Sunshine

I didn’t realize how much sunshine can influence my mood but looking back, I think I have been a bit blah over the past month. But…the dark days are over, the sun is out, and for the first time yesterday, Dave and I went on a bike ride! We biked for about 7 miles around the lake near his house and it was glorious! Then we went to Costco because I had to get some food for two parties: our annual lab March birthday party (because my PI’s birthday is in March) and a Pi day party tomorrow. We ended the night with some healthy beans and salmon.  Yum!

Today I had the privilege of hearing Leroy Hood give a talk on the future of science. He has received numerous awards for his work on big data collection, DNA sequencing, etc and he is very influential in the scientific world. He founded multiple companies…latest of which is a wellness company. He thinks the future of science and medicine is studying wellness. Though I think his “wellness industry” is just a euphemism for “preventative medicine” and I feel there are holes in his logic (for instance he doesn’t believe in large population studies influencing  individual outcomes but applies results from those same studies for personalized medicine), I do ultimately support his vision. At least he is using his money to further our understanding of health and disease.

I was somewhat sad that I was one the students chosen to have lunch with Dr. Hood because it meant I miss the lab party but it turned out to be a lot more scintillating then I originally thought. Dr. Hood was honest (though not always forthcoming like all businessman) and I ended up learning quite a bit about his vision.

When I got back to the lab, I found that there was so much food nobody had eaten my bread and cheese so score! I now have bread and cheese for the month. Haha. Now, I am on the train heading home early. YAY.

Salmon and beans from last night

Beautiful day

Couldn't close my bag because of so much stuff!