"Beginning of the End"

2009-12-03T14:25:00.001-08:00

The semester is dwindling to an end and it seems like it was just yesterday that I had my first day of classes. Finals start next week and since it’s my last semester I will be graduating real soon! As excited as I am about graduating and going home and getting away from the Chicago winter; I am NOT looking forward to not returning to Chicago after winter break. I realize now that this place had molded me into a more perceptive, rational and determined person.

I still remember my first day at IIT – it was cold and raining and how I wanted to just go back home! It wasn’t too long after that made the perfect bunch of friends- I knew I had found my niche at IIT. We were all new at Chicago and experienced the city together, studied together and pretty much went to all the events together. Some of them graduated last summer and we unfortunately parted ways. The time has now come for me to say goodbye and I realize how they felt when they were leaving. I had no idea how attached I was to IIT till I bought a one-way ticket to home! Coming to IIT was one of the best choices I made – I am not only more knowledgeable but I am also more confident about myself. I always knew I wanted to help people in a medical perspective and coming to IIT has reinforced my commitment to give back to the community. I was always passionate about doing research but I didn’t think I could pursue both my passion and ambition at the same time until I came to IIT.

I am a Biochemistry major and the BCPS (Biological, Chemical and Physical Sciences) is actively involved in inter-disciplinary research to find less invasive and more precise chemotherapeutic agents or more effective chemopreventative agents, to understand protein structures using crystallography or the dynamics of cardiac muscle contraction using a house fly model or study of the immune system in a cellular level and many more. All these research projects have implications in healthcare and I think this suits my future goals perfectly.

My plan is to go home and do research for a few months and hopefully come back for graduate school. I am not ready to say goodbye yet and hope my plans work out!

Until then…take care!

a geek's sense of humor

2009-10-01T12:35:00.000-07:00

So, I have been told that my sense of humor is pretty corny and I laugh at "bad jokes" - how can a joke be "bad"; as long as it makes you laugh, right? I'm taking taking ECOn 423 for my social science elective and what I thought would be an intense economics class studying the markets really turned out to be a financial engineering class. The professor really lightens up the mood with his jokes and more than half the time it turns out I'm the only one laughing! He was talking about the time he spent in Champagne, IL where he learnt the true definition of a farmer. He asks us what the definition is and people are giving straight answers like "A person who works in a field" or "A person who farms" and then he goes..."No! A farmer is one who is outstanding in his field!"...get it...out standing in his field....? I thought that was pretty funny but it turns a whole bunch of people did not get the corniness behind it! When I explained it to a few people after class, they were like, "Aaaaah! That's pretty funny!"....
In another one of his classes, we were talking about economic growth and how to double the capital. He asks, which country has the fastest growing economy - where the capital doubles every year? Once again, students were mentioning Scandinavian countries and Fas Eastern countries. He say, "You guys don't know anything! It's Ireland...Dublin, Ireland. Dublin....doubling!"...get it?

Just now, we had a brainstroming session with everyone at the office and someone's phone starts ringing. He picks up and says, "Hello. (pause). Is this April?" It was reflex for me to say, "No, it's October!".

Q: What did the Oxygen (O) say when Magnesium (Mg) bonded to it?
A: OMg!!!

(Atoms have electrons that are positively charged, neutrons that have no charge and protons that are positively charged. A hydrogen atom has one proton and one elctron. Why am i telling you this? To understand the two jokes that follow.)

Two hydrogen atoms walk into a bar. One says, "I think I’ve lost an electron."
The other says, "Are you sure?"
The first says, "Yes, I’m positive…"

So, a neutron walks into a bar. "I’d like a beer" he says.
The bartender promptly serves up a beer.
"How much will that be?" asks the neutron.
"For you?" replies the bartender, "no charge."

No, I'm not always this corny, but I was up all night working on a presentation (worth 30%) for my Cancer Biology class and I had way too much coffe today. My brain is pretty fried and I needed to give my brain cells a rest. Now, that I feel less stressed - I'm going to get back to work.

autenthicIITy

"Beginning of the End"

a geek's sense of humor