First Rotation: CHECK!

For the past three months, I've been working in Dr. Zayzafoon's Lab investigating S100A4 protein and it's effect on the prostate cancer cell line C4-2B. It was a great ride, with of all the scientific drama you should expect from a budding scientist in the room with a bunch of expensive equipment. I screwed up many western blots (a technique we use to look at protein levels), learned a lot about the scientific process, made some excellent new friends, and maybe did one or two successful western blots. :)

I have a lot of people to thank for making my rotation a success.

• Dr. Majd Zayzafoon for taking me into his lab and being an enlightening, caring mentor

• Min-Kyung for letting me use her reagents, data, and other information and giving cell lines on multiple occasions and also for adding sunshine to the lab!

• Jennifer for being a fun and entertaining benchmate, and for answering more question than I can shake a stick at.

• Kayiu for being full of humor, and lending us all the benefit of his experience because we were constantly asking him things.

• Niroop, who became one of my best friends in Birmingham, for being a all around great help the lab and friend in and outside the lab.

• Laurel, also a good friend, for teaching techniques without me even asking her and answering all kinds a questions while also encouraging me in the dark ages of western blotting.

• Vishnu, who wasn't even in my lab, but was almost like a second mentor. I owe him a lot for the information he was willing to give me and all the advice as well.

Now that I've completed my first rotation, I'm very glad to be starting my next one January 7th with Dr. Joanne Murphy-Ullrich. I'll be working on extracellular matrix proteins and cell death due to a lack of adhesion. Does the sound of that make you as excited as it makes me?

Entering the Scientific Life

Soon, it will be the end of my third week of graduate school, and something that I've been looking forward to for a long time is about to happen. I'm going to be entering my first lab rotation!

This Monday, I start doing real rubber-gloved scientific work in an honest-to-god laboratory doing actual straight up science--not just technician work, but my own mini-project. And, as if that weren't incredible enough, if my data is usable strong and I learn the entire project and write my own article on what I found, my professor will name me as a co-author on the actual paper for the whole project! As in: A real scientific journal, suckas! Unbelievable!

I was incredibly lucky to find a rotation like this, and for those who don't know, a lab rotation is like dating a laboratory for three months to gain experience to see how you like the work. If you're on track, you do three of these before you start on your thesis, at which point you choose a lab to stay in for good. So this is going to be my first foray into real scientific work. It's all about to start, so find your helmets and review your evac plans!

The Drive to Alabama

There's been a pretty long radio silence since I last posted, but that's only because I was getting ready for and moving to Birmingham. Since then, I've had some incredible adventures and visited some pretty awesome things, all of which I hope to address later on, but for right now, I just want to share the experience of my long, long drive. This drive comes to you in seven parts. That's right, seven parts. Ride with me as I travel the entire distance between North Carolina and Birmingham.

Make sure to watch them on youtube, too, with video annotations!

The Gift of a Mac

The most unbelievable thing happened to me today: UAB is going to buy me a Mac!

I received an email this morning from Randy Seay, the IBS graduate program manager at UAB, and he asked me if I had a laptop. I've been saving to buy an Apple MacBook, and since I was waiting for the next iteration, I hadn't bought one yet, so I told so. He quickly emailed me back and told me not to buy a laptop because the University is going to purchase one for me.

Wow! This is great news! Well, isn't it? But even though I'm being offered essentially a completely free computer, one detail made it slightly complicated: I was certain it wouldn't be an Mac. Remember, I have been looking forward to getting an Apple for years, and I've been saving up for it since last year. So I had a huge dilemma on my hands! Should I continue my plans and buy a MacBook, or should I accept the Dell and save $1,200 that could be used to help me get started in Alabama. I was dangerously low in my budget, and taking the Dell would solve that problem completely.

It was like being tempted by Satan in the desert. "Why don't you just turn the stones to bread, Chase. All you have to do is give up you soul!"

Well, I asked Randy if there was any way to subsidize the purchase of a different brand other than Dell, that I had my heart set on something already. He said there wasn't, but he did ask me to tell him about the laptop I wanted, so I wrote him back about the MacBook; its price, its features, and that it may be updated soon. I also noted that the real complication for me wasn't really the specs, which I'm sure Dell could have matched, but that I wanted Apple's unique operating system; those little and big things that make an Apple so nice to own and use. A few minutes later I got this reply:

"I believe I can order this computer for you. I need to place the order before August 12^th, so let me know if the computer configuration changes."

Unbelievable. I didn't even push or pressure, but just because they wanted to, my graduate university, UAB, has offered to do their best to buy me my top choice of laptop (a friggin' Mac!), and not only that, but the money this will save is going to allow me to enjoy a much easier transition from my life in North Carolina to a new one in Alabama. I guess that's what my friend Travis would call "Synchronicity". It makes me feel really good about the program I've chosen and shows me how much UAB is willing to work with me to make my years there enjoyable and productive. I can't thank them enough for being so kind, and I especially thank Randy for doing everything he could to make sure I got the best possible option.

A MacDaddy I'll be yet!

Nil's Bakery: My Best Summer Job Yet

Before the summer really started and while I was talking to him about summer jobs, Travis Hellstrom suggested to me that I try to find work at the biggest company I could possibly find. The reason for that is because big companies are overloaded with money and full of employee policy so that they pay good money, and the benefits are huge if you're willing, as we are, to work when normal middle-aged humans would rather be napping by a fire. Naturally, I managed to do the exact opposite.

I work at a place called Nil's Bakery & Cafe, a little eatery in the historic commercial district of downtown Varina run by a Turkish husband and wife, Mustafa and Sibel. I am their one and only employee. I feel extremely privileged because I feel like I have a chance to support exactly the kind of business I love: the kind that I can see. Not to mention the free surprise pastries they give me nearly every day (today it was lemon squares).

What I like so much about this place is that it isn't anything like a McDonald's. It's owned and operated by the people I see and work with every day. They personally serve their customers themselves, and I bet they would laugh if I mentioned anything like a "Nil's Corporate Headquarters". Instead, Mustafa and Sibel are where the rubber hits the road, working with all the energy they have to serve the people in the community, and they make their money by doing a good job of it, without using cajoling advertisement.

It's hard work owning your own business , and they put in exponentially more work than they ask of anyone else (Mustafa puts in at least 11 hours a day, six days a week), but they love the bakery as an extension of themselves. It's a contagious love, too, because even though I've only been working a few days, I already care about it too.

Already this has been, hands-down, the best summer job I've ever had, and I still have a long way to go.

Beautiful Cooling

For the first time all season, it's been cold! For some odd, profound reason that I've never been able to give a good answer for, cold weather livens up my soul. Last night I was taking a walk around Campbell, and, as I sometimes do, I drifted up toward the practice soccer field that lies on the outskirts of campus, past the baseball field and across the a very black road. Usually when I come to this field, I like to amble about it, talking through some thoughts and looking up at the stars, which usually shine very brightly there, and back at the foot prints I leave shimmering in the evening dew, but last night, as rare as it is, there was no dew on the grass at all. Remember wind was dry and chill, and there was no way of seeing even a single star through the thick cloud that covered the sky in varying shades of grey. That may sound dreary, but to me, it was one of the most beautiful nights I can remember.

I had a grey stocking cap on over my ears, and since there was no dew, I laid down on the dry grass, and it was as soft and clean as if it a blanket had been laid down. I felt the wind blow over me like water, and I laughed at just how beautiful it was to me as I tried to distinguish one part of the giant cloud from another. It must have been the street light or something reflecting off the clouds, because it was unusually bright out--I could see everything. My hood of my jacket was piled underneath my head, and I felt like I could have slept there the rest of the night.

Earlier that night, we celebrated the Moon Cake Festival, a Malaysian tradition in which paper lanterns are made by hand and have wishes and the names of friends written on them. My God... If you could have only seen those lanterns--greens, yellows, reds, and oranges--glowing softly by candle-light in that small tree on this brisk night... I swear it would have been enough to bring you to tears. I can't describe how beautiful it was. It was simply breath-taking.

I had so much to think of and smile about it was unreal. Only two nights ago, when I was looking up at the moon in that very field, and I saw--as clear as a flying spark--a shooting star streak overhead and die away. It lasted less than a second, but my eyes were so wide! I felt extremely lucky to have seen it, and, as I'm sure you may be screaming in your head, I couldn't help making a wish, and the one I made was a simple wish, I think.

Amazing what happen in that field at night. It's finally getting colder, and, happily, my walks seem to be getting longer and longer.

Lynch Home, House of Wonder

Last week was one of the greatest I've had in a long, long time. First, on Wednesday, my family and I spent a fun-filled day at Carowinds, where there was much fun and instant karma. It was very hot and sunny for most of the day, but is somehow came out of the entire experience without a single patch of sunburn. That night was spent in a wonderfully fluffy hotel. Ahh...

Thursday, me and The Fam headed down to Myrtle beach, where we stayed in a beautiful hotel with an ocean view, lazy river, and one of those 500 gallon buckets that dump every two minutes or so. I found out on this vacation how much I really love water playgrounds.

Then my favorite part of the whole trip happened! On our way back home on Friday, my parents offered to stop at Campbell to experience the glory of Lynch House, my residence house, for themselves, but up until this point, I myself had only basked in its outward excellence, which, though considerable, is only the tip of the diamond iceberg. On this occasion, Travis Hell-Storm was able to let my family and I into the House of Wonder to see for ourselves first-hand the sublimity it had to offer. For the first time in my life, I was privileged enough to cross the sacred threshold of the Lynch Home, House of Wonder, the most excellent residence building on the face of the globe. I was emotionally unprepared to withstand the majesty of the dark wooden walls and stove-endowed kitchens. I felt paralyzing jolts of electrical delight as I walked into each room projecting their individual dignities. On occasion, I was forced by my unworthy constitution to kneel and cry as I walked from room to room.

Then... Oh, then how my unhallowed feet burned! I unwittingly trespassed into the most resplendent room in the most glorious abode. The chamber glistened with the same dignity of a beaming sapphire center-set atop the principal spire of a queen's tiara. What I was to learn about this room would change my life forever...

My home! My sanctuary! My reposition away from all earthy woes! This hollowed ground was meant for me! So alight with noble renown is this chamber of heavenly sanctitude that no light from Heaven or Earth, King Sun or Prince Moon, dares assume its help is required. It is the last of the kind, peaceful ranch-grounds greened by the sunny smiles of those to inhabit it. "Welcome, child," it whispered to me. "Come spend your days in my arms, and I will guard you from suffering and sing to you melodies meant for the stars." My room! My house! My heavenly home, the House of Wonder!

I spent the next three nights in aerial bliss there within. During that time, I discovered my deepest soul and relocated the loin's share of my things to their rightful room. Trav and I set up my DVD player and Gamecube in the living room, and hopefully there is even more glory yet in store. Hellstrom, Steward of the House of Wonder, stays there now alone, enjoying a week of RA training. Soon, we will all join him and bask in the awesome glory of Lynch Home, House of Wonder. It is a place where you and I are welcomed to love our neighbors and improve our world. Here, there is only heart, and believe me: you're invited.

The AC was Broken

At the beginning of the day, the upstairs AC was on the fritz, and, since my bedroom is upstairs, I was roasting. It was funny because the hot air was occupying a very large part of my mind, and while I was talking to Trav, I realized that, while I try to appreciate the things I have, my mind simply can't keep track of all of my blessings, and sometimes they have to break before I realize how much I like them. I never think about air conditioning, today it was the only thing on my mind. Thankfully, it's fixed now, and it has me thinking about the other things that I enjoy but rarely think about. Memories might be one. If I started to forget my adventures, I wouldn't be half the person I am today. My songs. If I lost them or forgot them, I would miss a part of me. Chapstick, my guitar case, clean socks, toothpaste, microwaves... Man, what would I do without the world around me?

I just got done looking at some photos of past exploits, and one set that particularly got to me was a photo-set taken of my Birthday last year. I choked up when I looked through and re-saw my surprise party and very unique, very sweet pie made especially for me. There were friends, balloons, and bubble gum all around, and I was the happiest person in an orange turtleneck to be found anywhere! I in a single moment, I remembered how wonderful that whole year was and how lucky I am to have been in a group of such wonderful people. Only the highest of quality. At the time, I wasn't even thinking about my birthday--my friends and I were having a blast, and that was most precious to me, and by far the most vivid part of the memory. Looking back, I realize how much love was frozen with the sugar in that pie and just how much appreciation was sizzled into my first ever succulent fillet mignon. I'm still reading a book I bought from Barns and Nobel that very day!

I can't help it, and it's undoubtedly selfish, but I always get a little sad every time I remember that most of those individuals, the ones in my pictures, aren't going to there with me at school this year. They're off to bigger things and new chapters, adventures that are new, exciting, and completely different from what they could get if they just stayed where they had been. It won't be long before I'm in the same boat, and perhaps I'm in that boat right now. Things change, no doubt, and The Good Ol' Days are always have a little more gold to them when we're looking at them though a photograph, but even though I thought I knew that while the memories were being made, it's still a bittersweet affair to look back on them. But it's far more sweet than bitter, I think.

Wonderful Storm

Tonight there was a spectacular storm. My brothers woke me up from a nap and told me to come downstairs because of some kind of severe weather warning for our area. I was a little grumpy since I was listening to the relaxing sounds of the Pacific Ocean on my iPod, not to mention the rain and wind against my window, so I was drowsy and didn't want to move an inch, but the sound of the thunder was incredible and frequent. There were long and spider-like flashes of lightning that stayed lit for up to two seconds! Outside, the rain was so hard it looked like a fog that was just making a lot of noise. Man, there is nothing like a storm. As powerful and dangerous as they can sometimes be, I think they are one of the most beautiful things in this world.

Three of us stood out on the front porch after the rain was mostly over to watch the last bolts of lightning streak, and some were very spectacular. We talked and laughed a lot, and it was a wonderful scene. Storms like the kind we saw tonight don't happen very often around here, so it was a real treasure. I hope a lot of people got so sit on their porch and watch that beautiful monster storm.