i *heart* okra!

Mom made the most AWESOMEST okra ever! *mmm*


Somewhere in our conversation:
Me: "Mom, I'm not THAT evil."
Mom: "Evil?! Honey, you're the product of two evils!"
Me: *stares*

Hark!

O holy crayola! Yesterday, I parked my car in front of Kanley Chapel, grabbed my checks, and started towards National City Bank at the Bernhard Center. In front of me walked two dudes in suits, shirt, pants, tie, and allll that jazz. And they turned around and asked me if they could speak with me about religion. At first I was flattered, and I started ranting about how I was raised a Hindu, but went to Catholic school, and am currently a scientist (at heart)...and they were from the Church of Latter Day Saints, Mormons I think they said.

So, they asked me a bunch of questions, one of which was would you like to "pray and meet with us and hear the voice of God?"..aka.."wanna join our club?"

Me: *stares cheekily* So, what do you think God looks like? Is he a human, and an old one with a big hairy white beard that's 40 bajillion miles long? (I didn't say 40 bajillion, sorry)
Them: *huh* That's a good question. But we think that it is something spiritual manifested as a human.
Me: So what about bacteria, and viruses...do they have a God? And if an elephant saw God, would it be human?
Them: Do you think animals have the capacity to think of God?
Me: Do we know? WE DON'T KNOW DO WE?! How can you say you're right by discounting about 90% of life on earth?! I am a scientist and even I can't discount that we even remotely understand other species on earth and their cognitive abilities! If an elephant did believe in God, do you think it'd be like 'O Human God, I boww dooownn before thee!' HOW DO YOU KNOW?!
Them: *silence*
Me: I believe anything and everything is God, including myself. I believe in cosmic energy.
Them: *wow* *gasps* That's a great way to put it!
Me: *FOR SERIOUSLY?!* Where do you think God is?
Them: He's all around, but there's parts that are (i think they meant) "concentrated"
Me: Then how can he be all around?
Them: But if you pray with us God will show you the truth from what is wrong.
Me: Isn't what's wrong also wrongfully true? Meaning, isn't "wrong" also true that it's wrong..so essentially, there is no "right" or "wrong" or "good" and "evil"..just choice of which truth is followed?
Them: *confused looks*
Me: And what about evolution and creation?
Them: We believe that they're both possible..that God gave humans the option of selecting either. So Adam and Eve were made in God's image, and that's what we believe.
Me: *what the frick?!* How can TWO TOTALLY DIFFERENT THINGS happen at the SAME TIME?!!!
Them: *chuckle & stare @ themselves*

Me: *Yea, you need to think about your shit before you try to convince someone else*

For you: I deeply respect all religions and faiths, and I respect what these two young men had to say to me. It was a great debate! But one should have complete understanding about all the faiths of this world to preach it...one should respect freedom of choice, and respect other cultures and beliefs. I'm not saying I know everything...I KNOW NOTHING. But I know that nobody will ever fully understand how our world functions, how humans function, without seeking to understand other beliefs. It solidifies certain common grounds within ALL religions..one of which is essentially Morality, wherein lie concepts of do unto others as you would to yourself, etc. Without true understanding and respect for different beliefs, one can never TRULY believe in God.

So..it takes a while for Pluto's reply to reach us...

But here tis!




Me: *agrees*

:*

*confusions*

So! My GPA dropped bunches this semester! *WOOOPS* *watches it in never-ending pit of GPA hell*

BUT..I'm going to be volunteering in the ER at Bronson!!!!!! *EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE* *fuh-reaks OUT*

AND...I graduated..with three majors...in 4 years. *shifty nerdy eyes*

*loving abrupt end*

THE END

HOLY CRAAAHYOLA!!!

I JUST TOOK MY LAST FINAL EVER AT WESTERN!!! LIKE...EVERRRRRRRR!!!!!! :o

:D :D :D :D :D

I just have 4 more pchem lab reports to finish..*woops*..hey, it's better than 5!

And um, I just about out-quoted ANYONE on earth on my spanish final about life:

Me: (in spanish) "Life should be taken with a grain of salt...BUT MORE SUGAR!!!"

:D :D :D

um...

Dr. E: "You all heard of these people who made sperm from stem cells right? You know, pretty soon women won't even need men!"
Me: "Woa! That's crazy!"
Ryan: "Yea, that's nuts."
Both of us: *clueless for two seconds* *uncontrollable laughter*

upon the Panda's recommendation...

THREE NAMES YOU GO BY:
* Shruts
* Guddu
* Beta
THREE THINGS YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF:
* I'm always happy...or appear to be (it's more like a strange fact about myself)
* I form really close friendships...with EVERYONE
* My eyes & waist (*scientific justification* the first point I'm not 100% sure about ok? So it's fair to put two here) ;)
THREE THINGS YOU DON'T LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF:
* I cry..a lot (*justification* I'm a girl..our neurons are over-wired)
* I'm not the greatest when it comes to being independent and mature
* I procrastinate like HELL ON EARTH
THREE PARTS OF YOUR HERITAGE:
* Um, *thinks* INDIAN
* Indian
* Did I mention..um, Indian? *smacks survey*
THREE THINGS THAT SCARE YOU:
* My scary elevator dream
* Anniliation of the world (I dream of such things too)
* "Losing people I love." Source: boomer
THREE OF YOUR EVERYDAY ESSENTIALS:
* iPod
* Haenicke access ID card *woot*
* Cash
THREE THINGS YOU ARE WEARING RIGHT NOW:
* I JUST broke my favorite turquoise butterfly ring :( *cries*
* Turquoise DIESEL top
* Super-sweet colorful belt from Guatemala *says in spanish accent* ;)
THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE BANDS:
(note: these are CURRENT and subject to change)
* Coldplay
* Explosions in the Sky
* Snow Patrol
TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE:
* I dance really well. :D
* I have no abiity to lie..if I do, I get caught BADLY
* Watch out! An asteroid is coming your way!!!! *shifty eyes* (I've got a special Nerd-Bubble Asteroid Protector, so thanks, but I'm fine)
THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO TRY IN THE NEXT 12 MONTHS:
* Independence
* Working at a hospital
* Smoking the MCATs!!!
THREE THINGS YOU NEED IN A RELATIONSHIP:
* Love
* Intelligence
* Trust
THREE THINGS YOU JUST CAN'T DO:
* Walk without tripping myself
* Stop singing if listening to iPod *sorry*
* Speak out on a crush
THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE HOBBIES:
* Drawing
* Singing
* Reading
THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO REALLY BADLY RIGHT NOW:
* NEVER STOP LEARNING FOREVER. (Partial Source: boomer)
* Fix my ring *sobs*
* Fulfill my dream.
THREE JOBS YOU'D CONSIDER DOING OTHER THAN THE ONE YOU HAVE:
(assuming the one I'll HAVE is becoming a doctor)
* Artist (including literature/languages)
* Astronaut
* Scientist
THREE PLACES YOU WANT TO GO ON VACATION:
* India
* Antarctica
* Spain/Chile
THREE KID'S NAMES:
* Holymoly
* Crayola
* Whocomesupwiththisstuff? (with the question mark) ;)
THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO BEFORE YOU DIE:
* Go to space
* Go to the bottom of the ocean
* Raise a super-intelligent loving family! :D
THREE PEOPLE WHO SHOULD COMPLETE THIS SURVEY:
* Mary
* Steve (b/c he can't pick favorites for CRYING OUT LOUD!)
* Sandhya

*eee*

:)

I is happy. Friday the 13th ended up being the best day of my entire life. Better than President's Scholar Award day. That day, I attended a Spanish Department Award ceremony, which I thought would be relatively short and simple..as in I would get a certificate of my greatness in spanish..that is all. But it was SO much more. My friend Lauren, fellow Chemistry Presidents Scholar was there as well, so I think she's following along in my 'footsteps' if I ever had any. ;) *checks* *yup* I gots some. :D (they're cute too)

Anywho, I really wanted my parents to attend, but since I didn't know what a big deal it was, I didn't really feel too sad at their absence. So I check my name on the program sheet, and I'm like 7th down, for the Maria Moliner Award. I have no clue what it is ofcourse. I saw some of my favorite professors in the WORLD though (Sr. Pastrana-Perez, Sr. Felkel, Sr. Millar, Sra. Montilla), so I spoke to them. (lots of hugs, and a few kisses from Dr. Felkel! *haha*)It was GREAT!!!! And Dr. Pastrana explained to me what the award meant, mainly that Maria Moliner had written the world's BEST illustrated Spanish Dictionary, in a time when the male gender dominated such fields. So this award, in his eyes, was representative of me entering medicine, a field predominated by males. (which I wonder if it's true anymore *contemplates*) But that got my spirits up, and I had a seat, after which the award ceremony began.

There were about nine seniors in the category I was in, each with their own award. eg. my friend Mary got the Premio Antonio de Nebrija. *yay Mary!!* :D ..for her 'intellectual wit' (she's a friggin' mathematical genius). But what surprised me the most was that before handing out the award, they described the award, and the origins of the award's name, but then they went into PRAISING..literally, PRAISING EACH AND EVERY STUDENT!!! Every award was preceded by at least three quotes about the student from different professors. So obviously, when it came to me, I was already trembling. Dr. Pastrana, Dr. Millar, Dr. Felkel, and Dr. Montilla had SO MANY things to say, they couldn't STOP!!! OMG. I was barely able to stand when I went up to get the award, and my eyes started watering and my throat hurt. O dear. It was the best, most honorable experience of my LIFE. :)

*whew* So, I'm happy. It's moments like these when I feel appreciated when I least exptected it. I love such moments. Most of all, I love that the people I most respect bestowed upon me such an unexpected honor. It's not the award that counts (which by the way was the LaRousse Illustrated, that Maria Moliner wrote) it was all the hugs, and kisses, and the exchange of nervous spanish jutting out of my being. *haha* It was priceless.

And then..THEN..my family and I planned to have dinner at Olive Garden that night, and my mom wore a Sari!!!! She looked PHENO-MEN-AL!!! HOLY CRAYOLA! My dad and I wouldn't stop swooning over her! *haha* It was an AWESOME dinner, full of love, and family. Just family.

So those of ye who believe Friday the 13th is bad..I kid you not, there's no such thing. Every day could be spent joyously. It's how you decide to appreciate it that counts. So make the most of it eh?!

:)

swoonage of eh-panyol

*kills self for not 'tilding' the n*

So my spanish class RULES! Here's the shortest latin american story EVER written:

"El dinosaurio -by Augusto Monterroso
Cuando desperto, el dinosaurio todavia estaba alli."
translation: "When I woke up, the dinosaur was still there."

O_O *stares*...for some reason, I LOVE how a sentence that small could mean SO much!

*haha* *compliments self-nerdiness*
Here's some good advise for us women though:
"Cuando un hombre que esta vivo te hace llorar, hay que dejarlo. Solo se llora por los amantes muertos." -Clara Obligado
translation: "When a man who is alive makes you cry, you have to leave him. Cry only over dead lovers."

..that's some wicke' awesome advise. :D
*enough feminism* ;)

you're ugly *evil grin* $:>

Dr. E: "If you want to call someone ugly, you can say 'Your cell adhesion molecules SUCK!!!'"

*ahahaahah*

Dear me, life is busy, but good. Last night we had like a frikkin' blizzard, when the day-before it was 70 degrees outside and I wore slippers. SLIPPERS!!! I wore a skirt, and now..I'm huddled up in 127,239,235,328 layers of clothing!!!! Why o why does the weather have to make us used to high temperatures, then TAKE IT ALL AWAY?! *raises arms to heavens*

:D

O, and the reason I've been so incredulously busy, is that I have a poster presentation for the KCMS Research Day on Wednesday next week, and want to complete writing my rough draft for the honors thesis by tomorrow (which 99.5% may not happen *hehe*, but to be optimistic 0.5% MAY happen), and then I have to finish like 50 million pchem lab reports. *stares @ last four words*

:D I'm still happy that I'm alive. And I love those of you who I haven't seen since Pluto was demoted..you should know, you are missed. *MUA*

aafta' fifty gazillion years! :o

*wicke'* I'm done basking in sorrow! :D ..well, the baskage might return occasionally, but I'm definitely recovering from the wake up call.

Pramod is officially an MS now! OMG...that's frikkin' HUGE! He's my buddy at the lab who worked for so long in engineering, and so knew absolutely NOTHING of biochemistry. He got pretty tore up in his first few committee reviews and presentations..but he's finally perfected himself as a scientist in biochemistry. That is an incredible feat. Dr. S2 and the committee members were praising his Thesis, and presentation. I helped. *beams selfishly with pride* ;)

*sighs with major swoonage*

Also, for those of you who don't already know, (I suppose I should announce this SOMETIME before it becomes one of those "o, it was something I got in high school but isn't relevant in my life anymore really..") I am the Presidential Scholar for the Department of Biological Sciences at WMU!!!!!!! How sa-weet is that huh?! *punk sign* AND...AND...The Spanish department is awarding me with something as well as an exceptional senior in their departement!!! :D :D :D

*I rule*

...haha. I'm excited. I mean there's a limit to being sad. You can't do it all the time, because then you ruin yourself, and wonderful viruses linger around you basking in joy upon reaching your lymph nodes..or is that sorrow for them when they're presented to B and T cells? *ponders* Yea, I got so sad, some happy virus inhabited my being for about two weeks..I'm on antibacterials right now to avoid opportunistic damn pathogens! *holds up antibacterial sword* *grr*

My point is..let us all be happy, and realize that our true potential is not the money we have, not the things we own, not the clothes we wear and not even who we choose to look up to. Our true potential is within ourselves, and this is most realized in the present moment..NOW. Soooo...what're you doing RIGHT NOW SLAACKER?!!!

Get to it! :)

what dreams may come...

"All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, to make it possible."
T. E. Lawrence, "The Seven Pillars of Wisdom"

Pioneers

PIONEERS. -Bloc Party
If it can be broke then it can be fixed, if it can be fused then it can be split
It's all under control
If it can be lost then it can be won, if it can be touched then it can be turned
All you need is time

We promised the world we'd tame it, what were we hoping for?

A sense of purpose and a sense of skill, a sense of function but a disregard
We will not be the first, we won't
You said you were going to conquer new frontiers,
Go stick your bloody head in the jaws of the beast
We promised the world, we'd tame it, what were we hoping for?

Breath in, breath out

So here we are reinventing the wheel
I'm shaking hands with a hurricane
It's a colour that I can't describe,
It's a language I can't understand
Ambition, tearing out the heart of you
Carving lines into you
Dripping down the sides of you

We will not be the last.

i's stupi'

So THIS is why I got rejected! *smacks forehead*

*okie dokes*

Um, this is just an update. :) *update*

A WHOLE BUNCH OF SHIT IS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW! *dies*

...the end.

Nevermind, actually, when I get all sad and my view of life from the earth starts plummetting horrendously into the sun, which subsequently explodes and sends the entire galaxy hurtling into the Andromeda, which creates a massive supernova capable of demolishing the Universe, ..um, where was I? *recollects*

*right*..When I get all sad and ..all of the above begins to happen...I try to drop off of planet earth. I huddle into my ickle shell and swoon at happy times, at times when life had meaning, and at times when global warming could be considered a belief and not a fact. I think of times when I arrogantly strutted around like a smart chick, and obnoxiously dismissed anyone who tried to convince me to do better on my MCATs. And now, I bask in sunless doom. I bask in sorrow, and need to contemplate about where I have to take my life. It's on a massive pause. Kind of like, when a cheetah realizes that in running so fast, he/she dropped its lucious meat. That's what I did. My meat is gone. *poof* *shabam*

All that's left is me.

chocolate lions

I was trying to sleep last night, and saw a stain on my wall.

It looks like a lion eating a heart. :o

...but it's a chocolate stain. I have the wonderful ability to stain stuff with chocolate. *woops* I shall have an entertaining picture of it soon. :)

I've been WORKING MY BUTT OFF @ Stapletons! OMG..peoples, pray to the Spaghetti monster, or the chocolate god, or just about any heavenly entity for me getting results! O dear..I really want this to happen. I really want good results to happen...to me.

And I officially think homo sapiens that determine the weather, aka weathermen, are retarded or slow or something. I mean..ok, you've got your fancy computer models, and so called intelligence in deeming the weather a certain way...but for crying out loud! JUST STEP OUTSIDE before telling us it's going to be warm! *baah*

*global warming*

Dr. Essani: "Don't believe it when someone tells you he/she loves you! THEY MAY JUST BE IN HEAT!!!"

;)

O man, I love how life is so busy. The other day Sandhya and I just sat for an hour contemplating how we swoon upon ourselves, when in fact, in the context of it all..the Universe, and Everything, life doesn't even matter! So then I asked why we even thought so highly of our individual selves (self's?), and we concluded that it was just to survive. In order to survive, we must think of our own well-being, or else we'd die.

So I ask you...why do we need to survive?

:*

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY MY LUVS!!!!!

"a septic parable"

O man,I found this GORGEOUS story about plasmids: *enjoy*

"The wise molecular biologist tells us the tale:

Once upon a time, a plasmid met a cell, and they struck up a conversation. Saith the plasmid, "Kind cell, I bring thee a gene for antibiotic resistance, and if you let me in, I shall repay you by showing you how to make an enzyme that might save your life one day." The cell replied with annoyance, "What use hath I for the likes of thee? My food is all gone, I'm freezing my pili off, and you think my biggest problem is antibiotics? Maybe you're just a selfish gene, looking for a cell to make copies of you. Begone!" The plasmid smoothed out his supercoils, dodged a DNase, and tried to think of a suitable reply.

Just then, a massive wave of thermal energy struck them both, and it was all he could do to not lose his footing, standing as he was on the cell membrane. The plasmid trembled, partly to distribute the energy uniformly to his vibrotational degrees of freedom, but mostly at the thought of how painful thermal denaturation might be. Fortunately, it was not coming to that. Not this time. The temperature was high enough to pop a few hydrogen bonds, and his strands were breathing a bit, but he was covalently closed after all. He could handle it!

The cell was not so lucky, however. His membrane, which had been reasonably firm to this point, began to swirl and form vortices, and lost its smooth surface. The cell had gotten used to the cold temperatures by boosting the fraction of short chain and unsaturated fatty acids in his membrane. While it gave the membrane a good consistency in the icy cold, it was completely wrong for this new, higher temperature. The van der Waals interactions weren't strong enough to maintain cohesion, and errant lipids were now leaping through the bilayer like divers at a mosh pit. Huge patches of the membrane were involuting, bringing massive gulps of medium inside. The cell was just seconds away from a complete membrane breach!

Then, as quickly as it had started, the problem was over. The buzz of thermal energy was drawn away by some unseen entropic sink, and dissipated. The membrane returned to its glassy-smooth state. The plasmid was now inside the cell, having been carried through the membrane in its moment of weakness, but the cell was too preoccupied to notice the uninvited guest. The cell was using his last remaining energy to bail out the excess liquid, and set his ion gradients to rights. When he thought he could do no more, that his determined course would be senescence and death, a warm flow of fresh medium restored his spirits.

"Ah! Tryptone, and yeast extract", he said as he gratefully derepressed half a dozen operons. His ribosomes got right to work, making the enzymes that would help to catabolize the new food source and restore the structure of the cell to full health. He almost exclaimed, "I thought Darwin had me for sure that time!" but being a cell with little memory he had already forgotten the privations of a few minutes earlier. Thirty minutes passed, and he found himself cast onto a wide surface that was warm and rich in nutrients.

"Not bad", he said. I could live like this for generations!" But then, the horrible sounds of dying cells reached him. All around him, his brethren were being killed by an unseen attacker. An antibiotic was there, and was destroying the entire population. Oh the humanity! He braced himself for death, but then ... nothing happened. He was alive!

"Remember me?", said the plasmid? "I told you that I might save your life one day, and now it has come to pass." The plasmid, which had gone unnoticed since the thermal catastrophe, had been copied several times and transcribed by the cellular machinery. It had provided a gene that encoded an enzyme that destroyed the antibiotic before it even got into the cell. Although more antibiotic was diffusing into the neighborhood, the enzyme was on the job, and prevented it from doing any damage.

"Yes, you were right", said the cell. "I am grateful that you transformed me, and now that I have a logical explanation for my good health, I don't have to develop survivor guilt either. Stick with me, plasmid, and I'll make sure you are provided with a high copy number."

The generations passed, and the cell divided many times. Each time there was fission, the two daughter cells received an inheritance of plasmid copies. There was widespread prosperity.

I would say "They lived happily ever after", but sadly that is not the end of the story. The daughter cells grew into a prodigious colony, and soon had destroyed so much of the antibiotic in the immediate vicinity that the real danger had passed. Some cells that had not perished in the original attack even managed to survive and grow nearby - little "satellite colonies" seeking refuge from the high levels of antibiotic elsewhere.

Then the cells in the big colony became lazy. The plasmid was not replicated to the same high copy number - it no longer served the interests of the cell to do so. Sometimes, daughter cells did not inherit even a single copy of the plasmid! As the colony aged and grew, the proportion of cells that carried the plasmid became less and less.

The colony actually believed itself to be quite progressive on this point. Some of the more strident cells even argued: "Why should young cells be forced to make enzymes that they don't need?" They said "We want to evolve higher order characteristics, not merely regurgitate the knowledge that served our great-great-great grandcell!" Before long it was unfashionable to carry the plasmid, though a few still did, but the colony grew faster without the added responsibility of the added synthesis.

One day, a toothpick scraped the colony from a plate and carried it high into the sky. "At last," the progressive cells thought, "we are entering a bold new era in which we are going to be able to realize our true genetic potential!" The toothpick was dropped into a tube of fresh medium. The fresh medium had fresh antibiotic.

What happened next is almost too horrible to tell. The cells that still carried the plasmid lived of course. They produced the enzyme that destroyed the antibiotic. The cells that had not inherited the plasmid were unworried at first, because they thought that a protective shield of enzyme could be built by the others, but being in liquid medium there was no hope for them. The antibiotic was not limited by diffusion, as it had been on the plate, and they were soon overcome.

The few wise cells that had not lost their plasmid went on to eternal storage in glycerol stocks, and were written about in books and famous journals. They were grown in huge 10,000 liter fermentation tanks, and provided with the very richest medium that had ever been made!

The end." source: http://www.escience.ws/b572/L2/L2.htm

.

BE THE BEST. NO NEGATIVITY, NO WEAKNESS, NO ACQUIESCENCE TO FEAR OR DISASTER, NO ERRORS OF IGNORANCE, NO EVASION FROM REALITY - Jeff Buckley