New Project
Table of Contents
Sunday, March 23
164.4 lbs (Day 86, starting from 162.6 lbs on Dec 28) | 🏃🏻 Done (5/6) | ★★★★
I received some satisfying news from Reaction Mechanisms TAs today! Next year, I’ll be working as a TA with two of my friends from the cohort. I’m excited about the opportunity and I’ll try to emphasize what worked well in the past and speak up about what could be improved, so the course can run even better this time.
After coming back from the gym, there wasn’t much else going on today, other than putting in some serious time preparing for the journal club on Tuesday. I’ve also been feeling a bit of pressure from the new project, so I worked on it sometimes. It was definitely easier when I was just skimming it as an end user, but now that I have to engage with it more thoroughly, I’m starting to feel the challenge. Still, I’m curious to see where this project will lead.
Monday, March 24
165.6 lbs (Day 87, starting from 162.6 lbs on Dec 28) | 🏃🏻 Done (1/6) | ★★★★
Among the three friends who did a winter rotation with me, one had their exit talk along with mine, and the other two were scheduled to present this morning. I attended the group meeting to watch their exit talks. Unfortunately, one of them had to postpone due to food poisoning and rescheduled for April 14, so only one person presented today. It was a project related to p53, and watching a presentation that someone else had poured so much effort into really sparked my motivation and gave me a lot to learn. What an impressive friend!
At 3 PM, I met with the professor of my next rotation lab to finalize the project. He’s also the coach for my journal club tomorrow, so I had originally scheduled the meeting for that purpose, planning to talk about the rotation only if we had extra time. But since he said he didn’t have much time, we started with the rotation discussion. Just like our first meeting, I really appreciated how genuinely passionate he is about research. What impressed me the most was how he constantly came up with new ideas and kept up with current trends by reading preprints, patents, and more. One topic naturally led to another, and although he initially said he only had 40 to 50 minutes, we ended up talking for a heavy 2 hours and 10 minutes.
Honestly, I really enjoyed it. Maybe it’s because it didn’t feel like an empty conversation, but rather one that considered the bigger picture. I’ve realized that I truly admire people who are sincere about what they do. It doesn’t necessarily have to be “work”—I just mean people who can view their situation objectively and keep thinking about what they should do, then actually take action. I guess that’s one of the traits I admire in others.
I spent the rest of the day focused on preparing for my presentation tomorrow morning. I can’t wait to finish it and finally enjoy some sweet rest. It’s been a while.
Tuesday, March 25
164.2 lbs (Day 88, starting from 162.6 lbs on Dec 28) | 🏃🏻 Done (2/6) | ★★★★
I finished my nerve-wracking journal club presentation today. Since coming here, I think it was the largest audience I’ve spoken in front of. Although it was a full PowerPoint presentation, it’s hard to speak smoothly unless you’ve internalized the script to some extent. That’s true even in Korean, so it’s even harder for me in English. This kind of format is relatively easier for me since I can control the flow with pre-designed slides and use intuitive visuals and animations to keep the audience engaged. Still, I get so nervous that I can’t really make eye contact with people haha… That’s something I definitely need to work on. When I speak English, I often avoid looking at people’s eyes. I usually observe people’s expressions closely, and maybe it’s because I catch even the subtlest hints of confusion or discomfort that I immediately feel embarrassed. I think it’s an important area I need to improve.
After the presentation, with a few friends who came to support me even though it was spring break, we went out for boba. I finally felt like something big was truly over, and with the perfect weather, I just felt happy inside. After coming home, I took a nap, went to the gym, did some house chores, and then struggled to install AlphaFold3 on the school’s HPC cluster. I’ve actually been trying for a few days, but it’s not going well. I don’t really know the syntax well, and the only things I can lean on are smart AIs—but once they are struggled with too, it becomes seriously tough☹️
Wednesday, March 26
164.9 lbs (Day 89, starting from 162.6 lbs on Dec 28) | 🏃🏻 Done (3/6) | ★★★★☆
I got up late today. Computational work feels kind of ironic. I used to think the biggest advantage was that you could work from anywhere, especially since I’ve only worked in wet labs where you need to be physically present. But now that I actually have to do it, I’ve realized that home just turns into another workspace. I keep telling myself “Just one more thing,” and before I know it, I end up going to bed way too late lol. Nothing comes without its downsides, I guess. Still, I believe that over time, I’ll learn how to set better boundaries for myself.
After coming back from the gym, I went all in on AlphaFold3 with a “let’s see who wins today” mindset, and finally, I managed to run my first prediction. It felt incredibly rewarding 😄 In the evening, I met up with some PhD friends for dinner at Spark Social SF. One friend from BioE is doing her last rotation, and she told us she’s been working 13–14 hours a day… truly impressive. Of course, she really wants to join that lab, and her mentor is a serious workaholic, so I can understand why she’s giving it her all. Makes me want to live a bit more intensely, too.
Thursday, March 27
165.4 lbs (Day 90, starting from 162.6 lbs on Dec 28) | 🏃🏻 Done (4/6) | ★★★★☆
As usual, I started the day with a good workout. Today, I finally went to get a haircut for the first time with a Vietnamese friend from my cohort. Cutting my own hair definitely has its advantages, but honestly, the main reason I started doing it was to save money. It turns out that the place my friend goes to is pretty old-fashioned, but the barber there has decades of experience with military-style cuts, which, to be fair, isn’t that different from what I usually go for😅, just a bit shorter. The best part? It only costs $10, or $12 including tip. After thinking about it for a while, I finally decided to give it a try and I was actually pretty satisfied.
It did turn out shorter than I expected, and for a moment, I felt like I was back in the military, but I also kind of liked that I wouldn’t have to worry about my hair(especially the back of my hair). It even feels like it might help me focus better at the gym, so I’m not complaining. I had brought a photo of an Ivy League cut to show as a reference, but the barber was an elderly man who only spoke Chinese, so I’m not sure that part came through very clearly🤣
After getting a super fresh haircut, we decided to grab lunch since we were already in Chinatown. I quickly looked up a place on Google and ended up at a Chinese restaurant called Capital (839 Clay St, San Francisco, CA 94108). Even though it was a weekday, the place was packed—only bar seats were available, probably because it was lunchtime. We ordered a fried appetizer platter as a side, and I had the Mongolian Beef Chow Mein. And wow it was amazing. Huge portions, perfectly spiced with just the right spiciness for my taste. If you ever go, I highly recommend that dish. After the meal, they gave us fortune cookies. I mean, I know they’re always filled with nice messages, but I can’t help but feel good😊
After getting home, I sent the results I had organized yesterday to my professor, so I finally had a chance to restart my blog. It’s been delayed for three whole weeks, and even though I had taken notes, I still forgot so many little details. I really need to catch up. While writing the blog, I got a pretty detailed follow-up message from the professor, so I spent a while thinking through it and drafting a proper response… and ended up going to bed at 3 a.m. again. There’s no way I could do a job that’s 100% computer work. Even if I push myself now, I know it might just lower my productivity in the long run. But it is difficult to stop.
Friday, March 28
166.1 lbs (Day 91, starting from 162.6 lbs on Dec 28) | 🏃🏻 Done (5/6) | ★★★★
Naturally, since I went to bed at 3 a.m., I woke up pretty late today. When I checked my messages, I saw another reply had come in—and wow, it was full of praise. It really felt like all the focus and effort I put in yesterday paid off. Maybe I’m getting ahead of myself, but there seems to be a potential opportunity to turn this into a paper. A postdoc who’s about to start a faculty position has been giving me detailed feedback, and it feels like there’s real progress happening. I’m especially grateful for the insights on things I hadn’t even considered.
I spent a long time thinking about how to respond, but eventually, I realized I needed to clear my head, so I went to the gym. After working out, I calmed down and got back to work with a fresh mindset. The next rotation starts this coming Monday, and to be honest, I don’t think I’ll be able to fully catch up on the blog by then ㅠㅠ
Saturday, March 29
166.2 lbs (Day 92, starting from 162.6 lbs on Dec 28) | 🏃🏻 Done (6/6) | ★★★★☆
Today, I went to the gym alone since the friend I usually work out with on weekends is away at a conference in Canada. I definitely feel like I can push myself harder when we work out together. I spent the entire day working and writing for my blog. To be honest, in the middle of all that… I somehow managed to finish watching the entire 침착맨 삼국지 series🤟
Tomorrow, I’m scheduled to have a Zoom meeting with the postdoc to discuss the research direction. One of the biggest strengths of being in a well-known lab is definitely the people. When you’re surrounded by impressive postdocs and students, it’s hard to go completely off track—as long as you stay focused and put in the effort. Of course, there’s always a chance of getting assigned a risky project and losing direction, but ultimately, it’s up to you to figure out how to make the most of the situation.
