Quote of the Day

"I dream about being a beach bum these days... I only get to be one when I graduate."

A Perfect Sunday

I have to say, yesterday was bar none, one of the best days I've had in a long time... I slept in... I moved around slowly... I baked a cake... I went to dinner at a friend's house... got some laundry done... I painted my nightstand table black... read a couple chapters of the book I'm half-way through... it was glorious!

I wasn't in a hurry to go anywhere. Didn't have to put on any shoes... It was Sunday and peaceful and perfect.

I played tennis with Marianne on Saturday and told her that since Sunday was supposed to be good weather, we should cook out for John's birthday- complete with the cake that I had promised in the birthday card I gave him. We had a feast! John made shrimp and clams and corn... Marianne made a tomato mozzarella salad and I made the cake.

4th of July

This is part of the crew that I went into Boston with for the 4th of July. We sat along the Charles River and enjoyed the day by shopping a bit on Newbury Street and hanging out and of course, a Neil Diamond appearance and then of course the fireworks. The fireworks were the best I've seen. The weather was perfect and the time was great. (above from left to right is Erik from Denmark, Orla from Dublin, Me from California and Gabor from Hungary). None of them had seen fireworks like the display that we saw on the 4th. They were all happy that they braved the crowds to come and watch! It really was a grand time!

This is Missy, Arlyn and Rhiannan who I hung out with for some shopping. I met Missy and Arlyn last year through some mutual friends that we have at the same event! It was nice to have some people to hang out with.



Orla's mom (above right) came into town from Dublin for her niece's wedding and spent the afternoon hanging out on our blanket on the river bank.

Summer Bugs... they're not all nice...

Bugs like me. I don't like bugs.

Yesterday morning I woke up with 5 bug bites on my person. One in the middle of my back where I find it very difficult to scratch. One on my shoulder, on the back of my arm, and on my elbow, and one on my bum. Some people say it's because I'm sweet... others because I have O+ blood type... and others because it keeps the bugs away from them! To say the least, my summer perfume is OFF! Deep Woods formula, but I refuse to wear the stuff to bed! So bugs, STAY AWAY!

If that wasn't enough, I went running yesterday evening in the hour of down time that I had from my experiments. It was about 7:45 when I started running so I didn't wear sunglasses because it was getting dark. My mistake! I am surprised that I didn't get bit by any mosquito's, but I got 3 bugs in my eyes!! One just flew straight into my eye at full speed. There was no stopping it. I could even feel it moving around in there... yuck! Then I got one in the other eye, but it was in the corner of my eye and easy to remove. Another just got tangled in my eyelashes. This is ignorning the several bugs that flew into my mouth that I did not appreciate, but it isn't as bad as the eye.

Now, can you really blame a girl for being a little skiddish around bugs?

TB Tests

In January of this year, I was working in the BSL3 lab where we work with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (the real deal that can make you sick) when a glass pasteur pipette that I had been using to wash cells that were infected with M.tb broke, cut through both pairs of gloves that I was wearing and cut me. My whole glove had filled up with blood. While still inside the lab, I sprayed the cut with the disinfectant Vesphene, tore off all other protective gear that couldn't leave the lab, exited the lab, took off my N95 respirator, head and foot gear, gown and lastly, my 2nd pair of gloves. The cut on my finger was small, but there was a lot of blood that came out and I was concerned that I had been infected with M.tb.

It takes about 6 months to test positive for M.tb infection once you have been exposed to the pathogen. I got the cut in January and so now in June, it was time for my bi-annual Tuberculin test (click on the Title link above to learn more). I had my injection on Tuesday. That day I did have redness around the site of injection. Wednesday I still had about 1 centimeter diameter around the site... not looking good... but today, Thursday, I will go into the nurse's clinic with a clean arm and no indication of exposure to tuberculosis. Thank God! Yesterday I was stressing just a little bit. I have never had redness of any kind for my PPD test.

These are some of the dangers of working with pathogens, and the proper precautions are taken to ensure maximum safety for everyone involved, but accidents do happen. But for now, I am still TB free!

Lots on my mind...

Maybe it's the rain, but it's probably just me. I've got a lot on my mind right now... experiments, results, boys, my future, mean girls, my waistline, my brain capacity, winning bets, you get it. If I seem down, I am, just a little. I am having a hard time living in the present because my mind is stuck in the future. Hopefully the sunshine tomorrow will change all of that...

Bad Daughter

Ok. so despite being reminded of Father's Day, I totally dropped the ball on that one! I had every intention of not only calling my Dad, but also my brother Craig.

Let me tell you a bit about them. My dad has one of the best attitudes ever. He is almost always "feeling good" even though he isn't. He's very positive and a "life is what you make of it" kind of guy. He has always put our family first. He works hard and everyone likes him. He and my mom have started bike riding recently. They got some bikes handed down to them... but poor mom, there's so much separation when your biking... it's hard to chat! So, what does my dad do? He goes and gets a bicycle built for two so they can ride and chat all at the same time! What a guy...


My brother Craig is really turning into an incredible man. He was kinda the punk of the family growing up, but he has turned into a really admirable guy... just like dad. Craig has two sons. Matthew (about 9 years old) and Corbin (about 1 month old). It is so clear how much he loves is wife Ana and just pours into the life of his boys. He works hard and loves his family. I can't wait to see what else life brings him.