Family Flights Booked✈️

Sunday, September 14

161.8 lbs (from 165.4 lbs on Aug 24) | 🏃🏻 Done (7/6)

Morning yoga! I really like the 9 a.m. instructor. She is appropriately energetic, not overwhelming, and kind. I used to think yoga was not hard enough to build muscle. I still think hypertrophy is not the point, but I am convinced it builds stability, coordination, flexibility, and core strength. Most of all, I love the mental focus. There is time to turn inward and let the mind stop wandering, and it is so relaxing.

After class, I went to HEYTEA (165 4th St, San Francisco, CA 94103) and had a matcha latte and a Coconut Mango Boom. Both were great, especially the Mango Boom, which reminded me of my trip to Vietnam.

Later I got a notification from Air Premia about a big flight sale, and since my family wants to visit SF I started looking at dates. I have been learning how powerful credit cards can be in the United States and reading MileMoa tips for booking flights wisely. I decided to apply for a new card, the Chase Sapphire Preferred. We can get a 75,000-mile bonus with certain conditions while using this card, and also I need a card with no foreign transaction fee, which my first card, Chase Freedom Unlimited, does not have. When I went back to Korea I had to use a Korean debit card or pay extra fees with Freedom Unlimited. I applied online and was not sure I would be approved since I opened my first card only a few months ago, but fortunately I got instant approval! Now I am waiting for the physical card so I can book my family’s flights. But please make sure to use credit cards only if you will not spend more just because you can use credit🙂

Monday, September 15

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

Great start to the week with a morning gym session. I kept working with software tools that I think could be useful for my thesis project. After work I went to AMC Metreon 16 (135 4th St #3000, San Francisco, CA 94103) to see Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle. I had only seen a few episodes and some YouTube shorts before, but the film was great, especially “Zenitsu”. I would have preferred subtitles without dubbing, but I still enjoyed it. Now I am thinking of starting from the beginning and watching the whole series. I hear there are two consecutive theatrical films coming next, and I hope I can catch them in theaters.

Tuesday, September 16

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

Today was quite busy. I uploaded a thesis project progress report. No one forced me to do this, but I have learned that this kind of self-check is beneficial, especially when there is no pressure to produce new results immediately. Both of my PIs are relatively hands-off and trust graduate students and postdocs to do their jobs, which is good, so I need something to push myself.

I finally got a promising, though not perfect, result from the software I have been working with. Now I can move on to another tool. I highly recommend using Codex CLI and Claude Code. With these tools you can make incredible progress without much coding background, and in some cases perform better than people who majored in computer science five to ten years ago. There is no reason not to use them!

In the afternoon, I attended a seminar and saw the usefulness of yeast display for identifying important residues in specific protein-protein interactions. That kind of information helps develop an enzyme with better affinity and efficiency. I am also trying yeast display, though for a different purpose, and I hope I can run it on my own soon.

After work, I went for a quick thirty-minute run. I took the route opposite my usual one. I don’t think it was better than the Mission Bay area across the bay, but it was worth trying because there were many small hills with beautiful views.

Wednesday, September 17

161.1 lbs (from 165.4 lbs on Aug 24) | 🏃🏻 Done (3/6)

Hit the gym this morning (fortunately, my weight and body fat percentage are coming down at a healthy pace! I probably need about two more months of cutting). We had a DeGrado lab group meeting, and a postdoc presented with a very clear explanation of why and how she pursued her direction. It was an excellent example for preparing my own presentation.

After the group meeting, I had a short discussion with another postdoc about the future direction of the yeast display project, and we quickly sketched some possible display libraries. I sent our ideas to Bill to check the feasibility and see what improvements he might suggest.

For lunch, I met a second-year graduate student from the Shokat lab, and we caught up including his thesis project idea. It feels like everyone has an interesting topic, which makes me wonder how many people are pursuing what they believe is valuable, not only in research but in many fields.

Thursday, September 18

162.0 lbs (from 165.4 lbs on Aug 24) | 🏃🏻 Done (4/6)

I worked hard again today. It feels like I’m making steady progress, but until experimental results come in, it’s still just in silico, which makes me a bit uneasy. I shouldn’t rush. For the first time in a while I picked up lunch from Gus’s and ate it in a nearby park. I thought I knew myself well, but I still have a long way to go.

In the afternoon I attended a seminar where postdocs presented their work; today’s speakers were from the DeGrado and Taunton labs. I knew the Taunton lab postdoc from my rotation, and his talk was exceptionally clear, so compelling that by the end my heart was racing thinking about everything that could be done with those results. I hope he thrives at Yale too.

After work I went for a run to clear my head. I do feel a bit better. Moving my body really helps. Oh, and I finally booked my family’s flight to San Francisco. It will be May 17 to 24. Hopefully I can finish my qualifying exam successfully by then🙏

Friday, September 19

160.2 lbs (from 165.4 lbs on Aug 24) | 🏃🏻 Done (5/6)

Apparently working code broke after I kept iterating with an agent to explore “better” directions. The code changed and suddenly stopped working. You know what’s worse? I had deleted the previous file haha.. I spent practically the whole day trying to recover it. Lesson learned: I’m switching to Git with frequent commits and backups.

I had lunch with my cohort, and one friend even brought an apple pie! I’m so glad that she had to defer for a year due to visa delays, but everything’s finally resolved and she is joining as a new first-year. I hope she can focus on her studies without worries from now on.

After work I picked up a pre-ordered birthday cake and headed to the apartment of a Korean PhD friend I’ve been working out with. An older friend of his came too and funny enough, he and I turned out to be the same age. We ate steak, and the three of us queued up Korean and international classics on YouTube for almost three hours. Since I live in the same dorm, I just went straight downstairs afterward and got back to the task I’d been on all day.

Saturday, September 20

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

In the morning I did some work, then went out to get a haircut at the same place as last time. I went with a friend from my cohort, since he wanted to try a different salon than the one we used to visit together. I had gone there several times before, but after returning from Korea I had not been back. Fortunately, he was satisfied with their service too, and we decided to come here regularly.

After the haircut we had lunch at New Fortune Restaurant (815 Stockton St, San Francisco, CA 94108). The wonton soup was great. I went home, did some more work, hit the gym, and finally wrote a blog post I had postponed. I rested well afterward. Also, my Ninja Flip Toaster Oven and Air Fryer arrived. I bought it for meal prep and hope it will make the process more convenient. It can flip up to save space in the kitchen, which is important since my kitchen is small. I will try it tomorrow and see how much it changes my prep.