Spring continues to spring

Again a super sunny, super windy day with lots of flowers here and there! 

Too much writing in two days in a row....
What you need to get things done: "Not quite enough time."  So true!  I'm almost done with it. Yaaay....

今日の夢。

高校にもう一回通うことになった、このマインドで。クラスが半分に分けられてて曜日違いの少人数授業になってた。

8時からずっと座りっぱで授業を受けるのがきつかった。。そして、自分の研究が全然できない、もう高校卒業してるから、出席日数ぎりぎりの日数出ることにする、と相談している自分。もうしょうがない…と諦めるのではなく、何とかして妥協点を見つけようとする点が、成長したな！と思う、今思えば笑

都会の高校だった。なので電車で通う。駅でSUICAに5000円入れて2000円入金した、そして、5ドル札1枚と1ドル札3枚がおつりとして返ってくる。少な！なんで？！駅員さんを探すも、駅員さんは脱走した動物を線路から誘導して出すのに必死。

食肉の営業をやっているという高校の同級生と会う。スーツ姿。先輩だという女性もいた。何かのお肉を味見させてもらった気がする。で、彼らは働いているのに私は高校か…とため息。

不思議な夢で面白かったなー　高校の同級生がいま高校の先生になっていて、元会社の同僚の娘さんを教えることになったそうだというニュースを最近聞いて、だからだと思う。不思議な縁だ。二人とも頑張って〜〜という心境です(人*´∀｀)｡*ﾟ+

An old building on campus

On a quiet, spotty-rainy day.

NIH career webinars today

Thoughts on skills.... It really makes me think what I can do after getting a PhD. It's been a tremendous training opportunity to form research questions, look up resources to solve problems, organize and motivate myself, and get things done.  It's a huge reap compared to me 4 years ago that could not form research questions on my own, instead carrying out experiments as told.

I learned so much and I believe these skills are transferrable to any field. But if so, almost all PhD holders will have gained these skills sets, so what sets me apart from everyone else?  What experiences do I have to make some contribution to the industry??  There may be a moment when you are struck by a lightening and suddenly find out the answer to the lifelong agita - what you want to do with your life - ?  Or would you just take an opportunity that come around in a timely manner that you feel like, and you just end up spending a significant amount of your life doing that?

13TH ANNUAL NIH CAREER SYMPOSIUM- AN ONLINE EVENT

https://www.training.nih.gov/events/view/_2/2823/13th_Annual_NIH_Career_Symposium

Advice from industry researchers and admins in NIH career panel discussion today:

1. Learn management skills.
2. Collaboration - work with other people with different expertise. -- I can talk about my interdeciprinary research project.
3. Learn to advocate yourself. Tell how your research is important.  Useful skill beyond interviews.
4. Understand the company's mission and explain how you can contribute to it.    

立ち話、週一報告、霜降りる

霜関連の四字熟語。

・晴初霜旦　せいしょそうたん。晴れた寒い朝。空が晴れて霜が降りた朝、の意。

・履霜之戒　りそうのいましめ。霜を踏んだら、やがて厚い氷が張ることを考えなければならない。つまり、前もって災いに備えなければならない。むむむ、深い…！

Met one of my labmates who live in the same apartment complex! It was very nice to meet her in person for the first time in a while.  It's a good feeling to meet someone in person, not through a screen. It was inspiring as she is working hard writing her doctoral proposal and reading papers.

Though the spring semester ended, we are continuing to have lab meetings to just know how others are doing and what they are working on. It's a really good opportunity to reunite as a group and keep things on track, I think.  As the field season approaches, people are preparing seeds at their garage! Creativity plays a big role in this unprecedented circumstances. I am impressed by their determination not to miss the season and to get things planted in the field no matter what.  Usually one person presents at each meeting, but all of us are presenting our progress in 5 minutes.  As always, we can't finish discussing in 5 minutes, so some of us didn't get to present; but it's ok - we have next week, and the next. It's nice to have a deadline to present something each week - that way, I plan data analysis so that I will get some results in a week.  It's a good old way to get a big job done: to divide it into smaller, doable tasks.  

Frost is forecasted to hit here again! Not good for Michigan cherries at all... Frost after flowering is detrimental to fruit set. Oh no...  It was breezy and super cold with 40F during the day today. Forgot to bring gloves and biked, and my hands almost fell off.  Anyways my essential work permission expired today, so no more lab work is allowed. So glad that I finished cooking. Freeze drying is almost done as well.

Spring flowers continue to bloom!

Pear trees are full in bloom in Lansing now!

Magnolia's large flowers are eye-catching!

Orange camellia?

Pear tree garden!! This is gorgeous and stunning!!

Picnicing would be perfect here.  I'm glad there are some trees like cherry blossom in Michigan.

It was a relaxing, super nice day.

 Weeping cherry

Different kind of cherry

Tall pear trees full of white flowers!

The MSU campus has beautiful cherry blossom trees here and there! 

I wonder why the U.S. flag is flown half-staff.  Every time I see this flag, it makes me realize that I am really in the U.S. and it still kind of feels surreal..  

花がこんもり・タイ餃子

梨の花が晴天に映える。

タイバジルなどが入った餃子を買ってみた！　豆腐とか人参とかいろんな野菜が入っていてとても美味しかった。自分でパリッパリに焼けるって最高。皮は厚くてもちもちで好きな食感。醤油１、ナンプラー１、酢２の割合がいいかな。