CELLebraTEZ

I was really excited coming into work today! I was finally going to get the opportunity to learn to work with mice! This is the skill that regardless of what interview I have gone in for, was a make or break deal for me! Finally someone has taken the risk on me to hire me without the mice experience and I am getting to learn it on the job!! Thank goodness for people who like taking risks and taking risks with me! So I come into work! Super excited! I will get to tour the animal barrier facility. The barrier facility is a pathogen free environment so that means when we go in we have to completely cover ourselves and everything we take in with is must be sterile. So Russ, one of my colleagues also the animal technician for the lab, takes me to the facility for a tour and shows me around the rooms where my mice are kept. I am expecting Russ telling me, “oh we will wean some animals and clip tails.” Nope, the first thing I hear/comprehend from Russ is, “I am going to ‘sac’ these...

Today is a very special day for me! 1. My little sister, Nayab, turned 10 years old!! She is a decade old! I can't believe it!! She has been so excited for reaching her double digits. I think she started counting 2 years ago for this day!!  2. My first day at WashU! I was so nervous and anxious! I don't know where to start!! I couldn't sleep all night, thinking of the multiple ways I will mess up or ask a stupid question. But fortunately, the day went by very smooth! I got my own lab Bench and Desk!! It's pretty exciting stuff!! And of course, I had to go through the boring HR paperwork. Now on the list of things to do: finish online lab training, finish online animal lab training, read lots of papers pertaining to the research, be organized in the process!!  I finished all my HR Paperwork. The WUSTL system needs 24 hours to get me activated and I will have my very own Wustl email address! And while, I don't have my official email address yet, I got my Wustl ID...

"Only as high as I can reach can I grow, Only as far as I seek can I go, Only as deep as I look can I see, Only as much as I dream can I be" Being at Washington University in St. Louis is unreal! I still think I am in a beautiful dream and will wake up any time and it will all end. Fortunately, 4 days have gone by and it has not ended yet :). On Friday (11/08/13), my dad and I went for a tour of the School of medicine with Dr. Craft, my PI, and the campus is BEAUTIFUL. The research facilities are AMAZING! WashU is like the Mecca for research! I am truly fortunate to be here. While I was being given my tour, Dr. Craft and the Department gave me a welcome gift!  A WashU, School of Medicine, Department of Cell Biology and Physiology fleece! After the tour, my dad and I had some major shopping to do! Although I came with a car full of boxes and bags and shoes, somehow I still needed to buy more things! The list is never ending; cleaning supplies to rugs for the ba...

Last Thursday (11/07/13), my dad and I set out for my move to St. Louis!  After coming back from my grandmother's funeral in California, I only had 1 day to do the rest of my shopping and packing! Luckily, my mom had helped me get all my kitchen supplies together so that was one less thing we had to worry about!! Early morning on Thursday, my dad and packed my car and started on a journey to begin a new chapter of my life!  Boxes and bags all packed! Ready to hit the road!  Some of my pictures through the 13 hour road trip: Passing the NC/TN boarder.  Taking a break to grab a snack! Roasted Peanuts and Coke! Gas being Super Cheap!! $2.99/gal!  Beautiful fall colors. Beautiful fall colors. Approaching St. Louis!! The next day 11/08/13 on our way to my new apartment.  ~Cell-ebraTez

I went back to Symmetry to say my last goodbyes today since I didn't get a chance to last Tuesday. It was bitter sweet! I am excited for my next journey but will definitely miss the people I have worked with and come to call my friends.  Where should I begin about my experience at Symmetry Biosciences. It has been amazing! Day 1 was scary! The thought of doing a column purification, doing my own reactions or anything chemistry related made me nervous. The only word that seemed familiar to me was TLC (Thin Layer Chromatography). Of which I didn't even know the correct technique but just remembered a technique called TLC from Organic Lab in 2010. I had so much to learn and such little time to perfect it all. Everyone at Symmetry Biosciences has been so helpful and so patient. There have been plenty of times when the scientists were probably tired of my silly questions or couldn't believe I asked a certain question! The first couple of days were the hardest. After that, I ...

She is now a wilted rose, it's fragrance a reminder of such beauty. In our hearts, she will eternally abloom. Life is a journey. Life is a struggle. Life is a test. Life is a gift. But like every journey, struggle, test and gift, it must end.  Maa. The word has many meanings. For some it means mother, for others grandmother, and sometimes even great-grandmother. For my family, Maa was everything. She wore many shoes and fulfilled many responsibilities.  My Maa, passed away last Tuesday, October 29th, 2013. She was a strong and resilient woman who has seen and been through so much hardship. Towards the end of her life, Maa was very weak and helpless. Her body was failing her and her spirit needed rest after 89 years. She was a woman with many good wishes and prayers for anyone and everyone she met. While Maa had a hard life, she passed away peacefully with her some of her children and grandchildren around her.  The past few days my family has been mourning...