Small Celebrations

Sunday, September 20

오늘도 운동으로 시작하는 일요일! 수영, 싸이클, 런닝 잘 마치고 Gus’s에 들렀다가, 씻고 종빈이랑 코스트코에도 다녀왔다. 다음 주에 해 먹을 것들을 이것저것 보는데 고기가 아니 너무 크다 ㅋㅋ 수육을 해 먹으려고 보니 너무 많아서.. 결국 내일 H mart에 가서 조금만 사기로 했다. 요즘은 따로 닭가슴살이나 닭다리살을 사는 대신에 말도안되는 가성비인 로티세리를 두 개 사와서 곧바로 밀프렙을 해둔다. 진짜 이런 사기가 또 없다.. 샌프란에서 사는게 너무 경제적으로 부담이라고들 하지만, 솔직히 집만 해결되면 먹고사는건 크게 한국과 다르지 않다. 외식을 하지 않고 밥을 만들어 먹는다면!

Another Sunday starting with exercise! After swimming, cycling, and running, I stopped by Gus’s, showered, and went to Costco with Jongbin. We were looking at things to cook next week, but wow, the meat portions were enormous lol. I wanted to make suyuk, but it was just too much.. So I decided to go to H Mart tomorrow and get a smaller amount. These days, instead of buying chicken breasts or thighs separately, I get two ridiculously good-value rotisserie chickens and meal prep with them right away. It almost feels like cheating.. People say living in San Francisco is such a financial burden, but honestly, once housing is sorted out, everyday food expenses aren’t that different from Korea. As long as you cook instead of eating out!

Monday, September 21

꽉 찬 월요일. 아침 운동은 잘 다녀왔고, 그룹미팅부터 오후 미팅, 저녁 H Mart까지 줄줄이 잡혀 있었다. 일이 좀 많아서 점심은 건너뛰고 계속 일했지만 다행히 잘 되어가고 있는 것 같아서 전혀 힘든 느낌이 없었다 ㅎㅎ 저녁에는 H Mart에 가서 보쌈용 고기도 사는김에, 요즘 밥 양이 많아서 참 먹기가 힘들어 우동을 다른 탄수화물원으로 시도해보려고 이것저것 샀다. 끓는물에 30초정도만 삶고, 적당한 고기랑 금방 먹을 수 있어서 완전 편하긴했었다.

A packed Monday. I got my morning workout in, and the rest of the day was lined up with a group meeting, an afternoon meeting, and H Mart in the evening. I had quite a lot to do and worked through lunch, but things seemed to be going well, so it didn’t feel tiring at all haha. In the evening, I went to H Mart for some pork for bossam. Lately, I’ve been struggling to eat such big portions of rice, so I also picked up a few things to try udon as another carbohydrate source. Boil it for just about thirty seconds, add some meat, and it’s ready to eat in no time. It was really convenient.

Tuesday, September 22

오전에는 check-in meeting과 Abe랑 실험 일정이 있었고, 점심에는 김박사님과 박사님의 한국 박사때 동기 형님을 만나 밥을 먹었다. The Ramp (855 Terry A Francois Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94158)라는 바닷가 식당이었는데, 햇살 아래 배들이 보이고 야외 테이블도 있는, 이쁜 장소였다 (음식은 막 뛰어나진 않았다..) 이후에는 Chula Café (701 Illinois St, San Francisco, CA 94107)라는 멕시칸 커피를 파는 카페가 최근에 완전 집 근처에 열어서 라떼를 마셔봤는데 가격도 그렇고 아주 괜찮았다!! 여유롭게 산책을 하며 이것저것 얘기를 나눴다. 다시 랩에 와서는 다행히 잘 발현된 디자인들을 확인하고, 하루를 잘 마무리했다.

I had a check-in meeting and experiments with Abe in the morning. For lunch, I met Dr. Kim and a friend who had been in the same PhD cohort as him in Korea. We ate at a waterfront restaurant called The Ramp. It was a pretty spot, with boats in view and outdoor tables in the sunshine (the food wasn’t particularly amazing, though..). Afterward, I tried a latte at Chula Cafe, a cafe serving Mexican coffee that recently opened really close to home. The price was good, and I really liked it!! We took a leisurely walk and talked about this and that. Back at the lab, I checked on the designs that had thankfully expressed well and wrapped up the day.

Wednesday, September 23

오늘은 하체…할 때마다 뭔가를 씻어내는 느낌이라 좋다. 점심 먹고 오후 일정도 보내고, 저녁에는 CCB에서 나와 가장 많은 시간을 보내는 An의 생일이라 An의 친한 친구인 Caleb(나와도 수업을 같이 들었었다)이랑 셋이 밥을 먹으러 갔다. 타르틴 근처 태국음식점인 Farmhouse Kitchen Thai Cuisine (710 Florida St, San Francisco, CA 94110)이었는데 오…! 가격은 좀 있지만 음식이 다 맛있었다. 특히 Tom Kha!! Yum만 먹었었는데 적당히 달달한 뜨거운 soup이 이렇게 괜찮을 줄이야 놀랐다. Caleb이 자타공인 완전 Foodie라서 저번에 한식도 그렇고 따라가는 곳마다 성공하는 것 같다. 이후에는 또 추천한 Garden Creamery (3566 20th Street, San Francisco, CA 94110)에서 아이스크림까지! 이것도 완전 맛있어서 놀람… 근처 Dolores Park에서 간단히 야경을 보며 천천히 시간을 보냈다.

Leg day today… I like how it feels like I’m clearing something out every time. After lunch and the afternoon’s activities, I went out for dinner with An, the person I spend the most time with in CCB, for his birthday. His close friend Caleb joined us (he and I had taken a class together, too), so it was the three of us. We went to Farmhouse Kitchen Thai Cuisine near Tartine, and oh…! It was a little pricey, but everything was delicious. Especially the tom kha!! I’d only had tom yum before, so I was surprised that a hot soup with just the right amount of sweetness could be this good. Caleb is a foodie by anyone’s standards, including his own, and between the Korean place last time and this, every place I follow him to seems to be a success. Afterward, we even got ice cream at another place he recommended, Garden Creamery! I was surprised by how delicious that was, too… We took our time enjoying a bit of the nighttime view at nearby Dolores Park.

Thursday, September 24

어우.. 오늘 운동을 하다가 살짝 담이 올것만 같은 느낌이 들었다. 바로 그만하긴 했는데 역시 일이 많아서 다시 빨리 랩에 돌아가려고 하다보니 스트레칭을 신경 쓰지 못해서 그랬던 것 같다. 뭐 모든 일이 그렇겠지만 항상 일은 몰아서 갑자기 찾아오는지..ㅠ

Oof.. During my workout today, I felt like a muscle was about to seize up. I stopped right away, but with so much work to do, I’d been trying to get back to the lab quickly and hadn’t paid enough attention to stretching. I think that’s probably why. I guess this is true of everything, but why does work always arrive all at once out of nowhere..ㅠ

Friday, September 25

여름방학이 공식적으로 끝나고 이제 내가 애정하는 RIPS 첫 수업이 시작되었다. 이걸 금요일에 듣고 동기애들을 보면 진짜 학기가 시작됐구나 하는 느낌이 든다. 이제는 빼도박도 못하는 3년차라, 벌써 내년 초 쯤에 내 발표가 잡혀있다. 원하는건 앞으로 두번만 더 하고 졸업하는건데…! 이게 될지는 모르겠다. 어제 느낌이 살짝 안좋았던게 역시나 좀 도져서 오늘은 일찍 퇴근해서 계속 누워있었다. 흠 오늘 좀 일을 많이 해두고 내일은 연구실에 가지 않고 여유롭게 요리할 생각이었는데. 내일 아마 다시 나가야 할 것 같다.

Summer break is officially over, and the first session of RIPS, which I love, has started. Going to it on Fridays and seeing my cohort really makes it feel like the academic year has begun. I’m unmistakably a third-year now, and my presentation is already scheduled for early next year. What I’d like is to do just two more presentations and then graduate…! Who knows whether that’ll happen. The discomfort I’d felt yesterday flared up after all, so I left work early and spent the rest of the day lying down. Hmm, I’d meant to get a lot done today so I could stay out of the lab tomorrow and take my time cooking. I’ll probably have to go back in tomorrow.

Saturday, September 26

오늘 컨디션이 그래도 좀 나아졌지만 아직 무리하면 안되겠다 싶어서 천국의 계단을 좀 타고, 어제 못했던 실험을 하러 연구실에 갔다. 앞으로는 운동을 못 할 지언정 스트레칭은 절대 빼먹지 않으리..😠

I felt a bit better today, but I still didn’t think I should push myself, so I spent a little time on the stair climber and went to the lab to do the experiments I hadn’t managed yesterday. From now on, even if I have to miss a workout, I will never skip stretching..😠