As the first day of school is tomorrow, I thought would be fitting to review the summer.
What I learned at Genentech (in no particular order):
How to make a delicious and tasty cappuchino. I gave up on their tea after the first month and got started on their espresso machines. Steaming milk is such fun!
I got really good at opening bottles and holding caps singlehandedly.
How to get along with a Mac. It was a bumpy relationship, but we made it.
Though I already knew this, it was sort of abstract knowledge until this summer: knowing the right people in the right places is just as important if not more important than being qualified.
Miscellaneous: Western Blot, tissue culture, cell fractionation, immunoflouresence, protein estimations, RTQ-PCR, transfection, luminesence assays. I doubt many people care about these, but they're here for my personal satisfaction.
In bio, at least in fields of bio that directly pertain to human health and disease, it might be more advantageous to be an MD rather than a Ph.D.
Though this isn't really at Genentech, I learned it because of Genentech, so it belongs in this list. I can now sleep on public transportation, wake up at every stop, then fall back asleep instantly. It actually increases the pleasure of sleeping quite a bit for me. The part of sleeping I like the most is when I wake up and realize I don't have to be awake, then go back to sleep. It's the moment when I enjoy sleeping the most. Unfortunately, I usually wake up and realize that, darn, I actually have to be awake. Sleeping on the BART was like a wonderful concentrated dose of sleeping satisfaction.
Other hilights of the summer:
Chocolate with Jessie! We made mocha tarts with raspberries on top. It's really tasty and absurdly unhealthy. But so tasty!
I saw Rent with some people from Genentech. To be honest, it was a bit of a let down. The voices weren't as good as the original cast. Apart or with other people they were okay, though. One of them would sing over the other and part of the harmony couldn't be heard or something. Whenever Roger and Mark sang together, it wasn't that great. Mimi was so enthusiastic about dancing she swallowed notes. And she wasn't really that good at dancing. The original Angel was a more believable female. Collins in the original had a better range. Joanne and Maureen were actually comparable to the originals. Mostly, I enjoyed the show for the fact that it was onstage and I could see how all the scene changes and transitions were taking place and the arrangement, expression and gestures of the actors when they were singing. Perhaps the coolest thing is that entire musical ensemble was located onstage underneath a balcony sort of thing, and the director and assistant director were also playing keyboards.
Volleyball tournament at Stanford on the big oval. We did very badly and finished last, but playing volleyball for a day on Stanford's front lawn was quite an experience. It was really hot and sunny, I was really sticky and smelled like a combination of sweat and suncreen by the end, and I still have tanlines on my shoulders as souvineers. Not sure if I really want to repeat the experience. I think I like indoor volleyball more. It's surprising how much I rely on the presence of things like walls and a ceiling to judge where the ball is and where I am. Even when volleyball got moved to a different gym I played worse.
Dimsum and an extremeley long walk in the City with Melody and Taijin. Dimsum was average to good, but a decent price. We went to a place on the border of Little Italy and Chinatown. The name escapes me at the moment. Then we walked to Ghiradelli Square and along Embacadero almost to the Caltrain station. It was a long, hot walk (during the heat wave). I was so happy to be in the City by the water that day. If it was that hot in SF, I didn't want to know how bad it was in Berkeley. And I got to try out my new sunglasses! I think they're the first pair of sunglasses I owned that look remotely close to right on me. When other people wear sunglasses, they look glamourous and cool. I have this feeling that I just look awkward, maybe blind. But not so with these sunglasses. The other reason I like sunglasses is the fact that other people can't really tell what you're looking at. It's more mysterious. Unfortunately, I don't think these sunglasses can do that. But they do protect against all harmful UV rays!
Mom came to visit and we spend a weekend in SF. We walked around the Ferry building on Saturday when there was a farmer's market. SF (and Berkeley too) is such a food oriented city. I think that's one of the things I'll miss the most when I leave. A whole building dedicated to gastronomic indulgence. It makes me smile just to think about it.=) They had good peaches when we were there. Sugarlips was the best that we tried. Then we walked to Chinatown and Little Italy. We had dinner at the Stinky Rose and tried their garlic ice cream. The ice cream...you put it in your mouth..and heisitate, because it's not as bad as you'd expect it to be. The first thing you taste is the vanilla and caramel sauce, then after you wait a bit and those flavors disappear, then the garlic aftertaste comes up and knocks you in the head. But its okay, because it's not in your mouth at the same time as the sweet things. On Sunday we went to the Golden Gate Park and the de Young Museum. The Museum wasn't that great, especially compared to the ones in Europe I saw last summer. It had a lot of modern art, but I really don't get modern art. Why am I paying to see something that my 8 year old cousin could also do? I mean, anyone could paint a canvas a solid color. The first time, it's original and unique, but really, after someone paints a blue canvas, a red canvas isn't exactly inventive. And neither is a blank canvas with a blue border. And lastly, I'd like to mention that though it's very difficult to do, Mom might have exceeded my level of dessert-mindedness.
I think I've written quite enough now. So this is it, the official end of summer. Goodbye summer! I'm sad to see you go.
