The apocalypse has come....
I'm updating. ^^
Well I've been here for 3 weeks now. I took pictures of my apartment that I would very much like to post on LJ but.. my mom still hasn't sent them to me, so that project is on hold for a bit. At any rate my first biochemistry test is on Tuesday (and so as is the normal trend with me I'm doing anything but focusing... hence the post.) Thank you LJ for being there when I need distraction! We've been having study groups like mad (several problem sets) and I've read and reread 320 pages of material (and taken notes on them). I still need to go back and memorize the structures of amino acids ... they're kind of there but I could know them so much better. We'll see how the first test goes. (It's a bit of a stresser to me because for some reason that I cannot discern I have been put on the training grant, so there is mucho pressure to stay on said grant and only the top two from our class can be on it.)
I think I have 2 of my 3 rotations lined up for this year. I'm going against the advice of almost every student I have talked to and applying to rotate in Jessica Kissenger's lab. (She's high strung, even she says it up front, and I think many students can't deal with so much energy and enthusiasm 24/7... ok more like 12/7) Her lab is working with parasite genomes and doing things with both bioinformatics and molecular genetics. There are a lot of important techniques I could learn from her lab (for instance I have yet to keep cell cultures going and this is quintessential... OR I could set up a real time PCR curve... I've run RT-PCR before but this would be starting from scratch and learning how get the data to set up standards so you can analyze unknowns... also pretty important. There were some other nifty projects too but those were the two that caught my eye.) The other rotation I am doing for sure is with Nancy Manley (the reason I am here in the first place). She is very on the ball and an excellent teacher. Everyone I have talked to says she will shoot you down in a second, no holds barred, however she is a top-notch mentor and the experience is well worth any frustration (besides the fact that you should learn to deal with criticism early on in your career... it will come frequently and without consideration for 'feelings'). I'm still working out my third rotation... we'll see where that goes.
UGA had their first football game yesterday, sort of chaos. They lock the life sciences building on game days... which is impressive considering this is a research institution, however not surprising since football brings in money. The band rehearses on the field across the street from my apartment and they woke me up yesterday morning. They're quite good, even if they did steal at least an hour of sleep from me.
And now I take this moment to gloat: I bought gas for $2.84 a gallon today... I KNEW holding out would pay off. (Gas is still around 3.40 a gallon here, however, the place across the street from me has not raised their prices - it was always 2.84 only they ran out of gas immediately and only got a replacement shipment after church today.) Of course watch gas prices plummit tomorrow (I doubt they will).
On a side note I ran into a girl who used to be my babysitter - she's a fifth year vet student and lives nearby, actually she went to the same undergrad as I did also. Small world.
Well I've been here for 3 weeks now. I took pictures of my apartment that I would very much like to post on LJ but.. my mom still hasn't sent them to me, so that project is on hold for a bit. At any rate my first biochemistry test is on Tuesday (and so as is the normal trend with me I'm doing anything but focusing... hence the post.) Thank you LJ for being there when I need distraction! We've been having study groups like mad (several problem sets) and I've read and reread 320 pages of material (and taken notes on them). I still need to go back and memorize the structures of amino acids ... they're kind of there but I could know them so much better. We'll see how the first test goes. (It's a bit of a stresser to me because for some reason that I cannot discern I have been put on the training grant, so there is mucho pressure to stay on said grant and only the top two from our class can be on it.)
I think I have 2 of my 3 rotations lined up for this year. I'm going against the advice of almost every student I have talked to and applying to rotate in Jessica Kissenger's lab. (She's high strung, even she says it up front, and I think many students can't deal with so much energy and enthusiasm 24/7... ok more like 12/7) Her lab is working with parasite genomes and doing things with both bioinformatics and molecular genetics. There are a lot of important techniques I could learn from her lab (for instance I have yet to keep cell cultures going and this is quintessential... OR I could set up a real time PCR curve... I've run RT-PCR before but this would be starting from scratch and learning how get the data to set up standards so you can analyze unknowns... also pretty important. There were some other nifty projects too but those were the two that caught my eye.) The other rotation I am doing for sure is with Nancy Manley (the reason I am here in the first place). She is very on the ball and an excellent teacher. Everyone I have talked to says she will shoot you down in a second, no holds barred, however she is a top-notch mentor and the experience is well worth any frustration (besides the fact that you should learn to deal with criticism early on in your career... it will come frequently and without consideration for 'feelings'). I'm still working out my third rotation... we'll see where that goes.
UGA had their first football game yesterday, sort of chaos. They lock the life sciences building on game days... which is impressive considering this is a research institution, however not surprising since football brings in money. The band rehearses on the field across the street from my apartment and they woke me up yesterday morning. They're quite good, even if they did steal at least an hour of sleep from me.
And now I take this moment to gloat: I bought gas for $2.84 a gallon today... I KNEW holding out would pay off. (Gas is still around 3.40 a gallon here, however, the place across the street from me has not raised their prices - it was always 2.84 only they ran out of gas immediately and only got a replacement shipment after church today.) Of course watch gas prices plummit tomorrow (I doubt they will).
On a side note I ran into a girl who used to be my babysitter - she's a fifth year vet student and lives nearby, actually she went to the same undergrad as I did also. Small world.