Ole!
As some of you may already know, I will be going to Madrid this summer :)! I'll be going with a friend from home and it should be amazing! There have been talks of adding on a side trip to Lisbon, Portugal as well and I've been thinking about maybe hitting up some of Spain's other great cities- like Barcelona. But for now, Madrid is definitely happening. And I'm so SO SO EXCITED. I've decided to open up a "Help Lenzie have fun in Spain" fund. Tips on where to go, advice, cash money- all are accepted :) haha.
That is the most exciting thing happening in my life right now. The rest of the post will be playing catch up. Because, AGAIN, I've gotten behind in the posting.
Lab work has kept me busy. I've got three experiments running simultaneously, a first year report that I've barely touched, and an abstract to write that I haven't worked on at all. I'll probably start the abstract today, but I'm having trouble with direction. Especially since I've never written an abstract before... That being said, I'm excited to get the abstract submitted so that I can make a poster for the conference I'll be attending in October. Its the Society for Neuroscience conference, held in New Orleans this year (!) and its one of the biggest global gatherings of neuroscientists. Can you say networking??? I sure can. This is why its so imporant to get the abstract in- so I can make a poster and (hopefully) impress all of the fancy pants neuroscientists who will be there.
One of the three experiments I've been working on is the new electron microscope experiment. And I wish I could go into more details than that because I'm really excited about it. BUT- what I'm not enjoying is the tired eyes and headaches that follow multiple hour long sessions of microscope use. Last week I pummeled my eyes on Thursday and Friday. I'm going to have to start spreading out my TEM times because I'll otherwise ruin my eyes. And that sounds no bueno to me.
Besides being busy (and stressed) with the mountains of work piling up around me, I've been keeping a healthy social life and keeping up with the excercise! Still on track to hitting my goal weight by my birthday which I'm really happy about. Its especially easier now that the gym is back to its normal opening hours and the classes are all running as usual. I tried a new class yesterday- hooping. As in hula hooping. As in I've officially given you permission to make fun of me (or take the mick, as the Brits would say). It was definitely not a good enough work out to be worth doing again, but it was fun to try something new. Although I now have a FAT bruise on my hip and its quite painful. I was looking at it earlier today in the office and a post doc walked by. ...I'm pretty sure she thinks I'm being abused. Shouldn't be a problem unless my PI starts asking why I have bruises on my body haha.
Last week was the first week back after the break. And I happily filled up my calendar with seeing my friends again. Between reuniting with friends, going out to pubs with friends, watching football (soccer), and celebrating birthdays, I kept my week packed. And its been fun :). Work all day, then gym/socialize/both at night- its my favorite kind of day. Well, I prefer when I can just gym/socialize all day. But I do enjoy the work I do, even if it doesn't always come across that way.
This weekend I was actually good about cooking for the week. I often slack off and then regret it during the week. But it has really helped. Not only do I have lunches prepared, but I'm realizing that its WAY better for me to come home and eat something straight away. I usually screw around, not wanting to cook myself anything. And then I get hungrier and hungrier until I eventually cave in and make something quick. But when I get home and already have something good to eat, I eat and am way more productive for the rest of the night. I usually even feel like cooking once I've eaten and regained energy. Weird how laziness is the worst option for me....
Anyway, I hope that will suffice for my lack of posting.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
All Weekend and No Internet Makes Lenzie a Sad Girl
Might a make a slight adjustment to that statement- All (6-day long, due to the Easter holiday, and thus no IT to fix the issue) Weekend. That's a long time to go without internet. A long, boring, and forced-productivity weekend. That being said, the forced-productivity worked in my favor and I am now WAY less stressed about my first year report. And as this week slips away, I'm certain the feeling of security will flee. BUT- I'm going to relish feeling on top of my work for as long as it'll last.
This past week has been a strange one- the 6 day closure period really threw me off as far as work goes and the majority of my friends have left to go home, while the remaining are panic-writing essays. And then there's me. Hmmmm. Besides just this past week, the whole month has been "off"- no farmer's market on Tuesdays, limited gym opening times and classes, empty campus. I'm ready for life to go back to normal now please!
This past week was the Brighton and Hove Food Festival. And.... I didn't take advantage at all. I'm sure if Jenna were here, I would've done something for it every day! The one Food Festival event I did go to was the Big Sussex Market. And it was amazing. A HUGE gathering of food stalls, outside in the sunshine. Amazing and delicious!!! I also picked up some great pantry items- A whiskey/mustard salad dressing, garlic and tomato Indian chutney, and fresh baked bread. The bread has been devoured by now, mostly because I gave up bread for Lent and DESTROYED the loaf within a few days of being able to eat bread again. I still have a ton of epic sandwich stuff and some great homemade tapenade leftover, but I'm not so sure that buying bread is the best idea haha. ...Maybe I'll stick with wraps....
Speaking of Lent, lets talk Easter. I gave up bread, peanut butter, and cereal for Lent. I like the personal challenge that Lent offers and since I was developing some seriously bad habits with those three items, I decided to remove them from my diet for awhile. And honestly, it was quite easy. I had one moment of weakness with the bread, but I'm not too upset with myself over that- I didn't have food for lunch and the only place open on campus was Falmer Bar. That day, their gas supply was gone, so all they could offer were cold sandwiches. Oh, might I mention that I got into work at 9 that day and was going straight to the gym at 6 pm for an hour of brutal exercise? Yeah, I needed to eat. Plus, that sandwich was amazing. So, meh. We all have our moments haha. I still haven't bought cereal or peanut butter and am going to try and keep bread out of my place. I'll break down and buy peanut butter, but until I can get my hands on American peanut butter, I'm not too bothered to go out and get it right away. Or, as the Brits say, "I can't be arsed". (Love it)
Easter turned out to be a really nice day, although I was bummed that I couldn't skype with the family because of the lack of internet. But I was able to go to brunch with a few friends who crawled out of their essay-writing caves for some great food. AND I spent part of my Easter evening looking at baby cows. What's better than cute baby animals, really? Well, maybe chocolate. But I didn't have chocolate, so baby cows were the next best (accessible) thing. Now that I've gone off on a tangent, let's go back to brunch- we went to Sam's of Brighton. Which happened to be on my Brighton bucket list! I asked for a side of bacon with my breakfast (which I would NEVER do in the States, but since the bacon here is just about the most delicious thing ever, it had to be done) and the waitress said "Where are you from?". I said "America" and she said "You're from California, aren't you?". She was from Cali too, but I think it's pretty amazing that she knew I was Californian because of my side order of bacon. And by amazing, I mean that I'm also slightly distressed that I'm fitting an American stereotype. Although, since she was Californian too, maybe it was just some California bond... I'll go with that...
Work has been weird. I feel like I've stayed home to work on my writing for a long time now... but I'm looking back at last week and I really only took last Friday off (and this Monday and Tuesday). So I guess I've actually done a lot of work... simply because I worked on Thursday and that was during the closure period. I'll be moving into my new TEM experiment and starting on my molecular stuff! I also have my first year report due in May and an abstract to write for the Society for Neuroscience conference that's also due in May. My moments of panic-writing will be right around my birthday- awesomeeeeeeeee. I also took a class on the statistics program that we use... and I'm still terrible at it. I spent a good portion of last Thursday trying to figure it out. And couldn't. Why why why do I fail so terribly with technology?
Finally, I've been able to cross off two more bucket list items- To try Marwoods and Talk of Tea (both cafes). Both are great, but Talk of Tea has the best scones I've ever eaten. Ever. So depending on if I'm in the mood for coffee or tea (or scones), I'll make an appropriate decision. Some of you might be wondering why all of my bucket list items are centered around food. And to that, I say- do you know me at all? But really, even in Santa Cruz I had a lot of cafes on my list. This is simply because I like trying new places, and if I can find a place where I can also study- bonus.
I'll get some pictures up once I've gotten them from friends :)
This past week has been a strange one- the 6 day closure period really threw me off as far as work goes and the majority of my friends have left to go home, while the remaining are panic-writing essays. And then there's me. Hmmmm. Besides just this past week, the whole month has been "off"- no farmer's market on Tuesdays, limited gym opening times and classes, empty campus. I'm ready for life to go back to normal now please!
This past week was the Brighton and Hove Food Festival. And.... I didn't take advantage at all. I'm sure if Jenna were here, I would've done something for it every day! The one Food Festival event I did go to was the Big Sussex Market. And it was amazing. A HUGE gathering of food stalls, outside in the sunshine. Amazing and delicious!!! I also picked up some great pantry items- A whiskey/mustard salad dressing, garlic and tomato Indian chutney, and fresh baked bread. The bread has been devoured by now, mostly because I gave up bread for Lent and DESTROYED the loaf within a few days of being able to eat bread again. I still have a ton of epic sandwich stuff and some great homemade tapenade leftover, but I'm not so sure that buying bread is the best idea haha. ...Maybe I'll stick with wraps....
Speaking of Lent, lets talk Easter. I gave up bread, peanut butter, and cereal for Lent. I like the personal challenge that Lent offers and since I was developing some seriously bad habits with those three items, I decided to remove them from my diet for awhile. And honestly, it was quite easy. I had one moment of weakness with the bread, but I'm not too upset with myself over that- I didn't have food for lunch and the only place open on campus was Falmer Bar. That day, their gas supply was gone, so all they could offer were cold sandwiches. Oh, might I mention that I got into work at 9 that day and was going straight to the gym at 6 pm for an hour of brutal exercise? Yeah, I needed to eat. Plus, that sandwich was amazing. So, meh. We all have our moments haha. I still haven't bought cereal or peanut butter and am going to try and keep bread out of my place. I'll break down and buy peanut butter, but until I can get my hands on American peanut butter, I'm not too bothered to go out and get it right away. Or, as the Brits say, "I can't be arsed". (Love it)
Easter turned out to be a really nice day, although I was bummed that I couldn't skype with the family because of the lack of internet. But I was able to go to brunch with a few friends who crawled out of their essay-writing caves for some great food. AND I spent part of my Easter evening looking at baby cows. What's better than cute baby animals, really? Well, maybe chocolate. But I didn't have chocolate, so baby cows were the next best (accessible) thing. Now that I've gone off on a tangent, let's go back to brunch- we went to Sam's of Brighton. Which happened to be on my Brighton bucket list! I asked for a side of bacon with my breakfast (which I would NEVER do in the States, but since the bacon here is just about the most delicious thing ever, it had to be done) and the waitress said "Where are you from?". I said "America" and she said "You're from California, aren't you?". She was from Cali too, but I think it's pretty amazing that she knew I was Californian because of my side order of bacon. And by amazing, I mean that I'm also slightly distressed that I'm fitting an American stereotype. Although, since she was Californian too, maybe it was just some California bond... I'll go with that...
Work has been weird. I feel like I've stayed home to work on my writing for a long time now... but I'm looking back at last week and I really only took last Friday off (and this Monday and Tuesday). So I guess I've actually done a lot of work... simply because I worked on Thursday and that was during the closure period. I'll be moving into my new TEM experiment and starting on my molecular stuff! I also have my first year report due in May and an abstract to write for the Society for Neuroscience conference that's also due in May. My moments of panic-writing will be right around my birthday- awesomeeeeeeeee. I also took a class on the statistics program that we use... and I'm still terrible at it. I spent a good portion of last Thursday trying to figure it out. And couldn't. Why why why do I fail so terribly with technology?
Finally, I've been able to cross off two more bucket list items- To try Marwoods and Talk of Tea (both cafes). Both are great, but Talk of Tea has the best scones I've ever eaten. Ever. So depending on if I'm in the mood for coffee or tea (or scones), I'll make an appropriate decision. Some of you might be wondering why all of my bucket list items are centered around food. And to that, I say- do you know me at all? But really, even in Santa Cruz I had a lot of cafes on my list. This is simply because I like trying new places, and if I can find a place where I can also study- bonus.
I'll get some pictures up once I've gotten them from friends :)
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Alzheimer's Research UK
The sun has been shining, my skin has regained some of its pigment, and I am LOVING this weather. However, it looks like we are getting back into overcast weather. I'm really not used to this wishy-washy weather!!!
The big event of this past week was the Alzheimer's Research UK conference in Birmingham that I went to from Monday-Wednesday. The conference was interesting and has given me some interesting career prospective (like working with IPS cells or looking at the epigenetic effects). But it was SO hard to be inside all day when the sun was shining outside.
Birmingham was nice- I really only stayed in the Victoria Square area (and didn't venture out much further than that). And I was in heaven in my hotel room. The bed was HUGE, there was a bath tub, and no noisy upstairs neighbor to keep me awake at night!
Besides that, I've been working hard on experiments and having fun with friends. Not too much to say on that end, except I went into Preston Park for the first time (which is an area around Brighton). The actual park, which I didn't know even existed, is a nice and big open area with lots of space to enjoy the summer time! I can definitely see myself spending more time there :)
The next post promises to be better- With the Brighton and Hove Food Festival coming up, you can bet that I will be ALL over that! So hopefully I'll have a lot to say next time.
The big event of this past week was the Alzheimer's Research UK conference in Birmingham that I went to from Monday-Wednesday. The conference was interesting and has given me some interesting career prospective (like working with IPS cells or looking at the epigenetic effects). But it was SO hard to be inside all day when the sun was shining outside.
Besides that, I've been working hard on experiments and having fun with friends. Not too much to say on that end, except I went into Preston Park for the first time (which is an area around Brighton). The actual park, which I didn't know even existed, is a nice and big open area with lots of space to enjoy the summer time! I can definitely see myself spending more time there :)
The next post promises to be better- With the Brighton and Hove Food Festival coming up, you can bet that I will be ALL over that! So hopefully I'll have a lot to say next time.
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Oh Reindeer! Dominik goes back to Germany
This is Dominik:
And it is the most epic picture of him I could find. Notice the intense excitement about the food in front of him!
If you remember from my past post, I met Dominik at the International Trivia Night that was put on by the University at the beginning of the school year. Our friendship grew off of an interest in trivia and each others country's politics.You may also remember me writing about my first consumption of Reindeer, and Domi was one of the people I went with. He's been a good friend throughout these past two terms and I'm sad to see him head back to Germany. But with me being here for 4 years and Oktoberfest being in Munich, I have a feeling we will be able to hang out again!
We went out to Northern Lights (which serves reindeer) on Tuesday, the night before Domi left to go back home. It was a fun (and delicious) night, although sad. I had WAY too many Rekorderlig, which is a DELICIOUS Swedish cider that I've just discovered. However, its super sweet so drinking too many made me over-sugared out. Between a few of those and some German ginger cookies, I was dying of too much sugar.
Another memorable (but in a sad way) moment of the week was last night- my neighbor Chad's last night before moving to another housing accommodation. With all of the housing issues we've had, I'm really not surprised that he's leaving. However, its so sad! Our little community here is great and he's an important piece of it. Luckily, he's not leaving to return to Canada (yet) so we will still have good times.
With friends leaving and moving, I'm coming to a very sad realization- By September, the majority of my friends will have returned to their countries of origin. The majority of the people I know here are Master's students or study abroad students and all of their programs will have finished by the next school year. However, there is still lots of time (lots of SUNNY time) before they leave, so I'll try to not think about it if I can help it!
Speaking of the sun- let's chat about how sunny and amazing its been recently! There are daffodils EVERYWHERE, the sun is shining, the birds are singing, and my productivity is taking a nose-dive. On Wednesday, I took a midday break with a few of my peers to sit out and enjoy the sun. We shared a pitcher of Pimms (which is very British) and I must say it is quite good! Also, after being outside for only two hours, I got a sunburn. Let me explain the irony. FIRST, I got so ridiculously pale from the lack of sun, that when it came out I burned right away. SECONDLY, (and mostly by my British peers' observance) I am from California and really shouldn't have burned... and I was the first person to get sunburned that I know of haha. Good news- my burn turned into a tan. WIN. Maybe I'll be able to recapture some of my pigment by my birthday!
I tried a new gym class on Friday- Step Aerobics. Its not offered during the school year, but since there is a month of Spring Break the classes are seriously slashed, which makes room for them to add the Step class. I really enjoy it but it was SO intense. My cardio isn't great at the moment, so an hour of Step was crazy. However, I really like it and would recommend it to any one looking to up their cardio. Also, there's a bonus of a good ab and leg work-out!
Today, I had to work (boo). But before that, I went to see The Hunger Games movie. It was good! Now, I always have issues when books that I REALLY like are turned into movies... But it was still pretty good. It mostly just made me even more want to read the next two books in the trilogy. It also made me miss Mary (who you may know as one of my friends from water polo and the person I lived with in my senior year at Santa Cruz).
I have pictures from this past week and when I get them up, I'll upload them :)
And it is the most epic picture of him I could find. Notice the intense excitement about the food in front of him!
If you remember from my past post, I met Dominik at the International Trivia Night that was put on by the University at the beginning of the school year. Our friendship grew off of an interest in trivia and each others country's politics.You may also remember me writing about my first consumption of Reindeer, and Domi was one of the people I went with. He's been a good friend throughout these past two terms and I'm sad to see him head back to Germany. But with me being here for 4 years and Oktoberfest being in Munich, I have a feeling we will be able to hang out again!
We went out to Northern Lights (which serves reindeer) on Tuesday, the night before Domi left to go back home. It was a fun (and delicious) night, although sad. I had WAY too many Rekorderlig, which is a DELICIOUS Swedish cider that I've just discovered. However, its super sweet so drinking too many made me over-sugared out. Between a few of those and some German ginger cookies, I was dying of too much sugar.
Another memorable (but in a sad way) moment of the week was last night- my neighbor Chad's last night before moving to another housing accommodation. With all of the housing issues we've had, I'm really not surprised that he's leaving. However, its so sad! Our little community here is great and he's an important piece of it. Luckily, he's not leaving to return to Canada (yet) so we will still have good times.
With friends leaving and moving, I'm coming to a very sad realization- By September, the majority of my friends will have returned to their countries of origin. The majority of the people I know here are Master's students or study abroad students and all of their programs will have finished by the next school year. However, there is still lots of time (lots of SUNNY time) before they leave, so I'll try to not think about it if I can help it!
Speaking of the sun- let's chat about how sunny and amazing its been recently! There are daffodils EVERYWHERE, the sun is shining, the birds are singing, and my productivity is taking a nose-dive. On Wednesday, I took a midday break with a few of my peers to sit out and enjoy the sun. We shared a pitcher of Pimms (which is very British) and I must say it is quite good! Also, after being outside for only two hours, I got a sunburn. Let me explain the irony. FIRST, I got so ridiculously pale from the lack of sun, that when it came out I burned right away. SECONDLY, (and mostly by my British peers' observance) I am from California and really shouldn't have burned... and I was the first person to get sunburned that I know of haha. Good news- my burn turned into a tan. WIN. Maybe I'll be able to recapture some of my pigment by my birthday!
I tried a new gym class on Friday- Step Aerobics. Its not offered during the school year, but since there is a month of Spring Break the classes are seriously slashed, which makes room for them to add the Step class. I really enjoy it but it was SO intense. My cardio isn't great at the moment, so an hour of Step was crazy. However, I really like it and would recommend it to any one looking to up their cardio. Also, there's a bonus of a good ab and leg work-out!
Today, I had to work (boo). But before that, I went to see The Hunger Games movie. It was good! Now, I always have issues when books that I REALLY like are turned into movies... But it was still pretty good. It mostly just made me even more want to read the next two books in the trilogy. It also made me miss Mary (who you may know as one of my friends from water polo and the person I lived with in my senior year at Santa Cruz).
I have pictures from this past week and when I get them up, I'll upload them :)
Monday, March 19, 2012
Its Spring Break (but I don't get a Spring Break)
I'm writing this a bit late... again. However, its Spring Break! But I don't get a Spring Break, so I guess there isn't a reason to be too excited about that. Except the campus is really quiet right now without all the undergrads running around and that is quite nice. ...WOW I sound old haha!
To redeem myself of sounding old and crotchety- let me tell you about what I've been up to! This past weekend was FULL. Friday was my friend Aahoo's birthday, so we went out to celebrate her birthday. We went to Giggling Squid, which is an AMAZING Thai restaurant. I was happy to check it off of my bucket list and am happy to have a good Thai restaurant to suggest to friends or take visitors to! We also went to a club that I haven't been to yet, Madame Geisha, and one of the floors was playing music that was popular when I was in 6th grade. So of course, I had a great time! I have talked to a few friends and we are going to attempt hitting up every club in Brighton. Why clubs, when pubs are more my style? Simply because there are more pubs in Brighton then there are days in the year and the amount of clubs is significantly smaller! This will be great, especially during the summertime since there are clubs along the beachfront :). Saturday was St. Patrick's Day. Commonly incorrectly referred to as St. Patty's Day in the States. Its St. Paddy's. Who would've guessed??? ....I found out after being laughed at by Brits. The day started with watching the last 6 Nations rugby game- England v. Ireland. England ANNIHILATED. And then the day continued on with multiple pub crawls. Another fun fact about St. Patrick's Day in the UK- Its WAY bigger in the States than in the UK. Over here, its just like any other day (so of course there is a ton of drinking, but not more than the usual). Finally, Sunday wrapped up with a free tour around Kemptown which is just east of Brighton. I'll be doing another tour of Hove in a few weeks, which is just west of Brighton. Its really nice to get tours from a local and see areas that I otherwise wouldn't have seen!
I'm happy I made the most of this weekend. Next weekend I'll be working through it again. And then I'm going to the Alzheimer's Research UK conference for the first half of next week. Want to hear about what's going on with work? Well, nothing new. But also, I need to start being more careful about what I say about work from now on. Apparently, intellectual theft is an issue and I've been warned to keep things vague. So from now on, the lab updates will be a tiny blip of the blog post.
I've finally tried all of the classes at the gym that I've wanted to- Last week I tried spinning for the first time. It was great! But really intense. And the saddle was quite uncomfortable. But its something I'd like to keep up with!
One thing I've been really happy about this week is all the new, good recipes that I've tried. I want to share them with you! Shrimp Tacos, Ethiopian Lentil Stew, and Vegetarian Chili! All so delicious and so easy. I've been unintentionally eating really Vegan and Vegetarian lately. But with a pantry full of quinoa, lentils, beans, seeds, and nuts, it's actually quite easy to supplement meat. I would also like to share this recipe for Coffee Cake Mug Cake. Please let me explain- this is a recipe for making a cake, in a mug, in the microwave. This recipe was quite good. Especially for a microwaveable cake. So you see, I've turned this whole "no oven" thing into a situation that still allows baking. It has taken lots of searching, and lots of unworthy recipes, but I've of course found a way to make desserts for myself. A lack of oven won't keep me from enjoying cake!
To redeem myself of sounding old and crotchety- let me tell you about what I've been up to! This past weekend was FULL. Friday was my friend Aahoo's birthday, so we went out to celebrate her birthday. We went to Giggling Squid, which is an AMAZING Thai restaurant. I was happy to check it off of my bucket list and am happy to have a good Thai restaurant to suggest to friends or take visitors to! We also went to a club that I haven't been to yet, Madame Geisha, and one of the floors was playing music that was popular when I was in 6th grade. So of course, I had a great time! I have talked to a few friends and we are going to attempt hitting up every club in Brighton. Why clubs, when pubs are more my style? Simply because there are more pubs in Brighton then there are days in the year and the amount of clubs is significantly smaller! This will be great, especially during the summertime since there are clubs along the beachfront :). Saturday was St. Patrick's Day. Commonly incorrectly referred to as St. Patty's Day in the States. Its St. Paddy's. Who would've guessed??? ....I found out after being laughed at by Brits. The day started with watching the last 6 Nations rugby game- England v. Ireland. England ANNIHILATED. And then the day continued on with multiple pub crawls. Another fun fact about St. Patrick's Day in the UK- Its WAY bigger in the States than in the UK. Over here, its just like any other day (so of course there is a ton of drinking, but not more than the usual). Finally, Sunday wrapped up with a free tour around Kemptown which is just east of Brighton. I'll be doing another tour of Hove in a few weeks, which is just west of Brighton. Its really nice to get tours from a local and see areas that I otherwise wouldn't have seen!
I'm happy I made the most of this weekend. Next weekend I'll be working through it again. And then I'm going to the Alzheimer's Research UK conference for the first half of next week. Want to hear about what's going on with work? Well, nothing new. But also, I need to start being more careful about what I say about work from now on. Apparently, intellectual theft is an issue and I've been warned to keep things vague. So from now on, the lab updates will be a tiny blip of the blog post.
I've finally tried all of the classes at the gym that I've wanted to- Last week I tried spinning for the first time. It was great! But really intense. And the saddle was quite uncomfortable. But its something I'd like to keep up with!
One thing I've been really happy about this week is all the new, good recipes that I've tried. I want to share them with you! Shrimp Tacos, Ethiopian Lentil Stew, and Vegetarian Chili! All so delicious and so easy. I've been unintentionally eating really Vegan and Vegetarian lately. But with a pantry full of quinoa, lentils, beans, seeds, and nuts, it's actually quite easy to supplement meat. I would also like to share this recipe for Coffee Cake Mug Cake. Please let me explain- this is a recipe for making a cake, in a mug, in the microwave. This recipe was quite good. Especially for a microwaveable cake. So you see, I've turned this whole "no oven" thing into a situation that still allows baking. It has taken lots of searching, and lots of unworthy recipes, but I've of course found a way to make desserts for myself. A lack of oven won't keep me from enjoying cake!
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Oh wow, I missed a week
I just looked back at the last blog post to see where I had left off... and I've somehow skipped a week. Sorry about that! It's far too easy to lose track of time when you work two weekends in a row. Or 19 days straight (if that puts things more into perspective). That being said, the lab work is coming along quite nicely. It has paid off having to work the ridiculous hours :)
(I've just figured out why the week was "skipped". Its because this post is coming later in the week than usual, so this week is clouding up my memories of last week 0_o )
Last week had a few big highlights: one of them being trying out a new class at the gym. Nike Fitness Club (which is also a free iPhone App) is great! Lots of cardio mixed with bodyweight strength training. This is becoming my new favorite form of work out. I highly recommend it to anyone with any Apple product. And its easy to do at home as well, don't need a gym membership at all! There is only one more class at the gym that I want to try (spinning) and then I'll have tried them all! I'm signed up for spin next week, so we'll see how it goes. I've heard its pretty intense. Also in the world of fitness- there is a website called Fitocracy that is GREAT for keeping the motivation up to work out. Its a social network built around fitness- you earn points and gain levels by working out and there are quests and achievements you can get by trying out different exercises. Its good for me for both motivation AND giving me ideas on new ways to work out. My biggest issue is that I get bored with the same routine. But Fitocracy really helps with that. They are still in beta testing, so sign up while its still new and the gettin's good!
I also went to a party this past Saturday (its been SO long) and had a blast. I went with the group of people that I live with and they are always a good time. Sunday I went to Wagamama for dinner with a friend; its a noodle/rice bowl place, mainly Japanese, and very good! Then we went to Komedia, which is a stand-up comedy venue, and saw four different comedians do small stand-up sets. They were hilarious and it was great! So even though I had to work both days, the past weekend turned out to be really enjoyable :)
And since work has been encompassing my ENTIRE LIFE (or so it seems), I'll fill you in on that. As you know, the electron microscope work is going beautifully. I've finished my first experiment and am meeting with my supervisors (and other professors who are helping me with these experiments) on Monday to go over future plans for electron microscope usage. My focus will be shifting there for awhile. There's a chance I've found something new and thus, publishable!!!! It would be AWESOME to get published in my first year. Cross your fingers for me! The behavioral experiment that has been causing me stress, tears, and wasted days has FINALLY worked out for me. Finally :). There was something wrong with the batch of snails I was using, but with the fresh batch, all the outcomes are as they should be. There is still plenty of work left before I can say this experiment is "done", but I can easily build off of it when I shift my focus back after the electron microscope tangent. And, I have to say, after work tomorrow, I'll have dissected 150 brains this week. WOW. ...My soul just died a little bit.
I'm REALLY looking forward to this coming weekend. Why you ask? Because I have it off. And I'm so so so so excited to not go into my office.
See you later, alligator(s)!
(I've just figured out why the week was "skipped". Its because this post is coming later in the week than usual, so this week is clouding up my memories of last week 0_o )
Last week had a few big highlights: one of them being trying out a new class at the gym. Nike Fitness Club (which is also a free iPhone App) is great! Lots of cardio mixed with bodyweight strength training. This is becoming my new favorite form of work out. I highly recommend it to anyone with any Apple product. And its easy to do at home as well, don't need a gym membership at all! There is only one more class at the gym that I want to try (spinning) and then I'll have tried them all! I'm signed up for spin next week, so we'll see how it goes. I've heard its pretty intense. Also in the world of fitness- there is a website called Fitocracy that is GREAT for keeping the motivation up to work out. Its a social network built around fitness- you earn points and gain levels by working out and there are quests and achievements you can get by trying out different exercises. Its good for me for both motivation AND giving me ideas on new ways to work out. My biggest issue is that I get bored with the same routine. But Fitocracy really helps with that. They are still in beta testing, so sign up while its still new and the gettin's good!
I also went to a party this past Saturday (its been SO long) and had a blast. I went with the group of people that I live with and they are always a good time. Sunday I went to Wagamama for dinner with a friend; its a noodle/rice bowl place, mainly Japanese, and very good! Then we went to Komedia, which is a stand-up comedy venue, and saw four different comedians do small stand-up sets. They were hilarious and it was great! So even though I had to work both days, the past weekend turned out to be really enjoyable :)
And since work has been encompassing my ENTIRE LIFE (or so it seems), I'll fill you in on that. As you know, the electron microscope work is going beautifully. I've finished my first experiment and am meeting with my supervisors (and other professors who are helping me with these experiments) on Monday to go over future plans for electron microscope usage. My focus will be shifting there for awhile. There's a chance I've found something new and thus, publishable!!!! It would be AWESOME to get published in my first year. Cross your fingers for me! The behavioral experiment that has been causing me stress, tears, and wasted days has FINALLY worked out for me. Finally :). There was something wrong with the batch of snails I was using, but with the fresh batch, all the outcomes are as they should be. There is still plenty of work left before I can say this experiment is "done", but I can easily build off of it when I shift my focus back after the electron microscope tangent. And, I have to say, after work tomorrow, I'll have dissected 150 brains this week. WOW. ...My soul just died a little bit.
I'm REALLY looking forward to this coming weekend. Why you ask? Because I have it off. And I'm so so so so excited to not go into my office.
See you later, alligator(s)!
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Aww, too much work :(
Like the title says, TOO. MUCH. WORK. That being said, I have gone out and had fun. And I even have a few restaurant reviews coming up (although no pictures, sorry)!
I have been trying, and trying, and TRYING to get this behavioral pharmacology experiment hammered down. But the snails don't want to work and the statistics aren't significant. So I'll give it one more shot. And if it doesn't work this time (AND the snails are actually working, so it can't be animals flaws) then I will cry many many tears and have to completely revamp my research ideas. The snails forced me to go into work last weekend and I'll have to again this weekend. So it'll be awhile before I have a day off from work. But (hopefully) all of this hard work will pay off and I will be able to have some down time where I can write up my research, instead of physically researching.
Since we are on the research path- let me tell you the exciting news! While the behavioral experiments aren't working, the electron microscopy experiment is working BEAUTIFULLY. And my first electron microscope experiment is officially done. I just have lots of analysis and write-up. Then, I get to take my results in different directions which I am VERY happy about! So even though the behavior aspect might fail, I can still make something work with the pathway I've taken.
Besides the actual researching, I had another professional skills course on Monday- which was actually good! They gave me a program to keep track of "employable" skills and examples of them. Its great and got me thinking more long term; it also helped me realize certain skills that are lacking for me. There was another skills course on Thursday for using Zotero, which is a bibliographic tool. I definitely want to use Zotero as opposed to EndNote (which I'm using now). However, I need to actually get everything transferred between programs.
Besides work, last week was quite enjoyable (as I'm expecting this week to be as well!). Last Tuesday was, of course, Fat Tuesday. And while I didn't have any Cajun food ( :[ ), I did celebrate the British version of Fat Tuesday- Pancake Day! A few of my friends got together to have savory crepes for dinner and sweet pancakes for dessert. Delicious and perfectly fatty! I also went out to eat three nights in a row this past week- which was a little ridiculous, but SO much fun. AND SO DELICIOUS!
First restaurant review: Little Bay. It is a baby chain, as in it has a few other restaurants in London. However, since it just moved to Brighton, everything is half price. It is French food, French DELICIOUS food. The interior is swanky-theater with velvet curtains, balcony seats, and paintings of famous people. I had cheese and garlic stuffed mushrooms for an appetizer, cheese stuffed pork in a mushroom/red wine sauce, and french fries fried in goose fat. And OMG was it good. All for under 10 pounds :)
Second restaurant review: El Mexicano. It was the highest rated Mexican restaurant in Brighton and it was... decent and expensive. I had the Chicken Tinga, which was pretty authentic. However, it was really expensive and the portions were small. Plus, and this must be said, Mexican food isn't healthy. But I feel like over here, they try to take a healthier view on it. And that's just not how Mexican food works. Mexican food is meaty and cheesy and saucy. Which is why its SO delicious.
The third restaurant is The Geese, which is the pub that we went to for trivia. The burger and fries were good, especially since they were served with a garlic dipping sauce. The trivia was fun, although there were too many music questions and the science questions were all ecology-based. Which made for a very unhappy me haha. We got second to last place (which seems to be a reoccurring theme). We will continue to try different pub quizzes and have a team goal to move up to third to last place haha.
And on Sunday, I decided to walk into town from the University. It took me about an hour to get into Brighton (I walked through two cities to get there) and it was so nice! I love long walks and it was something I've wanted to do since I got here. There are two parks along the way, pretty close to the University. And I'm looking forward to further exploring them when its springtime.
Don't worry, work isn't completely taking over this week. I'll have interesting things to write about for next week :)
I have been trying, and trying, and TRYING to get this behavioral pharmacology experiment hammered down. But the snails don't want to work and the statistics aren't significant. So I'll give it one more shot. And if it doesn't work this time (AND the snails are actually working, so it can't be animals flaws) then I will cry many many tears and have to completely revamp my research ideas. The snails forced me to go into work last weekend and I'll have to again this weekend. So it'll be awhile before I have a day off from work. But (hopefully) all of this hard work will pay off and I will be able to have some down time where I can write up my research, instead of physically researching.
Since we are on the research path- let me tell you the exciting news! While the behavioral experiments aren't working, the electron microscopy experiment is working BEAUTIFULLY. And my first electron microscope experiment is officially done. I just have lots of analysis and write-up. Then, I get to take my results in different directions which I am VERY happy about! So even though the behavior aspect might fail, I can still make something work with the pathway I've taken.
Besides the actual researching, I had another professional skills course on Monday- which was actually good! They gave me a program to keep track of "employable" skills and examples of them. Its great and got me thinking more long term; it also helped me realize certain skills that are lacking for me. There was another skills course on Thursday for using Zotero, which is a bibliographic tool. I definitely want to use Zotero as opposed to EndNote (which I'm using now). However, I need to actually get everything transferred between programs.
Besides work, last week was quite enjoyable (as I'm expecting this week to be as well!). Last Tuesday was, of course, Fat Tuesday. And while I didn't have any Cajun food ( :[ ), I did celebrate the British version of Fat Tuesday- Pancake Day! A few of my friends got together to have savory crepes for dinner and sweet pancakes for dessert. Delicious and perfectly fatty! I also went out to eat three nights in a row this past week- which was a little ridiculous, but SO much fun. AND SO DELICIOUS!
First restaurant review: Little Bay. It is a baby chain, as in it has a few other restaurants in London. However, since it just moved to Brighton, everything is half price. It is French food, French DELICIOUS food. The interior is swanky-theater with velvet curtains, balcony seats, and paintings of famous people. I had cheese and garlic stuffed mushrooms for an appetizer, cheese stuffed pork in a mushroom/red wine sauce, and french fries fried in goose fat. And OMG was it good. All for under 10 pounds :)
Second restaurant review: El Mexicano. It was the highest rated Mexican restaurant in Brighton and it was... decent and expensive. I had the Chicken Tinga, which was pretty authentic. However, it was really expensive and the portions were small. Plus, and this must be said, Mexican food isn't healthy. But I feel like over here, they try to take a healthier view on it. And that's just not how Mexican food works. Mexican food is meaty and cheesy and saucy. Which is why its SO delicious.
The third restaurant is The Geese, which is the pub that we went to for trivia. The burger and fries were good, especially since they were served with a garlic dipping sauce. The trivia was fun, although there were too many music questions and the science questions were all ecology-based. Which made for a very unhappy me haha. We got second to last place (which seems to be a reoccurring theme). We will continue to try different pub quizzes and have a team goal to move up to third to last place haha.
And on Sunday, I decided to walk into town from the University. It took me about an hour to get into Brighton (I walked through two cities to get there) and it was so nice! I love long walks and it was something I've wanted to do since I got here. There are two parks along the way, pretty close to the University. And I'm looking forward to further exploring them when its springtime.
Don't worry, work isn't completely taking over this week. I'll have interesting things to write about for next week :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)