My walk on the beach

So much for a day of unpacking, and working on my paper today. It's a gorgeous day in San Francisco, and it's actually HOT in the Outer Sunset --a rarity I could not pass up by sitting in my apartment. So I crossed the street and went on a walk with my camera. Gotta love my front yard.

The Great Highway

My apartment complex is the taller one next to the building with the red roof.

Spring flowers on the pathway.

Hello, ocean.

Pretty pebbles and the sand pattern they make. 

Pretty.

More prettiness.

Crowded beach.

People enjoying a beautiful Saturday in the city.

Yes, I really liked the pebbles.

This couple actually asked me to send them this picture. I was happy. :)

So many ladybugs on the beach, this one found nice place on my sandals.

I like the sun.

"Hey! Can you take our picture??" Incredible how many people asked me to take pictures of them today.

Okay, time to get some work done around here.

Catching up

It's been a while since I've written, but it's been pretty hectic around here. Not as bad as a month ago when I was dealing with the move, the thesis, the defense, the trips, etc...but now, my responsibility as a post-doc in my new lab has gotten pretty heavy. I haven't started experimentation yet, but for the past 3 weeks, I have been sitting at my desk, 9-10 hrs a day, reading papers and going through literature. I have no background in ribosomes, translation, mass spectrometry, or mammalian cell culture. Everything is extremely new, not difficult to learn, but very overwhelming at times. I can read paper after paper, but at the end of the day, I still have so much I still don't know. I guess it'll just take time, I can't expect to know everything right away, but I am ambitious (and competitive) and I don't like feeling like I am behind. I plan on one more week of reading, but after that, I'd like to start doing something!!! It's hard to sit at the desk day in and day out...I am an experimentalist, I'd rather be at the bench. On the other hand, the methods I will be using will all be very new, and I'll have to experience another steep learning curve there too. Anyway, just playing catch-up at work these days...learning mammalian developmental biology and mass spectrometry --two very different areas of research that I know almost nothing about. But I'll get there, I am sure. Addition to all the learning, I am getting an Orbitrap (a very very good, advance mass spectrometer that costs A LOT of money) for my project, and my boss has agreed to (insisted on) investing in a new AKTA, a protein purifier, to push my project forward! The lab is pursuing protein work (biochemistry) for the first time, and she's giving me pretty much full reign. Overall, it's an exciting time for this science girl :) a difficult, high pressured time, but exciting, nevertheless.

My new lab bay. My bench is on the right in the foreground --still empty and clean.

My desk --again, still clean.

I have been exploring the city a little bit more, but not too much. I usually leave lab around 7:30 pm, and by the time I stop somewhere to pick up some take-out dinner, get home and eat, it's usually 8:30 - 9 o'clock (I haven't cooked a single meal yet since I have been here). By that time, I am exhausted, especially these days when I am staring at the computer screen or reading all day. A couple hours later and I am out like a light. Sleeping at 11:30 or midnight has been the latest for me since I've been here, in fact, I am only up this late tonight (11:45 pm right now) because it's a friday! Whoo hoo! Wow, how my life has changed. I also don't have a TV in my new place in SF --strangely, I don't miss it at all! Those of you who knew me in Madison knew that I loved watching my trashy television everyday. Since I don't have a TV, there's nothing to do when I get home but go to sleep! I get at least 8 hrs a night, up to 10 hrs, and it's amazing.

Last Friday, I attended a happy hour at the Helen Diller Research Center (building next to ours) and was pleasantly surprised at how fun this group of scientists at UCSF is. There were shots of tequila going around! A kegstand at the end of the night! Kota (my fellow new post-doc, from Japan) and I made some new friends and went to a bar with them in the Mission District. It was great, and fun to meet and get to know some new people. I've also gotten into food trucks out here in SF --they're amazing. There are quite a number of them in Mission Bay and I am planning on making it a new goal to hit them all up at some point. So far, I have only tried McGee's Creole Cajun food truck on 4th (at Mission Rock) --had the catfish po'boy and it was SOOO amazing. You know I love my Southern cuisine. Today, for lunch, I had chicken and waffle at Lil' Skillet on Ritch St.. It's not a food truck --but a counter food place in a small alley. You order your food and find a place on the sidewalk to eat. Awesome. And the food was really really good. Last night, I had ramen at Katana-ya --long wait outside a tiny restaurant (with maybe seating for 15 max?) but so worth it for delicious ramen.

Aside from new people I've met in SF, I've also had a chance to meet up with some old high school and college friends since I've been back. You know about Christy and Kevin, my family here in SF. BTW, last Sunday, Christy and I had the best day getting pho, thrift store shopping, and sitting at the beach. My high school friends Whitney and Kristina and their fiancee and husband, respectively, have also had a chance to come to SF. It was nice to grab dim sum for lunch with Kristina, Huy, Michelle (her sister) and baby Emmy (K & H's daughter), and dinner with the addition of Whitney and Pot. Yesterday, I got to meet up with Lauren and her husband Jason for dinner after work. Lauren, Jason and I all went to college together (University of the Pacific) and in fact lived in the same hall in the dorms (Grace Covell, woot woot). We've been friends since we were 18 --freshman year of college --and although we don't always talk, they're low maintenance friends (my favorite kind of friends) and we always pick up where we left off. Lauren and Jason just got married a month ago in Hawaii! Tomorrow, I am having dinner with Christy and my former college roommate of 3 years (freshman to junior year) Shirley! Christy, Shirley and I (plus another girl Vieve) lived together in a house together our junior year of college --Bonnie Lane will always be a fond memory.

Baker Beach, Sunday afternoon with Christy.

Baker Beach with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background

My adorable baby girl, Emmy.

Me and Lauren, enjoying cupcakes after dinner in Union Square.

It's 12:10 am and way past my (new) bedtime. Until next time, hope everyone in Madison is well, I miss you all so much. Life's been good these days, but nothing compared to the happiness I felt during my last couple of weeks in Madison.

Mariah Carey ft. 98 Degrees - Thank God I Found You

Learning the ways of the city

It's Friday! The end of my first week as a post-doc! It's been pretty uneventful, except for the fact that I got a MacBook Pro from my new boss, furnished my apartment, and have already had a lot of good times with my old friends in the city. It takes me about 40 mins to get from my house in Outer Sunset to work in Mission Bay (have to cross the entire city). The first day of work, I made the big mistake of literally driving across town using inside roads. I figured it was the best way to get to work because it was the most direct route. Never ever ever drive across the city during traffic hours!!! EVER!!! When I described the experience to my lab, my new co-worker, Tim, suggested a different route where I'd have to head south for a couple of miles, then north on 280. It would add a few extra miles, but at least I wouldn't have the stop-and-go problem with heavy city traffic. The next day, I followed his advice and cut my initial route by 10 mins! I was still getting into pretty bad traffic near San Francisco State University, so today, I tried a different route that would take me south-east on Ocean, then 280 north to Mission Bay. This route let me skip the traffic near SFSU, and get past a busy interstate intersection on 280. I got to work in 30 mins! Whoo hoo! Another thing about the city that I learned (yesterday) is NEVER to take 17th avenue. NEVER EVER! My car cannot handle a hill that steep with a stop sign in the middle! I thought my car was gonna die. And I also realized that no matter how good of a driver I am, I cannot handle steep hills like that. I was shaking by the time it was over. Never again. Third thing about driving in the city I have now realized is how hard it is to find parking. Last night, Kevin, Christy, Jan and I (+my new fellow post-doc who just moved here from Japan) were supposed to meet at Hotei in the Sunset district to have dinner. I could not find parking to save my life. I drove around up to 4-5 blocks radius for at least 20 mins. Christy and Jan were already at the restaurant waiting for me and Kevin. It got so hopeless, Jan jumped into my car to help me locate parking (help from a local is always a good thing when finding parking!). We drove a little further, and eventually Jan spot an open space I would NEVER have seen. Never try to park in a popular part of the city during dinner time. NEVER!

Still love my apartment. Still happy, still lovin' life! Feelin' like the luckiest girl in the world these days! I finally put my vacation pictures onto my computer. I'll upload them when I have some time this weekend. I'll leave you with a few from Bali for today!

The water lily pond I mentioned in one of my posts about Bali. Raw, organic, and so beautiful.

The group of neighborhood boys playing in the pond, also mentioned in my previous Bali post.

Beach we visited, also in previous post. See the hint of black sand?

A small make-shift altar on the beach.

First night

Ahh...home sweet home. First night in my new apartment. Christy and I found it my first day in the city after seeing at least 3 other places...all disgusting and dingy and all in the tenderloin. The apt I ended up taking is one that christy saw posted on her Craigslist app. My Craigslist app had filtered it out bc it didn't have any pictures, but luckily christy saw it and brought it to my attention. Although it was far from campus we decided to check it out anyway bc it was so cheap and was in the neighborhood that Geoff, her boyfriend, really likes. So, we drove 30 mins over to the outer sunset neighborhood --the apt is in a small complex directly across from the ocean. I really liked it when I first stepped in, it felt like it could be home. But what sold it was the rent --$1100 a month ALL UTILITIES INCLUDED!! I was sold!! There wont be much sun in this neighborhood, but I figured I would be at work during the hours when the sun is out anyway so it doesn't matter. My windows look out to a little gap between the buildings, so that's a bit depressing, but the fact that I am across from the ocean and a few blocks from the golden gate park and all utilities are included, it was an easy decision. Plus, I would be able to keep rent at ~30% my income, which was my goal, so I can save money for more important things like traveling!

Tomorrow is my first day of work! Bed (or more like floor) time...I hope I'm not too excited to sleep! Kinda feels like the first day of school when I was younger...the excitement and anticipation of a new beginning!