Quote of the Day

Yesterday in the school newspaper (yay for the return of The Daily!...and it's crossword puzzles!), there was small blurb. It read, "There's not enough art in our schools. No wonder people think that Martha Graham is a snack cracker." Gotta love it!

Salsa Craze

I am discovering the salsa scene in the bay area and loving it! This weekend is the last weekend before classes start and as such, the campus is overflowing with new face and lots of get togethers. Tonight there were 2 salsa parties going on on campus. One was at the international center and was playing a variety of latin music from salsa to cha-cha to bachata (spelling?) to merengue, etc. The other on was playing at one of the grad residential community centers and this one was just salsa. My salsa buddy and I (the one I can always rely on for being up for a little dancing action) decided to check both of them out. We headed to the one at the international center first. When we firs walked into the door, I was a little skeptical. It didn't look like too many people were there and those that were there were primarily beginners. Despite this, however, we had only been standing in the doorway for less than 30 seconds when we were both asked to dance. Never ones to turn down guys who were willing to dance, we agreed. For the first couple of dances, it was painfully bad. After that though, the action picked up a little and guys got better. I was particularly impressed with two of my partners. One was french and studing astro engineering and he was pretty good - innovative, rhythm, a good lead. He said he hadn't danced salsa in a while and so he was still trying to remember all the things you can do. The second guy was from Norway and studying petroleum engineering but was at school only for the year taking some computer science classes. He was great and we danced for 3 songs. Both guys were cute and I was tempted to ask for their information....ONLY so that I could ask them to come out salsa dancing with us! (right! ;) ). Shortly after the that third dance, my salsa buddy mentioned heading over the the other salsa party to check it out. I was game, so we headed over.

On the way, i was talking to her about salsa rueda (aka casino salsa) and how I wish I could find a place to take lessons or a club that dances it. Well, low and behold, what do we find at the other party??? A group doing salsa rueda! I was in between partners at the time and was just staring at them agog in amazement. I was just thinking about salsa rueda and here they are doing it in front of my face! At the end of the dance, I asked on of the guys (one I had danced with earlier) if they took lessons or had a class. Well, not only is there a class, but they also taught me a few of the basics quickly and I was able to join it! I was in seventh heaven! I got one of the guys' contact information so that I have a point of reference for the class (directions and so on). I am so excited! I will definitely have to check the lessons out! Oh, and the best thing is...they're FREE!!!! (Now that's what a poor graduate student wants to hear!!!).

I feel really blessed. This summer, I have really come into my own here at school. I've been out trying new things and going new places - doing some things with friends and some on my own. Over the past two years, I had forgotten how independent I used to be. Too often (during the 2 years) I found myself relying more and more on others and less willing to try and do things on my own. Part of that was due to my surroundings and part of it was due to health, but I feel so glad now that I have recaptured some of my independence. I feel like I'm coming closer and closer to that girl who wasn't afraid to travel an hour and a half by train to a busy foreign city in order to see a show that looked interesting. That girl that wasn't afraid to wander around a big city alone at night (I was cautious not stupid!) to soak of the experience of being abroad. We all have detours in life, but it sure feels good to come the center core that is you.

Full Spectrum

Today I felt nearly the full spectrum of emotions? I'm not sure what the right word is....this morning I woke up with a pretty bad headache. As per usual when I feel icky when I wake up, I buried my head under the covers and tried to coerce myself back to sleep in the hope that the oblivion would eliminate my pain. Also as per usual, this tactic did not work (the fact that my roommate was up and moving about at 6:30 in the morning probably had somethign to do with that, too). Anyway, I could't dawdle too long b/c I had a meeting with my PI (principle investigator...grad school lab mentor) at 11am and I needed to do some last minute reading before hand. So, I dragged myself out of bed and despite the pounding in my head decided that the headache wasn't as bad as the one I had earlier in the week and as such, I could afford to shower and get dressed before drugging myself up with advil. Well, halfway through dressing, I suddenly felt very woozy. I needed to boost my blood sugar NOW and get some food in my system so that I could take the advil. Heedless of the fact that I was only half-dressed (thank goodness my roommate had already left! Although, I was feeling so bad that I probably wouldn't have cared!), I stumbled into the kitchen, poured my self a glass of juice to sip, turned on water for oatmeal, and stumbled onto the couch in the living room before I collapsed. The juice helped raise my blood sugar and soon the water was hot enough for my instant oatmeal. I got through about half the oatmeal before the nauseousness settled in. Skipping the rest of the oatmeal, I downed 2 advil right away, pulled a blanket out of the storage ottoman, set my phone alarm for 20 min and passed out on the couch to let the advil take effect. Twenty minutes later the worst of the pain had subsided (God bless Advil!!!) and I was at least functional enough to finish getting ready and get to lab.

A low grade headache persisted until lunch. Lunch...food, I am convinced, is the cure all. I felt much better after lunch, but was still a little tired through out the day...surreptiously taking cat naps at my desk. I finally gave up at 4:30p and head home. Another short catnap on the couch and I conviced myself to get up and go to dance class. I considered not going, but I had missed a class a couple of weeks in a row earlier (I usually go twice a week) and I recalled how much it sucked getting back into the swing of things. So I hauled my butt of the couch and into my leotard and tights, grabbed a bottle of water, and money for a snack on the way and headed out the door. Two and a half hours later, I was in heaven. I had such a great class (Friday class is always challenging both technically and endurance-wise, but is so much fun) that I felt I could keep on dancing the night away. I grooved to music on the way home and was dancing around the house when I got home (I was looking VERY forward to having the house to myself for a little bit tonight while my roommate hung out with her new classmates). I was still grooving when she came home unexpectedly with a classmate to pick something up. Her classmate was from Argentina, and the poor thing must have thought that I was absolutely off my rocker given the way I was acting (I couldn't help it! The radio was on loud and I couldn't help but jam away...my adrenaline was still pumping from class). I tried to tell her that I'm normally not this crazy (well at least to people I just meet anyway! hehe), but I don't think she believed me. Oh well! You win some you lose some! I am thoroughly grateful that today ended on a "high" given the very "low" I had this morning!

One Year Anniversary

On this day one year ago, I moved to California. I was both nervous and excited. I would be starting a new phase in my life - graduate school. Was I ready? Had I made a mistake? Did I pick the right school? Was I smart enough? Was taking a year off the wrong decision, and was it going to come back to bite me in the butt in the year to come? I was also transitioning to less money with more expenses, not to mention going from being paid biweekly to quarterly (that's right - only 4 paychecks a year). How would that work? It would be the first time that I had to generate a very specific, detailed budget instead of just a general idea. Would I like my roommate? Would she like me? More importantly, would we be able to successfully live together? Would I like the west coast? All of these thoughts were rambling through my mind on the flight over from the east coast and during my first few days of being in Cali.

Well, now a year later, I am happy to say that all is well. Though the first few months were hairy, I can honestly say that I now feel that I made the right decision in terms of school. I survived my first year of grad school classes and all of my lab rotations. And while, I certainly was not the smartest in any of my classes, I am glad to say that I pulled through just fine. Afterall, the motto for grad school is "You don't have to get an 'A,' you just have to pass." Hehe. To top it all off, I have chosen a thesis lab and am now fully entrenched in grad school life. It also turns out that I LOVE being paid on a quarterly system. No more having to wait until the next paycheck to pay a bill. I can pay it right when I get it. And budgeting is no problem...it suits my detailed and organized personality quite well. My roommate fears were also unfounded. We get along great and live together extremely well. While I primarily consider myself a "Southern girl," I really like the west coast. The weather can't be beat (no humidity, no hurricanes, no tornadoes) - nearly the perfect temperature for 6-8 months of the year. There's a variety of things to do with both the ocean and the mountains close by. The atmosphere is relaxed and laid back, and if the people aren't exactly as friendly as back home, well...you can't have everything! Thus, on the eve of my second year in Cali, I can only hope that things continue to go well and that life continues to blossom!

A lesson to be learned...

...from online shopping. I caved into to my desire to shop by purchasing 4 items from the REI outlet and 4 items from Dancewear Solutions. Of the four items from REI: bike lights, a waterproof, fleece-lined jacket, and 2 pairs of shoes, I only ended up keeping the first two items. One pair of shoes was too wide and the other was too big even though I ordered my normal shoe size. Evidently, I am not meant to purchase shoes online. Thank goodness I can return the items to a nearby REI store for a full refund (and I didn't even lose money on shipping, since shipping to an REI retail store is FREE!). Of the dance items: 2 pairs of tights (I really needed these! Mine are a little holey) and 2 leotards, I ended of keeping NONE of them! That's right folks...the tights were the wrong kind (it's hard to tell from the catalogue description), and the leotards were too big. To compound matters, the correct sizes of all of the items are backordered! From these experiences, I have learned that sometimes it's just better to go to the store. At least that way you can be sure that you get the items you want AND that they fit.

No longer homeless

That's right folks (can you see my "Southerness" poking through?! I am no longer a transient rotation student, I have finally chosen and joined a thesis lab! I have a permanent home (for the next 4-5 years at least) in Upi Singh's lab studying the enteric parasite Entamoeba histolytica. Woo-hoo! Let's celebrate!

Twinkle Toes

I have many family nicknames, but one in particular is "Twinkle Toes" because of my love of dancing. Well, did I dance last night or what! A friend invited me to join her and some other friends in a night of dancing in SF. We went to a salsa supper club called Roccapulco, and it was fabulous!!! I first heard about this club from a post-doc in one of the labs that I rotated through, and originally I wanted to go there for my birthday (but I figured the vast majority of people wouldn't make the trip to the city). Needless to say, I was excited to check it out in person. The club is great...there's lots of seating and a decent-sized dance floor. They even had a live band! The clientele was a mix of old and young, but everyone was dancing and it wasn't over crowded. There was plenty of room on the dance floor and you weren't dripping sweat from too many people. We danced all night long (literally - from 10p to close at 2a). I think I only sat out 2 songs the entire night...(my feet just couldn't take anymore towards the end of the night). I have never been twirled, spun, and dipped more in my life! It's definitely the type of place that you go to if you already know how to salsa (beginners beware). I wouldn't say I'm a great salsa dancer, but I know the basics and I can follow pretty well. Although, as the night wore on, my following ability was inversely proportional to my degree of tiredness. I did see a lot of styling on the dance floor and I'm going to try to work on that. The majority of the guys were great leaders, but I think the best ones tended to be older. My toes did get stepped on a little bit towards the end of the night, and I noticed as we were leaving the club that my big toe nail had been cracked and was all bloody! (I'm feeling it today...Ouch!). Although I was dead tired and aching from my hips to my knees to my poor feet as I limped home at 3am, it was definitely well worth it! I can't wait to go again!