Field Work

               Since I'm studying Ecology, you would think that I do tons of field work. I don't, so when my Entomology class when to a nature preserve to collect bugs, I was out of my natural environment. The tall grass, the crisp, clean air, the mud in between the treads of my shoes; I've lived in the city all of my life and you don't get this stuff here. The closely I get to nature on a daily bases is the squirrels that look at me outside my window.

               At first, I was a bit awkward. I trudged around in the grass looking for insects, while the pros ran around, catching dragonflies and damselflies. It wasn't until I caught a grasshopper that I became more excited. It was sitting on a blade of grass. Immediately, I grabbed it in my hand. The grasshopper was kicking and chirping and so alive. I felt such a thrill, throwing it into my kill jar. And the best thing was it was the first out of many. I caught some metallic beetles, yellow and black lady bugs, shield beetles, earwigs, butterflies, ants, a wasp, bees, mosquitoes and a praying mantis.

            I think I like field work now.

Bye Neurobiology

At my university, there is a co-op program in which you work for six months in a job relevant to your major. I spent my co-op working in a neurobiology lab that studies mRNA trafficking in neurons. Coming from an Ecology background, I was nervous. Here's a quote from my journal six months ago:

I’ve never worked with vertebrates.

I’ve never dissected mice. 

I’ve never maintained a cell line.

I haven't taken cell biology.

Fuck.

I remember the night before my first day, I tried to read one of the papers the lab had recently published. I didn't understand a thing. GFP, mcherry, dtomato, I swore I was reading fruit salad ingredients. Walking into the lab on my first day, I thought that I was going to be immediately fired. If I can't even understand a paper, let alone the techniques, how can I contribute to the lab?

Fortunately, my logic were flawed. Sure, I didn't understand what I was getting into, but I was there to learn. My mentor, PI, and fellow lab members taught me how to do experiments and the logic behind them. I read papers and grants to understand why I was doing these experiments. I'm not the queen of Neurobiology but I do know more than I did six months ago.

I also came out of the lab with more friends. Working with the same people in a cramped lab for six months, you get to know each other well. There's postdoc A. I remember one day I foolish turned on the UV light in the hood, ruining postdoc A's cell culture media. She fake strangled me and told me to speak in Spanish for a week (My Spanish is rusty, so I just didn't speak at all). There is research tech and grad student 2. Being the only two guys in the lab, they were useful for lifting and reaching stuff we girls couldn't. They were also great company during lunch. Grad student 3 was also a newbie like me, so we spent our free time gossiping and complaining about the lab. With years of experience and quick wit, Research professor ran the lab, making sure us underlings didn't do anything ridiculous. My mentor, let's call her postdoc C, has the work ethic of a thousand ants, a small voice that only be heard one foot radius, and the patiences of a monk. She taught me everything I know and she's the only person I know who can pipette while slightly drunk. Last, but definitely not least, is PI. In addition to running the lab, writing grants, and teaching, he runs the whole Biology department. He may be tough but he taught me the fundamentals of science.

During my co-op, I missed my old, Ecology lab. I'm excited to return to them but I have to admit, I'll miss Neurobiology and the people it introduced me to.