Weekends: Definitely worth living for

A friend asked me the other day what weekends were for, during my summer of intense labwork and 18.03. I stared at her blankly for about a second, and then immediately responded with the following statement in a no-nonsense tone: "Are you kidding me? They're for wearing everything that I can't wear in lab!" If you've worked in a biology related lab, then you'll know what I mean. We have to wear closed-toed shoes and pants that fall below the knee, so every opportunity I get, I just wear sandals and shorts/skirts/dresses.

So this is some of what I've been up to in Beantown--

The first picture you see is are of silver ladies at the Cambridge River Festival. What an afternoon along the banks of the Charles! I went up to Harvard to hang out with two friends, Jessica and Alisha, and we had a marvelous time shopping at the vendors, and eating all sorts of delicious and unhealthily fried food! I think Boston should so more festivals of this type; it seemed like a large part of the world turned up for this!

What else have I been up to? Oh right! Dim sum in Chinatown is a must amongst college students; it's right up there with visiting Little Italy and eating scrumptious cannolis from Mike's Pastries. A bunch of girls and I went the other Saturday, but much to my dismay, dim sum is not very kind towards people who don't eat meat. Oh well, I suppose if you're going for dim sum, you're looking for that high calorie and high protein food! All of us had a load of fun.

I also went to Fanueil Hall and Quincy Market with friends from high school. Ekta and her little sister were in town visiting relatives, and so we took them to one of the classic landmarks in Boston. Quincy has pretty much every type of food possible, whether it's from the Asian, European, N. American, or S. American continents. I guess that excludes Africa, but you get my point. It was really great to see friends from high school!!


Well, that's all I can think of at 7 o'clock in the morning. I'll keep you posted. Time for class!

Living in a Treehouse

So here I am, sitting at my new desk at AXO! I really think I've been personally developed so far - I had to set up my computer all by myself! I've never done that before; aren't you all proud of me? I really like it so far; the only downside to living in a sorority is that it can get rather dusty since we only officially clean the house twice a year. I'm also not sure if I brought enough of my electronic and lighting stuff from my dorm. On the other hand, I have more than enough clothes to last for a long time.

Jillian was kind enough to come to the airport to pick me up (and my 100 pounds of luggage). As we got just off the Kenmore Station to get to my little spot on Commonwealth Avenue, I realized that one of the wheels of my new suitcase had fallen off. I was very sad because I just bought that suitcase a few months ago. Hopefully the company will adhere to its "full, lifetime warranty." =/

In other news, I'm thinking of starting a book blog - a site where I review/summarize books for my own personal memory. I always regret not remembering what a book is about when I pick another copy of it up years later.

Back to Boston

Tomorrow I head back to Boston to start a summer full of lab, sorority, and general fun.

Working in the Langer Lab, a bio-chemical engineering lab, is a completely different lab environment than what I'm used to - my senior research project (SRP) took place in a geophysical lab. In George's lab at Carnegie, we worked with rocks, meteorites, soils, all things that we could see with our own eyes. In the Langer Lab, I'm working with nanotechnology, learning that closed-toed shoes are actually really important since I'm doing radiation and could get sick from prostate cancer cells, or such things like that. But either way, I love lab and what I get to do in it. I'm super excited about getting to spend days in lab as opposed to working for just a few hours every other day.

I'm also really anticipating living at my sorority, Alpha Chi Omega (AXO). First of all, it's in Boston, and not in good ole Cambridge - not that I have anything against Cambridge, but it's always nice to live somewhere different. We're right on Commonwealth Avenue, right in the middle of Kenmore Square, and it's close to Newbury Street (did somebody say shopping!?). Secondly, but much more importantly, I love AXO and my sisters! I am so lucky to have met so many of these girls and to share with them a bond that goes beyond anything else I have at MIT.

Yet with all of this to look forward to, I feel wistful. In the two weeks I've been home, I've read 2 books, watched the 1st season of my new favorite TV show, gone shopping every single day (no joke), seen old friends, went to both the dentist and orthodontist on the same day, and just recovered from the major sleep debt I didn't realize I had incurred over the semester. In so many ways I feel like my "summer" is ending, and something that isn't quite summer is about to take its place. But onwards I go, and happy I shall be.

Your dearest dream is coming true.

A wise fortune cookie told me that yesterday. While I appreciated the thought, I couldn't help but ask myself, what exactly is my dearest dream? I have so many goals and aspirations for the next few years that I have such a hard time pinpointing the one that means most to me. I guess that's a kind of wisdom that comes with time and experience.

The other day I went to the beach with my family, and as we were about to leave, a seagull pooped on me. One moment my shirt was dry, the next I had these big splots, and my face felt rather damp.

Oh, seagulls, if only human lives were as predictable as yours.