The Bet

One of my thesis committee members (another CA transplant) met his wife during his last year of grad-school when he was at MIT. His wife is from New England and thus, he has never left. In a friendly verbal jousting match he wanted to bet that I wouldn't make it back West. I told him that if I had to drop out and turn into a surfer bum to be on the West Coast, I would totally do it. It went like this:

Neal: So Michelle... where do you think you'll end up?
Me: West Coast. Maybe not California... but think I could do Oregon or Washington.
Neal: (evil laugh) watch... you'll end up staying here like everyone else
Me: Over my dead body.
Neal: We'll see... (evil laugh again)... wanna make a bet?
Me: (with the 'I'm gonna get you' sassiness) Sure. Fifty bucks says that within 10 years I'll be back on the West Coast
Neal: What are the odds?
Me: What do you mean "odds"?
Neal: You know... 2:1, 3:1 etc. (he continues to explain this to me)
Me: OK, the odds are 1:1
Neal: No way. You want to be back on the West Coast which works against me... not worth it.
Me: OK, fine. 2:1. In 10 years, if I'm on the West Coast, you'll owe me $50 and if I don't make it, I'll send you a check for $100
Neal: Hey, a hundred bucks is a hundred bucks
Me: Ya, but you'll be sending me a check... and I don't want any excuses like your kids are in college...
Neal: Laughs and looks at me as if thinking 'poor naive graduate student'

It's all in good humor... since we're both from the Golden State we've got a sort of unbreakable bond (except he likes the Dodgers and I like the Padres). But if I win, you better believe I'm going to drop him an e-mail.

Summer in April

This weekend was absolutely unbelievable. We went from snow flurries on Easter weekend to 90 degree's this past Saturday! It felt so good to just get some sun! I ate my breakfast on the front porch... I went on a bike ride, I ran, I played some tennis... ah sun... and I'm back to sleeping with my window open to feel the breeze while I sleep. It's the simple things in life...

Highlight of the weekend was a bonfire on Saturday night at my friends the Holman's. They've got a pit in their yard and so we had some hot dogs and marshmallows. We were outside until almost 11pm in our tank tops and flip flops and never got chilly! And I got to catch up with some friends I haven't seen in a while which was really great.

So that's it. Now it's Monday and I'm going to be here in the lab until at least 10pm tonight... boo.

Boston Marathon Weekend Pictures

Corey, Aunt Listy and Kim at the Expo for the Boston Marathon a couple days before the race.

Aunt Listy giving Uncle Bob a hug with 8/10 of a mile left to finish! We found her amongst ~28,000 runners!

Kim, Corey and Aunt Listy- a post-race picture... can you believe they are all smiling after 26.2 miles?!?

Aunt Listy and Me being very cold at the Red Sox game

Uncle Bob and Aunt Listy outside of Fenway

Minuteman Trail Run

On day two of my aunt and uncle being here in town, while my Aunt Listy, Kim and Cory (the three marathon runners) were scouting the race terrain, my Uncle Bob, Reuben and I went for a run on the Minuteman Trail starting in Lexington.

Believe it or not, it is not easy to figure out which direction to start in so we chose, accidentally, the wrong way. We ended up in the heart of Lexington at a memorial that was erected on this very day in 1775... what are the odds that we should see this on April 19th! Pretty cool. But we did want to run the trail since my Aunt Listy rates this as in her top 10 runs ever, so we turned around and got back on the trail.

We started going and saw some pretty cool stuff along the trail- including the Patriots Day re-inactors in their tents and some old buildings but it was pretty cool. We were running for about 1:30 hours and it felt great!!

More another day... we're off to the Red Sox game!

Patriot's Day Weekend

This is so exciting... my aunt and uncle are in Boston all the way from San Diego because my Aunt Listy qualified for the Boston Marathon that will take place on Monday April 20th, Patriot's Day. MA is the only state that "celebrates" this day, so for all of my friends out in CA, I'm sorry you don't get it off!!

Today, Saturday, we're doing touristy type things like the freedom trail. But it's going to be a balmy 60 degrees out so it will be great to walk around! On Sunday, we're going to the Red Sox game at Fenway and then Monday is the marathon. We're staying loose and flexible because it's a fairly large group that will be here, but it should be fun. I'll be back with pictures later!

My Day Off

I officially took today off. Originally I thought that my aunt and uncle were coming in to town today instead of tomorrow so I planned on taking the day off. When I found out on Thursday that they were actually coming on Saturday (at 7 am-yikes!) it was too late to make plans for the lab so I decided to have a mental health day. It was glorious. It was at least 70 degrees out so after running some errands, I went on a 13.5 mile bike ride (first time I've had the bike out since last year), then I went for a 30 minute jog because I just needed more sun, then I lifted weights for 30 minutes, then I swam laps for about 45 minutes. All followed by a long shower. The day is ending with me painting my fingernails and typing this blog. It felt sooo good to feel the sun on my skin again. Too bad this weekend will not be more of the same. I'm sure glad I took advantage of today!

Wordless Wednesday- "You Can Stand Under my Umbrella"

Easter

My cousin Brett and his girlfriend Emily came out from NYC for the weekend. They're touring Boston today...

Marianne made a wonderful meal of lamb-stuffed artichokes, pasta and a salad with sin pie (think serious chocolate) for dessert. She also put together these really nice baskets for us kids.

I dyed the traditional easter eggs.

Johnny did what he was told... most of the time...

Me, Brett and Emily with our nice baskets!

Friday

1. Graphs- GOOD
2. Data that doesn't jive- BAD
3. The possibility that I will have to re-think my entire thesis project- BAD
4. The thrill of possibly coming up with something more brilliant than before- GOOD (when not overshadowed by #3)
5. The possibility that I may have to "sell-out" and do what I consider to be "boring" science just to graduate- BAD

Net Worth of Today: sub-optimal

A run in the Sun

Today we had weather in the low 60's!! Amazing since yesterday was in the 30's! I brought my running clothes and instead of a 3:30 coffee break, I took a 3:30 running break. This is significantly longer than a coffee break, so I have to plan appropriately. I got back to the lab around 5!! It felt sooo nice to have some sun on my skin! I've got bad feet so I can only do this twice per week, so I always choose the sunny days! Now I'm back in the lab working on a graph.

Something We're Not

Why does it seem that we all want to be something we're not? It seems that everywhere I go, I see women who are extraordinary and I want to be like them in some way. I aspire to be an extraordinary woman myself and somehow feel pressured to be everything that I am not in order to fulfill that aspiration. Usually what I covet is a trait that I see as positive. The woman who is Godly, compassionate, artistic, smart, athletic, beautiful, thin, energetic, positive, multi-tasker, well read, fun etc. The list goes on and on. Usually these are things that I see as what makes one love another... or if I pass by and simply think that it is beautiful.

I have never met a woman who is everything. Then why do I feel like I should be different than the rest and should be able to achieve all of these things? Why do I feel like if I am not these things, then nobody will love me? Why do I feel like I am inadequate if at any given time I am not everything?

TRUTH: Whether or not you believe it, we are ALL created in God's image. All women. All men. God is the only one that can be everything. We cannot. He has given me every trait- quirky or not- that I need. If I do not need to be witty, then I will not be, for I am other things. This does not make me less, it makes me more.

God created beauty. I am learning to appreciate the many forms that it comes in. I cannot be a tree on the shore of Kitsilano Beach in Vancouver, but I can take a picture of it.

Happy Day

You know when something just makes you so happy that you squeal like a little girl and jump up and down and laugh and smile so much it makes your face hurt? Well, today, unexpectedly around 4pm, I ran into a lady who's a post-doc in the other TB lab on campus here at UMass and she had something large and sparkly on her left ring finger! Usually when I see her she's gowned up with two pairs of gloves on, a face mask and sleeve covers and head cover so I can't usually see her hands. I saw the ring and mid-conversation exclaimed "oh my gosh- you got engaged!!!" followed by the squealing and jumping that I mentioned earlier. Anyhow, I'm super happy for her... and she is proof that you can find that special someone online... even though I did not.

Before I die:

This afternoon I was harvesting some green-fluorescent Mycobacterium and while I was waiting for the centrifuge (three times) I started thinking about some of the things in life that I want to do and see before I die. There’s a book that lists 100 places to go before you die, but I’ve never seen it… this all comes from the people I’ve met along my way. These are not in any particular order… they are just as I think…

1. Go skydiving
2. Surf in Hawaii
3. Surf in Australia
4. See a whale while whale-watching
5. Go to New Orleans for Mardi Gras
6. Go to Rio (Brazil) for Carnival
7. Go to Munich for Oktoberfest
8. Go to Dublin for St. Patrick’s Day
9. Go to Glacier National Park in Montana before the glaciers melt
10. Backpack across Europe
11. Ski in the Alps
12. Snorkel where I can see tropical corals
13. Lay on a beach in Greece
14. See the pyramids in Egypt
15. Go on a safari in Africa (my grandma went on one in Kenya and said it was fabulous)
16. See the ancient Incan Empire
17. See the ruins of the Mayan Empire in Mexico or Guatemala
18. Go to Japan… anywhere… I hear it’s beautiful
19. See a bullfight and the running of the bulls in Spain
20. Live in a foreign country

I think I’ll actually do a lot of these…

Labitude

We use a lot of different ways to describe ourselves. Today I’m going to tell you 20 ways I would describe myself in the realm of Science (since most of you don’t know me there):

1. I am not the light-hearted friend that you may know at the beach. I am very serious and I don’t really care what you did last weekend
2. “Miss-Organized” has the messiest desk you may have ever seen… and my bench space looks lie that too sometimes.
3. I don’t keep track of time- it flies!
4. I’m either super distracted by Facebook/e-mail or I’m so focused on my work that you should make some noise when walking towards me so that I don’t jump 10 feet in the air when you say “I need you”
5. Don’t tell me how to do something unless I ask. If I don’t ask, I don’t care what you think. We are all trained by different people. Just because I don’t do it your crazy OCD way doesn’t mean that my way is incorrect. Ha.
6. I make up a lot of stuff as I go, “work on the fly” you might say. As long as you do it with confidence, people will believe you.
7. I am not afraid to ask for help. I believe that this has contributed to my success as it has broadened my horizons.
8. My favorite time to be in the lab is after everyone else has gone home… it’s so peaceful.
9. I hate giving presentations. My boss always tells me afterwards “we need to work on getting rid of your California accent” (apparently it gets stronger when I get nervous).
10. If it doesn’t get me closer to graduating, then I don’t care. Harsh but true.
11. I type my lab notebook.
12. I curse at the computer when it makes me angry. It often makes me angry… especially 2008 Excel.
13. Anything super-complicated is no problem for me… but simple math and linear regression curves, forget it! I’m lost. (thus today’s aggravation).
14. I get overwhelmed my the amount of things that I have to do, sometimes it paralyzes me to the point where I have to go for a swim before coming back to lab.
15. I am one of 3 Americans in my lab group of 9 people total.
16. I have goofy days at work too… usually from lack of sleep or wine at a seminar. Here's an example:

17. My job is to kill things: mouse cells or bacteria, I don’t care… just die!
18. I absolutely cannot multitask! If you ask me to do this, I will mess up, I promise.
19. I am a bit of a free spirit in the lab. My opinion is that academic science should be free of crazy restrictions like closed-toed shoes and lab coats (which should be reserved for industry). We should be free to pursue intellectual curiosities and having discussions about them without the hindrance of high-demanding people.
20. The bulletin board in front of me has the following things:
a. A cheat sheet for diluting antibiotics and other chemicals
b. A “coffee talk” calendar (this year). The April character is holding a cup of coffee saying “Drinking coffee & slacking off are all part of what I do”. Although January was the seller for me. She’s saying “Drink Coffee! Do stupid things faster with more energy!”
c. 6 different scribble-drawings of my “model” that will one day be my doctoral thesis
d. a list of important phone numbers
e. Mr. Right—grows 3-4 times his size in water!
f. A hand-knit ornament from a visiting Korean post-doc. His sister made it and it can be used to wipe down your kitchen… not me!
g. Sticky: OD(600) 1= 3x10^8 M.smeg/mL
h. A card from a girl from church who wanted to encourage me
i. An abstract that I need to add to my CV
j. Sticky: year I should consider applying to work for the Epidemic Intelligence Service
k. An e-mail from my dad 16 July 2008 saying my hard work will take me to the top and he loves me