Fresh Faces

Green Smoothies part two

2009-11-06T01:22:11Z

Recently, I was pleasantly surprised by Alex Tellez's spontaneous comment on my blog about my daring attempts at drinking green liquids for lunch. It was quite an honor that he took time out of his busy schedule to read my random- most oftentimes crazy- posts! Since he was the sole person responsible for motivating me to change my sodium enriched canned foods and take outs eating habits, I felt he deserved a long detailed explanation of the many times I stared at my revolting green smoothies- thinking how in the world am I going to force myself to swallow another cold vegetable soup?!?!

As you can imagine- or will after you see the pictures I took of my first few smoothies- I was more than eager to discuss the seemingly endless mistakes that I made during my love/hate experience with my first couple revolting vegetable drinks. Thankfully, I quickly discovered that the secret to blending DELICIOUS green smoothies was to disproportionately add more fruits than vegetables. I thought you might find the green smoothie narrative I wrote to Alex an interesting read. Thus I am going to take the liberty and share an excerpt to you:

Before I start listing off the bizarre combinations of greens I used to make my smoothies, let me just admit that my first couple smoothies required so much determination and focus to finish. I need to thank my compulsive obsession to increase efficiency in all aspects about my life with assembly lines and mass productions for the pain I endured when I first started my green liquid diet. Instead of just an 8 oz [I actually think the cup is 16 oz now] drink of THICK fibrous clumps of purple and green cauliflowers, celery, bok choy, spinach, cabbage, bananas, avocados with milk and water, I had to finish about 40 oz [okay this was a serious understatement on my part!] of this stuff. Here are some pictures of my “masterpieces”:

My roommates’ inability to get pass their first two sips of my concoction was a testament to the biting bitterness I overcame. You probably would understand the immense DELIGHT that I felt when I finally finished this tub full of greens:

For the past couple weeks, I have been really good at drinking a green smoothie at least once a day. I quickly learned how to mask the intense bitterness with a plethora of fruits. Instead of a 1:5 ratio of fruits to vegetables, the ratio increased to 3:1 sometimes even 5:1. My best green combo so far was:

avocado + banana + mint choc chip ice cream + bok choy + milk + water

Additionally, after one of my more intense running session, I decided to use papaya as a base ingredient for a smoothie. Such an awesome decision! Hopefully you would think the combination of papayas + bananas + celery + cauliflowers + avocados to be as delicious as I did!

I usually don’t take photos of my drinks, however the ones I’ve shared above were extraordinary in some way or another. Hope they entertained you!

Just this past weekend, I fell madly in love with raw cacao nibs, raw-eos cookies, almond butter and especially COCONUT CREAM PIE LaraBars! Words cannot describe their delightful taste and texture on my eager taste buds. And as you probably have guessed, these four new loves of mine blend extremely well in green smoothies :) Eating is finally FUN again!

At the moment, I am slowly trying to influence everyone around me to try my new diet. Although, the resistance is quite strong, it makes me happy to know my parents are becoming more aware about different healthy eating choices. I totally won my dad over by pulling the “but I want you to live forever daddy” trick =P. Not to put my parents on the spot, but my mom's enthusiastic picture text message regarding the spanking new blender my dad bought for her anniversary gift seriously made me GIDDY like a silly school girl!

Things from today's lab

2009-11-06T00:33:23Z

So earlier on tuesday, our class headed to SF chinatown to tour medicinal shops aka GSI Chris' shopping spree. Today there was an demonstration of making powdered extract from the spoils and sampling of the asian medicinal patches. My mom and grandma used to use them, but I was never allowed to touch them. Today-I stuck three of them on me and got cupped! Nyah nyah.

Here are some of the things I sneaked out of lab:

analgesic patches, mushroom tea and cold pills are to be had!

Working with Daphnias

2009-11-04T04:22:58Z

So this semester, I decided to apply for URAP and looking at our NST department, I was in luck. There were many new projects that were available this year and I quickly applied. Along with four other undergrads, we got accepted in the Vulpe lab! I'm so excited to be a part of the research that we're doing. Let me introduce to you what daphnas are. They are nicknamed" water fleas," because these little transparent "bugs" can swim around really fast in the water. We are using these daphnias for toxicity assays in hopes for the long run goal: testing environmental ( mainly water) and ecological effects on toxicants. It's great to solve mysteries in lab, especially when things don't go as planned . For instance, part of my role

]]> is to culture interlab media( specific protocols that require daphnias to be raised in precisely prepared environments in order for them to reproduce effeciently and identically). Since we have about 200 daphnias cultured a week( new batch) , it became apparent that something was wrong when we didn't have a single baby! And it seemed like the daphnias were dying.... it's odd because you start to think, wow, what if these were humans? What if I had put the wrong feeding amounts, or forgot to clean the buckets from which they live? What if I put in the wrong chemicals for their media? Well, finally, through careful process of elimination, my partner and i proposed that maybe the daphnias turned into sexually reproducing daphnias, which means, there's genetic varation( for our experiment, we don' want that) and it takes a while for them to produce babies. You can see if some are pregnant, since they have black eggs on their backs. Well, phew, at least I can rest at night knowing that I didn't "accidentally" kill them. Anyway, enough excitement for one week. Looking back at the end of the day, I always really enjoy the opportunity and love lab- you really learn about the values of using certain tools to find different goals/assays for your experiment, build confidence in yourself that you are doing the right thing, and build great friendships.

Final Decision

2009-10-26T07:15:49Z

I'm pretty sure you guys are tired of hearing about my indecisiveness, but I just wanted to say that I've decided what to do! Well, for now, at least. I'm definitely not going to graduate early so that I can spend my time wisely at Berkeley. For next semester, I'm already signed up to take PMB C112/L (General Microbiology and Lab) and ESPM 12 (Bioethics). The only problem is that on Thursday, the bioethics lecture goes from 2-3:30 and the microbio lab lecture goes from 3-4 pm. I really hope one of them is webcast, but I highly doubt it. Perhaps I can find a nice friend in one of the classes who will let me copy his or her notes for the last 20 minutes of bioethics or for the first 20 minutes of lab lecture.

]]> I also have my research lab and prep lab next semester. Before I got into the research lab, I really wasn't that interested in research at all. I think I actually mentioned this fact at my interview...probably not a very smart move, but I somehow manged to get in. Even though research is pretty time-consuming, it's very relaxing and not stressful at all since you really can't rush some of these things. My lab manager pretty much laughed at me for standing in front of the autoclave watching the countdown. Lab has really helped me understand scientific concepts introduced in some of my other classes. Sometimes learning about a biochemical assay requires more than just memorizing it for a test; you have to do that assay yourself.

I really think that everyone should have some research lab experience, even if you're like me and you don't plan on doing research after college. Research lab is completely different from the ochem labs with the method completely outlined for you. Someone will be there to guide you, but for the most part, you're on your own and that's how you learn.

Breakfast of champions

2009-10-22T18:30:52Z

Courtesy of Keiko O.

Decisions, Part II

2009-10-18T22:31:28Z

I thought I had decided not to graduate early, but now I'm on the fence, again. I talked to my mom about it and she said it was my decision, but that I could get a job and save money for medical school if I do graduate early. I'm basically going to be living in a box and eating ramen everyday in medical school. :( Hopefully not, but close enough.

Anyways, I've been trying to plan out my schedule for my remaining semesters. I still have to take PMB C112/L (General Microbiology), MCB 104 (Genetics, Genomics, and Cell Bio), MCB C148 (Microbial Genetics and Genomics), and 2 electives. For my electives, I really want to take Biology of Fungi and Biology of Algae, but neither one is offered next spring, so I might take Soil Microbiology, instead. I'm currently in a research lab that's 4 units a semester, so that more than 12 hours/ week. Starting from next semester, I'm probably going to be a UGSI for the Prep Lab class, which is either 1 or 2 units. So I'm down for at least 5 units a semester already. I work at least 10 hours a week. I'm also premed, so I have to think about allocating time to do med school apps next fall semester. I'd love some advice on any of these classes! Please and thank you!

]]> 1. I heard MCB 104 is really hard. Does anyone know if it's better to take it in Spring or Fall?

2. MCB C148 is only offered in Spring, so I'll either take it next semester or next spring, if I don't graduate early. I'm planning to take PMB C112/L this coming spring. Would it be difficult to take PMB C112/L + MCB C148 + research lab + prep lab + Soil Micro? Hmm...that looks like an equation for sleepless nights, but what do you guys think?

3. Take your pick:
A) Graduate Early
Spring 2010: PMB C112/L + MCB C148 + research lab + prep lab + Soil Micro
Fall 2010: MCB 104 + research lab + prep lab + elective + med school apps
OR
B) Graduate on time:
Spring 2010: PMB C112/L + research lab + prep lab + Soil Micro
Fall 2010: MCB 104 + research lab + prep lab + elective + med school apps
Spring 2010: MCB C148 + research lab + prep lab + a fun class!

4. Does anyone have a favorite elective in Microbial that I should take? :) I've already taken Techniques in Light Microscopy (excellent) and CA Mushrooms (I think I've raved enough about this class already...).

I would be extremely grateful if anyone has any advice for me! I'm stressing out a bit, so anything would help.

Thank heavens it rained!

2009-10-15T14:39:43Z

As I'm sure you all noticed, the storm on Tuesday was horrible, so why am I so glad it rained? Because mushrooms are popping up now! I'm in California Mushrooms, an upper division elective for Microbial Biology, and we have to collect mushrooms for our personal collection to turn in. We were supposed to have 50 points of our collection by this coming Monday, but it's been postponed to the following Monday. I was totally stressed out before Tuesday since it hadn't rained for weeks and the only mushrooms I could find were little brown mushrooms (LBMs) and they're extremely hard to key out.

Yesterday, I was just walking to class and I spotted these gorgeous marshmallow-looking mushrooms! They were white with a dark brown center and covered in small brown fibrils. I wish I took a picture of them, but they're in the lab drying now and by the time I get them back, they'll look quite different from when they were fresh. I can't remember the name of those off the top of my head, so I'll just leave you guys to wonder.

]]> I also found some Bolbitius vitellinus on campus. They're these small, bell-shaped mushrooms that are bright yellow when they're fresh! Their common name is "Sunny Side Up." By the time I got them, though, they had dried to a light brown, but I could still traces of the bright yellow on the center of the cap and stipe (that's the stalk of the mushroom).

Over in the Eucalyptus Grove on campus, I found some more mushrooms! They were so beautiful just sitting there in the damp soil! I know I must sound slightly crazy or way too enthusiastic, but you have no idea how much delight you can get from discovering a cluster of cute little mushrooms beneath your feet. Well, not exactly beneath, because then you would've smashed them. :)

I can't wait to go on the class field trips to Mendocino and the Redwood Forest! I hear that there's a lot more variety up there. I really want to find a ring of Marasmius oreades, the fairy ring mushroom. Professor Bruns cooked some up in lab with some salt and margarine, and they were absolutely delicious! They had this great nutty flavor and none of the usual mushroomy taste. As I've said before, I usually detest the taste of mushrooms, but if I ever see Marasmius oreades and I manage to key it out correctly, you bet I'm going to cook some up for dinner.

So if I've got you interested in this California Mushrooms class, you can take it Fall semester of 2011. It's only offered fall semester every other year. If you get the chance, though, you should definitely take it!

How do you study for two midterms whilst sick?

2009-10-13T17:45:26Z

Answer:

Decisions, Decisions...

2009-10-13T07:36:16Z

As you all know, Telebears season is upon us, again. Be sure to make an appointment with your advisor and figure out which classes to take next semester. Remember that some classes are only offered either spring or fall semester, so plan wisely. You don't want to have to stay an extra semester because you have to take that one upper division course requirement.

So I met with my advisor, Trey, this past Friday. After looking over my DARS report, he told me that I only had 5 more courses to take in order to graduate! The only problem is that I can't decide whether I should graduate early or spread out those 5 classes over the next 3 semesters. Most of the people I've asked said they wouldn't graduate a semester early.

]]> To me, there are pros and cons for each choice...

*half an hour later*

I actually did make a list of the pros and cons and I was about to post it, but I think I made my decision in the process of writing that list. My mom always told me that college was the best part of her life, so I don't want to make the mistake of leaving too soon. I'm going to spread out those 5 classes over 3 semesters, while exploring other aspects of college life that I've ignored so far.

So on that note, what should I take next semester?! :)

Breast Cancer: Everyone deserves a lifetime

2009-10-10T02:51:10Z

Before skipping school to attend the SFO Breast Cancer 3Day, I spammed all my Professors and GSIs with emails excusing my absence from class and to make up any work that I will miss. Let me just say...Boy was that a stressful process!!! Juggling the workload I had at that time with deadlines meant for two weeks later is something I never want to repeat. Without the accommodating and understanding responses from my Professors and GSIs, I would have forfeited about one fourth of my final grades. So THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU Berkeley teachers.

As part of our agreement, my Japanese sensei requested a written email from my team captain for proof of my involvement with the 3Day. Faren Shear's beautifully articulated emotions and ideas perfectly explain the essence of the Breast Cancer 3Day cause. If you have the time, please read her email and visit her site!

On October 2-4, 2009 Amelia and I will be just 2 of over 300 crew members supporting the walkers on the San Francisco Breast Cancer 3 Day. It’s a 60-mile walk over three days to raise money for breast cancer. The net proceeds will support the combined efforts of Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the National Philanthropic Trust (NPT) Breast Cancer Fund in their mission to fund access to care and find a cure for breast cancer. We’ll be serving as crew members on a Pit stop team, giving our time and service to the walkers for three days.
When I heard that one in eight women in the U.S. will be diagnosed with breast cancer, I knew I had to do something about it. I don’t have a lot of money, and I can’t find a cure for cancer, but I found that this was something that I could do. About 40,000 will die from the disease. That’s why I’m doing this - to do something bold about breast cancer.

I am very thankful that Amelia has decided to give her time and effort to this cause, I could not do this job supporting the walkers without her. She has already been working hard planning for the weekend and also fund raising for the cause. I know she will miss her commitments at school, but this is a life experience that I look forward to sharing with her and know from my past work with the 3 Day that there are always many important life lessons to be learned in the service of others.

I am now officially not a 3Day "virgin" anymore. I want to come up with an eloquent entry to express my sincere appreciation for the memorable Breast Cancer experience the SFO 3Day blessed me with. Unfortunately with the stress of school and research, I am short on time to reflect and analyze all the complicated emotions that surfaced in my head during the closing ceremony... I do not know when I can fully understand their significance. However when I do, I promise I will share with you. The 3Day is seriously both physically and emotionally draining. But the life's lessons and experiences I picked up are invaluable! Thank you Breast Cancer 3Day for showing me that the goodness in humanity still exists in a world filled with greed and contempt.

In the words of Mark Henderson, one of my fellow Pit Stop 4 teammate:

[I am] feeling so blessed to have been able to support the almost 1,500 walkers who tromped, limped, and staggered through SF and Marin county the past 3 days. I laughed with them, hugged them, and even cried with them. I am so grateful I could do that. I also worked with some totally awesome ladies in my crew - thanks girls! Great day to be alive!... [I am] thanking God [that] I was blessed to work with such an awesome group of "strangers" that came together and became the most righteous, the most rad, happenin', bitchin', groovy, loving, caring , and hardest working groups on the road.

Echoing Mark's comments, I too was grateful for the opportunity to laugh, hug and cry with the ladies and GENTLEMEN at the 3Day. As I sat along the curb at Crissy fields waiting for my ride back to Berkeley, I realized that I unknowingly interacted with thousands of unnamed heroes that weekend. For four days (not three since crew members spend an extra day before the walkers arrive preparing for the event at Cow Palace), we lived in a bubble full of optimistic hope and compassionate love while basking in the 'hearts of grace' of survivors, walkers, crew members, staff administrators, volunteers from the community, family members and so many more people.

It is disheartening to know that these people are affected by breast cancer in some way other another. Cancer really does not discriminate against race, culture, age, gender, or social status. With odds like 1 out of 8 women developing breast cancer, there is an urgency to discover a cure. I can confidently say that my life changed after participating in this 3Day with my mommy.

Please help me raise awareness about the Breast Cancer cause.
Because…
Everyone deserves a lifetime.

]]>

opening ceremony with mom

in no flushing toilets- lovely. good times.

closing ceremony

The Sniffles

2009-10-09T19:21:44Z

It's amazing how a head cold can severely reduce one's willingness to go to class. It's already enough of a struggle to wake up at 7 am for an 8 am class, especially when it's cold outside. But when you've got to wake up early, and you've got a killer sinus headache, going to that class may just not happen. It's so much easier to stay in bed after all.

In college, being sick really sucks. Chances are there isn't anyone there to make you soup, and do your laundry and make tea for you. You're essentially on your own wallowing in a nest of blankets and used kleenex wondering if it's worth it to get up and find something to eat. I know, it's a pitiful image but it's the truth.

The best (and by that I mean also the cheapest and easiest) cure for sickness is sleep. Sleep also happens to be one of those things college students never have enough of... along with money and time of course, but back to what I was saying. I find that by drinking water, taking a shower and going to bed at 7 pm or whenever is the fastest way to recover. Problem with that is adjusting to the usual 5 hrs of sleep per night after you're well.

Thank god for Trey Patridge!

2009-10-06T18:00:14Z

I completely forgot we got Telebears this month and lovely Trey reminds us GPB kids to sign up for an appointment with him in order to obtain an advisor's code. Originally he was just the advisor for our small GPB community, but with budget cuts, he has to help take on the MCB kids too.

I got mine super early, I don't actually sign up for classes until the end of the month but I just came in this morning and grabbed my code and missed the cavalcade of last-minute panic. Poor Trey has to meet 400 souls the week before registration.

Get your code early kids.

Oh and note on the game between USC and Cal...WHO CARES!!!??? We lose a game-BOOHOO-winning or losing game doesn't make me any better or worse at plant development, people are just looking for a distraction and I certainly don't find any in some silly college game. Watch some TV or go bookstore shopping-it's much more satisfying!

On another note-DO NOT EVEN THINK OF HOOKING UP YOUR GMAIL ACCOUNT WITH YOUR CALMAIL ACCOUNT!!! I tried to do so in order to have to avoid checking both accounts and just have the mail from calmail sent to gmail-BIG ****ING MISTAKE!!

My Calmail went and committed seppuku! It sent all the mail from my calmail account before deleting everything. I have no idea why, just all I know is DON'T DO IT!!!

Now if you don't mind, I have performed mediocrely on my last few tests and need to study. Also, beg for a lab position.

Walk dammit!

2009-09-24T22:59:51Z

It's my first protest! Check out the activism:

Lather, Rinse, Repeat

2009-09-23T23:53:44Z

Washing hair and academic semesters are similar. Semesters always go through the same set of stages, always in the same order. Washing your hair always goes in the same order, just like the academic year.

There's the beginning stage (or as I like to call it, the "I-can't-believe-that-90-minute-lecture-just-flew-by" stage) where class is exciting (because it's new) and since it's the beginning of the year there aren't many assignments. The lax atmosphere of this portion of the semester often causes student to ignore homework and studying because they're too busy catching up with friends or getting back into the academic swing of things. I think that it's probably easier to slack off at this point of the year because as far as students are concerned, exams are a whole month away at this point.

]]> Then there's stage 2 or the "We-have-a-midterm-next-week?!" stage. Every year the first round of midterms never ceases to sneak up on me. After settling into the routine for the semester and getting comfortable with the (seemingly) easy pace of things, the professors casually mention the upcoming midterm in the following week. I personally think they probably enjoy the expressions of shock, confusion and terror that this announcement leaves on their students' faces. This is the part where you realize that you're going to be held accountable for all of the things that you should have been studying over the past 3 weeks.

Stage 3 is the First Round of Midterms. This is where everyone learns that they should have studied harder (or at the very least attempted to study). Junk food consumption increases (Yay for Mountain Dew and KitKat dinners!), the amount of sleep decreases and dirty laundry piles up.

Stage 4 is the Crap-I've-got-to-work-harder-and-get-a-better-score stage. After getting the scores back on the first set of midterms there is a cloud of general malaise hanging over the campus. Most students, especially freshmen, go into full panic mode when they learn that their score on the test directly reflects their underestimation of the difficulty of the course.

Stage 5 is where students relax and begin to feel better about their first midterm score and begin to slack off again.

Repeat Stages 3, 4, and 5 for however many midterms are involved in the course.

Stage 6 is the full blown Finals Panic Mode. A later blog entry will cover this stage in detail.

Stage 7 is the post-finals nirvana/grade results anticipation. There's nothing quite like the feeling of walking out of the last final for the semester and being done. Even if you do poorly on that last test, at that point there is nothing further that you can do. All there is to be done is to greet the vacation with open arms.

Lather, rinse, repeat for each semester.

If only surviving college was as easy as following directions on a shampoo bottle!

Sleeping Over

2009-09-22T01:24:02Z

For my birthday weekend, I decided to sleep over for 4 nights straight (Sept 19-22).

I eventually got tired of wasting at least 1.5hrs commuting everyday. Not only I waste time, BART also costs me $6.10 which I can spend for dinner. Today, after my 4-5:30pm PS157 lecture, I went back straight to my friends' apartment. It feels refreshing to be able to relax after a long day instead of waiting one more hour to get back home. For these reasons, I miss living around campus.