Book 2: The Golden Thread Day 31 (July 7, 2015)

It's been exactly a month since I arrived at DC. I came here feeling so alone and awkward, and though that feeling hasn't completely gone away, more of my lunches are spent talking to people and I don't find most people in my lab intimidating. I used to glue my eyes to a map as I tried to walk to building 35, occasionally getting lost a few times, but now, to go to a new building, I study the map for a few seconds, and then walk without it because I know the general direction I'm supposed to be heading towards. DC is almost my second Chicago and Bethesda is almost my second Vernon Hills. Who knew that in a month, things could change so quickly and I could actually get used to here, the heat, humidity, sun, busy-ness and all?

Today I got to work before my mentor did by a few hours because I had a lot of lab work. 24 samples! I'm becoming more efficient with them, so I finished the whole process in under 2 hours, where before, it might have taken me 3 or 4. 

My transformation finally worked and we can start performing cell transfection! I received my own "lab coat" and it's all so quasi-professional right now, especially when I did a few steps of a procedure for the first time under the hood in the cell culture room, as my mentor told me what to do. Being left hand has its challenges when the cell culture room is set up to be efficient for right-handed people. Either I'll learn how to use my right hand, or I'll adapt to inconvenience. The former seems more probable...

Submitted my poster title today (poster presentations are all on August 6th) and started (but didn't get very far) on a journal paper for journal club tomorrow (my lab's journal club). It's way over my head. I'm still struggling to finish the introduction...maybe I'll just "skim" it. 

Left the office again at 8pm, and I was there since before 10am, so it's been a long day for me.