Running 🏃🏻

Sunday, September 7

163.6 lbs (from 165.4 lbs on Aug 24) | 🏃🏻 Done (6/6) | ★★★★

I forgot to introduce my new running shoes. I tried them on a short run yesterday, and it felt like a completely different experience. They are so bouncy that I could move faster with less effort. My previous pair was a stability shoe that controlled overpronation, and it was much? heavier. With the new pair, I ran 5K in ~ 26 minutes! It may feel a little indulgent to buy expensive shoes when I only just started running, but I am running hard and I plan to stay consistent for all the benefits I wrote about before. I will use them until they are worn out💪 I have not tried Superblast or Novablast, so I cannot compare, but I can say these are very good.

After morning yoga, which is starting to feel better, I went to Bageletto (76 14th St, San Francisco, CA 94103) for a bagel. The prices are steep by any standard, though maybe that is just SF, but the taste was excellent. The beef sandwich was good, and the mortadella and burrata bagel from the daily specials was especially delicious🤤 The shop was also clean, so I recommend it.

For dinner, on the way to the Korean restaurant SAN HO WON (2170 Bryant St, San Francisco, CA 94110) I saw an adorable dog on the bus🥹 Because we wanted to try as many dishes as possible, we ordered a lot. However due to the recent trip to Korea, my standards for Korean food are much higher than last year, so I would call the food here just decent. At this price there are other places that satisfy me more, though the service was great. Overall, it was a relaxing Sunday with good food.

Monday, September 8

164.9 lbs (from 165.4 lbs on Aug 24) | 🏃🏻 Done (1/6) | ★★★★

Good morning workout, but I did not make solid progress on my project. I even had to try fixing an LC-MS instrument we recently got from another lab. The warranty expired long ago, so I checked the user manual and tried to troubleshoot it myself. The nitrogen pressure was abnormal, so I could not get past the nitrogen failure error. Honestly, I did not expect to set up the instrument from scratch, right now the lines and cables are connected almost at random with no documentation. Maybe all grad students go through this.

In the evening, to lift my mood, I went for a quick 30-minute run and then slept well. A few months ago I used to feel obsessed with “making up” for a slow day by pushing late into the night, but that only left me more tired the next day and sometimes I skipped my morning workout. In the end my productivity got worse than if I had simply avoided overworking. I am trying to keep myself and my work separate now, and it seems to be working.

Tuesday, September 9

162.9 lbs (from 165.4 lbs on Aug 24) | 🏃🏻 Done (2/6) | ★★★★

After my morning gym session I got my flu vaccine for 2025 to 2026. Hard to believe another year has passed. Today was packed with work and learning. I am doing work I have not done before, without formal training, so it takes a lot of time to understand the meaningful differences among models; it is interesting but sometimes painful.

After work I went to a Chemistry Club where some PSPG students, including my Korean PhD friend, gave presentations on chemistry topics. They invited me because of my chemistry background. One friend presented on chemical genetics, and I learned applications of chemical genetics that I had not known about. I think presentations by non-majors can be very productive at the 101 level, because they select representative work in the field, which is basic but important wherever you are.

I grabbed a quick dinner and kept working. I am still trying to avoid working after dinner, but it is a habit I am working on.

Wednesday, September 10

163.1 lbs (from 165.4 lbs on Aug 24) | 🏃🏻 Done (3/6) | ★★★★☆

I hit the gym in the morning, then had consecutive meetings. The first was an overview of yeast display. A postdoc in the DeGrado lab recently returned from an internship, and since his PhD focused on designing yeast display libraries and running displays for protein engineering, he offered to teach the lab. In my recent thesis meeting Bill suggested a display based approach and introduced us. The postdoc generously spent over two hours walking me through library design principles, the biological workflow, and even a bit of deep sequencing. It is a huge advantage to learn directly from someone who has done exactly what I hope to do.

The second meeting was with a graduate student in the Shokat lab who has studied the same protein I am interested in. He kindly prepared a mini presentation that gave me a solid background on the protein and highlighted open research questions. I hope I can help him in some way too.

After the meetings I focused on work, left a little late, and went for a run. Now I have a lot to review.

Thursday, September 11

162.2 lbs (from 165.4 lbs on Aug 24) | 🏃🏻 Done (4/6) | ★★★★☆

Great weather today. I have been struggling with my current work, and I hope I find a breakthrough soon. I had lunch with my cohort for the first time in a while (a Subway sandwich). Fortunately, he is also a new graduate student in the DeGrado lab, so we can discuss ideas any time. I feel lucky to have him. After work I went for a run to relax. Running really helps me detach from overthinking. I highly recommend it, because while you run, you can escape stress and worries at least for a while!

Friday, September 12

162.0 lbs (from 165.4 lbs on Aug 24) | 🏃🏻 Done (5/6) | ★★★★☆

I did a solid workout today, and I think my work is just inching forward. Lately, everyone is talking about coding agents, and after trying them, I am really amazed. It has only been a few years since this kind of wave began, and it is hard to imagine what comes next. Still, I am glad about it because someone like me without a computational background can now keep up and contribute. Combined with the fact that I can also run experiments, this feels like a real advantage.

In the evening, we held a welcome dinner for the new Korean UCSF PhD students. There are about five, and three of them are in the Berkeley joint BioE program. We ate at K Soul Chicken (1710 Polk St, San Francisco, CA 94109), which was an excellent choice. There were around eight to ten flavors, and the prices were very reasonable by SF standards. A portion that can feed one to two people was under twenty dollars. There was even a flavor similar to 뿌링클. I would go back to this chicken place even though it is a bit far. I hope the new students settle in well, do what they love, and have a happy time in SF!

Saturday, September 13

163.3 lbs (from 165.4 lbs on Aug 24) | 🏃🏻 Done (6/6) | ★★★★☆

After a cheerful morning workout, I tackled a bunch of to-dos. First, the shoe cabinet: I’d been putting this off, but I finally bought an extra unit. It is just wide enough for one pair per shelf and tall enough to hold up to eight pairs. It actually arrived a few days ago, but I didn’t have a proper screwdriver, so I ordered one and assembled it today. With the entryway tidy, the whole place feels bigger. Second, meal prep: Back to the routine. I’ve switched to chicken breast and added more vegetables, and I feel better. I’m going to keep it up. Lastly, deep clean: I wondered how best to handle wet mopping. I started with disposable pads, but that felt wasteful, so I bought a spray mop that dispenses a premixed cleaner when you squeeze the trigger. I use it along with a regular dry mop, and it works great. I listened to YouTube while I worked and the time flew. In the evening, I capped the day with a pleasant run. A refreshing Saturday!