ps.

i also bought a pineapple at whole foods yesterday for only $2.99!!

blah blah blah

so i set up my site directed mutagenesis reactions. that was exciting. now they are pcring in the hot lab and i am sitting here killing time. ah.... perhaps by friday i will have plasmids with two snabi restriction sites in them. that would be wonderful. in the meantime, i'm also hoping that some transformants will grow on my plates from yesterday. that would also be wonderful. and if not, or really even if there are transformants, i get to trouble-shoot and optimize my pcr mutageniesis reactions until i get a good amount of transformants. then maybe some of them will contain dominant-negative mutations in the ytm1 protein that can kill my cells!! however, i doubt i'll reach that point by the end of the summer. i've been here for almost five weeks already and haven't accomplished much of anything. unless you count the fact that i've figured out that the plasmid i get to work with is a big suck. makes it more difficult and also more interesting i suppose.

if i can manage to kill another half hour or so then i can leave and it will be all good.

i get to tutor today. writing. i don't know who thought it would be a good idea for me to tutor writing. not that i'm a bad writer or anything, i just don't remember any of the reasons behind any grammar rules at all. so when i try to explain why you would want to put a comma or something somewhere, i can never come up with a justification for it. i'm always like, "use this word because it flows better" or something equally stupid. ugh.

the other interesting thing i did today when i was bored was to read through my past blog entries. yeah i was that bored. it was kinda neat though. i started this blog at the end of last summer when i was bored out of my mind working at scherring-plough (the pharmaceutical company that makes claritin). it was interesting to compare my posts from the summer months to my posts from the school year. during the summer i'm mostly happy but bored. this summer definitely less bored than the last. and during the school year i'm either drunk after a party or really depressed and stresser out. not cool. i should try to avoid that happening. it's just not fun.

i really think next year will be better. i have some really fun and easy classes to look forward to. and also physical biochemistry but i don't want to think about that. i'm still going to be pretty heavily involved in sns but at least i will be less politically involved. and i haven't decided if i'm going to propose to direct anything this year. i'm leaning towards no right now, but i haven't made up my mind. it could be a lot of fun, but i would also be incredibly stressed out and disappointed all over again. i don't know if i want to do that again. plus, i'd really like a chance to be on stage again. even in something small like sotr or something. i miss acting and singing and dancing an awful lot. eh, we'll see what happens i suppose.

tomorrow will be a semi busy day of work, but not really. i have a bunch of different things to do, including a digest and a pcr. and i also have to finish up my site directed mutagenesis stuff, which involves a restriction digest and a bacterial transformation using electroporation (that's electricity to poke little holes in the cells so the dna can go in, non-biodorks). but most of that stuff involves a lot of set up and a lot of incubation. so i will have a good amount of random free time.

tonight i some movie and tomorrow night is some other movie and then friday is a cake concert for free. at least my evenings are anything but boring!

and i will remember to bring my sneakers to tutoring with me so i can go running in the uc afterwards! hooray!

blueberry cornbread from whole foods is sooooo good! and i also got a big tub of crab artichoke dip. i just have to make some bread and all will be wonderful. and i'll get fatter. like the pudgy fluffy!! woohoo!

i spend too much money on...

whole foods
alcohol
baking things

i need free food.

woohoo i'm excited for the party this weekend!! and for fireworks!! and fourth of july fun!! and whirly ball and cake.

hooray!

fluffies!!

things to do this summer

i made this list of things to do while i'm in pittsburgh this summer. fun and exciting things! and now it's the last day of june, and i haven't done too many of the things on the list. sad. better get moving!

here is my list:

beach trip
dance party
swing dancing with t
ed norton movie marathon
bbbq
photographic expedition in schenley
pittsburgh view- mt washington
sunrise from the rooftops
wine tasting
yinzer party
kennywood
meatfuck
painting the fence
camping in ohiopyle
hp3
rent random movies
road trip to somewhere
lots of mix cds
4th of july fireworks from some place good
ren fair
strip district
90s party
70s party
sandcastle
museums
DRIVE IN

i've done some of the things. like swing dancing and hp3 and watching lots of movies. but sadly, (or happily, i'm not sure) there still remain lots of things to do. july and august are gonna be busy!! it'll be great!

ps. i'm bored at work today. entertain me please!
pps. i'm bringing pizza with shrimp tomato sauce and sweet potato pie to the potluck movie night tonight. hooray. you better be there!
ppps. fluffies are awesome!!

crappy ass day

ugh. or at least it started out that way. gotten a bit better so now i'm having just a boring old stupid day.

at any rate, i came into work this morning to find that my transformation didn't work. no colonies growing on my experimental plates. so sad. i get to redo all that today and tomorrow. another digestion, pcr, transformation, and growing cells. as well as making more plates and media and things. it's not like i really expected this thing to work, but it would have been nice i think. oh poop.

this morning i was the world's biggest klutz and spilled lots of water all over my feet and all over the floor. at least it was water and not something scary.

still it was a grumpy morning. and the weather reflected that too which didn't help.

this weekend was good but weird. good because it was very very relaxing and i got to hang out with people at the movies and dinner and i did lots and lots of laundry. but weird in that i kept randomly thinking about this past semester and how much it sucked. which is just what i need right now: to be reminded of all my failures and disastors. big suck. it just makes me feel like a worthless failure.

going to an interesting seminar on proteomics and cd-tagging made me feel better because it was kinda cool. not something i would really want to spend a lot of time doing because it's mostly automated and involves sitting in front of a computer while a program takes pictures of cells, but the end result and the theories behind the technique were cool. actually, didi's friend, scott-not-dai works on cd-tagging proteins in mouse fibroblast cells. and he spends a lot of time in a little closet of a room with the lights off in front of a computer while a programs works with a microscope to take pictures of glowing cells. ah well.

i'm trying to stay positive; it's just not always easy.

i am the luckiest

i just bought my ticket to the ben folds/guster/rufun wainwright concert that is thursday july 15!! so exciting. hooray!! i've been listening to a live recording of ben folds at some concert or something somewhere, and it's awesome and just makes me more excited about this concert. it should be gobs of fun. you should all buy tickets too. it's totally worth it.

i actually managed to keep busy at work today. so much so that i'll probably be staying a little late to take my gel photo. crazy.

hmmm, let's see. my evening tonight should be interesting. it will either consist of me hanging out with people at someone's house, going to hemmingways to investigate the possiblity of cheap long island ice teas, or doing laundry and hanging out with the fluffies.

i am actually going to go running today.
for real.
outside and everything.
five miles.
i swear.
yeah.

so that's that i suppose.

new plan for the plasmid

so there's only one restriction enzyme that cuts in the plasmid in the insert and not the vector and i need two enzymes that do that. so sad. therefore, i get to make my own restriction site in the insert so that another enzyme can cut there and the insert can be gapped. so much work for such a little thing.

anyway, i get to use site-directed mutagenesis to create point mutations that change the dna sequence to have the specific site needed for the enzyme to cut. this is what site-directed mutagenesis using pcr looks like:



isn't that fun. again i just get to do all the set up and then the pcr does all the work for me. then i take the hopefully mutagenized plasmid, get rid of all the unmutagenized plasmid by chewing it up with an exonuclease, and then transform the mutagenized plasmid into bacterial cells so they can grow and amplify the amount of plasmid. then i get to mini-prep, digest, and run a gel to make sure it all worked out alright. whew. i may actually be busy in a few days and that is exciting!

tonight is bruce almighty on flagstaff. the movie really doesn't matter as much as the company, but it's supposed to be a funny movie anyway. i am bringing lots of cookies with me and that is also good.

i'm also excited to hang out with people this weekend. yay! it'll be weird though with alex gone and gerrit away. fewer people around, a smaller group. eh, it'll still be fun!

i have to run to campus now and pick up my package and get toliet paper from housing. how exciting!

stop whispering

START SHOUTING!

summer is for contentment

and irresponsibility.

two things i readily embrace.

anyway, i'm really having a great summer so far. that hasn't happened in a little while. the past couple of summers have been kind of suck because i didn't want to be where i was. especially last summer, working at scherring plough on a project that i hated and living with people i didn't know (mostly my own fault). there were some wonderful weekends spent with friends both from home and from school, but for the most part it really sucked.

this summer on the other hand, i'm working in a really comfortable and happy environment on a project that i think is really interesting and fun (although i wish my digests would work out sometime soon) and i'm surrounded by wonderful people. and i still have a good amount of time to myself. sure there are a few things that i would like to improve upon. mostly, the awkwardness that is my friendship with joe, but overall things are very good.

i just slept for about 11 hours (and it was wonderful!!) and now i'm thinking about walking up to squirrel hill to go hang out in barnes and noble for a bit. i haven't done that in a long time because i haven't had the time. i'm excited about swing dancing again tonight. and i'm going to wear my newish jean skirt that should fluff out when i spin, even though i've worn it about 7 times and haven't washed it yet. the crazy movie to follow the swing dancing i am less excited about but it's supposed to be good and the company will be good so it's all good.

my pudgy fluffy says hello: jmnjhgftdgfhjkj. he can't type so well because he doesn't have individual fingers. he is a happy fluffy though.

and i am a happy catherine.

now off to squirrel hill-- after i get dressed. and then maybe i'll go running or something. and plan fun parties for 4th of july/gerrit and courtk's bdays and perhaps bastille day. hooray for the party girl cookbook!!

smile!

something has changed within me

something is not the same
i'm sick of playing by the rules of someone else's game

enough of that.

today's pcr gel actually worked and i'm so glad!! at least half of my experiment likes me. the restriction digest part may or may not like me. i'll let you all know later this afternoon when i run that digested dna on another gel. here's the pcr gel at any rate:



those are happy happy amplified dna bands! and even amplified from the plasmid that i minipreped, not just my grad student mentor's plasmid. so yay!


oh man, tom stoppard's "travesties" on wednesday night was amazing! so hilarious. and the best part was the fact that we all understood all the earnest references and would crack up and laugh hysterically and much louder than the rest of the audience. ha ha ha! so wonderful. so many shows! tonight i am seeing "mary stuart" with gerrit and his mom, so that should be interesting and a good show. yay lots of culture and shows! here's what i know about mary stuart: she was queen of scotland. queen elizabeth of england wanted to be queen of scotland too and was pissed at her. mary fell in love with some guy when she was supposed to marry some other guy and there was lots of drama and scandal, partially brought about my the sneaking elizabeth. then elizabeth puts mary in jail where she dies. how sad. my hs did "mary queen of scots" in june after my freshman year of college. it wasn't a very good show, but my friend jess was mary and was amazing! oooooo i love theater!

last night's party was slightly lame because there weren't a lot of people and because i didn't know too many people there. but it was still fun. i went with gerrit, miklos, zach, and theresa. gerrit played beer pong with dj and some other people and they lost and he got tipsy and it was hilarious!! and kinda cute. anyway, we drank beer, but not a lot and then got hungry. back to my place to make snacks (ie. brownies) and eat crackers and cheese. while making brownies i managed to step on a piece of glass in the kitchen and bled all over the floor. a teeny tiny piece of glass and i bleed all over the place. wtf?!?! whatever. i can still walk and it doesn't hurt because it's a teeny cut so whatever. but it was fun hanging out with people as always. and miklos kindly taped the joe schmo 2 show for me and i'm going to watch it tomorrow and i'm so excited!!!

what else? tomorrow is more swing dancing, which will be awesome, and then some crazy 7 samuri movie. and then some crazy board meeting on sunday at noon, which will suck to wake up for, but i have to go so i can get the board to give me money for scrapbook stuff. oh well. it'll be interesting to see how the new board functions i suppose.

i have run out of interesting things to post. too bad.

fluffies!!!!

happy ending

to my work day at least. my pcr worked the second time, although not with my plasmid. it's probably a problem with the mini prep method. i get to use the kit tomorrow, woohoo! and the digest came out good too. i found a restriction enzyme that cuts twice in the gene insert and never in the vector so i can easliy cut most of the insert out of the vector. hooray! i'd post some gels or something but i don't have them saved on this computer. sad. ah well. now i get to tutor writing (ha ha) and then go see a show!

survey says!

[my name is]: Catherine
[in the morning i am]: wishing i was sleeping while doing lab stuff
[all i need are/is]: fluffies!
[love is]: good
[i'm afraid of]: burning
[I dream of]: being on stage

-W H O-
[makes you laugh the most?]: didi, gerrit, joe/connor, phil
[makes you smile]: the above and beth, tyson, miklos, ash, zach, t
[do you have a crush on?]: ha ha
[has a crush on you?]: ha ha again
[easiest to talk to]: joe when he's not being a big poophead, gerrit, miklos

-W H O .W A S .T H E .L A S T .P E R S O N-
[you talked to on the phone]: joe
[hugged]: gerrit
[you instant messaged]: maybe joe, or possibly jeff sharps
[you laughed with]: some combination of zach, gerrit, and miklos

-D O .Y O U / / A R E .Y O U-
[could you live without the computer?]: perhaps
[what's your favorite food?]: turkey and mashed potatoes!
[whats your favorite fruit?]: mango
[what hurts the most? physical pain or emotional pain?]: emotional
[trust others way too easily?]: not really

-N U M B E R-
[of continents i have lived in?]: 2 (i lived in australia for 4 months when i was 2 years old)
[of drugs taken illegally?]: 2
[of tight friends?]: we'll say 7, 6 of whom are boys
[of cd's that i own?]: a bazillion
[scars on my body?] : i've lost count
[of things in my past that i regret?]: none

-O.T.H.E.R.T.H.I.N.G.S.-
[i know]: nothing!
[i want]: romance and adventure and success
[i have]: lots of fluffies
[i wish]: my pcr would work today, and that things would work out in general
[i hate]: stupid people
[i miss]: ltp
[i fear]: being an absolute failure

[i search]: for myself
[i love]: fluffies! and good friends
[i ache]: because my back hates me
[i care]: about my friends
[i always]: try to finish what i start
[i dance]: tap! and when i sing in my car or my apartment by myself
[i cry]: in the shower
[i do not always]: sleep
[i write]: not as often as i should
[i win]: always
[i confuse]: everyone
[i listen]: closly and to music
[i can usually be found]: someplace comfy
[have you ever played a game that required removal of clothing]: i think so
[favorite place to be kissed?]: lips, neck
[have you ever been caught "doing something"]: uh, yeah

-ARE.YOU.A..
[wuss]: at times
[druggie]: nope
[gang member]: nope
[daydreamer]: of course
[alcoholic]: only when i hang out with miklos and phil
[freak]: ha ha of course not
[sarcastic]: when it's appropriate
[angel]: indeed
[friend]: always

[shy]: yes
[talkative]: not so much
[adventurous]: yes when there's someone to adventure with
[joker]: not really
[pimp/playa]: nope
[sporty]: i run, does that count?
[intelligent]: i try

-Concerning.The.Friends.(You.Claim.To.Have)-
[impacted you the most spiritually]: no one
[wish you saw more often]: miklos
[wish you could meet]: ed norton
[best eyes]: maybe tyson?
[most sarcastic]: alexo
[wish you knew better]: beth, ash, alexo, zach, theresa, tyson
[knows you best]: joe or miklos
[best outlook on life]: not sure
[most paranoid]: joe
[sweetest]: theresa, didi
[most inside jokes with]: connor and joe

-Self-Analysis.You.Probably.Don’t.Want.To.Do-
[your biggest flaw (physical)]: my back
[your best feature (physical)]: aparently my ass
[your best feature (personality)]: nice and cute
[your biggest flaw (personality)]: withdrawing myself
[most annoying thing you do]: see above
[biggest mistake you've made thus far]: not speaking my mind
[describe your personality in one word]: complicated
[the physical feature for which you are most often complimented]: ass

[person you regret sleeping with]: no one, well not really

[you feel most attractive when]: my hair behaves
[profession]: student/bio dork
[height]: 5'6"
[distinguishing marks]: giant freckle on my ass, and lots of freckles on my face
[allergies]: none
[lucky number]: 3
[a smell that makes you smile]: things baking, like cookies, bread, turkey
[a taste that makes you melt]: chocolate things
[a hobby that occupies your time]: cross stitch
[a city you'd like to visit]: athens
[a country you'd like to explore]: the entire continent of europe
[a drink you order most often]: long island ice tea (or water)
[Mood after finishing this long survey]: my back hurts and i want my pcr to work. otherwise good.


and that's that.

on a completely different note, here are a few bands that i've recently discovered because people told me to listen to their music:
the decemberists
hot hot heat
something corporate
no use for a name
andrew vincent and the pirates
hope of the states
guster

give me other bands to listen to! i like it when people recomend music to me, especially if it's good music! hooray!

and today is a tom stoppard play, and tomorrow is a crazy bio party (people should come with me) and friday is mary stuart and then it's the weekend and i have no plans as of yet!

i'm going to post a billion times today!

this is what happens when all i have to do at work is run my pcr products on a gel (which i will probably post later, due to lack of something else to do) and wait for my restriction enzyme to come to me in the mail!

anyway, i rarely post lyrics in this thing but i'm going to today. and even though they are from the last five years, i swear i have no idea who is leaving joe creepy messages. but if you know, please tell me because it's starting to creep me out now too. plus it's a bit annoying to be accused of being a crazy stalker person every time i talk on the phone. arg. without further ado, here are some song lyrics:


CATHY, driving with Jamie to meet her parents.

CATHY:

My best friend had a little situation at the end of our senior year,
And like a shot, she and Mitchell got married that summer.
Carolann getting bigger ev'ry minute, thinking
"What am I doing here?"
While Mitchell's out ev'ry night, being a heavy-metal drummer.
They got a little cute house on a little cute street with a crucifix on the door,
Mitchell got a job at a record store in the mall.
Just the typical facts of a typical life in a town on the Eastern Shore--
I thought about what I wanted,
It was like that at all.
Made Carolann a cute baby sweater,
Thinking "I can do better than that."

In a year or so, I moved to the city, thinking "What have I got to lose?"
Got a room, got a cat, and got twenty pounds thinner.
Met a guy in a class I was taking who you might say looked like Tom Cruise--
He wouldn't leave me alone 'less I went with him to dinner.
And I guess he was cute, and I guess he was sweet, and I guess he was good in bed--
I gave up my life for the better part of a year.
And so I'm starting to think that this maybe might work, and the second it entered my head,
He needed to take some time off,
Focus on his "career"--
He blew me off with a heartfelt letter--
I thought,
"I can do better than that."

You don't have to get a haircut,
You don't have to change your shoes,
You don't have to like Duran Duran,
Just love me.

You don't have to put the seat down,
You don't have to watch the news,
You don't have to learn to tango,
You don't have to eat prosciutto,
You don't have to change a thing,
Just stay with me.

I want you and you and nothing but you,
Miles and piles of you--
Finally I'll have something worthwhile
To think of each morning--

You and you and nothing but you,
No substitution will do,
Nothing but fresh, undiluted and pure,
Top of the line,
And totally mine!

I don't need any lifetime commitments, I don't need to get hitched tonight.
I don't want you throw up all your walls and defenses.
I don't mean to put on any pressure, but I know when a thing is right,
And I spend every day reconfiguring my senses.
When we get to my house, take a look at that town, take a look at how far I've gone--

I will never go back, never look back anymore.
And it feels like my life led right to your side and will keep me there from now on.
Think about what you wanted,
Think about what could be,
Think about how I love you--
Say you'll move in with me.
Think of what's great about me and you,
Think of the bullshit we've both been through,
Think of what's past, because we can do
Better!
We can do better!
We can do better than that!
We can do better than that!

i put this song in because of the feeling of hope and promise that's in the end. i may sometimes complain about being bored at work, but i really am quite happy right now. things are getting better this summer, and i think that next year will be even better than the last. on a personal level, "i can do better than that!"

oh cheesy!!

hmmm how about that?

the table formatting just wasn't working for me so here you go:

How to make a moovav

Ingredients:
5 parts pride
5 parts silliness
5 parts beauty

Method:
Combine in a tall glass half filled with crushed ice. Add a little lustfulness if desired!


how fun!

tonight is crazy wing night, which will be awesome but sad because all the wings i can eat is only like 10 or so. ah well!

and then watching the princess bride-- best movie ever. although the book is better!

today's gel

a pretty good gel i guess. except it tells me that the one restriction enzyme i wanted to use cuts in a place i don't want it to cut so that is sad. :(





oh well. i guess i get to try another enzyme tomorrow!

and now to tutoring and running and then doing nothing. the nothing is the best part.

quote of the night

scoot to darren at bg's apartment warming last night:

"you may not eat the yellow kix, but i enjoy cocoa puffs all day long!"



ha ha ha.

today i made bread and soon i will be going swing dancing! yay!

and i went runnning in the uc this afternoon and ran 3 miles in about 20 minutes. so awesome.

i'm a bio dork

but we all knew that already.


You are glucose. People feed off of you. You are
sweet, caring, and a source of energy for
everyone around you. You can inspire others
with your creativity and depth, and you can
keep people alive when in times of famine.
People love you...or at least the way you
taste.


Which Biological Molecule Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla


my gel yesterday came out weird. i'm trying something else today. maybe if that gel is interesting i'll post it later.

squonk was so cool last night!!!! i want the soundtrack. and christina acosta is amazing!!! and la fiesta half price starts at 10 which is convenient. and ben folds is still awesome and always will be. and i got to sleep last night. and it's friday!!!!!! hooray!

silly crappy gel

this is what i spent my day working on: mini prep, digestion, and then this horrible gel. at least i think it means that the part of the experiment my mentor did was messed up and not the part that i did. although those terrible smears should not be there....






for those who are wondering, the first and last lanes contain size ladders that tell you what size dna is each band and the second through the eigth are the experimental. the ninth is the control. the experimental ones should have one band that's the same size as the control and another smaller band further down the gel. it might be there but the crazy smears of bacterial rna are kinda in the way and it's hard to tell. hmmmmm....

i think this is appropriate

You're The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe!

by C.S. Lewis

You were just looking for some decent clothes when everything changed
quite dramatically. For the better or for the worse, it is still hard to tell. Now it
seems like winter will never end and you feel cursed. Soon there will be an epic
struggle between two forces in your life and you are very concerned about a betrayal
that could turn the balance. If this makes it sound like you're re-enacting Christian
theological events, that may or may not be coincidence. When in doubt, put your trust
in zoo animals.


Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

by the way it's not nice to be mean to people in your blog.

i like weekends

and this past one was a rather good one overall. let's see what i did:

friday:
i ran forever, like 7-8 miles i don't even know. i went and explored this pedestrian fun path out in schenly and found out that it leads to nowhere-- or at least no where that i recognized-- and so i had to turn around and go back the way i came. but it was good.

then there was zach's bday party which was crazy as most parties are. the mango malibu that i got was amazing and so was the chocolate chip cookie dough stuff that i got for zach. there was lots of swing dancing (sort of) in the kitchen and lots of boys kissing in spin the bottle. even though there were a million more guys playing than girls, i still ended up kissing mostly girls. craziness.

party followed up by watching osmosis jones, the first of the ton and a half of movies in this weekend.

saturday: harry potter day!!
it was a hp marathon with the first two movies in breed hall and trying to get to all the special features and the deleted scenes. poor theresa trying to figure it all out. then we all saw hp3 at the waterfront. i really think this one was better than the previous two, which really weren't that great. maybe it's because i didn't really have high expectations or because this is one of my favorite books in the series, but i really liked the movie.

then there was dinner i made for everyone back at webster. it's amazing how many people can eat when you go to the geagle and spend under $15. woohoo salad and spagetti and even good bread. yum yum.

and yet another movie, the count of monte cristo, although it was really late and difficult to pay attention to. ah well.

sunday:
stayed in bed forever because it was nice and i'm lazy. then gerrit and i made chocolate chip waffles, which were delicious, and watched the end of dogma and the beginning of some other crazy movie on tv (yes that's movies #6 and 7 i believe). it was good and i stayed in pajamas until like 5.

nothing is open in shadyside on sunday after 6pm except riteaid, which was ok because i only had to go to riteaid and the walk was nice.

i watched the tonys by myself, which was also nice, and idina menzel won for best actress in a musical which she definitely deserved. other stuff won for other awards too.


so, yeah it was a good weekend. i have lots of thoughts on lots of other things, but most of them are personal (and both good and bad) so i'm not posting anything. if you ask me i might tell you, but only if i feel like it. life is mostly good.

and again, work is semi-boring. ah well, such is life.

perhaps perhaps perhaps

alexo is so right in saying the the dorris day version of "perhaps perhaps perhaps" that cake covers is awesome. i think i like it better than the cake song, but that's just me.

i have run out of real things to do at work. except i should work on my project proposal that i have to present for 10 minutes next tuesday. not that much work to do on that left though. so it's all good.

it's really nice to be back in pittsburgh to hang out with people. yay we are throwing zach a bday party tonight and it will be awesome!!

and tomorrow is harry potter day and i'm very very excited! woohoo!

i still think everyone should make a mix cd and then burn me a copy. i'd have a whole collection and it would be great. yay!

happy friday!

here's some song:

"If you can't make your mind up
We'll never get started
And I don't wanna' wind up
Being parted, broken hearted

So if you really love me
Say yes
But if you don't, dear,
Confess
And please don't tell me
Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps"

my new research project

really cool stuff. but since i don't feel like typing it all out....

GerritVB: you going to make plasmids that eat people?
moovav: no
moovav: i get to make plasmids with a mutated gene in them
moovav: and the different mutations can be used to figure out how the protein works
moovav: so it's actually pretty cool
moovav: in my opinion
moovav: when you find a site-specific mutation that makes the protein no longer work correctly, you can figure that that amino acid is involved in whatever process
moovav: like binding or whatever
moovav: so you learn about how things work
moovav: which is neat
GerritVB: oohh yea
GerritVB: just like learning how electronics work
GerritVB: break them to fid out what each part does
GerritVB: then try to fix them again
moovav: yeah pretty much

i think it's fun!

back in pittsburgh

still not doing anything exciting but it's nice. and there are people here, which is very very very good. i think it promises to be a good summer. we shall see.

i wanted to post more yesterday about thoughts from the weekend, but i'm lazy right now. and i may as well leave myself something to do at work tomorrow when i run out of real things to do.

summertime is good.

we'll see what happens.