Ah.

I think I'm done with my story.

Unless I come up with a different ending, I think it's complete.

Sigh.

Good.

Also, fried rice fail. Unless by fried rice you mean sope con carnitas.... mmmmm.

Meet my new bag!

This is my new bag.

My new bag says HI, in bright red.

Old bag was sad and hurt my back :(

New bag has great padding on the straps!

Pretty.

Saturday morning!

What other way is there to start out a good morning than to make breakfast?

I planned on making just scrambled eggs, but then I saw baby yellow potatoes in the kitchen and remembered how much I love potatoes in the morning.

Here are the potatoes, onions and bell peppers playing in the pan together.

I added tomatoes. Tomatoes weren't allowed to hang out with potatoes and friends just yet.

Scrambled eggs joined in on the fun! This was my breakfast plate. Add Thé de Pâques and that's it!

Some notes on the cooking: I should have put in the potatoes first, then added onions soon after. By the time everything had finished cooking, the onions were pretty brown. Still delicious, but a bit too browned for my taste. I added salt, pepper, and dried thyme leaves to the potato mixture, which was great. The eggs were nice and fluffy (I'm becoming a scrambled eggs pro).

Other than that, I love how quiet the house is on weekend mornings. I got up fairly early, and it was nice not to hear the hustle and bustle of weekday mornings.

Plans for the day?

Meeting at 1, go into lab afterwards, run some PCR and work while that goes. I might go to the North Face store to exchange my bag. The strap slips when there's anything remotely heavy in it. Then my back is unhappy.

For dinner, I'm thinking of making myself fried rice (yum).

Work some more, relax some.

Go to bed early :)

Enjoy the day!

Bed

Bed is freshly laundered.

Face plant into comforter.

Mmm.

Fabric softener.

Sheets just feel clean and fresh.

They're beckoning me.

Sleep,

sleep,

they say.

Just for a little while.

CopyPasteReplaceAll

I'm analyzing fish data!! This is a major step in my research, a culmination of the work I've done since summertime... We're looking at hormones present in the blood (testosterone, 11-keto testosterone, cortisol) to see if there's a correlation amongst learners/non-learners/no-tries and the amount of these hormones they have swimming around in their blood. I'm also running Excel and a program called PCR Miner to try and make sense of cells upon cells of numbers. It's exciting!!!

Other than that, it's the weekend.... and here's the to do list:

Biochem reading

Biochem pset

Fiction writing draft

Fiction writing reading/feedback letter

Trader Joe's shopping (snack foods and clafouti ingredients)

Exchange messenger bag at North Face store

MCAT

Lab work (??)

Having to rewrite some of my draft for fiction writing is pretty daunting. At some points, I come up with good edits; at others, I feel like what I have is good enough. But I guess that's the problem... is it shouldn't just be good enough. Our fellow is going to make an 'anthology' of our pieces at the end of the quarter! I'm 'published.' (hah)

In other really awesome news, the cheese class (Frenlang 60N: French cheese) is official for spring quarter! It's on Axess, and people can register! Yum :) I'll be sure to post notes about our classes next quarter: what we tried, how to taste, what to taste, etc.

bread yum

No-knead bread!

I really want to read McGee's book, On Food and Cooking.

Good start

Toasted wheat bagel with crunchy peanut butter and slices of banana.

Earl Grey tea.

Good morning!

Also, plan for today, since it's good for me!

Also, big kitteh paws and noses (youtube):

Update @2:31 pm: I have a question for you-- Which do you like better for the first sentence of a story? Use the form below to answer!

Biochem pset.

Eraser shavings form a second carpet on my floor.

It must be biochem problem set time.

I need to vacuum.

Rain rain rain

It's mornings like these that make me feel 8 years old again... Hot chocolate because it's raining.

Read some of the Sunday NY Times in print (love it), and I'd like to draw your attention to this story: Signs, Wonders, and Fates Fulfilled

I'd like to think it's a true story... some of the Modern Love stories are OK, but I really liked this one. The idea that this actually happened to two people is lovely.

I've got a to do list that I've got to get through between now and 5pm. Off I go!

Update @12:46 pm: Now that I'm drinking tea (Rushka-- I actually disagree with this review. The flavors are very mild, not nearly as citrus-y as Earl Grey, but it's just what I wanted. I have other flowery/fruity teas, and this is not nearly as strong as those.), I'm reminded that I want this. What a little cutie!

Update @1:01 pm: I've frequently wondered what animals do when it rains: the birds, squirrels... Now I have some idea:

A little brown squirrel with a white belly is at the base of a branch of the big oak tree outside of my room. It's sitting just at the point where the branch juts out from the trunk. It grooms its head with its paws, as if to brush off the water that fell upon it. It also uses the moss covered bark to brush its fur. Now, it's curled at this junction, not moving. I think it's taking a nap for the afternoon.

Update @1:34pm: The little squirrel seems to have awoken from its nap. Its black beady eyes are open, and it's sitting there. It seems to be doing exactly what I do when I wake up from a nap: vegetate, be unhappy with an awake state, and re-evaluate. Its bushy tail is curled up on its back, giving it a very fuzzy spine that ends at the base of its neck. From where I'm sitting, its little nose looks like its resting upon the tree in the bed of moss.

Now, it's flattened itself a bit against the branch, and isn't quite as round as it used to be. Maybe it's back to naptime? We'll see.

Update @1:45pm: Yep, it's most definitely naptime. Head rested on little white front paws.

Gloom gloom gloom

Cup of hot chai tea latte and jazz on a gloomy Saturday afternoon. A great way to perk up biochem reading!

Last night, Viennese Ball! We went out for a fun dinner beforehand and took the shuttle up to Burlingame where the ball was being held. It's fun seeing people so dressed up. I loved seeing the elderly people all fancy and dancing... they were so elegant! They were such amazing dancers... I want to be able to do that when I'm older! I danced some swing (tried to.. oof), and waltz (tried to, again... oof). The skirt of my dress was so conducive to twirling and dancing in general, so that made it even more fun, and it disguised my feet that had minds of their own.

On the way to the ball, I jokingly told Lily that I bet we would win best dressed couple of the night. And, while there were no official awards, a really awesome dancer came up to us and asked if he could take our pictures because he was instructed to take some of the best dresses at the ball. Oh, we're awesome.

Tonight, orchestra concert and being lazy while doing work.

Tomorrow, work!

I hope the day continues to be gloomy... it's so nice.

Update @4:14pm:

Update @5:04pm: NEW WALLACE AND GROMIT SHORT!!! A Matter of Loaf and Death. Trailer is here--

Nectarine and white ginger

I'm sitting here radiating warmth after I took my bath. About 10 minutes is all that I can stand to just sit there, but the warm I feel to the core is so worth it. Such a good way to wind down the week.

We have an orchestra concert on Saturday-- the Pan Asian Music Festival. We're playing a lot of modern pieces by contemporary Asian composers. One of the pieces makes the entire concert so great: Paper Concerto. Saturday, 8pm! Details here. (I can request a free ticket for you! Let me know if you'd like to see it.)

On Wednesday, we workshopped my piece in my fiction writing class, and people actually liked it! It's really reassuring, since I find it hard to critique, other than finding grammatical things and other small details. I'm not sure that I'll get to post it since it'll be at least 8 pages long, but we'll see. Maybe I can put it on a document or something that you can download if you are interested. I hope to take intermediate fiction writing in the spring; I think it's a sign considering that the only section of creative writing that will fit into my schedule is one of the sections of that class.

In lab, PCR! I'm all set up to run my 268 samples, in duplicate, running 6 genes on each sample. Then data analysis! And more thesis writing!

Tomorrow: Viennese Ball! I am going to wear a long black dress, black shoes and dance-dance-dance! Lily is my date, as we are going "together" (thanks, Viennese Ball Committee representative for giving me that one), and we are going to swing and waltz the night away.

Other than that, the weekend is for major work. Productivity!

P.S. Sad story here- "An Ailing Man Fears Breaking His Borrowed Heart"

P.P.S. I am discovering the beauty of being invisible on Gchat.

All about the brain!

A video sent to my lab list... enjoy!

Best slideshow ever: Westminster Dog Show!

Attention attention:

I am 21-and-a-half years old.

21-and-a-half years old.

Old.

Write and sniff.

The grip of my pen smells weird. Burning rubber, mixed with #2 pencil eraser... blech.

I've hardly used it so it can't be me or my sweaty hands.

Right?

(I don't have sweaty hands... only sometimes.)

Not so lazy day

Happy belated Valentine's day!

Hope everyone had a wonderful day and a great three day weekend!

(Someone certainly didn't... they egged my car and others parked on the street-- why?? so unnecessary)

Today is a gorgeous day that gives a glimpse into spring: 65 degrees! I'm eating a strawberry yogurt (yum... I'm on a yogurt kick these days) and moving along with my work. We need more three day weekends...

This weekend was full of yums--

Friday's Special Dinner: Seared scallops for appetizer, Maine lobsters and beef wellington with risotto for dinner, and something very alcoholic for dessert.

Saturday: CHEESE HOUSE and pizza

Sunday: Brunch and xiao long bao/potstickers

Monday: the usual lox/cream chese/cucumbers (I couldn't find capers :() bagel sammich

On Wednesday, the first draft of my fiction writing story will be workshopped, so I'll undoubtedly talk about that here, what people thought, what I thought, etc. I haven't read it since I turned it in, so I'm a little apprehensive. I'll do that before Wednesday to get an idea of what I had actually written.

OK, I'm going to go do work and be productive... All I want to do is fall into bed and nap haha

Ciao~

Bzzzz

I just started Google Buzz (this post, in fact, will appear on my and my friends' Google Buzzes!). It seems like it'll be really convenient, moreso than Facebook since my actual friends will be buzzing (look at me, already using the lingo) and in my Gmail inbox.

Speaking of Google taking over the world, I discovered something called Google Health. Aside from the scary disclaimer that someone could hack into Google and have access to your medical record, it's a really awesome concept. You input all of this information about yourself (height, weight, medications, conditions, physicians), and you can share it with people. Another really awesome thing that I found was that if you put in medications that may have negative interactions, it'll tell you! Super useful! Also, if you search on Google for a condition (try: Abscess, hot tub folliculitis, syringomyelia) the first thing that pops up is Google Health (that's how I discovered it... can't remember what I was searching for)

Blossoming cherry blossoms next to the church, in the rain.

A view of the city from Dolores Park

This past weekend, I went to San Francisco twice in 24 hours... The first time, on Friday, was an event at Biscuits and Blues... yummy biscuits and John Lee Hooker Jr., who told me to swirl like a bowl of soup.

The second was finally a day to visit Conan in real life. He has a beautiful apartment and his room is so quintessentially him: the color scheme, the decorations. We walked the streets of Hayes Valley, where we pined over overpriced goods ($325 skirt... knocked down to $95. But it was still $95.) and ignored Otto's phone calls (not really. bad reception). The three of us headed over to Samovar for delicious tea time, and walked down to Dolores Park until we were to meet Fan-Steh for dinner at L'ardoise. There, I met my match. Duck confit. I loved it, my stomach, however, was a little too marinated in duck fat. The duck leg had perfectly crispy skin with so much fat underneath. The meat itself was so moist, hardly needing a fork or a chew. The plate had a fatty layer of... fat. Crispy pan-roasted sliced potatoes on the side (I'm assuming roasted in duck fat). I got back from dinner and the tum was not enormously pleased. So worth it though.

Sorry I haven't posted in a really long time... fish have been keeping me busy (RNA extraction, cDNA-ing and PCR), as well as La Mais (for next year, sigh, and Friday's special dinner--Childhood Dream Job themed), and the apps I mentioned above (for various jobs and schooling).

Happy World Nutella Day!

Pastimes

One of my favorite pastimes is to make ringtones for myself out of my favorite songs of the moment. Ones that I've had from the past:

Daft Punk--Aerodynamic

2Pac--California Love

Yann Tiersen--La valse d'Amelie

Passion Pit--Sleepyhead

My new one:

Beirut--Scenic World

So good.

Carmen!

Prends garde à toi!

Puppehs get their own post:

me: AHHH

TWO PUPPIES ON BACKS

SO MUCH TWITCHING

Ryan: zomg puppiessss

omg sleepies

me: i knowww

Sent at 2:26 PM on Wednesday

Ryan: ohhhh pup pup

kick!

kick pup pup!

me: hahahahaah

Sent at 2:30 PM on Wednesday

Ryan: awww

wheres mommy

i want big mommy pup

me: i know mee toooo

For your viewing ease, PUPPIES EMBEDDED INTO OHBUTWHYNOT!!!!! Now you have no excuse not to watch the cuties:

Free Webcam Chat at Ustream

Rodgers and Hammerstein said it best...

Oh what a beautiful morning,

Oh what a beautiful day,

I've got a beautiful feelin'

Everything's goin' my way

(I hope so)

Well... beautiful mornings best appreciated when they don't shine through my window and wake me up at 7:30.

Going outside though, is lovely.

An open letter to the weather:

Please bring clouds back? I'd like some sleep!

P.S. I just returned to the Shiba Inu cam for the first time in a while... They're actually walking around... SO PUDGY CUTE.

It's a literal dog pile hahah! And when this picture was taken, there was sleepy puppy twitching going on.

Laundry Folding Time

I'm folding my laundry, and I have a lot of blue shirts.

Weird, when I don't like blue all that much as a color to wear.

Medium slate blue

Cornflower blue

Dodger blue 4

Slate blue

(Colors are here.)

AH! A ladybug just appeared in my room!!! I let it outside.

It had no spots.

Update @4:07pm: AH! Another ladybug! This one had 6 spots, or so.

Update @4:22pm: A hummingbird just floated around the tree outside my window. If I could be any animal, I would be a hummingbird. Hover, fly backwards, drink nectar, be really tiny and chirpy. Did you know they can live for as long as 12 years?

2 ladybugs and a hummingbird... It'll be a great week.

AHHH!!!!

KERSHENA HAS A BLOG!!!!

AHHH

YAY!!!! :):):):)

Mind Fluff

Zzz.

I was in lab from 9ish-4. It felt like real life. I'm so tired.

I took a 20 min nap when I got back.

I was so tired, I just passed out with the lights on.

I'd like more sleep, thanks!

BUT, I'll have my first set of brain data too look at in the morning!!! I ran a sample in the PCR machine, which quantified gene expression for me. Woooo.

The parents were in town this past weekend... description to come soon!

This week is crazy: finalizing fiction story ideas and writing, biochem midterm, opera, nuit blanche, lab.

OK back to work.

Just a quick hello! :)

And, in awesome news, it's supposed to RAIN. Next 10 days is rain/showers/few showers/cloudy. Hooray!