I have formed a passionate hate for lectins. I am currently working with them in lab and the results I receive have been sub par. BUT I think that I have untangled the mess that are known as lectins. I recently discovered a problem in the experimental protocol that my mentor developed. Lectins have a dissociation constant below the molarity of the solution, meaning that the lectins will not bind to the glycans and prefer to be in the solution. I am doing a trial tomorrow at higher concentrations without Jeff's permission, and I hope that everything works out. If so, something very good can come from this.
I'm also working on 3 other projects right now that will result in publications. The work is pretty insane, but it will be good and fun. If all of these results work out, I will be on all of these papers, which I am stoked about.
Labor Day Weekend: New York
I woke up at the crack of dawn to leave Mollie's house on Monday. It was sad to say goodbye to her, but we had a jolly time together AND we will be getting together more often (or at least I want to). I started my drive to New York. It was the most uneventful drive of my life, but I still had a lot of fun. It was good to see scenery of New England since the last time was in utter darkness. I really love New England and the east coast.
I eventually made it to New York and I didn't have to pay any tolls to get in! I don't know how I managed that one, but Barbara was a great help. I stopped by my friend Michael's apartment on the upper west side. It was a very unique area. I think this area is the little Mexico of New York. He had a rocking apartment and I loved what he did with the little space he had. He still has work to do and I think it will turn out nicely. I also met his roommate who is also a great, genuine guy. It was good to get to know him and hang out with Michael. We hopped on the metro to go down to China Town for lunch. On the way, we ended up at a very cool lighting store, which Michael was dying over because he wanted to make some awesome light fixtures for his apartment. We finally arrived at a dumpling shop and met up with two of his friends. We had delicious dumplings for under $5. It was definitely one of the best lunches I've had for that cheap. I order boiled chicken and mushroom dumplings and they were delightful! I also had little Asian women trying to sell me cute baby turtles. I did not buy any turtles, but they were so cute and it is something I regret now.
After that, we headed about the town. We stopped in a few stores for shopping and then ended up at Central Park. I've only been to Central Park in the dead of winter. It was good to see it lively and full of people. The highlights of Central Park were the Bethesda Fountain, pigeons, and pond turtles. I loved the Bethesda Fountain! I wish I had my camera with me. It was so beautiful in summer. The water flowing out of the fountain with the lily pads and cattails was very peaceful despite the crowded area. If I lived in New York, I could definitely find myself studying there and just hanging around there. The pigeons... How I love pigeons! I have no idea why I love pigeons so much, but I enjoy chasing after them and trying to catch them. Plus big city pigeons tend to be bigger than normal pigeons so that adds to the fun. Finally, I loved the turtles in the pond. They were also cute, which caused me to regret not buying the turtles from the little Asian woman. It would be fun to have a little pet in my apartment. I think it would add a lot to it and make it less lonely to come home every night. I'd have someone to greet me every day! That is something that I truly miss about home. Someone to greet me and bother me, even though I hated it back home.
After staying in New York a lot longer than expected, I drove home. I didn't get stuck in any traffic, which surprised me. I guess I was lucky or something. Also, I was lucky I did not lock my keys in my car again. That would have been no good. My labor day weekend was most excellent! I loved every minute of it, except the hour and a half that my keys were locked in my car and while I was lost in New York. Thanks to everyone for making it such a great weekend!
I eventually made it to New York and I didn't have to pay any tolls to get in! I don't know how I managed that one, but Barbara was a great help. I stopped by my friend Michael's apartment on the upper west side. It was a very unique area. I think this area is the little Mexico of New York. He had a rocking apartment and I loved what he did with the little space he had. He still has work to do and I think it will turn out nicely. I also met his roommate who is also a great, genuine guy. It was good to get to know him and hang out with Michael. We hopped on the metro to go down to China Town for lunch. On the way, we ended up at a very cool lighting store, which Michael was dying over because he wanted to make some awesome light fixtures for his apartment. We finally arrived at a dumpling shop and met up with two of his friends. We had delicious dumplings for under $5. It was definitely one of the best lunches I've had for that cheap. I order boiled chicken and mushroom dumplings and they were delightful! I also had little Asian women trying to sell me cute baby turtles. I did not buy any turtles, but they were so cute and it is something I regret now.
After that, we headed about the town. We stopped in a few stores for shopping and then ended up at Central Park. I've only been to Central Park in the dead of winter. It was good to see it lively and full of people. The highlights of Central Park were the Bethesda Fountain, pigeons, and pond turtles. I loved the Bethesda Fountain! I wish I had my camera with me. It was so beautiful in summer. The water flowing out of the fountain with the lily pads and cattails was very peaceful despite the crowded area. If I lived in New York, I could definitely find myself studying there and just hanging around there. The pigeons... How I love pigeons! I have no idea why I love pigeons so much, but I enjoy chasing after them and trying to catch them. Plus big city pigeons tend to be bigger than normal pigeons so that adds to the fun. Finally, I loved the turtles in the pond. They were also cute, which caused me to regret not buying the turtles from the little Asian woman. It would be fun to have a little pet in my apartment. I think it would add a lot to it and make it less lonely to come home every night. I'd have someone to greet me every day! That is something that I truly miss about home. Someone to greet me and bother me, even though I hated it back home.
After staying in New York a lot longer than expected, I drove home. I didn't get stuck in any traffic, which surprised me. I guess I was lucky or something. Also, I was lucky I did not lock my keys in my car again. That would have been no good. My labor day weekend was most excellent! I loved every minute of it, except the hour and a half that my keys were locked in my car and while I was lost in New York. Thanks to everyone for making it such a great weekend!
Labor Day Weekend: Cambridge/Boston
After my adventurous drive, I woke up in Cromwell, Connecticut. It was a beautiful morning and Mollie made breakfast. We then ran some errands and she showed me around her old stomping grounds.
At the end of the tour, she took me to the Connecticut River as shown above. It was huge! I wonder why we never have rivers like this in the West. In there river there were boats with water skiers, rowing teams, and people fishing. After this stop, we headed up to Cambridge, Massachusetts. Mollie showed me her house and I met her roommates. Then we headed towards Cambridge Commons and Harvard Commons for lunch. There were a lot of colonial style houses along the way and some of them were huge! They are probably worth millions of dollars right now. I can't even imagine how long they took to build and how much money they cost to build. Let's just say they were crazy big!
We went to Pinocchio's Pizza. It was delicious and we both ate for only $6! I had an artichoke pizza slice (delish) and Mollie had a tomato basil pizza slice (also delish). It was a great place to start off.
After a delicious lunch, we headed to Harvard. We walked around Harvard Commons and then went to the famous library. We explored the library and since it was both our first time we got lost. The library reminded me of a castle. It was the coolest library ever! I really wished I could study in there. It was that awesome. We then walked more around the commons and unsuccessfully tried to touch the founder of Harvard statue's feet (crazy Asian tourists were flocking there making their children touch his feet so that they could go to Harvard in the future). It was insane! Mollie and I were not forceful enough to get up there and have someone take a picture of us or let alone touch his feet. After that craziness, we headed back to Mollie's house and then went to see Inception. I loved the movie, but this is not the point of this blog.
The next day we went driving around Cambridge and Boston looking at Tufts, Boston, and Harvard medical schools, and then went to church. After church we headed home for lunch and went to Boston Commons. At Boston Commons, I jumped into the frog pond for a swim. I was sad there were no frogs to catch there. We saw a policeman on a horse, saw the Make Way for Ducklings statue, and started on the Freedom Trail.
The Freedom trail was a lot of fun and we saw a lot of the city and American Revolution history AND we ran into a gigantic noodle! I wanted to ride the noodle, but sadly they wouldn't let me climb on it. My guess was that a lot of people have fallen off it and got hurt.
At the end of the Freedom Trail, we were in Little Italy so we naturally ate in an Italian restaurant. It was some of the best Italian food I've ever eaten. We then waited for about 30 minutes in line at Mike's Pastry Shop. It is famous.
I have the life motto "Go big or go home," so Mollie and I went big! We bought 5 scrumptious desserts from Mike's. They included two canolis, a chocolate creme brulee, a strawberry lobstertail cream puff, and an eclair. They were all so yummy! We definitely went big and went home with full stomachs from dinner and dessert. In fact, I still have some dessert in my fridge. Mmmmm, tasty! After dessert, we had an invigorating discussion about a lot of topics and then went to bed. I said my goodbye in the morning and then started my trek home. I really loved Cambridge and Boston, and I wouldn't mind living there.
At the end of the tour, she took me to the Connecticut River as shown above. It was huge! I wonder why we never have rivers like this in the West. In there river there were boats with water skiers, rowing teams, and people fishing. After this stop, we headed up to Cambridge, Massachusetts. Mollie showed me her house and I met her roommates. Then we headed towards Cambridge Commons and Harvard Commons for lunch. There were a lot of colonial style houses along the way and some of them were huge! They are probably worth millions of dollars right now. I can't even imagine how long they took to build and how much money they cost to build. Let's just say they were crazy big!
We went to Pinocchio's Pizza. It was delicious and we both ate for only $6! I had an artichoke pizza slice (delish) and Mollie had a tomato basil pizza slice (also delish). It was a great place to start off.
After a delicious lunch, we headed to Harvard. We walked around Harvard Commons and then went to the famous library. We explored the library and since it was both our first time we got lost. The library reminded me of a castle. It was the coolest library ever! I really wished I could study in there. It was that awesome. We then walked more around the commons and unsuccessfully tried to touch the founder of Harvard statue's feet (crazy Asian tourists were flocking there making their children touch his feet so that they could go to Harvard in the future). It was insane! Mollie and I were not forceful enough to get up there and have someone take a picture of us or let alone touch his feet. After that craziness, we headed back to Mollie's house and then went to see Inception. I loved the movie, but this is not the point of this blog.The next day we went driving around Cambridge and Boston looking at Tufts, Boston, and Harvard medical schools, and then went to church. After church we headed home for lunch and went to Boston Commons. At Boston Commons, I jumped into the frog pond for a swim. I was sad there were no frogs to catch there. We saw a policeman on a horse, saw the Make Way for Ducklings statue, and started on the Freedom Trail.
The Freedom trail was a lot of fun and we saw a lot of the city and American Revolution history AND we ran into a gigantic noodle! I wanted to ride the noodle, but sadly they wouldn't let me climb on it. My guess was that a lot of people have fallen off it and got hurt.
At the end of the Freedom Trail, we were in Little Italy so we naturally ate in an Italian restaurant. It was some of the best Italian food I've ever eaten. We then waited for about 30 minutes in line at Mike's Pastry Shop. It is famous.
I have the life motto "Go big or go home," so Mollie and I went big! We bought 5 scrumptious desserts from Mike's. They included two canolis, a chocolate creme brulee, a strawberry lobstertail cream puff, and an eclair. They were all so yummy! We definitely went big and went home with full stomachs from dinner and dessert. In fact, I still have some dessert in my fridge. Mmmmm, tasty! After dessert, we had an invigorating discussion about a lot of topics and then went to bed. I said my goodbye in the morning and then started my trek home. I really loved Cambridge and Boston, and I wouldn't mind living there.
Labor Day Weekend: Friday
This past weekend I made my way to New England for a grand old time! The drive was very uneventful for the most part. There were hilarious billboards in Pennsylvania. Some of my favorites included: "You'll find Jesus here! Take the next exit!" and then two billboards later (before the exit), "Porn is the road to hell! Take the next exit!" I had a good chuckle over this one because I think whoever created these billboards forget to add a little bit more information on the second billboard. If not, the town had two roads, one that leads to Jesus where you can meet him and one that leads to hell where you can meet Satan. I have to say that the little town in Pennsylvania must be mountaining!
I reached New York City about 10, which was sooner than I was expecting and was planning to get to Mollie's house in Connecticut early; however, the forces of nature had something else in mind. I stopped for gas. A gas attendant was filling up everyone's tank so I let him fill up mine, while I went to the bathroom. Well, as you can imagine, I turned off my car and ran into the bathroom. I came out to my car with the tank full, the doors shut, and my keys locked in the car. I have a habit of locking my doors whenever I get out of my car. I must have forgotten my keys in my car because I wasn't really planning on getting out until I decided to quickly run to the bathroom. I then had to call a locksmith. They were 30 minutes away so I had to wait for them. Then instead of sending a locksmith, the dispatch sent a tow truck. The tow truck then had to go back to dispatch to get the tools to open my car. In the meantime, I was sitting on the side of the road next to a gas station. It was awesome. Then the locksmith told me it would be $60 to unlock my car. I only had $38 on me because I had to pay tolls. The ATM in the gas station was out of money and they had a no cash back policy, which made me mad. I then had to walk a mile down the road to the next closest ATM. It was an awesome evening. After about an hour at the gas station, I finally got on the road again.
I only drove for about 5 minutes then I missed an exit and got lost near Columbia Medical School. Luckily I had explored the area thoroughly when I was there last year and knew my way around, but the exit I needed to get back onto the freeway was closed. Barbara (my GPS) was getting mad at me and kept telling me to turn around and take the ramp. I kept driving and somehow ended up in the Bronx without the help of Barbara. It was late (after 11) and people were out and about. I was nervous that they were going to come up to my car because I have Utah plates and could be an easy target so I locked all of the doors 5 times. I finally got on the freeway again and made my way to Cromwell. Mollie was waiting up for me and I finally arrived at 12:30. It was a long, yet fun drive. I was glad that it had ended. Mollie and I talked for a bit. Then we went to bed so we could be ready for our day of adventuring in Cromwell and Cambridge the next day.
I reached New York City about 10, which was sooner than I was expecting and was planning to get to Mollie's house in Connecticut early; however, the forces of nature had something else in mind. I stopped for gas. A gas attendant was filling up everyone's tank so I let him fill up mine, while I went to the bathroom. Well, as you can imagine, I turned off my car and ran into the bathroom. I came out to my car with the tank full, the doors shut, and my keys locked in the car. I have a habit of locking my doors whenever I get out of my car. I must have forgotten my keys in my car because I wasn't really planning on getting out until I decided to quickly run to the bathroom. I then had to call a locksmith. They were 30 minutes away so I had to wait for them. Then instead of sending a locksmith, the dispatch sent a tow truck. The tow truck then had to go back to dispatch to get the tools to open my car. In the meantime, I was sitting on the side of the road next to a gas station. It was awesome. Then the locksmith told me it would be $60 to unlock my car. I only had $38 on me because I had to pay tolls. The ATM in the gas station was out of money and they had a no cash back policy, which made me mad. I then had to walk a mile down the road to the next closest ATM. It was an awesome evening. After about an hour at the gas station, I finally got on the road again.
I only drove for about 5 minutes then I missed an exit and got lost near Columbia Medical School. Luckily I had explored the area thoroughly when I was there last year and knew my way around, but the exit I needed to get back onto the freeway was closed. Barbara (my GPS) was getting mad at me and kept telling me to turn around and take the ramp. I kept driving and somehow ended up in the Bronx without the help of Barbara. It was late (after 11) and people were out and about. I was nervous that they were going to come up to my car because I have Utah plates and could be an easy target so I locked all of the doors 5 times. I finally got on the freeway again and made my way to Cromwell. Mollie was waiting up for me and I finally arrived at 12:30. It was a long, yet fun drive. I was glad that it had ended. Mollie and I talked for a bit. Then we went to bed so we could be ready for our day of adventuring in Cromwell and Cambridge the next day.
What Happened Today?
What happened today?
Something special? No...
Something fun? No...
Something crazy? No...
Something lovely? No...
Something about research? No...
Something good? No...
What could it be?
Something bad? Yes...
Something about medical school? Yes...
Something about interviews? Yes...
Some bad news about interviews? Yes...
Some really bad news about interviews? Yes...
How bad?
Let's just say really bad. I received three denials in one day. Let's just say that I feel worthless right now. I feel like my dreams of being a medical scientist have been crushed. I moved out her to Maryland hoping that it would help progress my career. It looks like I have been wrong so far.
I guess I still have more schools to hear the news from. Hopefully it will be good because I don't know if I can handle anymore disappoint at this time.
PS I don't want to talk about it, unless I call you to talk about it.
Something special? No...
Something fun? No...
Something crazy? No...
Something lovely? No...
Something about research? No...
Something good? No...
What could it be?
Something bad? Yes...
Something about medical school? Yes...
Something about interviews? Yes...
Some bad news about interviews? Yes...
Some really bad news about interviews? Yes...
How bad?
Let's just say really bad. I received three denials in one day. Let's just say that I feel worthless right now. I feel like my dreams of being a medical scientist have been crushed. I moved out her to Maryland hoping that it would help progress my career. It looks like I have been wrong so far.
I guess I still have more schools to hear the news from. Hopefully it will be good because I don't know if I can handle anymore disappoint at this time.
PS I don't want to talk about it, unless I call you to talk about it.
Happy Madonna Day!
Today is Madonna's birthday! It is a celebration that should happen around the world. Her music has taught me to be strong, passionate, playful, driven, myself, non-judgmental, proud of myself, not to be afraid of others judgments, and many other great and amazing things. Here's to the Queen of Pop! And no, I'm not referring to Lady Gaga. I'm referring to the one who did it all before her and who still reigns supreme!
Happy birthday Madonna!
Happy birthday Madonna!
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