February 11-23rd: A Roundup of Albertan Stories

As research picks up, I find myself slower with these posts. So maybe it was only a matter of time before I returned to a "roundup".

Let's start with the most Albertan thing: a bird hopping around in the snow.

Feb 11th
The next Albertan thing is the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium! I came here on February 11th, and as you can see....it is quite massive! My perch was on the second balcony, which is unfortunately not accessible, far above everything else. From the outside, the building seems so straightforward, yet appearanes are clearly deceiving!

Everyone excited for my full, unfiltered review of Dear Evan Hansen, the musical I saw, should reach out to me separately! Because honestly, the musical resonated with me in ways that require further examination and thinking...and procrastination. Though certainly a messy narrative, I found myself engrossed by the production, especially with the digital backgrounds. It's certainly not a perfect work, especially with how discomforting it can be, but it stills amounts to a momentous occasion.

Feb 12th
The next day, on Feb 12th, someone gave their first lab presentation and brought cake! It was really kind of them, and the flavor of tiramisu was quite nice.

 They were not the ONLY one giving a presentation on this day. You see, I gave a Toastmasters speech on that day. For once, I decided to give a more personal effort, to try to connect with the audience more. On the flip side, I felt embarrassed, even when I practiced the speech in an empty classroom. But the effort paid off and people thanked me for giving the speech.


Valentine's DayI gave the two PhD students in my lab chocolates and silly cards for the big day! (There was a Feb 13th aka "Galentine's Day" event in my dorm the day before, allowing me to prepare this great surprise.)


I also had  some thoroughly alright poutine at the Room on the Top, which was itself an alright bar.

 The REAL highlight of Valentine's Day was the Lunar New Year/Valentine's Day party arranged by the Conversational Clubs here.

For food they had: 
Dumpling and mango green tea!

Surprisingly, I enjoyed the mango drink. Now you may think, "well isn't your friend recommending the drink a good sign?" But see what you do'nt know is....I used to believe mangos created blood, so I didn't like them. But somehow, I enjoyed the mango green tea -- perhaps it is the balance of flavors yet whatever happened marked the first time I actively enjoyed a mango-flavored item.

One fun part of the evening was filling out a bingo by talking to people. I really enjoyed the shock on people's faces when I said that I have been to Asia 10+ times (since before I turned 1!). Because of the diverse mix of peoples in the clubs, you get to hear a lot of interesting answers to these questions.

And I also won Japanese potato chips in a Kahoot match! (Many thanks to my friend who indirectly helped me correctly answer a question about Romeo and Juliet. That was ultimately the deciding factor, I imagine.) Clearly, quiz games need to play a much greater role in my life than they have.

Feb 15th
Believe it or not, but this was my first and only time doing work on a weekend. We were just harvesting the cells, and collecting their "guts" (proteins), in preparation for analysis. But it was quite difficult to even enter the building! My supervisor had to let me in even. The work itself was straightforward and gave me a concrete sense of "moving forward." With my research, this feeling is really validating!

 Feb 16th

I *meant* to go to a coffeeshop unfamiliar to me, but instead I returned to the Southgate Mall and had Tim Horton's and a crepe.

Feb 17th - Feb 21st was our reading week break! You'll notice it's actually still quite intense this time around. For me, it was DEFINITELY not a break, and in fact I had my most critical labwork thus far!  But the 17th I took off, at the least.

Feb 17th was a holiday (provincial holiday of Family Day), and a day with weather dropping close to -30 degrees celsius with wind chill (a very brief return to our deep freeze).

So with this cold weather, where else would I go but Nando's! Thanks to the help of a friend, I decided to get two sides (both mashed potatoes) and the soda with refills! Normally, I am wary of such expenses, but soda's fizziness goes well with spiciness somehow. It amplifies it! (Maybe I just enjoy the PAIN of the SPICES overpowering my throat.) Also, bottomless drinks really just means "three" to me, it turns out.

 Wed 19th
Today was the FIRST day of my western blot -- which we use to measure protein expression-- and it took up much of my time and energy. This western blot would actually be my first real result but first it would have to be successfully done across two days.

There were two hour long breaks today -- both times involved running electricity through the gel we were analyzing -- and you would think that would feel restful. But it really meant being on your toes throughout the preparation time!

I actually decided to purchase a cookie and some sushi during the first break. Unfortunately, this trip helped me realize just how short "70 minutes" really is. It's like you get only half an hour in practical time!

You would think that perhaps this was plenty for one day. But actually, the person I am mentoring for Toastmasters gave her first speech -- the "Icebreaker" -- and I evaluated her. She faced her nerves rather triumphantly and gave a great speech!

Given how long that day had been, I opted to buy some chocolate milk!

Another Albertan bird photo

Thurs 20th
The SECOND day of Western Blot -- but today there were several washing steps, each requiring repetitive motions and then waiting 10 minutes. Again, there was much waiting in anticipation of the final result, which would indicate how the day went.

Thankfully, for me, the result proved to be promising and worthy of further investigation! That meant that these past two days, filled with waiting and nervousness, were worthwhile.

Unfortunately....I cannot post it on my blog as it is a real scientific result...:(

Friday
An ALL-DAY class on R (the programming Language) -- it proved useful, but perhaps beyond my attention span. During the break, I bought what I like to call a "FREEDOM" donut. (The sprinkles were actually too much, but it was a fun break from my normal snack food. )

Sat Feb 22nd
Today I attended the Cinnaholic 1 yr anniversary -- where they had FOUR cinnamon rolls for just $4 which was an excellent deal. As you might imagine, there was a substantial line, but the rolls were incredibly worthwhile (as usual). I ate two cinnamon rolls there, and saved the other two for breakfast (on 23rd and 24th mornings respectively).

I ate a donair with a friend from Toastmasters! It was my first time, and surprisingly the donairs are kind of like gyros. Actually, because I got the impression these were pork items, I skipped out on them, despite their prevalence in Alberta. Glad I finally had the chance!

Sun Feb 23rd
Dungeons and Dragons was cancelled again, but there was a brunch AKA a pancake breakfast! It amazes me how much this simple concept still works so appealingly for me. We also played a spooookyyyy trivia game -- it was not Kahoot, which made it even more fun!

 In a bid to make my mom proud, I scored some free (for me) milk and eggs!

Lastly, I want to share my failed attempt at making grilled cheese...actually, the bread is not as burnt as it looks! And gouda is a good cheese for this kind of sandwich! My process could use...a lot of improvement...but now I have another simple dish under my belt (sort of).

Closing out this post now with -- thanks for reading these things! Hopefully everyone can see how busy my February has been. And we shall see, exactly, how March compares!