Yale Interview

I GOT AN INTERVIEW TO YALE!!!!!!

YEEYY!!!

I get home from Justin & Marie's and after trying to extinguish a fire (more details later), I open my email: and see an email with subject: Yale Interview...

Yeeyyyy!!! Yeyy!! Yeyyyyy!!!!!

Um, did I mention yey!!!

Ok, maybe I'll post more coherently tomorrow.

G

PS: YEYYYY!!

43% = Not good enough

Hi!

So, I was happy today, I really was... not that I'm miserable now, but maybe a little bit... Because I decided to fork over $10, not wait the extra day or 2 or 10... and get my GRE subject score... and, what did I get? A 500, 43%, meaning that I suck... just like I thought I would... I hoped I was wrong, but no.... Perspective: Duke recommends getting in the 70th percentile... Yeah, last time I checked 43% was far away from 50 and farther away from 70...
Otherwise, my applications don't look that bad... and then they'll see this and go, oh wait, she doesn't know any biochemistry, cell or molecular biology. I do, though. I just didn't have time to review...
And now, now when it's too late, what do I find... Two websites that would have helped a lot:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0886851882/102-0653164-8162524?v=glance&n=283155


http://www.neyhaber.com/

So. If you happen to run across my blog and are taking this GRE subject test, go to these sites, buy the books... study for 3 days or so... I think if I had reviewed the information I would have done much better.

So, now I feel like crap... bc I did just as bad as I told everyone I thought I did.. and for once I was right... i wouldn't mind being wrong on this one..

oh well...

In other news. I got an A in immunology (yey!!) and an A- in two of my GEs, which is fine, and a late report on my acting class... which means she forgot to turn in grades.

Oh, by the way, I did a little better on my GRE general test: 530/800 (67%) on verbal, 730/800 (76%) on quantitative, 5.5/6 (86%) on the writing section...
And I've turned in 5 applications... 3 more to go...

I'm happy with my immunology grade though...

But, i get to sulk today about my general test.

Oh, and aside from stressing about applications and stuff, I've been cooking. Yup, my break tradition has started up again... I made brownies, from scratch, last week, and made some for Dr. Alex (she wrote one of my letters of rec). Scones from scratch last sunday... and yesterday I made corn muffins (cornbread in a sweeter muffi-er format)...

I also bought new jeans.. yey!! and a new black jacket, a nice shirt, and beautiful shoes!!! plus the shoes (dress shoes) are very comfy and very very awesome...

and and and... I'm still sad...

Eric got an interview for cornell today... well, the interview is in february, but hopefully you know what I mean... I'm soooooooo excited for him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyway, I must work on personal statements and sulk a bit...

Byes

merry xmas, happy hannukah, happy new year!!!

G

Yey Argentina!

Good News for Argentina!

Yeyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!
Hopefully things stay well :)

G

Argentine Merval Rises on Tax Revenue: World's Biggest Mover

Dec. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Argentine stocks rose, the biggest fluctuation among equity markets included in global benchmarks, as a report that the government beat tax collection targets spurred a rebound after the economy minister's ouster earlier this week.
The Merval index rose 38.63, or 2.5 percent, to 1558.49, as of 11:01 a.m. New York time, the biggest gain in a month. The index has still fallen 4.4 percent this week, the second-biggest drop of 80 primary stock indexes tracked by Bloomberg. Tenaris SA, the world's biggest maker of seamless steel pipes for the oil industry, led today's gain.
The tax collection report revived optimism that the economy will stay strong, said Anibal Pires, analyst at Zaiatz & Compania Sociedad de Bolsa in Buenos Aires. Argentina's tax agency last night said it collected 108 billion pesos ($36.3 billion) in the first 11 months of the year, exceeding the annual target of 107 billion pesos. The index fell earlier in the week after President Nestor Kirchner ousted Roberto Lavagna as economy minister.
``The good tax revenue numbers relieved the markets, which are very sensitive this week because of the change,'' Pires said in a telephone interview. ``The index will remain volatile until the new minister explains her policies and priorities.''
Kirchner named Felisa Miceli, the president of state-owned Banco de la Nacion, after a dispute with Lavagna over how to stem inflation.
Price Agreements
Miceli yesterday said Argentina and dairy producers agreed to hold prices at Nov. 1 levels for the next two months in a bid to stem inflation. The government also agreed with supermarkets including France's Carrefour SA, Coto CISA SA and Hipermercados Jumbo SA, to cut prices 15 percent on food, clothing and toiletry prices as part of a government plan to slow rising prices.
``This measure also helped relieve concern about inflation in the next months and will ensure higher sales and a growing economy,'' Pires said.
Tenaris SA (TS AR) rose 1.6 pesos, or 4.7 percent, to 35.55 pesos. Crude oil may rise as stockpiles dwindle and cold weather in the U.S. Northeast increases demand for heating fuel, a Bloomberg survey showed. Twenty-three of 54 analysts surveyed, or 43 percent, said prices will increase next week. Fourteen, or 26 percent, said oil will fall and 17, or 31 percent, expect little change.
Grupo Financiero Galicia SA (GGAL AR), the country's biggest banking group, rose 4 centavos, or 1.9 percent, to 2.16 pesos.
Siderar SAIC, Argentina's biggest steelmaker for the automobile and construction industries, rose 95 centavos, or 4 percent, to 24.60 pesos, the highest price this week.
To contact the reporters on this story:
Eliana Raszewski at eraszewski@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: December 2, 2005 11:47 EST

I'm so in love...

Today, I'm so in love... with the love of my life, of course, but with life itself as well...

I dunno, I guess I was looking at some pics of an old classmate of mine from HS and I just got all melancholic... She had great pictures of snow and a river, and smiling beautiful faces. Her sister's married... and I thought, how beautiful argentina is, and how I never got to experience all its beauty...

But then I remembered that I got to go to Europe this summer, and have great pics in my collection now because of it, and better than that, I have wonderful memories of a different wonderful world that's out there... and that I too have river pictures :) And that I too will visit snow and oceans and other wonders as my life continues, and I'm sure I'll be surprised by where it will take me... Finally, I too will be married soon. Such an exciting thing, this... So I can't help but smile from the inside, from heart, where it counts... and today, studying with Jade, I realized that I was in a much lighter mood. And although this is dissipating as I realize all I have to get done in two weeks, I can't help to smile.... and think of what a great weekend this has been. How many things I'm thankful for... how wonderful it is to have family and friends who care... having so many people wanting to help me out for the wedding... how great it is to laugh and eat pies... and, I dunno.. yeyy

Even though things are weird at home... I dunno, I've decided to ignore them, though I know it'll just end up worse...
in any case. Yey, happy thanksgiving!!!
GRE's are done!!!
applications are getting there!
and the quarter is almost over!!!
YEEEYYY!!!!!

Ah... :)

I'll write more in December...

Until then! Smile!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Griselda

I'm published

Yeyyyyyyyyyyyy!!

Finally, after doing the nerdy search in Pubmed for myself, I found the "short communication" in the European Journal of Neuroscience where I'm now published. Third out of 5 authors.... and no, I don't want to study Neuroscience....

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEYYYY!!!
(note, I didn't put my name bc I don't want anyone to google me and randomly find my blog...)

Rosales, Carlos R., Osborne, Kyle D., Me., Scheiffele, Peter & Silverman, Michael A. (2005)A cytoplasmic motif targets neuroligin-1 exclusively to dendrites of cultured hippocampal neurons.European Journal of Neuroscience 22 (9), 2381-2386.doi: 10.1111/j.1460-9568.2005.04400.x

http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1460-9568.2005.04400.x

Yeyyyyyyyyyyyy!

Very exciting...

G

Cultural and personal experiences outside the laboratory

As our plane started its descent into London, England, our excitement grew exponentially. Looking outside our window, we could already tell England was going to be very different from what we knew from our desert home state of California. All we saw was green, a bright vivid green of life, coming from the millions of trees that seemed to overtake the UK. The images of buildings and palaces that I had imagined seeing were overcome with the beauty of nature. As we walked into Heathrow and told the customs officer that we were STUDYING at King’s College in London, we realized we did not know what to expect from this great country, but we loved the accents. We came walking out with our suitcases and bags and coats, and found my mentor and some lab mates from Lauren Smith’s laboratory. We fully expected one or two cars picking us up, I mean, who does not have a car, right? This was not the case, we learned; in London, everyone takes the “tube”. The tube being the London Underground, or subway as we call it here in the “States”. We began to realize that not only did we have to adapt to a new way of life: lugging suitcases from one subway train to another, but we had new words to remember too. It is not the elevator, it’s the lift; the WC or toilet, not the bathroom, etc. However, the people were really friendly and engaging. We were so touched that three people came to meet us and help us with our stuff. Even though the tube is relatively simple to understand, coming right off the plane I doubt we would have gone to the right place. In addition, Heathrow is far away from London City and we would not have known which pass to get.
When we did arrive at our “flat” (or apartment) and checked in, which we learned had only been confirmed a few days before, we were happy to see we had our own bathroom—even though the space was minimal and we had to shower with the toilet! We were also given a few grocery bags of start-up food from Lauren’s advisor, which was a nice and welcoming surprise!
After taking a red-eye flight all we wanted to do was sleep, but Lauren’s lab mates were so hospitable that they took us out pub-hopping right then and there. That is when we learned that not only did they call things by different names, but they also pronounced words differently. They laughed at our American way of saying Southwark, pronounced Sud-ark in England, as they bought us pint after pint of alcohol—oh, yes, the brits can drink! I am still amazed about how we got back to our flat using the tube from SoHo. I was so exhausted by the time that I got to my flat that all I really could think about was falling asleep. As I walk into the common area of the flat: a hallway with a big kitchen, I see one of my flat-mates. I am not sure if it was because here in California people are not as friendly, or if I was too tired to be cordial, but I did not stop and talk with this girl. A few minutes later, as I’m getting ready to have a good night’s rest, I hear knocking on my door! It was my flat mate, introducing herself, asking who I was, and letting me know that they would be glad to show me around London! Wow, roommates that were cordial and wanted to meet me!

Anyway, Saturday morning came around—with a fire alarm that went off in the middle of the night (there’s this obsession with fire alarms in London, I guess because of the great fire of London) –the day after we flew into London. That day and all that weekend in fact, we did marathon sightseeing. I think we covered more places in those two days than at any other time in the following two weeks—except Rome and Paris, but I will talk about that later.

By the time we met with our advisors Monday morning, we had seen a great deal of London, understood the tube fairly well, and knew painfully well the pound-dollar conversion rates. We had a great talk with our advisors, who seemed to be great people. We were given some idea about what our research was going to be, and we learned that normal research/work days in our labs started at 10 or 10:30am, not earlier, and ended around 4 or 5pm. This gave us time to have a nice breakfast in the morning, and be able to stay up later at nights, as well as time to explore the city after research. In fact, we were encouraged to see all that we could of London and of other countries as well. My advisor would ask me every day what new things I had seen of the city, and reminded me to start booking trips to other places in England an in Europe!

As a result, we got to visit many museums, like the Tate Modern, Natural History Museum, National Gallery; go to many plays, two at Shakespeare’s globe, and a handful around the West End and other areas; visit Buckingham Palace, Picadilly Circle, Leicaster (“lester”) Square, etc.

Eventually, after much procrastination, we visited Oxford, England; Paris, France; Rome, Italy; and I visited a cousin in Germany, and visited Salzburg, Austria; Traunstein and Munich, Germany. These trips usually were on weekends, for three or four days, much of which involved walking around the cities and taking hundreds of pictures! It was so exciting to visit places that were historically significant, and get a feel for the European lifestyle. The major hurdle was the language barrier, knowing only a few phrases to order food or ask for tickets, and not being able to communicate with anyone else past that. It was interesting to see the varying responses to American visitors and the differences among European countries.

In addition, I had 6 flat-mates from various places in the world, who had been in London for at least one year. They showed me around London, advised me to go to places such as Burough market and many contemporary plays. More importantly, they made me feel at home at comfortable in London. Additionally, we got together with other MIRT students when we visited Oxford, and then went together to Paris, France. It was helpful to share experiences with people of the same area, and together visit foreign places together.
Overall, this was an amazing experience. Visiting Europe has given me a different perspective on the world, the perception of Americans, but also the effects of globalization, more so in the realm of science. I’m very grateful for this experience, and hope more students will be able to take advantage of this program in years to come.

It's raining...

Hi... yeah, i've been busy... and not busy enough... so behind on everything...

and apparently a horrible friend.

So yeah, fun times... and now I'm here at ryan's trying to study immunology, but this past hour i got nothing done... and found out the place we were getting excited about kind of sucks. so we ahve to search again. which i'm trying to do now, so it gets done. bc dates are already getting filled up. and it seems that boys just don't realize this.

anyway... can't wait till applications are due...

i'll stop here, since i'm not a happy camper today. it's been a really really horrible day. ugh.

i like the rain though :)

g

12 hours at Cal Poly

Hello all!!

So, the quarter has begun.... and yesterday, the first day of it, was the longest day ever!!!!!!!!!

So, I got to school at like 6:45 am... yupp, you heard right. So, parking wasn't that bad... and went to my Ant 112 online course orientation. Bla bla. Kind of those monotone voice teachers.

Then, we went to try to add the Mic 415 lab, Immunology/Serology at 8am... but I didn't get in, and neither did Jade... So I went to my 8am Sociology class, 30 min late. Whatever. It was fine. Guy giving us his whole resume about how great he is and how much he knows. Cioffi is his last name, so he cracked some italian mobster jokes ("I had a meeting with the russians.. and I'm italian... so that tells you to be scared of me" or something like that). Anyway. whatever.

Then, met up with Jade and we hung out, got some paperwork I needed to pick up. Went to the Honors room and talked to people (this one girl just broke up with her bf, so I wasn't about to tell her how I just got engaged... felt awkward when the male bashing started, as, at the moment, I think boys are great... at least mine :P... but I'm kind of glad they broke up, he was a jerk to her, and all she did was suffer.) Yeah, and then Dorothy introduced me to this lady that's gonna help me submit my NIH/NSF fellowship application. I'm not really hopeful that I'll get it, but, gotta try. Then found Jeannie, hung out with her, told her my news (yeeyy!! I was telling anyone that cared a bit)... Then met up with Jade, and went to lunch. Saw Lauren, which was cool, we're meeting up Monday for lunch or dinner or something. I can't wait to hear his crazy stories from Amsterdam... Saw Eric, which was cool...

At 1pm we tried to get into the class... I didn't get it again (almost did, but there was some confusion, damn it!)... Jade did get it... which is cool, though I'm a bit jealous... especially bc I then had to go to my original 1pm class: Advanced Genetics. Ugh! With Campbell! Yeah, not looking forward to that. At all. That class really freaks me out. I DON'T WANT TO TAKE ADVANCED GENETICS. So, I may try to either add Animal Tissue Culture, or I dunno, still have hope for MIC. Yeah, and then I went to the lecture for MIC, just in case... Such an awesome lecture too... and that was out at 6:45pm... left campus at 7pm... and so ended my 12 hours or so at CPP... I was a bit tired...

UGH!!!!!!!! I'm so not inspired this year. I have total senior-itis. I want to be done, and be in grad school. Can't I just fastforward to graduation? Please?!!!

Yeah, so I'm PR of Hillel, President of the Honors Program Club... why? ugh! I was excited, not I'm just overwhelmed. Why, you ask?

TO DO LIST:

1. Write a 150 word abstract for the San Diego Honors Program Conference regarding my research in London.

2. Study for Advanced Genetics (practice crosses and stuff --> I have a horrible genetics background... bc of my prof.... ugh! "Easy" A's aren't the best things sometimes)

3. PICK GRAD SCHOOLS TO APPLY TO!!!

4. Complete NSF application --> due in November

5. Take GRE --> Oct. 29th

6. Take GRE Subject test ---> Nov

7. Prepare presentation for San Diego Conference --> Oct 8th

8. Complete applications to grad schools --> deadlines in Dec and Jan

9. Plan a wedding --> date to be confirmed

10. Write a budget for Hillel --> ASAP

11. Write an agenda for HP meetings --> first one next Thursday

12. Study for the rest of my classes

13. Work out regularly

14. Freak out --> the only item on the list I've actually accomplished.

Why am I a lazy bum? I could have had the grad school stuff done by now...

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah... such is the life of G right now. I'll be sane again next August. See you then!

G

PS: Yeah, and I thought a spot opened in the mic class this morning... but it was Jade's already reserved spot. Yeah, great news for me, I know.

Griselda's Engaged!!!

Hello Blog world!

Here I am... as normal... slightly trying to be productive... realizing I have a heck of a lot of GRE studying to do if I am to do remotely well on it... and I have no idea where I'm going to apply to.

Ok, maybe that's a lie. I'll probably apply to Duke and UCSF... maybe UCLA, since they also have an umbrella program. Probably UMN, since I probably have the application fee waived... Anyway, I still need to choose some universities I can actually get into. I can probably get into UMN bc I did that one summer program there. Okay, okay, I can read the comments from my fiance now, how I shouldn't be worrying about getting in... But, I dunno... I do worry... Mostly bc I'm way behind in my applying and writing and studying and stuff... My GPA alone can't do all the work, but it would be nice if it could.

Anyway, so that's the same old news as always, I suppose.

Class starts up again on Thursday. Not really doing all the planning and stuff I should be doing. Surprise surprise.

Went to Olive Garden with Ryan and my parents, Ryan's treat... and it went well... I was so nervous, I don't think I really talked. I kept on playing with my knife and looking at my stepfather's spaced out look... so basically my mom and Ryan pulled the dinner through, and had a nice conversation... After the bill came... and left... we actually mentioned the true reason for the dinner... Ryan kind of apologized, which really surprised me... He's so sweet, he was composed for the both of us, I assume. And my stepfather congratulated us and actually smiled. Things are weird between us, though (Pedro and I)... and hopefully they'll be better soon. I guess it's both our faults... He said some mean things (I was ruining his life doing this) and I insinuated some mean things, which I tried to patch up a minute later, but still stung (that he's not my real dad)... so yeah... But, I'm trying to forget about all that was said. My mom really wants me too... and I will for the sake of normalcy, and bc I don't want to lose them as a part of my life. Anyway... so yes, the glass is half full, and all is well again... Though I anticipate another conversation sometime between now and July, in which my stepfather will enquire about our plans as a bireligious couple. Which I am prepared to answer and am confident about... We really have covered our bases, me and Ryan that is... we can talk about anything and everything... and we do...

Though, Marie's blog got me thinking about how he would feel if I went to a strip club. I don't think I'd find it enjoyable either. Girls just don't get as excited at guys taking off their clothes... especially their underwear... unless it's our men... and then we are more likely to aid in the process...

Anyway... so I dunno what my friends are gonna do for my bachelorette party, but they're already talking about it... But, the only one Ryan has to really worry about is Jade, because Lisa is this timid Catholic girl, though it sooo doesn't seem that way. She blushes when someone says moist... it's really funny... In Argentina the bride and groom get one party together, and the friends just make a fool out of them. We are in the States though...

In other news, my cousin Carla gets married on August 11th... and Gisella is turning 30 next year... so it'll be two months of parties!

It's so weird not seeing Ryan everyday. Ok, not that it's weird, but I really miss him... It's so hard to say goodbye at night... I'm so silly sometimes, you know? I just have to be a little bit less selfish and stronger and stuff... Oh well, that'll never happen... But, in a year or so, we'll be living together, so it'll be cool...

Anyways,

That's all for now...

G

I'm engaged!!!!!!!!

A week ago, on September 12th, 2005 the most wonderful guy in my life, Ryan Catania, asked me to marry him.

And I said: Yes!

So now, we're engaged! Yeyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How did it happen? Where?
Well, we were in Florida... Jensen Beach to be precise. We went to Mulligan's for lunch... really good place. Then waited a while, and at sunset walked over to the pier. A beautiful pier, over the water. We took some pictures, and sat down to admire the water, the sunset, and each other. Ryan started telling me how much he always remembered the pier... and that he thought I wouldn't forget it either... then he stands up, pulls a ring from his pocket, gets down on one knee, and asks me to marry him... when I said yes, he placed the ring on my left hand... and we went from boyfriend/girlfriend to fiance/fiancee....

So, some time next summer, after I graduate, we're going to get married... July maybe.

All I can say is that I'm head over heels in love, and now I will marry this man I love, admire and adore so much.

It was an amazing vacation... relaxing, fun, exciting and emotional.

yeeeeeeeeeeeeyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!

I LOVE RYAN!!!!

G

Immature love says: "I love you because I need you." Mature love says: "I need you because I love you." -- Erich Fromm

Love does not consist in gazing at each other, but in looking outward together in the same direction. -- Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Things change for the better (and I always exaggerate too much)

Hi!
So, of course, things are so much better today... As they tend to be once I vocalize how "bad" things are.
Granted, I do have a bad cold, which is slowly getting better... Which reminds me, I should go drink some grapefruit juice. ---------
yummy!!

Ok, so here I am, on my laptop, on my mom's bed, with the TV on mute and KROQ playing on the stereo, with my cell phone by my side. I quite enjoy this actually... More so now that the blinds are cracked open so sunlight can get through.

So, I wake up with Ryan on the phone telling me that he's head over heals in love with me... Ah, such a nice day to start up the day!! Had my cheerios (the whole grain one) with milk. Then talked to Melissa--- at last!!! Her cell phone died this weekend while she was away.. I was getting a bit worried, and sad, that she hadn't called me back. She's one of my best friends... So, yeah, all is well. And I'm going to go get books with her tomorrow at school and have lunch at Applebee's (it's a tradition of ours... Yeah, we're nerds... More so bc this is finals week for the summer people-- and that's our tradition, to get our books during finals week for the following quarter)... So yeah, I'm happy. I miss Melissa.

Also, I'm helping to plan Jade's bday party... We're going to Buca di Beppo next week.. So far Mel, Eric, Brandon and of course Ryan (and me, and Jade) are going. So I need to find her a gift soon.

Yeah, so I got Leslee's invitation to her bridal shower mailed to Ryan's house... Which is cool. The bad news is that it's on the day that we get back from Florida. So, Ryan's finding out exactly at what time we get back -- I might still be able to make it. But we can't remember at what time the flight gets in. We wanted an afternoon one, but maybe it's at 9am... We'll see...

I dunno if I've ever been to a bridal shower... I'm thinking maybe once, but I really can't remember... So, I'm thinking no... Nor have I been to a Jewish wedding... Random comments, I know... But yeah... Oh well, if I don't go to this one, maybe to Mel's and Jade's, in a couple of years :P

Annnyyywaayyyy.... 9 days till Florida!!!!!

Also, I got a sweet email from Lauren, who just got back from Amsterdam... And Eric, wondering why I never called him back about Las Vegas... In my defense, I was sick this weekend, though I didn't know that last week, when I should have called him back :P Maybe if I wasn't so broke I would be more adamant about going...

Goodness it's hot...

Umm.... what else is new? I saw Napoleon Dynamite on Sunday... very odd... and The forty year old virgin on Saturday, which was funny.

Not much more to tell right now... Oh, I got new tennis shoes... they're brown and have no laces, which is cool... :P So yeah... that was cool... I still need to get a new bathing suit and I think that's it for now... Keeping myself on budget.. I need a job this year... It's hard to go from having money and being able to spend it (ie: this summer) to now my emptier bank account and the realization that it's not magically filling up (ok, working is no magic, but you know..)

Oh well... we'll see what this year has in store for me, ne c'est pas?

Byes for now!

Griselda: in a better more hopeful mood (what not working will do to a woman!)

What do I do all day???

Well, since you have all seen my wonderful recepies (I really have trouble spelling that word) and other complaints... let me tell you what I do all day....

Let me preface this with: MY DAYS ARE BORING!!!!!!!!!! My afternoons and nights get better, early morning is nice to... So, if you know any of my friends, can you tell them G is lonely?

Ah, but G should be lonely... Why you say? Well, G needs to find a grad school to apply to... well several to apply to. Well, there's loads out there, you say... Yes, that is a big problem I face right now. To make things even jollier, I have no idea what I want to research.... Like none. Ok, I have a general area, but I haven't done enough research to know exactly what I want.... And now I'm freaking out bc I read that sometimes grad schools will google you, and if they find your blog they will read it... and it usually doesn't help you (which can be clearly seen in this paragraph). So, Mr./Mrs./Ms./Miss Grad School Admitter... Please admit me!! I will be a good grad student, and if I've applied to your university it means that I found a couple of faculty members I would be interested in working with, and that your program really interests me...

Hhaha.. anyway, back to the blog... So, yeah, I'm trying to find universities to fill my needs: good faculty, good program and funding available. The last two don't seem to be a problem... and not that the faculty is bad, but there's not one project -yet- that jumps right at me as being really really really exciting.

So, my days. I wake up, around 7am... and lately go back to sleep and wait for Ryan to call... So I talk to him as he's commuting to work... and then I got have breakfast, usually with my mom (which is nice... having people around is nice) which consists of (lately) ruby red grapefruit juice, cheerios and milk... A change from my usual coffee and toast... and it is wholemeal cheerios... so yeah... Then I start my websearch for uni's... I just go a'searchin', and read, and clic clic... and like that... till lunch time, where I figure what to eat (oh, shit, I didn't prepare my mom's lunch... she liked my chicken wrap idea that I ate yesterday --- idea stolen from Borough Market :P) and eat it... then I either watch tv or... well I watch tv with lunch, and then I read or watch more tv. THen I force myself again in front of the laptop... to search again... Think about what to make for dinner... find a recipe online, and put it on my blog (which proved useful yesterday, as I had to make alfredo sauce, and new the recipe was on my blog)... then I eventually start cooking until someone arrives... Sometimes I go out for groceries, or for a doctor's appt... and on Wed I went to Ryan's, and did NO work, just read this crappy book called The Wives of Bath, because it was set in England... and I got a cheap thrill at reading "holiday" and other British terms...
Yesterday I went to the pool: a tiny pool actually... but a pool nonetheless... and I didn't have my bathing suit, and I had to pull out my old high school suit, ugh.. yeah, I'm going shopping this weekend...

So,yeah, exciting times... I might have lunch with Jade today... and I'll have fun this weekend... Maybe next week I'll see Melissa, and maybe go to Disneyland with Eka next Friday...
So, next week seems more promising..

I'm not really depressed, it's just that any time there's a lack of social interaction (as I like to coin it) I kind of go in lul mood.... some people may not understand... and I shouldn't complain as I'm on vacation. But it's hard having to do all this research alone.

But, it will get worse. As I will have to be writing essays soon, and taking the GRE general (oct 29th) and subject tests... so yeah, fun fun.

Um yeah.. so I'm thinking I might have to get a job next year. And I'm having an internal debate of working in industry part time, or working as a tutor... I dunno...

so yeah... that's why I'm so looking forward to Sept 8th... getting away... again... and this time with Ryan... not feeling guilty about being lazy... and we're going to see Coldplay! And drive up to North Carolina... so yeah... can't wait!!!!!!!!!

Ok, that's it for now...

HAVE FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

G

Red Bell Pepper and Broccoli Pasta Sauce

RecipeAdapted from Real Stew, by Clifford A. Wright (Harvard Common Press, 2002).

The recipe is simplicity itself:

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 fleshy red bell peppers, seeded and cut into strips
1 medium-sized onion, thinly sliced and separated into rings
2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 bunch fresh broccoli (about 1 pound), broken into florets and stems cut into 1/2-inch pieces
Salt and freshly-ground black pepper to taste
Grated cheese (optional)

1. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Cook the red peppers, onion, and garlic until soft, adding small amounts of water to keep the skillet from drying out and stirring from time to time, about 30 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, bring a saucepan of water to a boil, salt lightly, and cook broccoli stems for a few minutes, then add florets. Cook broccoli until tender but still bright green, no more than about 10 minutes. Drain, break up slightly with a fork, and toss with the red bell pepper mixture. Season with salt and pepper, top with grated cheese, if desired, and serve immediately.

Serves 4.

Helpful Hints The secret to success here is not overcooking the broccoli. Make sure it remains bright green

Back in California

Hello!

So here I am, in sunny California... again... Bittersweet... I'm totally glad to be back... I missed Ryan sooo much, and here I am again with him... Kind of... haven't seen him since Sunday -oh, the travesty!
Now, I totally miss London, and I miss Ryan... hmmpf... hahha... I'm just being silly.

So, the extent of my walking now is around supermarkets and to my car. Such a Californian. But maybe I should start in chronological order, eh?

So, my last days in London were nice. I worked quite a lot Monday and Tuesday (a week ago!), and on Wednesday I went to do last minute souvenir shopping. Went to Buckingham Palace first to see the changing of the guard. That was cool! And then I did some marathon walking, to Picadilly Circus - went to Hemley's (the toy store) it was sooo much fun!!!, then Covent Garden and got Ryan's sweater, which is really nice :) and my glasses broke somewhere in between.... but I got lunch, Ben's cookies and a few other souvenirs... Surprisingly I don't have a ton as I thought I would.
Then I went into the lab, got last results and said goodbye to Dr. Knight and

Adrian. There we are in the lab... And then I went home and relaxed a bit I think... Thursday I packed in the morning, and was done by lunchtime. So I went to look for Lauren, made copies of my lab notebook, and went to have Fish and Chips at Fishcoteque with Jen and Steph. We were so full after that! And, we ate them by the Thames River near the National Theatre (by the Waterloo bridge). Then I returned my lab book, and went to Lauren's lab to say goodbye to everyone. Dr. Rob Evans gave me a red King's College hat, which was really sweet of him! Then I went home, and hung out, then made mashed potatoes. We had a huge dinner with my flatmates, including a great Tiramisu that Dora made.

And on Friday we woke up at 6am and had breakfast. Everyone was up except Jen. It was so sweet of them! And then Lauren and Julia took the tube with me until Paddington, and then I took the Heathrow Express alone. At the airport I met up with Myesha, Jason, Claire (?), the two Ls-- Luciano and Leonardo-- and Jaime, and Dr. Tolmasky. THe flight was cool, we got to share a row of 5 seats between two of us! So I got some good sleep. And the food was yummy!!!

Then, we finally flew into LAX, after 10 + hours of flying... And as I leave the gate, there I see my love, Ryan, standing there, with his typical black and white shirt :) I was soo happy!!! I could not believe I was again in his arms, after 2 months of being so far apart.

So, we hopped into his car (after getting a lovely bouquet of flowers and a variety of photo holder things... I'm so articulate, I know) and drove to Carmen's work to retrieve my keys. Talked to her for a bit, and then came home :) THen, Melissa and Claudia stopped by to say hello. And then mom, Ryan and I had milanesa with salad. By 9pm I was drunk tired...

Saturday morning I wake up at 5am, and start unpacking -- I couldn't go back to sleep. Then, Ryan came over around noon... or 1pm :P And then we headed over to Marie's bday party. It was to be a pool party... So much fun!!! I hadn't been in a pool in ages!!! We had loads of fun, and even went in the spa. So that was cool!!! Again, by 9pm I was sooo tired, but the poker chips were out... so after a while I fortunately lost, and seeked refuge of a couch, where I dozed off a bit.... and then around 11pm we left, and Ryan took me home.

Sunday morning I woke up and hung out with my mom for a bit... and then went to Ryan's, to see his new apartment. A very cool apartment it is, very spacious. And well, got to spend some nice quality time with him, which was awesome :) haha, but by 9pm I was tired again, so I drove home... and watched some tele with my mom.

Monday morning I was awaken by a phonecall from sweetie... a nice way to wake up if you ask me :) But after I had breakfast with my mom, and she left for work, the emptiness of being back hit me.

After two months of being surrounded by people, being left alone to do pressing work kind of hits you. So I really missed London. A lot. I called Melissa, but she was at work I assume... so I just went to the supermarket -- the peak of my social interaction-- and came home to make salmon and potatoes. My mom was very pleased with it -- it was very good, if I do say so myself. Then I got to speak to Ryan, which was great!

Today, woke up to continue the search for grad schools... THe excitement of the day was a wonderful doctor's appointment. On my way there I called Eric, we talked for a long time... I think he was just as bored and anxious for social interaction as me :) The call ended with him telling me we should plan a trip for Vegas this weekend. He's serious too. It sounds fun, but I'm not sure... not sure Ryan would want to either... I wasn't definite in my answer, to which he was puzzled, so I said I wanted to talk to Ryan about it, to which he made a crack, which he promised not to tell Ryan about -- too late I guess, since he reads this blog. In any case, it was good to speak to him. He's a nice friend.

And then it was to the doctor's... it's so funny how you can be in the most awkward situation, as women exams tend to be, and yet they have no problem engaging in normal conversation. Today's was about her wanting to learn spanish, that she learned a bit when she started working at the hospital/clinic, about 5 yrs ago... It's so funny, bc it's so awkward, yet the conversation makes me want to laugh, but then I'm like overly aware of how my body convulses when I laugh.... which might not be something wants to do in that situation. Anyway, I'll stop there, for many reasons... one of which is the male viewers, which make up 75% of my blog readers...

Anyway, and here I am, after another grocery shopping trip... I bought some yummy Hallumi-- such yummy cheese!!!

So yeah, hi! I'm back in California!! Yeyy... now, looking forward to Sept 8th, when I'm going to Florida..

Ok, that's enough for today.

Tchuss

What I'm eating right now

Trail Mix Tacos

Recipe Ingredients:
4 Mission® Fajita Size Flour Tortillas
8 Tbsp. Jif® Creamy Peanut Butter
6 tsp. Tsp. honey
4 Tbsp. raisins
4 Tbsp. granola or granola cereal
1 small apple, cored and sliced
1 banana, peeled and sliced
Recipe Instructions:
Spread 2 tbsp. peanut butter and 1 ½ tsp. honey in the middle of each tortilla.
Sprinkle 1 tbsp. each of raisins and granola.
Place equal amounts of banana and apple slices on top of the tortillas.
Fold over tortillas and enjoy!

Bell Pepper and Lemon Salmon

INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 lemon, juiced
1 pinch kosher salt
2 (8 ounce) salmon fillets
2 tablespoons capers, drained and rinsed
1/2 red bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch strips
DIRECTIONS:
In a shallow dish, mix the olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, and salt. Pierce the salmon fillets on both sides with a fork, and place in the dish. Coat with the olive oil mixture, and marinate at least 1 hour in the refrigerator.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
Place each salmon fillet on a large sheet of aluminum foil. Fold the foil around the fillets to form packets. Pour the marinade mixture over the fillets, and top with capers and red bell pepper strips. Tightly seal packets, and place in a baking dish.
Cook salmon 35 minutes in the preheated oven, until easily flaked with a fork.

Weird

Hello...

So, today's Friday, which means in a week I will be on a plane home.

So, am I excited, am I ecstatic, and I being really touristy, am I smiling non-stop... Well, yes and no... I've been in a weird mood as of late. I really dunno why... I think... Well I dunno what I think...
So, I am very excited to go back home!! And I found out that Melissa was almost going to go by the airport as a surprise, but can't bc of work... But it was very touching. SO, hopefully she'll stop by my place after work. In any case, Ryan's picking me up, so I couldn't be happier.

Am I ecstatic? Well, I'd have to say no, as I'm dreading going back home and doing all that work and stuff... I dunno how I'm going to choose a graduate school and program, and study for the GREs and start on my applications, all in 2 weeks... I guess by just sitting down and doing it :P Do it!!! I've been a bum long enough here in London.. Which reminds me of the report I have to get done, sometime in the next 4 months... Plus, I'm going to miss London, regardless of anything I might add later in this post.

Not really being touristy... I've been in the lab quite a bit, now that Adrian's gone, and I have to do the experiments by myself. I actually sort of designed the one I'm doing today, which I have a feeling Adrian wouldn't have done... But, that also means that I'll have to be here both Mon and TUes doing experiments... No going to Cambridge or Brighton for a day trip, I'm afraid. I will be very touristy this weekend.. And hopefully tonight's flat party won't ruin my Sat morning.

Am I smiling nonstop? That's a definite nooo!! I've been really moody and mean and stuff lately. But more than anything jealous. Jealous at the stupidest most minute things. I think I realized just how jealous I can get, on this trip, and I really want to move past it... And you're wondering exactly why and in what circumstances... Well, in some ways, too many to count... But yesterday I got really jealous, and thankfully after a while my logical side kicked in and I realized that I do the same things that make me jealous. Ah, but I will not explain this... Any of this paragraph, really...

anyway, about Rome... It was sooooo awesome! We got there on Thursday, after very few hours of sleep (which made me not the happiest person in the world, but still bearable)... We walked around and saw the Trevi fountain, the famous expensive street, Plaza Navona, and maybe a bit more... I found Sambayon!!! My all time favorite ice cream!!!!!!!! I was soooo excited!!!!
On Fri we got up at 6:30am and went to the Vatican.. So, planning for this I wore a long skirt, and I was going to take a light sweater... But I forgot it at home... And I was wearing a sleeveless shirt. SO, I had to buy a tshirt in order to let me in... Ah, tolerance towards other religions and their ways, a good thing to learn indeed... But it was amazing. We got to go up on top of the dome (after walking up 320 steps.. Which is more than I thought it would be... All in non-traction flip flops, which I wore bc they matched my outfit. Granted that with the tshirt, I did not match whatsoever)... Anyway, beautiful view from up at the top of the dome, and the inside of the church was beautiful. As was the Michelangelo statue... And then we went to the Sistine chapel, which was amazing and just incredibly full of paintings, so much so that ignorant G forgot to look for the most famous of the ceiling paintings. Oh well, I'll have to go back sometime in the distant future. Afterwards we walked through Trasteveri (mind you, I'm spelling all the names wrong, sorry!) and ate Sambayon again (yeyy) and then found Ancient Rome!! It was sooo awesome, so beautiful... And ate at the place where they invented Fettucini Alfredo... It was soooo yummy!!! By the time we got to the hostel, we were sooooo exhausted, though we did play rummy... Getting on the top bunk of the bunk bed was horrible, but I survived it... And on Sat we went to the coliseum... Such a beautiful structure, and what it must have been in its full glory. By then Lauren was dead tired, and had a horrible headache. I wasn't as tired, but it was nice to relax...
Anyway, Rome was amazing, and now I want to go and learn more about European history, as I know I missed out on sooo many things.... Next time, I suppose, I'll know more....

Anyway, I should get going, I suppose....

G

Quick F*ck

Hi!
Here I am at 2436... smelling like smoke (no, I don't smoke... it's the smoking in the pub) and a bit tipsy... not too much though, more tired than anything... I should be heading to sleep like 30 minutes ago..

So, it's Shruti's bday today, she turned 22... so we went to Southwark (pronounced sudark), the first pub we went to when we arrived... but the cool dungeon/cave- like place was closed, bc of quiz night... noooo idea what that is... and I had Fruti, or something like that... which is beer that tastes like strawberry.. only half a pint... 4.1%... and then the place closed (at 11pm) and we went to Dover Castle.. this bar/hostel... and I wasn't gonna have anything bc I got hungry (I had a proper 5'o'clock english tea today! With shortbread, crumpet, scones, and obviously english tea!!! so i wasn't hungry at normal dinner times)... but then I had this shot, called quick f*ck... it had kalua and bailey's and something else... pretty tasty... but then all I wanted to do was sleep... which is what I should be doing now..

So, Rome was excellent!!!!!!!!! I loved it! I'll have to talk more about it later..

Byyyeeeeees

G

This is nerdy funny...

I found the funniest thing on a different blog.

Awesome Translations:::::

Something I found on the -80 freezer at work.The following list of pharaess and their definitions might help you understand the mysterious language of science and medicine. These special phrases are also applicable to anyone working on a Ph.D. dissertation or academic paper anywhere!

PHRASE
Translation

"IT HAS LONG BEEN KNOWN"
I didn't look up the origonal reference.

"A DEFINITE TREND IF EVIDENT"
These data are practically meaningless.

"WHILE IT HAS NOT BEEN POSSIBLE TO PROVIDE DEFINITE ANSWERS TO THE QUESTSIONS"
An unsuccessful experiment, but I still hope to get it publisehd.

"THREE OF THE SAMPLES WERE CHOSEN FOR DETAILED STUDY"
The other results didn't make any sesne."

TYPICAL RESULTS ARE SHOWN"
This is the prettiest graph.

"THESE RESULTS WILL BE IN A SUBSEQUENT REPORT"
I might get around to this sometime, if pushed and/or funded.

"IN MY EXPERIENCE"
Once.

"IN CASE AFTER CASE"
Twice.

"IN A SERIES OF CASES"
Thrice.

"IT IS BELIEVED THAT"
I think.

"IT IS GENERALLY BELIEVED THAT"
A couple of others think so, too.

"CORRECT WITHIN AN ORDER OF MAGNITUDE"
Wrong.

"ACCORDING TO STATISTICAL ANALYSIS"
Rumor has it.

"A STATISTICALLY-ORIENTATED PROJECTION OF THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THESE FINDINGS"
A wild guess.

"A CAREFUL ANALYSIS OF OBTAINEDABLE DATA"
Three pages of notes were obliterated when I knocked over a glass of beer.

"IT IS CLEAR THAT MUCH ADDITIONAL WORK WILL BE REQUIED BEFORE A COMPLETE UNDERSTANDING OF THIS PHENOMENA OCCURS"
I don't understand it.

"AFTER ADDITIONAL STUDY BY MY COLLEAGUES"
They don't understand it either.

"THANKS ARE DUE TO JOE BLOTZ FOR ASSISTANCE WITH THE EXPERIEMENT AND TO CIDNY ADAMS FOR VALUABLE DISCUSSIONS"
Mr. Blotz did the work, and Ms. Adams explained to me what it means.

"A HIGHLY SIGNIFICATN AREA FOR EXPLORATORY STUDY"
A totally useless topic selected by my committe.

"IT IS HOPED THAT THIS STUDY WILL STIMULATE FURTHER INVESTIGATION IN THIS FIELD"
I quit.

Alfredo sauce

SALSA BLANCA

Ingredientes: manteca 50 g.harina o fecula de maiz 2 cucharadasleche 1/4 de tazasal a gustopimienta a gustonuez moscada 1/4 de cdta

Preparado: Poner a derretir la manteca con la sal en una ollita chiquita, cuandose haya disuelto la manteca completamente agregar(fuera del fuego) laharina o fecula y la leche, revolver bien y colocar nuevamente sobreel fuego. cocinar 3 o 4 minutos hasta que espese agregarle lapimienta y nuez moscada. servir caliente.