It's really not bad, but there are times where I felt that I'm not dressed well enough. Last week, I went on a shopping spree at Old Navy for long sleeve tshirts. I didn't have too many of those, and I figured they're very versatile for hte winter. For some reason, I dont feel like I have enough clothes for the winter. I have enough to last me, but still a girl needs to be fashionable. I'm aching to go shopping, but I'm still recovering from the sprees last weekend. ( also went Target for electric blanket).
Work is starting to eat in. I know I picked Harvard BBS because of the huge selection of faculty that I can rotate with, but it's becoming a daunting task. I had a bit of scientific identity crisis. I came in with a preconceived notion of what I would like to try and what I would want to avoid. I'm starting to second guess myself, I don't find myself as enthusiastic with the things I thought I like. I talked to a professor about it and he gave me some pointers. I'm gonna follow up on that and see if it helps at all.
On a side now, starting to feel the chill now. It's about 50s during the day. It's really not bad, but there are times where I felt that I'm not dressed well enough. Last week, I went on a shopping spree at Old Navy for long sleeve tshirts. I didn't have too many of those, and I figured they're very versatile for hte winter. For some reason, I dont feel like I have enough clothes for the winter. I have enough to last me, but still a girl needs to be fashionable. I'm aching to go shopping, but I'm still recovering from the sprees last weekend. ( also went Target for electric blanket).
Work is starting to eat in. I know I picked Harvard BBS because of the huge selection of faculty that I can rotate with, but it's becoming a daunting task. I had a bit of scientific identity crisis. I came in with a preconceived notion of what I would like to try and what I would want to avoid. I'm starting to second guess myself, I don't find myself as enthusiastic with the things I thought I like. I talked to a professor about it and he gave me some pointers. I'm gonna follow up on that and see if it helps at all.
Saturday, September 30, 2006
8 sided dice
I just came back from playing Risk 2210AD for about 3 hours. It was very complicated, very long, but can be very fun. I think I just leveled up in terms of nerd-hood!
Tickets!
I just got tickets to the 16th First Annual Ig Nobel Prize Informal lecture series. It "honors achievements that first make people LAUGH, and hten make them THINK."
It's gonna be so much fun! Can't wait for academic talk of scientifically irrelevant research!
It's gonna be so much fun! Can't wait for academic talk of scientifically irrelevant research!
Friday, September 29, 2006
Monday, September 18, 2006
The Harvard Club
Just came back from dinnner at the Harvard Club. I feel so entitled and snobby (j/k) Anyhow, it was a really cool event. The gala was organize to facilitate interaction between PhD students and Med Students on both Cambridge and Longwood campus.
While seeing what the old boys club is a very cool experience, two things made the night great. 1) The food wasnt' shabby at all! I had prime rib and it was medium-rare the way I like it. 2) The keynote speaker, George Daley, gave a great speech. Over the last two weeks, I had been bombarded with speeches of how great this institution is, how we are the going to the be the leaders, and how we should be excited about our work and this time in our lives. Well this guy gave a pretty similar speech, but the difference is that instead of just trying to inspire us, he also made us laugh. It's definitely a great departure from all the trite speeches.
Oh yeah, I also got these spiffy business cards that has the my name as well as Harvard written on it. I think I should send it to my family and they will finally believe I am going to school at Harvard. Sweet!
While seeing what the old boys club is a very cool experience, two things made the night great. 1) The food wasnt' shabby at all! I had prime rib and it was medium-rare the way I like it. 2) The keynote speaker, George Daley, gave a great speech. Over the last two weeks, I had been bombarded with speeches of how great this institution is, how we are the going to the be the leaders, and how we should be excited about our work and this time in our lives. Well this guy gave a pretty similar speech, but the difference is that instead of just trying to inspire us, he also made us laugh. It's definitely a great departure from all the trite speeches.
Oh yeah, I also got these spiffy business cards that has the my name as well as Harvard written on it. I think I should send it to my family and they will finally believe I am going to school at Harvard. Sweet!
The Harvard Club
Just came back from dinnner at the Harvard Club. I feel so entitled and snobby (j/k) Anyhow, it was a really cool event. The gala was organize to facilitate interaction between PhD students and Med Students on both Cambridge and Longwood campus.
While seeing what the old boys club is a very cool experience, two things made the night great. 1) The food wasnt' shabby at all! I had prime rib and it was medium-rare the way I like it. 2) The keynote speaker, George Daley, gave a great speech. Over the last two weeks, I had been bombarded with speeches of how great this institution is, how we are the going to the be the leaders, and how we should be excited about our work and this time in our lives. Well this guy gave a pretty similar speech, but the difference is that instead of just trying to inspire us, he also made us laugh. It's definitely a great departure from all the trite speeches.
Oh yeah, we also got these spiffy business cards that has the my name
While seeing what the old boys club is a very cool experience, two things made the night great. 1) The food wasnt' shabby at all! I had prime rib and it was medium-rare the way I like it. 2) The keynote speaker, George Daley, gave a great speech. Over the last two weeks, I had been bombarded with speeches of how great this institution is, how we are the going to the be the leaders, and how we should be excited about our work and this time in our lives. Well this guy gave a pretty similar speech, but the difference is that instead of just trying to inspire us, he also made us laugh. It's definitely a great departure from all the trite speeches.
Oh yeah, we also got these spiffy business cards that has the my name
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Back from the Retreat
The Retreat at Provincetown was a lot of fun. The weather predictions had been poor so having all the sun at the cape was very much welcomed. For those who don't know, Provincetown is at the very tip of Cape Cod. It's about 3 hours from Boston, and it is super gay friendly. There are more stores for guy's clothes than girls clothes, outnumbered about 5:1. It also has a lot of antique stores and art galleries. The atmosphere is just as you would expect from a East Coast little beach town. Very quaint.
I have some cool pictures. Just thought I'd share them
I have some cool pictures. Just thought I'd share them
Outside my room
Along the beach. The people in the pic are some other first-year grad students like me.
Funny signs for the garden! Maybe for my cell cultures too.
Found this in the middle of a Zen Garden store in P-town.
First-years doing "I Will Survive" on Karaoke. Note: Old Guy in the back is one of the directors of our graduate program.
Some Roommate love! Left is Rebecca, Right is Adrienne.
Outside at night. That's a tower, not a light house. There were fireworks too, but those pics didn't come out too well.So yes, in the end, you can tell we clearly talked a lot about science at this retreat!
Thursday, September 14, 2006
BBS Retreat
Tomorrow, I'll be leaving Boston for the weekend. The BBS program has invited all the first years to go on a retreat in Provincetown, MA. Should be exciting.
Update: Here's the link to the place we'll be staying at.
http://www.provincetowninn.com/
More when I get back
Update: Here's the link to the place we'll be staying at.
http://www.provincetowninn.com/
More when I get back
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Science + Interpretative Dance = . . .
I got to see this after an excruciatingly long poster presentation on the biophysics of integrin conformational change. It almost made those lost moments of my youth worthwhile. Just almost, but not quite.
http://www.cbrinstitute.org/labs/springer/lab_goodies/Turning_on_Integrins.mov
http://www.cbrinstitute.org/labs/springer/lab_goodies/Turning_on_Integrins.mov
Sunday, September 10, 2006
Pub Crawl Success
Hosted Pub Crawl with roommates from Central Sq. to Harvard Square. Nice turn out. Happy about it. My roommates rock!
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Boston Adventure
I've been in Boston a few days and it has been great to me. I had orientation yesterday, which was long and brutal, full of boring administrative stuff. However, it was very cool to finally meet all my other colleagues. At night, the program rented out some space at this bar near Fenway Park that had pool and a bowling alley. It's sort of like a D&B, but without all the kids and the arcades.
Today was a free day, which meant some roaming around. I've experienced first hand that Boston is very walkable, but you can get lost easily if you don't know where you're going. That's because many of the streets do not run in a grid. Yes, Boston streets have no civil planning.
Also went to my first Red Sox game. Although the Sox lost terribly to the other Sox, I've noticed that the Boston crowd is really enthusiastic. The atmosphere is definitely more lively than at any of the other three baseball games I've been to.
Here are some pictures from today's adventures
Downtown Boston in the Day
Office Building
Church next to Office Building
Another Church
Harvard Medical School
Inside Fenway Park
Downtown Boston at Night
Ada, I know that you really want to see my apartment, I'll get to those soon!
Today was a free day, which meant some roaming around. I've experienced first hand that Boston is very walkable, but you can get lost easily if you don't know where you're going. That's because many of the streets do not run in a grid. Yes, Boston streets have no civil planning.
Also went to my first Red Sox game. Although the Sox lost terribly to the other Sox, I've noticed that the Boston crowd is really enthusiastic. The atmosphere is definitely more lively than at any of the other three baseball games I've been to.
Here are some pictures from today's adventures
Downtown Boston in the Day
Office Building
Church next to Office Building
Another Church
Harvard Medical School
Inside Fenway Park
Downtown Boston at NightAda, I know that you really want to see my apartment, I'll get to those soon!
Friday, September 01, 2006
First day in Boston
A few things
1) Red eye flights suck when it's not a direct flight
My first stop was at Atlanta and it was 2am at LA when I arrived. To make it worst, my insomnia the previous night messed up my circadian cycle. End result: 1hr sleep on plane. On the second leg of the flight, I had ever intention to just sleep straight through. That was until the passenger who sat next to me began to tell me her life story and how she loves her dog. I hope to never become her. Seriously, I didn't have the patience to patronize her.
2) Boston is beautiful
I think I lucked out with the weather today. It was sunny and a brisk low 70s. Driving along the Charles as I exited onto Mass Ave definitely made me love this city already. It feels exciting and lively and very great jogging city!
3) Apartment Location is MONEY!
I'm a block in from Central Square. I have a lot of stores and restaurants at my fingertips. It's lovely to be 2 blocks for a organic co-op market, and 5 minutes from a Shaw's. It's a tad far from campus but the shuttle stop is just a block away. Oh yeah, the apart is smaller than the one I had in LA, but at least I get my own room!
4) Roommates are great.
Finally met Rebecca and re-met Adrienne. Both are super nice. Rebecca put up with me in ikea and getting a bed
5) Sept 1st in Ikea is hellish
Everything is out of stock because that's when EVERYONE is moving in. I missed out on two mattress from Ikea.
6) Bed
I got a pretty sweet bed. It cost a little bit more, but I didnt wanna put up with any more price shopping. It was a bit out of my budget, but the one that was one lower was just crap. At least this one, I definitely like. Best part, I will have it on Sunday!
That's it, peeps, I'll post pictures later.I'm dead tired and functioning on 3hr sleep and 1 cup of coffee at noon. Small victories make me super happy. I'm probably pretty deluded.
1) Red eye flights suck when it's not a direct flight
My first stop was at Atlanta and it was 2am at LA when I arrived. To make it worst, my insomnia the previous night messed up my circadian cycle. End result: 1hr sleep on plane. On the second leg of the flight, I had ever intention to just sleep straight through. That was until the passenger who sat next to me began to tell me her life story and how she loves her dog. I hope to never become her. Seriously, I didn't have the patience to patronize her.
2) Boston is beautiful
I think I lucked out with the weather today. It was sunny and a brisk low 70s. Driving along the Charles as I exited onto Mass Ave definitely made me love this city already. It feels exciting and lively and very great jogging city!
3) Apartment Location is MONEY!
I'm a block in from Central Square. I have a lot of stores and restaurants at my fingertips. It's lovely to be 2 blocks for a organic co-op market, and 5 minutes from a Shaw's. It's a tad far from campus but the shuttle stop is just a block away. Oh yeah, the apart is smaller than the one I had in LA, but at least I get my own room!
4) Roommates are great.
Finally met Rebecca and re-met Adrienne. Both are super nice. Rebecca put up with me in ikea and getting a bed
5) Sept 1st in Ikea is hellish
Everything is out of stock because that's when EVERYONE is moving in. I missed out on two mattress from Ikea.
6) Bed
I got a pretty sweet bed. It cost a little bit more, but I didnt wanna put up with any more price shopping. It was a bit out of my budget, but the one that was one lower was just crap. At least this one, I definitely like. Best part, I will have it on Sunday!
That's it, peeps, I'll post pictures later.I'm dead tired and functioning on 3hr sleep and 1 cup of coffee at noon. Small victories make me super happy. I'm probably pretty deluded.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
