Beginning
Sunday, June 15
🏃🏻 Missed (4/6) | ★★★★☆
I woke up this morning with another heavy cough. I just thought it could be reflux-related… I’ve been eating more to gain weight, but I only increased dinner portions instead of spreading the food across three meals. Because of this, maybe dinner often isn’t fully digested when I go to bed early, which could explain the cough. Eating a much lighter dinner might help. I haven’t felt any heartburn, so I ruled out reflux before. But the cough always gets worse when I lie down, so it’s probably worth paying attention to.
Because the weather was so nice, I had a home-cooked lunch and then walked to Piccino Coffee Bar (845 22nd St, San Francisco, CA 94107) for a matcha latte and a pastry, which I enjoyed in nearby Esprit Park (19th St & Minnesota St) under the sunshine. Later, I finally cleared my overdue Todoist list (more than 120 items…) one by one. For dinner, I tried the Phoebe pizza at Outta Sight Pizza (422 Larkin St, San Francisco, CA 94102); the basil kick made the salty slice delicious, though it’s a pity they don’t sell every variety by the slice Afterward, I buckled down and emptied Todoist completely—though just as many notes are still waiting in Google Tasks🥹 Most of the backlog dated back to mid-winter quarter and included interesting research and questions from seminars, so the time flew while I organized them.
Monday, June 16
168.4 lbs (from 162.6 lbs on Dec 28) | 🏃🏻 Done (1/6) | ★★★★
I woke up around 8 a.m. and, since I planned to go to the gym later with friends, I spent the morning clearing my to-do list. I started going through every note I’d made over the past three months in Google Tasks. It felt great to get everything organized.
One big item on the list was applying for a California Real ID. As an international student, I have to show a passport everywhere, from bars to government offices. Surely, I hate carrying it around. Losing it would be a disaster. A Real ID card solves that problem because it’s a valid photo ID, but much easier to replace and carry. I uploaded a passport copy, my I-94, visa, UCSF enrollment letter, and a PG&E gas bill for proof of address. The documents were approved within a few hours, but the earliest online DMV appointment is in late August. I’ll probably just walk in one morning and plan to wait an hour or two.
After lunch, I published my latest blog post, then headed to the gym for a great, delicious workout with friends. The weather was perfect, so we finished with some shoulder exercises on the rooftop. In the evening, I met a cohort-mate who’s still finishing his third rotation. He took me to Quê Việt (570 4th St, San Francisco, CA 94107; his favorite Vietnamese spot) and we demolished three dishes: phở, pork over rice, and some outstanding garlic noodles. Easily the best Vietnamese food I’ve had in the U.S. We caught up and talked about how we each chose our thesis projects.
Back home, I watched a few YouTube videos and squeezed in thirty minutes of English-speaking practice, which has been a while. I would say my fluency has improved a lot😗 compared with a year ago, but I know there’s still a long way to go. I’ll keep at it.
Tuesday, June 17
169.4 lbs (from 162.6 lbs on Dec 28) | 🏃🏻 Done (2/6) | ★★★★
This morning I overslept and didn’t get up until about 9:30 am 🛌 I rushed through breakfast, completely forgetting that I had a noon meeting with the postdoc who mentored me during my first rotation. Fortunately, I’d set an alarm for an hour beforehand, so I still made it on time. We walked over to SPARK Social SF, a small park packed with food trucks.
I grabbed a bowl of noodles, which was just decent😗 The conversation was great. He’s always been a great listener. We discussed different software options for our lab to design de novo protein, and he shared his experience with a couple of the tools that might help with my thesis project. He also reminded me that next Wednesday is DGL(DeGrado Lab)70 celebration, so I’ll definitely drop by.
After the meeting, I headed to the HUB to clear out my to-do lists. I discovered there are far more memos in Google Tasks than in Todoist, so clearing everything will take at least another day. In the late afternoon, I hit the gym with friends for a solid back workout including rear delts, biceps, and abs. I came home, had dinner, and wrapped up the evening. Nothing remarkable happened today, but oversleeping made me realize I need to manage my time better.
Wednesday, June 18
167.6 lbs (from 162.6 lbs on Dec 28) | 🏃🏻 Rest (2/6) | ★★★★☆
I will start my new lab work on Friday, so I wanted to squeeze in one last outing beforehand. After nine months in San Francisco, I finally made it to Golden Gate Park and then the ocean nearby. The fog was so thick that the coastline looked gloomy and chilly, but a fantastic lunch at Hook Fish Co (4542 Irving St, San Francisco, CA 94122; the best fish-and-chips I’ve ever had!) lifted my mood completely. Afterward, I enjoyed a relaxing walk on the beach.
Next, I sat in a pretty café (Black Bird Bookstore and Café, 4541 Irving St, San Francisco, CA 94122) across from the restaurant, soaking up the sunshine. I also spent a long time updating my CV. Yesterday, on the way home from the gym, I bumped into a Korean who is in town for a conference at UCSF. We exchanged LinkedIn profiles, and he suggested I apply for a remote, part-time role at Scale AI. The pay is decent, and the work (basically, evaluating AI model responses) would let me use my subject-matter knowledge while learning more about AI. He had already submitted a referral, so I rushed home, opened Overleaf, and revised my long-neglected CV. Revisiting it reminded me of the effort I poured into grad-school applications😶 and how much I want to fill it up with my own research achievements. Anyway, fingers crossed that the part-time job works out!
Thursday, June 19
169.2 lbs (from 162.6 lbs on Dec 28) | 🏃🏻 Done (3/6) | ★★★☆
Yesterday’s ocean breeze seems to have made my cough much worse. I barely slept because coughing was so intense. I don’t think I’ve ever had coughing this severe. I’ve decided to start the five-day azithromycin course the doctor prescribed, pairing it with 씨콜드 my parents sent (Who designed this package….? You have to take two daytime pills three times and two nighttime pills once, yet each pack has only six daytime and four nighttime tablets… makes no sense). I’ll see whether the antibiotic helps; if not, I’ll have to visit the clinic again. Short, broken sleep is destroying my energy, and I really want to be healthy before I go back to Korea.
At least I felt better during the day, so I finally cleared the last of my Google Keep notes, got in a light workout, and prepared for tomorrow’s important (first!) three-way meeting with my two thesis advisors. Imagining how busy they are, I drafted a concise agenda and emailed it in advance. I’m curious to hear how they drive my potential thesis project. I also finished lining up meetings with friends in Korea. Oh, and because the Scale AI position I was offered is off-campus, I need work authorization from IIE. I submitted the request, but since the job isn’t directly related to my field, it might be rejected. We’ll see!
Friday, June 20
169.2 lbs (from 162.6 lbs on Dec 28) | 🏃🏻 Done (4/6) | ★★★★☆
First day in my thesis lab! I introduced myself to everyone, found my desk, and spent the morning gathering background materials before the meeting with my thesis advisors. I’m lucky to have an alum from my undergrad who is now an assistant adjunct professor and a Korean postdoc in the lab; the three of us had an intense, super-helpful discussion, and I’m grateful for their kindness. My alum mentor joined me for lunch in the hospital cafeteria before the big meeting.
The meeting itself flew by. I honestly don’t know where the hour went. Our original thesis idea shifted quite a bit, but the new direction is exciting. It was hard to keep up with the depth of my two advisors’ thinking, so I recorded the conversation; over the weekend, I’ll transcribe and summarize it for them (and for me as well). I’m amazed they’re willing to take on a joint mentorship, something they’ve never done before. Balancing their mutual interests won’t be easy, but their enthusiasm motivates me to give it everything I have. They told me, “We know you can do this,” and those kind words motivated me. I will do my best👍
Saturday, June 21
🏃🏻 Done (5/6) | ★★★★☆
In the morning, I squeezed in a full-body workout and some cardio at the dorm gym. After a quick shower, I walked to the Caltrain station under gorgeous skies and headed to San Mateo to see a friend from my first-year chemistry cohort (2013 haha..), now a third-year physics PhD student at Stanford. He suggested lunch at Kajiken (112 S B St, San Mateo, CA 94401), famous for its abura soba. Because we both do workout regularly and were starving, we ordered three mains plus a karaage side, which turned out to be too much🤪 The noodles were fantastic, especially after adding chili oil, garlic powder, and a splash of vinegar. The neighborhood is packed with restaurants; I’d like to explore more next time.
We moved to Philz Coffee afterward and talked about science. His current project overlaps with my fall rotation project, so I shared what I know. He works in Possu Huang’s group on de novo protein design, and I learned about the fundamentals from him. Naturally, the conversation drifted to marriage stuff (every PhD chat seems to end here). With no steady income and an uncertain timeline, meeting someone during grad school is tough; the best strategy, we agreed, is to focus on research, invest in ourselves, and graduate quickly.
Back home, I reviewed a friend’s scholarship statement and CV. He’s applying to grad school this year. I sent detailed feedback along with my own CV. I hope he makes it over here; so few of our classmates study abroad. Dinner was the leftover abura soba. While eating, I replayed the recording from Friday’s joint-advisor meeting and began drafting a detailed summary and action list. It’ll take a while to format neatly, but I’ll finish tomorrow. Keeping thorough post-meeting notes is a habit I plan to stick with!
