Study Break

Lots of interesting happenings in the past week...

1. I got the TA position! I'm really excited about helping the kiddies & make a little extra moola...the best of both worlds. Seriously can not wait for this summer...even Spring Quarter really, having classes from 9-5 is really a major time burden. I've mostly stopped going to morning classes - I think I'm becoming fully nocturnal & our classes are all videotaped so it makes more sense (to me, at least) to stay up until 4 AM studying, sleep until 11, then go to afternoon classes. Our schedule is pretty conducive to doing this too - the classes that I can't miss (neuro lab, anatomy lab, Cancer Bio journal club, Translational Immunology lecture series on Mondays) are all in the afternoon. Then I can go to lab, be more alert & stay for longer :) Really enjoying this plan

2. Went to an actual gay club for the first time Friday night for my lovie D.Kim's birthday...we had gone to a small club before but this was the real homosexual deal. His boyfriend surprised him for his birthday - it was so cute!!! Can I be a gay man? My initial plan was to try and be lezzo but that quickly failed when I was watching (gawking at, maybe?) the male go-go dancers and mourning the loss of a beautiful man who was very much my physical type but also very much gay. Wahhhh :( We decided among the girls that I am probably the least potentially bisexual along with another girl in our group (we're both at 4% lezlike on the sexual spectrum...other chicas are ranging from 12%-17%) Win some, lose some. At least I can say I gave it a shot? Hahaaaa

3. Didn't do as well on my HHD midterm as I wanted to...it's frustrating to study so so SO much & not do really well. I think this part of my education will very much be a work in progress all the time, and a serious learning process. I'll come out super knowledgeable & resilient on the other side though, I think. I hope?

4. Went rock climbing on Thursday! It was tons of fun, but I need to find a consistent belay partner. & I went to this class today called UJam Fitness today that was awesome...lots of salsa, burlesque-y & hip-hop music. I'm going to try to start going to more of the fitness classes they offer in one of the graduate dorms - it's convenient & a good way to get away from staying in LKSC (the med school building) allllll day :)

5. Starting to feel very much like an old lady - I've been getting lots of emails this week about FF stuff for interview weekend & an Honors Program alumni board. WTF, how did this happen so fast!? I'm not ready to be taken seriously yet...I still feel like a 17-year old high school senior sometimes. Really confusing...

6. Realized/realizing that I really want to do research that is super interesting & integrates a lot of different things that I'm interested in. This seems obvious but it's easy to fall into very super sciency research at this stage in my education I think...which doesn't seem 100% interesting to me. I like scientists who research things like pain & stress & happiness and things that are relevant to the public at large. Things that I think would be helpful to learn more about. Not random proteins or signal transduction pathways. Also important but not sure I'd want to do it for my whole life...my latest thought has been to research stress and its physiological role in women's cancers particularly. Our lab is studying caregivers now (typically women who have children w/ very serious diseases) which I think is a really interesting take on cancer bio-related things. I've been thinking more about the type of career I'd like to have and I think this is closer to the realm I'd like to eventually be in...still unsure on whether or not I'd want to go into academia though. Seems like constant pressure for very little reward.

I think this is it? I still want to get a few hours of studying in, straighten my hair, and face mask it up. I've been getting pimples in weird places like my neck & my eyebrow. TMI? Maybe, but it's been totally weird & no me gusta. I think my eyes are getting bad too, the screen looks really blurry right now. Time for an eye exam...

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Weekend Montage

Here's a series of pictures to describe the past week/weekend (and/or document my complete boredom with biochemistry...) All my greatest OCD fantasies have been fulfilled with studying for this test...

We also went out last night, met a cute boy :) Sleep time, biochem final in the morning!!

PS: Who knew the thermal camera on my iMac was totally legit?!

Kudos to You

I'm always in awe of people who can carry on entertaining, brief, non-awkward elevator conversations. Props Munger Mystery Boy!

Summary for the day:
1. Problem sets & quizzes galore...holy moly, there is a TON of homework I have due today.
2. Unexpected catch-up with a friend ;)
3. Grocery shopping at Trader Joe's
4. An awesome nap...I think I skip directly to REM sleep now which is stupendous (!!!)
5. A generally beautiful day

Awkward boy situation #1 is still in effect...there is another something weird happening with a different guy in the class which was in part initiated by alcohol but also feels more comfortable. (This could be due to the fact that the first guy does not say many words...) The 2nd guy just broke up with his girlfriend recently though so I must be wary of the rebound syndrome! Life is so ridiculous sometimes. & prom is this Saturday! It actually feels like 8th grade prom too, which is the strange part. & it's at the San Fran aquarium. This is my dress (except it's in gypsy pink!! I look weird in dark greys) I'm really excited, I think it will be nice and probably crazy too.

Last little piece of news - my research soulmate has yet to email me back to tell me that he loves me too...haha this feels so much like waiting around for a guy you like to text you back. Come on!! I'm ready to be in the lab again :( I've been meeting with other potential PI's when I already know my true love (I think)

Back to LOD scores...

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