Hello blog, and happy Monday! More importantly, happy Valentine’s Day! I think the theme of this month so far has been work, and I’m starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, where I can go to bed at ten o’clock, wake up at nine, sweep the Dorito crumbs off of my floor and finally do…
Category: Science
Chem Midterm and a Quick Jaunt to Vermont
It is officially midterms season folks. Like many of my peers, I had an incredibly busy week with assignments due in almost all of my classes. I’ve been practicing lots of self-care by enjoying the warm weather we’ve been having and reading outside. It has been exhausting at times but overall a great week. I had my first chem midterm…
The Light at the End of the (Biosynthesis Pathway)
Good morning, everyone. A lot has happened since I last wrote. Somehow, we have reached the point where my thesis deadline is in NINE DAYS. It is an honest to god thrill to think that the end is in sight! I still have a lot of writing to do, but I think I have passed the hardest part. It’s like…
The Progression of My Day (and sea urchins)
9:50am. Developmental Biology. Today’s lecture is on how cells differentiate into different tissue types. How do cells become neurons, or muscle, or blood? The concluding message is that potency, what a cell can become, is greater than fate, what a cell will become. I find this very poetic, and moving for some reason, and it is so beautiful it makes…
What I’m taking my last semester
Already we’re into February, and the first week of classes has breezed by. I’m taking three classes this semester: Biochemistry, Developmental Biology, and Game Theory. Plus, I have my senior thesis project at my Brigham and Woman’s Hospital lab still ongoing. Each day ticks closer to the April 27th thesis deadline, and already this week I have had two long…
Ice Cream Making and Moss Art (the last week of lab)
When I went to the train station today, there was a carpet of turquoise blue rock salt…snow is coming! It was quite beautiful, the whole corridor along the train coated in crystals. And, of course, with my Chem 205 background I couldn’t help but think that they were probably CaCl2, which has a higher Van’t hoff factor of 3 and…
Silver Linings
Somehow, it’s December already. On one hand, I’m excited, because it’s now socially acceptable to listen to Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You.” On the other hand, all I want for Christmas is to make it through two fifteen page papers and an inorganic chemistry final intact, so I can go home and lie on the floor…
How I got my lab position
My thesis occupies a substantial portion of my life, and it tends to come up in conversation, particularly when people ask me to hang out. “Can you meet to go over the chem results on Wednesday?” “No, I can’t sorry. I have my thesis.” “What about Thursday.” “Maybe at 8pm? Sorry, I have my thesis. I have to go into…
A Good Data Day
Hello from the lab on a Friday afternoon. Friday afternoons in the lab can be surprisingly pleasant, although I’m probably just in a good mood because I have had a good data day, which tends to come few and far between. For starters, the project we’ve been working on all semester in my molecular genetics class has culminated in successful…
Weekday Meetings. Weekend: Maine
Hello from Portland, Maine! We took a trip to my friend’s house for a bit of rest, relaxation… and mostly the chance to pet cats. It’s nice sometimes during your college years to just be in a home, even if its only for 48 hours, to have a reunion with fancy cheese and fireplaces. Especially since this week at Wellesley…