if this can’t motivate a person to write the boring (negative data) chapters of a dissertation and read 15 million papers to defend it, then i don’t know what will.
Kauai!
I am still desperately trying to get this last manuscript together despite sending drafts back and forth with my advisor for 3 months, but I am trying to remember how lucky I am so this doesn’t all seem so grim.
I have an important thesis committee meeting on Monday, February 6th. In fact, it’s in less than 48 hours. At this meeting, I am going to ask for the informal permission to stop doing experiments and start writing my dissertation. The experiment that is in progress currently is hopefully my last experiment that will actually be part of my thesis. (I have another “last” experiment, but it is trying to make a mutant yeast strain that I am pretty sure is lethal (to the yeast). Although my advisor doesn’t believe me that this experiment is impossible, I am pretty confident that this mutant strain won’t be going in my thesis and thus it doesn’t count as my last experiment!)
I have had this meeting scheduled for a month and first, I focussed on gathering as much data as I could to tie up any loose ends. This allowed me to make the biggest conclusions possible. I have spent the last week and a half analyzing this new data and combining it with my existing data. Now that my analysis is completed (to the best of my abilities with the data I currently have), I am trying to make a story out of the analysis.
This weekend, I’m trying to make presentation that encompasses all the exciting things I have found in my research. The results have been a mixed bag of statistically significant and others that were not interesting. It’s not an easy task to synthesize these results into a revised model that explains something new about DNA repair. However, I have learned that expressing any doubt or insecurity about my data (or my interpretation of my data) turns my boss into a pitbull with a laser-like focus for my jugular. If I want to be successful with this group of people, I can’t show fear or anxiety (no matter how reasonable or natural those feelings are in this situation.) I have to stay on message and upbeat in order to convince them that this work is sufficient to publish and then for me to defend.
Last experiment or no, the real thing that is stressing me out is whether or not the next few months will be full of writing or a new direction in my project (which would mean lots more time in graduate school). It feels like a real turning point.
When I was in high school and college, my extraordinary little brother built himself a little house. He is 6 years younger than I am so that meant he was in middle school. And I’m not talking about a rickety death trap of a tree house like I built when I was that age. His little house was insulated. It had real windows and a door and a real roof. It was a true little house. It didn’t have running water or electricity but that wasn’t really necessary for its purpose a retreat from our very loud and overly nosy family of seven.
Ever since then, I have been intrigued by little houses. Yesterday I came upon this blog post of a little house that could be the next incarnation of Will’s creation. A slightly larger design, a working fireplace, higher end finishes and divided up into more rooms.
Can’t you just see yourself here with a good book and no distractions? In my dream tiny house, I wouldn’t have a fig fireplace bc that would mean I would have to both light a fire everyday and take out the ashes, which are two things I don’t like. That said, it makes for a nice picture. I also love the tiny kitchen:
This house doesn’t have a stove or an oven. All the cooking is done on that wood fire. Again, making a fire and taking out the ashes: less romantic in real life. Also, indoor pollution. Open fires in enclosed spaces do not make for healthy lungs no matter how beautiful they are. Not to be Debbie Downer or anything 
And there’s a hilarious study for one’s alchemy and globe examining:
A tiny house is just so intriguing. Do you think it would be difficult to live in a 12′ x 12′ space? It’s such a different type of house from our standard suburban house with multiple bedrooms and bathrooms. It’s funny though, as I try to stop buying new things and decrease the number of things I have, my current apartment seems bigger and bigger. Perhaps downsizing when I move will be less painful that I originally thought…
I was listening to NPR this weekend while in lab this weekend. My favorite fearmongering pharmacist and medical anthropologist came on and for once, I didn’t change the station. I’m glad I listened because I found this weekend’s show to be very informative. The Graedons were talking about chemical exposure and the environment with a specific emphasis on plastics. The risks from plastics include exposure to BPA and other endocrine disrupters, like phthalates. My 2011 resolution was to give up plastic water bottles and I have done so very successfully. I invested in new stainless steel bottles and have resisted buying water bottles. It has been easier than I thought.
This program was interesting because it made me reassess my exposure to these compounds from the plastics that I still use in many areas of my life. I can’t stop touching plastic at work since much of our sterile work requires plastic. However, I identified three areas where I could reduce exposure to chemical exposure:
My plan is to address my exposure due to my cosmetics by going through the database compiled by the environmental working group called “skin deep”. I’m a little worried about my sunscreen as I do wear it everyday and I know they need to use something to block the UV rays…
My plan on food storage will require less effort. I already use glass storage containers for my leftovers but I may bite the bullet and recycle my remaining plastic containers. Also, I need to look at the long term storage of my pantry staples. How dangerous is it to keep your cooking oils stored in plastic? Perhaps, I can buy new oils in glass containers as I use up what I have now.
Prepared food will be harder for me because I am a big frozen entree eater. Frozen meals are my lunchtime staples since they are cheaper than going down to the hospital cafeteria. That said, frozen meals often violate the “no plastic in the microwave rule”. Even the ones in cardboard containers have a plastic sheet on top. Stop buying frozen entrees and eat more sandwiches? We’ll see. 
My one small step for today was switching out my use of plastic forks and spoons for real silverware. Not only will it reduce waste and decrease the clutter on my, my fork, knife and spoon will be one fewer potential vector of chemicals into my body. It’s better than nothing! 
I feel guilty posting my Christmas list here. I update my blog so rarely that it must appear like all I do is want, want, want… My sweet family got me the things that I wanted from my birthday wish list and I never posted any indication of that. My first brother got me the iPhone charger for my car, which has been a total life saver. My phone is always at 20% battery by the time I head to the gym at night and all I want to do is watch Glee on that 3 inch screen. Now I can just charge it as I drive there. Problem solved! My parents got me the denim shirt, which goes with all my corduroy pants and helps me to wear denim every single day. My mom also made me an adorable quilted case for my kindle. I love it. I keep my kindle by my bed and before I go to bed at night, I see that case and it makes me smile.
I have been trying to come up with some things that I want for Christmas:
a pair of full length running tights for exercising in the winter. I’m a size medium and I prefer black bc it goes with all my shirts. I like the ones from Nike bc they have a drawstring in the waist so actually stay up. Plus, my old pair from ~2003 has just lost their stretch and are going in the trash. That’s a lot of use! 
a pair of boots to wear while I take Wallace out and walk through the rain to my car. All I wear are flats and keds but when it’s raining in the winter, I need other everyday shoes. These will keep my feet dry and warm and will hopefully be more comfortable than wearing big rainboots all the time.
These boots are made in the US and I think I would wear a size 7 (given that they run very big).
And because I can’t say no to J.Crew handbags: I love this “Brompton hobo”. I can’t decide between black or brown. My current brown crossbody bag is falling apart (which isn’t much of a surprise as I got it from the goodwill more than 10 years ago) and my black crossbody isn’t quite big enough for all the junk I like to carry around. 
I also love my Longchamp bag that I got about 5 years ago. I like the all black ones. Although I have seen one has little leather guards on the corners that would make it more resilient to constantly carrying pointy binders and portfolios that I hold my papers in.
Another thing I would definitely use is a gift certificate to Petco for $42 as that is how much it costs to get Wallace groomed and bathed. I can wash Wallace for free at home but he starts smelling bad again within the week. A gift certificate to Petco in any denomination would get turned into dog food or treats STAT. In fact, I still need to get Wallace a tag with my name and cell phone number on it. That way, if he ever got lost, people would call me instead of his previous owner.
and I’m still hoping for one of those wardian cases to keep my little venus fly trap in…
I got a new rug bc Wallace peed on the old one and even with all the Nature’s Miracle in the world, I can’t get rid of the smell completely. The smell at this point is actually the scent of the Nature’s Miracle, but I don’t like that either. The old rug is going to be left in a dumpster in NC when I move back to the west coast. It seemed like a good candidate to put in my hallway so there is place for Wallace to sit when he comes in and needs his paws wiped off. Without a rug, he just slides all over the wood floors. It’s hilarious! Here is a before shot of my entry way:
One thing that is challenging about my apartment is that the only window is in the front. That means the back (where I enter from the hallway) is completely dark at all times of the day. Plus, there is no overhead lighting! Lamps are imperative but somehow, no one thought about outlet placement when designing these lofts. The previous tenant had run an extension over the door to put a hideous christmas light wreath over the door. That was the only lighting in the hallway. It was not bright enough to see if your socks actually matched.
In the photo above, I have already taken down the wreath, but I had left up the extension cord so I could plug in a lamp on top of my shoe rack without tripping over the cord. Jeff had a great idea to just run the cord under a rug so I wouldn’t have to look at the cords anymore. Since I already had a rug I was willing to sacrifice to muddy paws and some liver-treat drool, I rearranged things a little bit: 
I think it looks a lot better! Also, thank you to my sweet brothers for that photo of the overgrown house you can see on the left hand wall. I love getting to look at it every day as I put on my jacket! One of my favorite birthday presents!
I have been obsessed with the Miss Minimalist blog for the past couple of months. I think I found it through some other links about reducing clutter; maybe the link was on Unclutterer. I have been a big fan of Unclutterer for a couple of years now. My favorite are the unitasker wednesday posts! You wouldn’t believe how many ridiculous items they find. I highly recommend reading about a hilarious series of kitchen gadgets to allow you to make s’mores at home…
I have a cross-country move in my future. This has always seemed a long ways away, but now that move looks like it is less than a year away. I can’t even imagine moving all my stuff down into a U-haul, let alone across the country. After reading a bunch of her blog posts, I decided maybe I could get behind this whole minimalism thing. Miss Minimalist wrote a book “The Joy of Less, A Minimalist Living Guide“, which I read e-cover to e-cover after downloading it to my kindle. Probably not surprising to anyone, the secret to reducing clutter is getting rid of all the stuff you don’t need. But the big breakthrough is redefining what you NEED.
This book (and the accompanying blog posts) made me look at my whole apartment with new eyes. Why did I have so many bins of out of season clothes when I also had a full closet and two full dressers? I can justify each piece of clothing individually, but when you look at the whole “collection”, it is overwhelming. And I’m sure I don’t even wear half of those clothes.
The bigger disappointment for me is that I have been compartmentalizing my consumption from its larger effects. Those effects range from the loneliness of giving into materialism to the damage to the environment. Even more timely (in light of the OWS protests) is the effect of materialism on our society, which leads to our viewing ourselves as consumers first instead of citizens. Today, I read an article in the NY Times about the encroachment of black Friday on Thanksgiving itself. Although much of the focus of the article was on how people didn’t want to lose their celebration of Thanksgiving to waiting in line in the cold for Black Friday sales, I really appreciated how the author included a small discussion of the effect that such a change would have on the employees of these stores.
“The concern among customers about retail workers recalls an earlier era, when consumer advocates encouraged people to consider the impact of their shopping on sales clerks, said Lawrence B. Glickman, the chairman of the history department at the University of South Carolina. In the late 19th century, as labor organizers pushed for eight-hour days and holidays off, consumer advocates told shoppers to “watch out for their complicity in the exploitation of workers through shopping” he said.”
Is this sentiment not relevant even outside the context of black Friday? This weekend I plan to attend a local craft fair to start my holiday shopping. This year I am going to try to purchase my gifts from small businesses instead of supporting companies that don’t meet my standards. 
Since I use this blog to communicate with my family, here is my birthday list for 2011.
1. A car charger for my iphone. $24.95
This seems quite practical because I often forget to charge my phone.
2. I have been trying to buy less clothing, but I love this denim shirt from Madewell. $88 I would wear a size small in desert willow.
I have been longingly eyeing this shirt for a couple of months, but in Durham, there is no need for a long sleeved shirt until Fall. And now it's fall!
I promise I won’t wear some dumb hat if I get that shirt.
3. A cover for my kindle so I can pop it in my bag and not worry about it getting trashed. I like this navy blue and red one, but honestly I don’t have a strong preference here. This item is about utility. The reviews though seem to indicate that the ones with the metal hooks that latch into the side have a tendency to fry the circuitry though so I am thinking this one with the elastic may be better.
I like how this one looks just like a regular notebook.
I would also use an Amazon gift card since I’ve been buying a lot of books online for my kindle. This whole “instant delivery” to your e-reader is really dangerous!
4. I am a crazy person who wears out a eye mask. Thus I need a new one. This eye mask ($10) has gotten hundreds of good reviews as to the quality of the velcro and ability to block light. If anyone has a source for the one Holly Golightly wears in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” with the eyes embroidered on it though that would be pretty funny.
i think that sleep mask would completely freak Wallace out.
5. An air plant. I don’t know where to find them but perhaps you do.
It doesn't need to be watered! I probably won't kill it!
6. A Wardian case ($130) for my venus fly trap that lives at work. This one is currently out of stock but maybe they will be available for Christmas?
That's a fine looking Wardian case. I would put something cooler than Ivy in it though.
7. A phone call. You know I love to talk on the phone
(I think this is enough ideas.)
Everyone loves Maru the cat. One of my labmates named her own cat Maru as well so we hear a lot about Marus. I could watch the Japanese Maru videos over and over again.
This one is pretty amazingly cute:
The girls in my lab have convinced the new grad student that she should get a cat too. They all went to the shelter together to look at kittens. The new grad student liked playing with the kittens but didn’t get one. I asked her why not and she replied that she had been disappointed by the selection. The ones that were there were very cute but none of them looked like Maru from the videos. Also she wanted a cat that could fit in a tea cup. Forever. She didn’t think she saw any cats of that breed. To all this ridiculousness, I had to break the bad news. There are no cats that will fit in a tea cup forever. She answered that perhaps it had just been a picture she saw once and not actually real.
That anecdote really happened.
seriously. That’s not a typo. I’ve got TWO co-workers who think that a raw onion makes a nice side vegetable to eat for lunch. In lab. (Right next to everyone else, as we all eat at our desks. And keep in mind, since this is a lab, the windows don’t open.) I have more than TWO reasons to cry.
Since my last post, I have had a miserable summer cold that led to the most ridiculous cough. This week, I’m feeling better and I’m not coughing so much. I should be grateful, but I just feel like I need to catch up on all the work that I put off while I lay on the couch moaning and exhausted.
and Update from the last post: the beautiful Liberty print swimsuit was way too big and they didn’t have any smaller sizes in stock. I had to return it and now I am gun-shy about more diaper style bikini bottoms. I bought these J.Crew swim suits on sale online and we will see if I have better luck.
This one has little birds on it. This is the one I really hope fits!
This one is paisley and had the bottoms in a smaller size. This one seems more likely to fit. Anything will be better than my 5 year old current bikini.
I will let you know if one of these is ever going to make it out on the lake. I will also let you know about the bizarre behavior of my labmates. Since I’m sure you’re waiting with bated breath.
