Guess who's back?
That's right, after a few month hiatus...well, let's be honest, a good bit of time without any real updates, I'm back. I was thinking about when I first started this journal, and how good it felt to write out the events of the day, my thoughts and opinions, and so on, and I really want to start this back up again. Another major life transition is on the horizon (that being, of course, graduation), and this will probably be quite helpful for not only myself, but for anyone who cares to read and I will not be able to easily see in the upcoming months. I wanted to come back to this with a fresh perspective, and I can say now that I can do that. A lot of this past year was pretty rough in some ways (don't get me wrong, it was a hell of a lot of fun, but some things just needed to be dealt with), but now here I am, about to embark on a new journey in life, and I'm pretty damn excited. So enough foreplay, let's get to a real entry.
So here I am, t-minus 11 days until graduation. Tomorrow morning, or today I guess, I'll be turning in my social stat paper, which means that I only have my contemporary soc. exam on Thursday standing between me and the end of my classes here at Penn. It's kind of a weird feeling, but at this point, I'm really ready to be done. Adding to that fact is that I am set for post-graduation in terms of both living and income. I had a bunch of interviews last week, and I think I found a nearly perfect lab fit for myself. I had interviewed with Josh's boss, who was really cool, but due to the fact that a lot of people were leaving, it probably would have been pretty tough to work there and expect good things. I was still pretty excited about that possibility at first though, as the PI was actually both extremely happy and positive about his work, which was quite the switch from what I've been used to. I told myself when I was hunting for a lab tech job that the biggest thing to look for was work environment. Though I enjoyed everybody I worked with in Robertson's lab, I could not stand him nor the environment in there. Everybody either disliked him, was intimidated by him, or felt both. Nobody seemed to have any fun, and I especially did not. Gone now are the days of working until 1 or 2 in the morning, such as last summer, and getting little to no respect from it, let alone a kind, encouraging word. I wouldn't have cared so much that I was working on a dead-end project that everybody who's attempted seems to have failed at if he could have at been the least bit encouraging. Instead I found myself met with weekly lab meetings whose only purpose appeared to be to bitch at me for somehow not working hard enough. Now, though, I'm pretty damn sure I've found a lab where this will not occur. My new PI, Kate Ferguson, could not be more excited about the work that she does, and everybody who works there seems to be extremely happy. The research is really cool, as she deals with the protein structures of different receptor families that are implicated in certain types of cancer. I'm excited because I've always liked biochemical/biophysical aspects of classes I've take and the research they've talked about, but I've never had the chance to explore it in depth. Here I'm afforded the opportunity to do so, and in addition to that, by virtue of being a Penn employee, I can take up to two classes a semester, which I'm thinking I'll use to both supplement my research interests as well as being able to take classes in areas I didn't get the chance to as an undergrad.
Now onto living. I really lucked out, and will be living with Mike, Andy, and a few other Temple kids at a house in Fishtown, which is in northeast philly. One of the biggest advantages of this place is the cost, which is only about $260 a month, so on the meager salary I'm making next year, I'm probably going to be able to live pretty damn well (plus, after being pretty much broke for an entire year, a steady flow of income is going to be incredible). I'm really happy to be living with Mike and Andy next year, and over the summer. Those should be some great times.
So yeah, that's pretty much my first entry back here. I am really excited for what's to come following graduation. For a while this year I was pretty scared about what the future would hold, where I'd wind up, and who'd be there with me. But now here I am, happy and confident in what's to come. It took a while, but things are good again, and I'm going to enjoy them while they last (plus all the life lessons I've learned this year should aid in keeping those good times around). So that's it for now boys and girls, expect to hear from me again soon, and regularly at that.
PS-Just got the new Thursday today, A City by the Light Divided, and it's pretty good. I'd say a step or two above War All the Time, but still a little, just a little below Full Collapse. Mike, have at it.
So here I am, t-minus 11 days until graduation. Tomorrow morning, or today I guess, I'll be turning in my social stat paper, which means that I only have my contemporary soc. exam on Thursday standing between me and the end of my classes here at Penn. It's kind of a weird feeling, but at this point, I'm really ready to be done. Adding to that fact is that I am set for post-graduation in terms of both living and income. I had a bunch of interviews last week, and I think I found a nearly perfect lab fit for myself. I had interviewed with Josh's boss, who was really cool, but due to the fact that a lot of people were leaving, it probably would have been pretty tough to work there and expect good things. I was still pretty excited about that possibility at first though, as the PI was actually both extremely happy and positive about his work, which was quite the switch from what I've been used to. I told myself when I was hunting for a lab tech job that the biggest thing to look for was work environment. Though I enjoyed everybody I worked with in Robertson's lab, I could not stand him nor the environment in there. Everybody either disliked him, was intimidated by him, or felt both. Nobody seemed to have any fun, and I especially did not. Gone now are the days of working until 1 or 2 in the morning, such as last summer, and getting little to no respect from it, let alone a kind, encouraging word. I wouldn't have cared so much that I was working on a dead-end project that everybody who's attempted seems to have failed at if he could have at been the least bit encouraging. Instead I found myself met with weekly lab meetings whose only purpose appeared to be to bitch at me for somehow not working hard enough. Now, though, I'm pretty damn sure I've found a lab where this will not occur. My new PI, Kate Ferguson, could not be more excited about the work that she does, and everybody who works there seems to be extremely happy. The research is really cool, as she deals with the protein structures of different receptor families that are implicated in certain types of cancer. I'm excited because I've always liked biochemical/biophysical aspects of classes I've take and the research they've talked about, but I've never had the chance to explore it in depth. Here I'm afforded the opportunity to do so, and in addition to that, by virtue of being a Penn employee, I can take up to two classes a semester, which I'm thinking I'll use to both supplement my research interests as well as being able to take classes in areas I didn't get the chance to as an undergrad.
Now onto living. I really lucked out, and will be living with Mike, Andy, and a few other Temple kids at a house in Fishtown, which is in northeast philly. One of the biggest advantages of this place is the cost, which is only about $260 a month, so on the meager salary I'm making next year, I'm probably going to be able to live pretty damn well (plus, after being pretty much broke for an entire year, a steady flow of income is going to be incredible). I'm really happy to be living with Mike and Andy next year, and over the summer. Those should be some great times.
So yeah, that's pretty much my first entry back here. I am really excited for what's to come following graduation. For a while this year I was pretty scared about what the future would hold, where I'd wind up, and who'd be there with me. But now here I am, happy and confident in what's to come. It took a while, but things are good again, and I'm going to enjoy them while they last (plus all the life lessons I've learned this year should aid in keeping those good times around). So that's it for now boys and girls, expect to hear from me again soon, and regularly at that.
PS-Just got the new Thursday today, A City by the Light Divided, and it's pretty good. I'd say a step or two above War All the Time, but still a little, just a little below Full Collapse. Mike, have at it.