Shuttle Breeze

Here in SF we are lucky enough to have a shuttle take us to where we need to go (albeit after one bus ride) in the morning for lab work at UCSF Mission Bay. My day today was fulfilling. I was productive in Dr. Jennifer Fung's lab, where I continued to practice the fine art of dissecting yeast tetrads under a microscope with a tiny needle that I, myself, "pulled" from two small glass capillary tubes under a flame. It's very meticulous work indeed, but quite satisfying to feel myself getting better and better at the process. Later this week I will be able to analyze my dissected tetrads for spore viability as Dr. Fung's research begins to come full circle for me.

Also today, I strolled through the cheerful Wednesday farmer's market held outside of my building, Genentech Hall (an interesting story about how this hall came to be owned by UCSF later). I had cherries on my mind. I bought a pound of some of the best cherries I ever had. I ate about a third of them as I walked back to my lab.

When I left today, I hopped on the waiting shuttle thinking "perfect timing". I sat in the back, and as we pulled away a small window offered a cooling, delicate breeze. I popped cherries in my mouth, recognizing some of the same people I see on the sidewalks of downtown San Francisco every day. About ten different delicious food smells wafted in through the window as we went. I kept eating my cherries. It was a good day.

I'm Not a Liar

Barking, flopping around, doing flips, spewing saliva: all things I did today. Alright I'm kidding. But the sea lions sure did! And I had spent all day telling people how the sea lions had mysteriously disappeared from Pier 39, one hot spot at the bustling tourist mecca, Fisherman's Wharf. I had read this somewhere (like at http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/12/disappearing-sea-lions/) and my heart was broken because damn! those sea lions are cute. Fat and loud, but cute. I like to watch them knock each other off the floating wood (docks? mini piers?)

My reputation here in SF was forming swimmingly. What that reputation is, I'm not sure of, but now there's a little post-it on my rep that says: liar. Don't worry, people don't actually think I'm a full-out fibber, but when we arrived at the Wharves the sea lions were flopping and blubbering in all their glory. And here I thought I was delivering the news.