Last weekend of hurrah!

Medical school orientation starts Monday.  So this weekend was quite action-packed.
Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) was the outing event of this past Friday.

The museum is composed of several connected buildings.

The end of a great rotation

Alas, it is the end of a great rotation.

Yes. It is this easy to make me happy.

As I say goodbye (for now) to the lab members over our Friday afternoon snack, I can say that even though the construct portion of the rotation did not advance at all much, I still learned a bunch of valuable fly skills.

Fly brains! (Not an afternoon snack.)

Wholesome Foods for a Wholesome Person

What's better than making a ton of delicious food on a Sunday afternoon?  Knowing that you get to eat it right after.

A nice relaxed Sunday morning, then some food shopping and making.  Life is really about this.

Getty Villa

LA has some great museums. The Getty Villa is one of them. Tickets are free but need to be reserved in advance. Parking is $15 per car.

The villa itself is not large, but has some amazingly detailed architecture and a great outdoor pool garden. A great place for a photoshoot.

Shortest Presentation Ever

Yesterday, I gave my shortest scientific presentation ever during lab meeting.

Slide 1: method part 1
Slide 2: method part 2
Slide 3: OMG, WE TRIED ALL THESE THINGS BUT WHY IS IT STILL NOT WORKING???

Beverly Center

I (finally) made it to the Karen Millen in LA.  It was quite an adventure...

Harry Potter Midnight Showing

My first midnight movie has rightfully been given to the last Harry Potter premier.  Along with some other first year MSTPers, we lined up at 9pm for the 12:10am showing.  We were beaten out by a number of people, which is not surprising, since I saw two people lined up even before 9am this morning on my way to work.  With excellent company and conversation (and two large drinks of tea), time passed quickly, and soon the house lights were dimming.

Not quite a grown up, not quite a student

Working two years after college and then going back to school leaves me in this weird limbo between feeling like a contributing member of society and like a ignorant parasite of society.  A lot of this is being expressed in my daydreams about decorating my (future) house apartment.

In reality, I know that my schedule will be really busy, which translates to easy-to-clean-and-upkeep furniture.  However, too much HGTV has made me really want to create a space that expresses my personality.  Unfortunately, this does not translate to student-friendly pieces, in neither maintenance nor price.

Summer Rotation

Now that I am two weeks into my five week rotation, I am starting to get a feel for how I would fit in with the lab dynamic.  I can't say for sure that this is my thesis lab, but that is not surprising since I don't like to make decisions without trying a few options.  Part of figuring out whether I will enjoy being in the lab is observing the intellectual discourse.  Part of this involves going to lab meetings and keeping my ears open.  I also plan to attend my first journal club meeting next week.  That gives me another opportunity to feel out the lab's scientific fit while meeting other labs.  Of course, any and all interactions with lab members help me to determine how well I belong within the micro-culture.