Convos

I have a practical midterm tomorrow morning, and have not studied one whit. This is certainly an interesting decision. I'm not sure how it happened.

Sister: Poop is, uh.

Me: Yes?

Sister: Poop is...a thing. A noun! A person, place, or thing.

-later-

Me: Wait, you're going to Vegas tomorrow? For how long? I have no deets on this sitch, mother.

Mother: No, I have no deets on this sitch, daughter!

Status: Fewer than 12 hours before midterm. Feeling strangely calm.

Monday has identity issues.

"I set up a donkey and a camel animal cracker in a 'make-out sesh' configuration. Then took a picture.

Then I ate both of them. I feel like Freud is geekin out right now."

-Anonymous confession. It is TMI Monday after all.

Some years ago a friend gifted me a plastic T-Rex. It is about a foot tall and lives in my bookshelf. Some months ago I bought a plastic T-Rex. It is about a half inch tall and lives on my desk. I am a T-Rex. I am about five feet tall and live in a fort under the dining table. Together, we are a Russian nesting doll.

Toying with the idea of Model Monday? Fifi here lives in the background of my google calendar. It's a pretty high honor.

If this post seems forced, it's because it was written under duress.

Hodgepodge

1. Stale column on campaign financing, as predicted last week. I like the comment insisting that ads don't drive elections, the issues do. Still chuckling over that one.

2. Agreeing with Katherine. Next thing you know, I'll switch my major to philosophy.

3. To be fair, baldness is a really big deal. It's unsightly and is actually threatening the survival of the human population, so. Yeah. Please stop ragging on baldness research, Nick.

4. Florals.

But please. If you are reading this.

Do not attempt red bubble shorts. Thanks in advance.

5. We need a better interface between scientists (and/or those who are informed about science) and non-scientists (and/or the majority of the voting populace). I don't actually have any suggestions for one (this guy does, though). But I'm pretty it's one of the most important things our generation can do to help the planet survive and allow our civilization to progress.

#exaggerationsunday

#exceptnotreally

6. I'm thinking of making this thing private. Dunno how much googling schools actually engage in, but as a safety measure? Also, creepers. I creep, therefore others must creep. Weigh in if you'd like.

7. Cool science magazine I found today. I look forward to exploring it more thoroughly, but for now, just read about the soul through the lens of neuroscience.

Despair Saturday?

"[T]he only way to balance the budget by 2020, while simultaneously (a) making the Bush tax cuts permanent and (b) protecting all the programs the Republicans say they won't cut, is to completely abolish the rest of the federal government". (Krugman)

"The rhetoric will fly. Childishness will mount. Public nausea will hit an all-time high." (Brooks)

Opposite sides of the ideological spectrum, obviously, but each of them has a point. And the first one just terrifies. Some Collins to cleanse the palate:

"I lived through what was perhaps the greatest social shift in the history of our culture. You all did, too, unless you’re young enough to have been born into a brand-new platform of gender equality that was created, really, just for you."

Thanks, Gail.

Not to fear, though, I still have your weekly dose of lesbian. Meet Kayla (pictures 1, 2, and 3). She always sounds like she's crying. Totally adorable.

P.S. I'm sorry I link so much. It's because I don't have original thoughts.

Days of the Week

This is how it's gonna go.

Link Sunday. TMI Monday. False Statement Wednesday. [prof name retracted] Friday. Lesbian Saturday/Advice Saturday.

Um, everyone can have Tuesday and Thursday off in order to actually do things. (Unless someone has a better idea?)

EDIT: Stream-of-Consciousness Wall Posts Thursday. Points to whoever remembers who originally came up with it.

Also. Guess what is happening at my house tonight. MOM WARS. It's going to be good. I will have first aid ready. Obvs my mom will win. she has really long nails.

Also. Y'all should be reading David's travel blag. You will actually learn things.

Also. There will be paragraphs next time.

Link Sunday

You guys. This weekend has been all kinds of ridiculous. Let's get started.

1. In the midst of celebrating Lesbian Saturday (it was also Advice Saturday, because I am an old sage), I've spent an inordinate amount of time on Everyone is Gay. So adorable and I am feeling all open-minded and stuff, and I want a shirt that says "Love is love is love," if someone could make that happen for me please. Even when my grandparents woke me up today at about 3:45 am with their (surprisingly loud) morning breathing exercises and yoga routine, all I could think was, "You know, they're doing their thing, and that's cool, and I'm doing my thing, and everything is just cooool." In my defense, 3:45 am is not the best time to think coherently.

2. Continuing temporally, I had a real conversation with my grandparents for the first time since they landed on Wednesday. My Hindi speaking skills have faded rather more quickly than I ant to admit, so I mostly listened (shocking!). They went to the library yesterday and basically got every book about cancer and/or the U.S. healthcare system. Here's hoping I can learn by osmosis.

My grandfather was diagnosed with leukemia two years ago and was declared cancer-free about a year ago. We talked about their experience navigating differing diagnoses, expensive treatments, and doctors who said they couldn't do anything more. Then, they went to a doctor of "holistic medicine".

At this point, I have to introduce the Indian definition of homeopathy. It's not what you're thinking--not the water has memory, serial dilutions, bonkers stuff. I have decidedly mixed feelings on all of the above. (See: my previous experience with arsenic-based supplements.) It's more accurately called Ayurveda, and is based on writings in religious texts such as the Vedas and basically lots of passed-down knowledge about the medicinal properties of various plants that are indigenous to the Indus Valley.

Anyway, my grandfather was in the midst of A.L.L. treatment and contracted severe pneumonia on top of that. The doctors were ready to put him on the ventilator. My grandmother started giving him the pills the holistic doctor had prescribed, and he actually improved overnight.

I'm a sucker for peer review. and pharmacology. So when, this morning, they handed me a bottle of plant extract, I started pubmed-ing and found this. Definitely something for me to look into. I've been pretty dismissive of "Eastern" medicine in the past, but it does not make sense to ignore therapies that are based on natural ingredients, just because they weren't synthesized in some lab under fluorescent lights. Will report back with my findings.

3. Oh hey, state politics.

"Does the lack of discussion about women's issues mean the state of women is good?"

hahahahahaha. omg. Yes. Problem solved. Let's all move on.

This commenter particularly disturbed me: "Pick a more timely, relevant and pressing fight, Nick. Triage. Fix the life-threatening problems, and then move on to the next highest problems. This is not the top problem."

Ahem. Please excuse me while I scream, and then vomit.

Women's rights are always an issue.

How many single women can't support their children as a direct result of wage disparities? How many children end up in our broken adoption system because of that?

This is not about a measly 24 cents on the dollar. It is about a class of people who are second-class citizens almost everywhere in the world. It is about a system of thinking and dismissing that has lasted for literally thousands of years. And yes, anonymous commenter, it is a life-or-death issue. Would you rather he wrote the same stale column everyone else is, about gubernatorial campaign financing? Yeah, I can see that killing people.

Oh btw. Why does it have to be solely about life and death? Doesn't quality of life matter?

Anyway. Remember to not have children. An atheist will probably eat them.

4. Weekly you-know-who update. I didn't bother reading this time. Let me know if there's anything particularly outrageous.

5. This music video concerns me. But I like the song, and am still holding out hope for Little J, for some reason. Just please, get new extensions. It looks like something fell in a bucket of bleach, died, and landed on your head.

6. Read about Meredith's language troubles. What a silly bean.

Important announcements

1. My grandparents are here.

2. Grading is depressing and my hand's shape is now a mold of the red pen.

3. Neurons are the principal signal processing cells, just FYI. This quiz should be fine. Right?

4. I don't remember Spanish. At all. Nada.

5. People who freak out about sig figs are not people with whom I want to associate.

6. The title of my fictional album is Anecdotal Evidence.

Really?

Dear University,

I should not be able to get honors credit for having a uterus.

Until there is a similar group for my XY peers, I will not be attending your XX bonding events.

This has been Tarini the barely restrained feminist.

p.s. Angst. whoops. I got cookies out of it though.

Medicine and ethics

This post will be continually added to as I stumble upon important articles and topics for interview prep. Also, motivation. But feel free to join in the fun.

Is Newer Better? Not Always

The Surgeon's Pact With the Patient

Inside Neurosurgery's Rise

In Surgery, a Tangled Tumor Meets its Match

Anatomy of a Misdiagnosis

One day, I'll foray away from NYT.

Less angst, more biology

I love my textbooks. Especially the molecular cell bio one (not to be confused with "Molecular Biology of the Cell"- can you believe they're for different classes?). It's a fun read and I like that the figures are from original journal articles. Yesterday, I was mentally grumbling over having to annotate gene sequences for hours on end. Locating splice sites and branch sites, matching them against established consensus sequences, and defining untranslated regions seemed like busy work before I remembered--crap, my spliceosomes do this every day. They're probably doing it right now. And really frickin fast. With amazing accuracy. They do not have the entirety of Saturday, nor do they have textbooks and google to help. I stopped grumbling.

P.S. Thank you, evolution. I'm a big fan.

Sidenote on NY FW: I haven't been keeping up, because of the whole school thing. But those of you who live in Boston- could you hop over there? Just for a day or two?

Victoria's show was earlier today. Apparently it was "celebrating feminism and curves". Swoon. She is my favorite person in the entire universe, period. I cut my hair off for The Posh.

Side, side note: Obviously I do not expect feminism from my fashion. But when it's there, and without a big fuss (looking at you, Rodarte), it is a nice cherry on top. And Victoria sent her girls out with travel suitcases, not unwieldy purses or clutches. I like that a lot.

Obligatory Sunday fun.

"'If you wanted a toy, you had to make one,' he says."

Is going back in time your solution to whatever cultural malaise (disillusionment?) you seem to be feeling, Katherine? Come join us in the twenty-first century. We have mass-manufactured cookies.

And last time I checked, hobbies were supposed to be fun.

You guys! Texting means you're an adulterer. Wait, what?

EDIT: Turns out the above website is well-crafted satire. At least, I'd like to say it was well-crafted so I feel less dumb for believing it was real. Humor me?

Quotes

"Lysosomes are acidic organelles that contain a battery of degradative enzymes."

Biology pun!

What a sly textbook.

"When is a bump a bump, and when is it a dendritic spine?"

Good question, professor.

"Doppelganger hijinks ensue."

Indeed they did. I look forward to the next episode, vampire show.

"I have a video of a crab dancing. Will that work?"

Yes, Janet. Always.

Appointment television

1. I heart TV.

2. Really really excellent TV shows coming back this week and upcoming weeks.

3. There's like. Actual work to be done. Work with deadlines. And everything's infected again.

4. No time for TV.

:(

On the other hand

5. I'm seriously good at being a TA. For real. Those kids, when I teach them biochemistry, I can basically see their lives turning around. In their eyes. Also, hope.

Also

6. Maybe delirious right now? I'll probably delete this post later? This weird eighth grader interrogated me today; that was a draining experience.

Risks, Benefits, Alternatives

Of putting down the campy vampire books (not the ones you're thinking of) and going to school tomorrow:

Risks: Learning. Exercise. Healthy socializing.

Benefits: Learning. Exercise. Healthy socializing.

Alternatives: Sleeping. Hiding in lab. Sneaking into the OR. Aforementioned vampire books.

This exercise has not helped me reach a decision.

However! My sister made a "Back to School" devil's food cake. Only people who are going to school tomorrow can eat it. I have now reached a decision.

Commentary on the Human Condition

Just kidding. Aren't you glad?

School can start now. Then I won't have so much time to THINK.

It's getting annoying and always leads to fighting with the parents. Over it.

I have been informed I need to vacate the dining table aka my desk, my eating space, my TV space, my pillow, because we will actually be eating at it as a family when my grandparents arrive.

I'll be sure to ask them what they think about honor killings.

P.S. If you haven't already, please creep on Zach. He writes about poop sometimes.

Scattered snark

I hope the first day of school (and with it, my annual overpriced Jamba strawberry-granola-banana thing) re-energizes and motivates me. After three years of anything, I start itching to move to the next thing (I blame the parents).

I don't want to fight to stay awake in lecture and make flashcards and color-coded notes and stress about exams I will have forgotten in a month. I just want to remove that lady's optic glioma and restore her vision, or reconstruct that guy's spinal cord section so his legs aren't in constant pain.

Anyway, the first day is a lopsided 2:30 to 5:45 affair and will mostly consist of me stealing the free stuff from freshmen.

World-weary teenager. Like we haven't all seen that before.

Somebody give me a wake-up call.