happychemist

Because I've whined and whined about funding apps, I figured I HAD to say it here, and never mind the fact that I haven't updated in forever: I GOT A FELLOWSHIP!

I had a very fun, enjoyable chat on line with the_marchioness and adventurat this morning, and it reminded me of how much I missed hearing about what was up: what kind adventures are semioticwarrior's Thing number 1 and 2 getting into? How is alysonl's Em getting used to school life? How is bijoux getting back into life in So. Cal.? And how are the jennlynnfs's adjusting to the idea of a growing family? Has the_mongrel left for Indonesia yet? Is she already back? What is raw_wonders writing now?

I can't begin to express how excited and happy I am right now, to be in this moment, to be in this place. Things have been so wonderful here and I'm delighted to report that the move has been a very good one.

The air was cool this morning; it took me an additional 15 minutes to work up the courage to brave the cold and get out of bed in our sixty-degree apartment (we're still trying to fight turning on the heater). In preparation for our walk to work, I wound a scarf around my neck and wrapped my triple-layered torso in a puffy purple coat, smiling at my darling Dr. J as he teased me.

For all my complaining, I love the invigorating sensation of breathing cold air. Dr. J and I had a lovely walk to work this morning; the trees have commenced their fall fashion show, and I am very happy to see their daringly bold color. The neighbors have put out their carved pumpkins for Halloween. The pumpkins sit on fence posts and porch steps, greeting passersby, and I can't help smiling each time I see one; they're orange! And so adorably happy!

It's been a relaxing day in lab, and I am happy to have the opportunity to tackle a paper that has been haunting me for quite some time now.

Happy Fall.

So I had some other post I was going to put up about how I've been really happy in my laziness, etc., BUT....

ALL THAT NORMAL STUFF DOES NOT MATTER.

Because I just heard that my paper was just accepted to SCIENCE.

Yes, not your humdrum run of the mill publications: SCIENCE.

SCIENCE!!!!!!!!!!

HOLY CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How am I supposed to revise my talk NOW!?!?!

Ok, so I have to admit, this news stuns me. I had worried if people out there would think my project as cool as I did. I had worried that I was about to graduate without a publication to my name. I had worried that my boss had thought too optimistically of our work when he submitted it, and I was mortified that he'd been telling people right and left that we'd submitted it to Science, and once we got rejected I'd have to go around telling people with a meek voice that it hadn't been accepted.

I was so worried and nervous that I didn't even blog that we submitted it.

BUT NOW I CAN. BECAUSE IT HAS BEEN ACCEPTED FOR PUBLICATION. :P And when I talk about my project next Monday, I can say, proudly, "And this work has been accepted for publication into Science." I'll try not to squeal or do a silly dance, but I can't promise that.

HAHAHAHAHAHHAAH

Dude. I don't know what I'm supposed to be more happy about: defending and getting my doctrate, or getting published in one of the premiere scientific publications in the world? ;)

Punch line first:

( MATLAB GAVE ME THIS )

( Stuffs )

Time is flying. This is good. I hope it flies until I'm walking down the aisle and getting my own hood.

Well, one of my resolutions this December has been to clean everything I own/rent/work with.

The first realm I've decided to tackle is my lab bench. That's when I realized that I really do love cleaning my lab bench. In my time at Caltech, this is the very first time I'm doing such a thorough cleaning. There have been to occasional reorganize/wipe downs, but this time, I wanted to be thorough.

That's when I realized this is a perfect time for me to take pictures. During college, I never took enough pictures of the regular everyday things that I worked on, and it'd be nice to have pictures to look back on and smile and say "Yeah, that was a great waste setup."

Maybe, maybe not.

And then I figured, hey, since I was so proud of cleaning, I might as well take pictures along the way! Then I figured, since I'm feelign didactic and you guys might be curious, I'll take people on a tour of my lab hood.

( So in the last three days (between measurements and cooking) I managed to get Phase I and II done. )

The result I've been waiting to get for five months now...well it's here.

Woah.

I feel like I've gone to Mars and have come back.

For a nice long weekend I was able to forget my non-working project, and non-working story and just regress.

Had a fabulous time with visiting friends and already miss them; it was a really really busy and exhausting weekend...I fell over last night at 10 and slept cleanly until 7:30 this morning...but it was just so great to see everybody again. And it was good to show them all the parts of my life here that I love and enjoy, and see them enjoying it too. I miss them a lot already, but there will be more reunions in the future (our next planned reunion is Vegas for New Years).

In other news, I'm going to be published! In a scientific journal. My work in undergrad has finally paid off; my advsior is publishing on it, and I'm one of the authors!! (third or fourth) but wow! Amazing. I can't wait to see it actually printed out. *grins*

In other great news, the lights in our office have been changed so it's nice and bright here.

Despite all this, I have had a tickle in my throat which prevented my speaking this morning (I know! It's possible!) and now it hurts to talk, swallow, etc. :( I hope this doesn't intrude with my plans of a Hot Date with J at the Hollywood Bowl tonight...