Last week was kind of ugh. I don't even want to explain why anymore; it's nothing serious, just one of those weeks when you really don't feel good about yourself for no new reasons.
Anyway, it's over, and this week is starting well. I had a good day. Work was a little stressful because Melissa wasn't around today, so I was more on my own. I think I did fine though.
Genetics was actually nice today because we talked about classical experiments in molecular genetics, which are my favorite. I love the history of genetics. Also, we got back our exam, and I got about 84%, which I'm completely satisfied with, to be honest. It's above average, and I was dead worried because I didn't really get to study. It was a crazy week.
Lab for Biol 2004 went great today. I'm starting to love Monday lab times, mostly because the TA's are cool to chat with. One of them said I "talk smack" about others so much. It was hilarious. I mean, of course I didn't say anything with harmful intentions. Oh, I love it. I really can use a Monday afternoon worth of laughter to start off the week.
I came home right away, and in the mail was my Wakey!Wakey! CD's!!! I love them so much. I'm also liking Casey Shea (from the same record company--it's small, but they're amazing). Casey Shea has a bunch of free music available on his (their? --I'm too lazy to go check if they're actually a band) website.
So you know how sometimes you discover or rediscover a song that just speaks to you right to your very core? A portion of Wakey!Wakey!'s "Car Crash" is exactly that for me right now. I mean, maybe just a bit, but either way it's so beautiful:
And now you are hurt,
And you are sure I could not be hurt too.
And just because you're bleeding
You think that I'm not bleeding.
And just because you're full of yourself
Doesn't mean I'm not full of you...
To avoid a painful morning, I'm going to watch this week's episode of One Tree Hill and then sleep.
I wish this week would keep being as amazing as how today was. You know, I'm not at all religious, but I think faith is something real. Life has its difficulties no matter who you are, unless you're just THAT lucky. If you're really going to live, you're going to have to take risks and endure things you'd rather not face. Without faith in the better things, no matter what these better things are, how could so many wonderful people live such great lives?
Mmmm... anyway, good night. I hope you'll have an amazing week.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Where Is My Mind?
Busy week. I don't even want to bother saying what happened each day, but it was pretty much me being busy from 8 (or 8:30) to at least 5 or 8 pm every day, except for Wednesday when I start at 11:40.
I'm getting used to the insanity, I think.
Today Philosophy Club met again, and it was really fun. We read Thomas Nagel's "What is it like to be a bat?" It's one of those papers that truly influenced my personal philosophy. It's one of the reasons why I'm so attached to philosophy; why science can't answer all your questions. Nagel is just one fabulous philosopher. I don't think I've ever read anything he wrote that I disagree with.
I'm having some sort of an identity crisis. It's about me being both a biologist and a philosopher. I question whether I'm a biologist because I'm a philosopher or whether I'm a philosopher because I'm a biologist. I question whether it's possible to be both. I mean, I don't think there was ever a time in biology classes when I don't use my philosophical perspective, and vice versa.
But tonight it was difficult. There was philosophy club, and I really have to study for genetics. But I was in one of those state of minds when I feel like just doing nothing else but being a philosopher. Anyway, I looked through my genetics notes and make sure I would have less-enough material that I can cram tomorrow.
Since the semester started, biology has been taking over my life so much. To be honest, I don't love my philosophy classes too much; I've been so much more into biology.
But tonight's philosophy club meeting made me realize, once again, how much philosophy means to me.
On a side note, you know how they say success is 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration? I think that's nonsense. I think that inspiration should get a 50%.
I'm getting used to the insanity, I think.
Today Philosophy Club met again, and it was really fun. We read Thomas Nagel's "What is it like to be a bat?" It's one of those papers that truly influenced my personal philosophy. It's one of the reasons why I'm so attached to philosophy; why science can't answer all your questions. Nagel is just one fabulous philosopher. I don't think I've ever read anything he wrote that I disagree with.
I'm having some sort of an identity crisis. It's about me being both a biologist and a philosopher. I question whether I'm a biologist because I'm a philosopher or whether I'm a philosopher because I'm a biologist. I question whether it's possible to be both. I mean, I don't think there was ever a time in biology classes when I don't use my philosophical perspective, and vice versa.
But tonight it was difficult. There was philosophy club, and I really have to study for genetics. But I was in one of those state of minds when I feel like just doing nothing else but being a philosopher. Anyway, I looked through my genetics notes and make sure I would have less-enough material that I can cram tomorrow.
Since the semester started, biology has been taking over my life so much. To be honest, I don't love my philosophy classes too much; I've been so much more into biology.
But tonight's philosophy club meeting made me realize, once again, how much philosophy means to me.
On a side note, you know how they say success is 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration? I think that's nonsense. I think that inspiration should get a 50%.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Dancing In Circles
I don't 100% enjoy the fact that country music is playing all the time in the prep room where I work, but sometimes really good music comes up. Because radios overplay songs, I hear it every now and then, and I like it a lot.
And in a way, I can relate to parts of the lyrics to my life right now. It's amazing when that happens--you know, encountering music that encounters you.
...Hmmm. Okay. This past week, school-wise: I started at 8 or 8:30 four days out of five, and I finished before five four days out of five. (I had about one ~1 break in between sometime during those huge blocks of time though.)
This.semester.is.killing.me.
Seriously. *sigh*
I guess this is the part where I question my goals. Do I like biology that much? It doesn't help that Biol 2004 is about yeasts, and NO OFFENSE TO KINGDOM FUNGI but you guys don't interest me at all. There is no fun in fungi. Ugh.
There's just a lot of busy work, and I haven't been able to read much for philosophy. I'm just tired of not being able to sit and relax and study much at Starbucks or something. It's always running around everywhere.
I'm glad it's the weekend. Time to catch up on things. Hopefully that will happen efficiently.
And in a way, I can relate to parts of the lyrics to my life right now. It's amazing when that happens--you know, encountering music that encounters you.
...Hmmm. Okay. This past week, school-wise: I started at 8 or 8:30 four days out of five, and I finished before five four days out of five. (I had about one ~1 break in between sometime during those huge blocks of time though.)
This.semester.is.killing.me.
Seriously. *sigh*
I guess this is the part where I question my goals. Do I like biology that much? It doesn't help that Biol 2004 is about yeasts, and NO OFFENSE TO KINGDOM FUNGI but you guys don't interest me at all. There is no fun in fungi. Ugh.
There's just a lot of busy work, and I haven't been able to read much for philosophy. I'm just tired of not being able to sit and relax and study much at Starbucks or something. It's always running around everywhere.
I'm glad it's the weekend. Time to catch up on things. Hopefully that will happen efficiently.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Everybody Hurts
"Everybody hurts,
Take comfort in your friends"
R.E.M.'s "Everybody Hurts" has to be one of the best songs to listen to when you're down.
Okay.
I swear I felt like I was about to go crazy today after work. Here's the deal: I walked into the prep room at 8 am and from then until 12 when I got off, I had to constantly listen to stuff about the drama going on there (and surrounding the lives of some people). First of all, I get where people are coming from and I'd freak out too if I were them, and I didn't want to pretend I want to be completely oblivious to it all, but okay, I get pretty stressed when I'm there. I'm stressed because Melissa, the person I work with, knows insanely much about everything in that room and I am being trained to do her job next year after she graduates. Second, well, I kinda covered everything in the first point, haha.
I was stressed because I spent the entire day on Sunday figuring stuff out for Biol 2004. I was nervous about going into lab today because I know my group won't know anything. No offense to them, but that's how things have been.
During my little breathing time from 12-1:25, I was going to grab something to eat but the cafeteria is completely packed. How the hell do people have the time and patience to wait for a 30-people Panda Express line anyway? I envy people who actually could do that. Anyway, I wasn't hungry, but at least it could have been a little calmer so I could sit down a bit. But nope, it was lunch time. Of course, Starbucks was also full.
I called Scott and vented for 30 minutes, not only about stuff I mentioned above, but about issues with family--they horribly upset me yesterday. He constantly reminded me that I wasn't being annoying, so that's good. Honestly, I don't know how I would have dealt with everything had I not talked to him. I probably would have kept it all in, but it wouldn't have been so nice. Scott is so great to talk to because for some reason, ever since I talked to him for the first time, I felt like I could be completely honest and say anything. Well, a lot of time we have stupid, silly arguments where I'd be not-so-nice to him, but hey, he does the same and between all of that it's obvious to me that we're great friends. I know I have a lot of wonderful friends, but he's just the one I've been seeing a lot lately because of where we hang out.
Anyway, Biol 2004 lab turned out to be good... OF COURSE, because I did my homework. No one else had anything written in their lab notebooks, and I told them pretty much everything. Whatever. We finished extracting DNA in less than 1.5 hours, and much of that time was just waiting for incubation/centrifugations. I'm allowed to feel like a superstar, okay?
Ok. I always end so abruptly, but I still have readings to do and 8:30 am class tomorrow.
Take comfort in your friends"
R.E.M.'s "Everybody Hurts" has to be one of the best songs to listen to when you're down.
Okay.
I swear I felt like I was about to go crazy today after work. Here's the deal: I walked into the prep room at 8 am and from then until 12 when I got off, I had to constantly listen to stuff about the drama going on there (and surrounding the lives of some people). First of all, I get where people are coming from and I'd freak out too if I were them, and I didn't want to pretend I want to be completely oblivious to it all, but okay, I get pretty stressed when I'm there. I'm stressed because Melissa, the person I work with, knows insanely much about everything in that room and I am being trained to do her job next year after she graduates. Second, well, I kinda covered everything in the first point, haha.
I was stressed because I spent the entire day on Sunday figuring stuff out for Biol 2004. I was nervous about going into lab today because I know my group won't know anything. No offense to them, but that's how things have been.
During my little breathing time from 12-1:25, I was going to grab something to eat but the cafeteria is completely packed. How the hell do people have the time and patience to wait for a 30-people Panda Express line anyway? I envy people who actually could do that. Anyway, I wasn't hungry, but at least it could have been a little calmer so I could sit down a bit. But nope, it was lunch time. Of course, Starbucks was also full.
I called Scott and vented for 30 minutes, not only about stuff I mentioned above, but about issues with family--they horribly upset me yesterday. He constantly reminded me that I wasn't being annoying, so that's good. Honestly, I don't know how I would have dealt with everything had I not talked to him. I probably would have kept it all in, but it wouldn't have been so nice. Scott is so great to talk to because for some reason, ever since I talked to him for the first time, I felt like I could be completely honest and say anything. Well, a lot of time we have stupid, silly arguments where I'd be not-so-nice to him, but hey, he does the same and between all of that it's obvious to me that we're great friends. I know I have a lot of wonderful friends, but he's just the one I've been seeing a lot lately because of where we hang out.
Anyway, Biol 2004 lab turned out to be good... OF COURSE, because I did my homework. No one else had anything written in their lab notebooks, and I told them pretty much everything. Whatever. We finished extracting DNA in less than 1.5 hours, and much of that time was just waiting for incubation/centrifugations. I'm allowed to feel like a superstar, okay?
Ok. I always end so abruptly, but I still have readings to do and 8:30 am class tomorrow.
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