Starting 5:30 Wake-ups

Sunday, January 11

155.9 lbs (from 152.5 lbs on Oct 26) | 🏃🏻 Done (7/6)

I went to yoga for the first time in a month and felt great. Bringing a larger towel and practicing shirtless made it feel less stifling, although I think I sweat more than most people. I spent the rest of the day in the lab doing experiments and preparing my presentation. I still have a bad habit of cramming. I keep telling myself I will start early, then end up working right up to the last few days. It can feel frustrating, but I worked hard, so I will not be too harsh on myself. I will do my best on Tuesday.

Monday, January 12

154.5 lbs (from 152.5 lbs on Oct 26) | 🏃🏻 Done (1/6)

Experiments have not been going well. I tried to remake the protein I lost, but today’s gel showed poor expression. People say this happens, but with several things failing lately, it is hard to keep my spirits up. I also decided to start waking at 5:30, do stretching at home, then be at the gym right at 6:00. I made the commitment, and I also believe this routine will be better for me. It will take time to adjust, but there are clear benefits. The gym is quieter, and I can get to the lab earlier than anyone and set up. I had lunch with the TA team, finished TA duties, then went home and worked on my slides for tomorrow.

Tuesday, January 13

153.3 lbs (from 152.5 lbs on Oct 26) | 🏃🏻 Done (2/6)

The presentation went very well. I received compliments and many questions. Because I know my English can feel limited, I try to explain carefully and simply so the audience can follow. That seems to help people understand the content. A big improvement over last year is that I did not use a script at all, which felt satisfying. After the talk I did not go back to the lab. I organized my thoughts at home and went to work out. Nothing is easy.

Wednesday, January 14

153.3 lbs (from 152.5 lbs on Oct 26) | 🏃🏻 Done (3/6)

I woke up well and went to the gym. We had a DeGrado lab meeting in the morning, and I really like the new journal club format. A postdoc had a batch of the protein that failed for me, so I will take some and move forward with the remaining steps. I also discussed my project with a close postdoc in the Shokat lab. I feel I am making steady progress. I received more TA questions than expected, which makes me a bit tense, since Fridays have become an impromptu English presentation session just for the TAs. I am glad I studied organic chemistry so much. My takeaway is that competence comes first, and language issues become secondary. If I do not know what I want to say, language is not the real problem.

Thursday, January 15

153.6 lbs (from 152.5 lbs on Oct 26) | 🏃🏻 Done (4/6)

This morning, I joined a small discussion with Bruno Correia from EPFL and several people from the DeGrado lab, during which I gave a brief overview of my project. Since he published MaSIF-neosurf, it is closely related to my work. He said the direction is promising, while also pointing out many realistic issues. I attended the BBC Seminar afterward, then focused on experiments. There are a few concerns on my mind, but it looks like I can finally start the assay tomorrow.

Friday, January 16

155.4 lbs (from 152.5 lbs on Oct 26) | 🏃🏻 Done (5/6)

Morning workout, then a TA session. I clearly enjoy teaching and helping people understand. It is getting more fun as I learn everyone’s names. In the lab, I focused on assay optimization. The DeGrado and Shokat labs use different instruments, and I think I found a more efficient way to run the experiment with a 384-well plate and a multichannel pipette. I built an Excel file and ran the assay in the evening, but the results did not match my expectations. I will need to rerun it.

Saturday, January 17

154.3 lbs (from 152.5 lbs on Oct 26) | 🏃🏻 Done (6/6)

As usual, I hit the gym in the morning. I swapped on a new mattress cover, did bedding laundry, deep cleaned, and meal prepped. I tried to catch up on almost a month of blog posts, then headed to the lab in the evening. I started a synthesis for a DeGrado lab postdoc yesterday and finished the purification today. I made a large amount, so this should be the last batch of that compound.