End of My Last Rotation
Sunday, June 8
🏃🏻 Done (6/6) | ★★★★
It’s been a while since I managed six workouts in a week, but I finally did it! The weather wasn’t great, yet I still got to the gym each day. Later I went to Costco for groceries and tried the Hot Turkey Provolone sandwich for the first time. It was great. Seven dollars at Costco feels like fourteen anywhere else, so it’s hard to go wrong there. Afterward, I spent the afternoon in the library analyzing proteomics data and studying statistics (p-values vs. q-values, and other methods). I had forgotten nearly everything from the general statistics class I took twelve years ago, so I spent a long time working with GPT. I grabbed dinner at a nearby ramen place.
In the evening, I called my parents and learned that my grandmother had a subcutaneous ECG monitoring chip implanted near her heart. Fortunately, it isn’t due to any heart disease; the doctors want to determine whether the mild stroke she had earlier was caused by arrhythmia. While her overall health is fine, I still felt kind of powerless. It hasn’t even been a year yet, but one clear downside of studying abroad is being physically far from the people I love. It’s tough enough when I’m sick, but it feels worse when something happens to my family and I can’t be there to help. Time and adaptation don’t fix that.
Thinking about what I can’t control only makes me depressed, so I’m trying to turn it into something positive by staying in touch as often as possible; otherwise, regrets about leaving at a later age and other worries start to pile up. I just hope my family and everyone close to me stay healthy.
Monday, June 9
🏃🏻 Rest (0/6) | ★★★☆
Aside from presentation prep and cleaning, I didn’t do much today. Since I already have the raw data I need, I just stopped by the lab to verify one of my analyses and then headed straight home. I can’t wait for the presentation to be over.
Tuesday, June 10
167.8 lbs (from 162.6 lbs on Dec 28) | 🏃🏻 Missed (0/6) | ★★★★
I went to bed quite late yesterday, so I couldn’t go to the gym this morning. I finally had my mentor review my presentation and found some possible improvements, especially in the introduction, so I kept working on memorizing and revising it. The talk usually lasts 1–1.5 hours including Q&A, so I need to be prepared for all the questions I can anticipate. To be honest, I had naively assumed that everyone in the lab was familiar with chemoproteomics, so I didn’t go very deep into the introduction. However, my mentor told me that even within the lab some people don’t have much expertise in chemoproteomics, so I added a few slides explaining the basic concepts. Properly tailoring slides is always difficult🫠 Anyway, by tomorrow my entire first year will be over!
Wednesday, June 11
🏃🏻 Done (1/6) | ★★★★★
Finally, it’s over! It was a bit awkward to tell the professor right afterward that I’m joining another lab, but I think the conversation went well; he wished me future success, and I wished the same for him. Everyone said the presentation was good, and overall it wrapped up smoothly. Still, I feel I was only decent because I couldn’t answer many questions at the end about promising proteins for further study in the proteomics data. Lately I’ve realized how hard it is to craft a complete story at the level top journals expect. I can’t imagine how some people manage to publish two or three Nature, Cell, or Science papers in five years—how?! Now it’s my turn to prove whether I can achieve something like that. I’ve joined a great lab, and with no obligations outside of research, I’ll finally see how much my hard work pays off.
After that, I had a final lunch with the lab members and said goodbye, giving my mentor a gift and a letter. I took a quick, sweet nap at home, then headed to the gym for a relaxing workout. Later, I met Korean PhD students to celebrate the end of the first year. Fortunately, four first-year students successfully joined the labs they really wanted, so we were thrilled. We went to YASIJANG (800 Van Ness Ave, San Francisco, CA 94109), and it truly felt like we were in Korea—the owner spoke Korean, and both the menu and atmosphere were just like home. We had a great time, and once I got home, I went to bed early. I’ll meet my professors on the 20th; before then, I need to catch up on all the blog posts and study tasks I’ve postponed, so I won’t be completely free, but I feel genuinely at ease.
Thursday, June 12
168.7 lbs (from 162.6 lbs on Dec 28) | 🏃🏻 Done (2/6) | ★★★★☆
I nailed an early-morning workout for the first time in a while and went straight to the Hub to tackle nearly three weeks of postponed blog posts. Writing really helps me organize my emotions, thoughts, and even practical work details, so I recommend it to everyone👍 I worked hard until lunch, then went to the USPS office to pick up the medicine my parents had sent from Korea (tbh, three weeks ago). I went to the first post office, but that place was the wrong location. An officer redirected me, so I finally got the package. Fortunately, my cough is less frequent now, and the throat pain has eased; thank you, I’ll take better care of myself.
After a late lunch, I kept writing and managed to publish two posts in one day. I prepped my meals and went to bed early. Starting next week, I’ll finally update the manuscript draft I’ve been postponing; I have no idea how it will go, but before diving into my thesis project, I want to wrap this up first.
Friday, June 13
169.2 lbs (from 162.6 lbs on Dec 28) | 🏃🏻 Done (3/6) | ★★★★
I woke up late and attended a KOLIS seminar for the first time. Although I couldn’t follow many parts of the presentation because behavioral neuroscience is outside my field, the presenter explained the background clearly and in detail, so people like me could grasp the overall concept. I haven’t seen any chemical-biology talks at KOLIS yet; hopefully I can attend one soon, or even present when my own research is far enough along!
The seminar reminded me how many research questions exist in the world. Rather than focusing on a single niche, it might be better to leverage the skills of many great researchers from a higher point. Perhaps that’s why some people become venture capitalists(obviously could not be the only reason but🙃). Instead of understanding every detail, they recognize which projects are important and support multiple promising ideas in parallel. Developing the ability to find such talent and helping refine these rough gems through investment seems valuable.
After lunch, I wrote another blog post, worked out, ate an oil pasta with a lot of sun-dried tomatoes(I’m getting tired of marinara sauce…), watched 깡촌캉스, and went to bed early.
Saturday, June 14
170.2 lbs (from 162.6 lbs on Dec 28) | 🏃🏻 Done (4/6) | ★★★★☆
After a brutal… leg workout this morning, I spent nearly five hours cleaning and organizing my entire house. I finally sorted my clothes, filed documents, and put away rarely used items, and now the place feels a bit bigger. During this deep clean, I listened to 침착맨 YouTube at 1.5× speed, so I didn’t get bored😛 I probably finished about six episodes.
Besides cleaning, I finally assembled the Paper Theater Dondoko Odori diorama. It’s so cute☺️ I love it! As I’ve mentioned before, my favorite characters are Totoro and Snorlax. I bought this kit on a family trip to Japan, and it was definitely a purchase with no regrets. I’d love to build another one soon.
