Resolutions.

With approximately eleven and a half hours left in 2013, I think it would be appropriate to list off my five resolutions (or year-long goals) that I have set for myself in the year 2014.

#5. Become a better scientist. 
This goal may seem a bit peculiar to the average person. How does one "become" a better scientist? If you ask someone in academia, they would probably say that you should publish more papers or that you should be inquiring about acquiring tenure (if you do not already have it). As far as I am concerned, I want to both expand and deepen my knowledge of chemistry so that I can be prepared for whatever graduate school throws at me. Being in charge of supplemental instruction the past two quarters has allowed me to meet dozens of new people and has provided me with the title of "the Ochem guy." I admire the recognition because that is what I aspire to be. Within the next few years, I would like to be known as "the Dr. Ochem guy," which leads me to my next resolution...

#4. Succeed in graduate school.
This resolution is solely banked on the fact that I get accepted into a graduate program for the fall of 2014 (which I am hoping comes true). I have already received a rejection from one of my schools and I will keep my blog updated with news from the other five that I applied to. If post-secondary education were related to sports, undergraduate degrees would be the minor league teams, while graduate schools would be like playing in the majors. So far my track record with the Somerset Patriots (minor league baseball team that I grew up with), has been pretty good, but if I wish to excel in the majors (say the Yankees or Mets), I need to step my game up and not only that, I need to put myself back in the game, which leads me to my next resolution...

#3. Get better grades. 
I only have two quarters left in my undergraduate career (so this resolution should have been on last year's list to have any drastic impact), but I want to end my undergraduate career on a high note. I do not want to skate by with  C's because that is the minimum grade to pass; I want to show my peers and my professors (and my future school) that I can excel in my courses, especially ones that I will be using in my graduate study. This quarter I am taking a course that I am not required to take (Instrumental Analysis), but I believe that it will greatly set me apart from other Biochemistry majors whom do not take the course. I also plan to take a graduate-level organic chemistry course in the spring, which I am quite excited to take. Expanding my chemistry palette is a necessary tool for a scientist and a lack of knowledge in one area should be remedied with sufficient studying in said area, which leads me to my next resolution...

#2. Read the Bible. 
Hold on a second... I just said that I wanted to expand my chemistry palette. How does the Bible have anything to do with that? Hear me out for a second. Over the past few years, my "faith" has been questioned (granted I did not have strong faith to begin with), but the idea that God existed was slowly creeping out of my head. There is a quote by Harlan Ellison that reads "You are not entitled to your opinion. You are entitled to your informed opinion. No one is entitled to be ignorant." By definition, ignorance is the lack of knowledge or information; as simple as that. I could say that I am ignorant in my belief that God does not exist and I would say that it is true. However, I am choosing to enhance my knowledge on the subject, which shows commitment and dedication for understanding (non-ignorance). This leads me to my last resolution...

#1. Get below 160.
What does this mean? Get below 160 lbs in terms of body weight. If I go on an easy run, I do not want my heart rate to reach 160 bpm. I want to nourish my body, in such a way, that I can compete in any race I choose. I want to run a decent time half-marathon (sub 1:30) and maybe eventually a BQ time!

Thank you all for reading and I hope that 2014 is a big a year for me, as it will be for all of you! And remember, there is always room in your day for a little TrashTalk.

NT

Looking back.

As the calendar slowly become thinner and thinner, I like to take a few moments to reflect upon the past 360 days; one day per degree in a full revolution. 

January - The first month of the year; typically where New Year's resolutions are generated (and quickly forgotten about). For me, January was the time in my life where I changed my mind about pursuing the "teacher-path." My class schedule was now heavily filled with science courses and I had just planted the idea of Pharmacy as a potential career path. January was also the time when I took my first graduate course (as an actual participant, rather than a wallflower). Granted it was a basic seminar course, but that class taught me the importance/necessity of acquiring scholarly research articles (and leading a classroom discussion with said articles).   

February - Courses are approaching the halfway mark in the midst of February and everyone is feeling the pressure (including myself). I had started becoming more interested in Pharmacy and even did a job shadow at the local Pharmacy in town. Turns out, being a pharmacist was not as "exciting" as I thought it was going to be. My interest in pharmaceuticals had not been extinguished, but my plans to attend Pharmacy schools was permanently snuffed out.

March - Winter quarter is wrapping up quickly and I was more than ready to put some of the courses I was taking behind me. The month of March probably had the largest impact regarding my academic career because it was the time when I decided to participate in undergraduate research. I had a few professors that I was interested in working under and I will be honest, I did not get my first choice. I had gone into the professor's office to discuss the idea of conducting research with them and they told me "sorry, but I don't think I will have the time to train you in the spring. If you would like, you can ask me again later in the quarter and we can discuss research opportunities in the fall." To me, that was essentially a rejection. Nonetheless, the next professor on my list would allow me to become trained in the spring and then I would be able to conduct my own research projects in the fall. I quickly jumped at this opportunity and I think that it was one of the best decisions that I have made, thus far, in my academic career. 

April - The beginning of spring quarter. I had just gotten accepted into a research group at my school and classes were still in their early stages. In the eyes of an average joe, I was taking the most non-appealing courses (Multivariable calculus, Transition-metal Chemistry, Physics, and Biology), but surprisingly, I loved my classes. I guess I shouldn't say surprisingly because I have genuinely all of the classes I have taken so far (with maybe the except of Pre-Calc, but that's another story). This was the time where put serious contemplation toward attending graduate school. I made the mother of all Excel sheets, compiling information about each school, what their requirements were, MS or PhD programs, etc. I had just built a new floor in my house of education; all I needed was stairs to help me get there. 

May - I don't really recall much regarding May. Not because nothing important happened, but mainly because it melded with April and June and was kind of a blur.

June - The school year was over and the summer was just beginning. Did I tell you that I love summer? If I could live in an area where it was summer-type weather all-year round, I would move their in a heartbeat. I competed in my first marathon race (Seattle Rock and Roll) and while it was quite challenging (see blog post regarding the race), it most certainly won't be my last. 

July - If I had to describe the month of July, I would call it the month of travel. My sister and I went to New Jersey to visit our Dad and we ended up road-tripping up to Boston (see blog post regarding my vacation). 

August - For the first time since I have been attending school, I went back to school early (August 9th to be exact). I moved into my cottage the population of cows in Ellensburg was greater than the population of the people. The town was still and the weather was amazing (hot and sunny almost everyday). August also provided me with my first independent research project (which I am continuing to work on currently). 

September - December

The last fall quarter of my undergraduate career. I took some pretty difficult courses and managed to do decently well in my Chemistry ones (Math is another story). I applied to all of the graduate schools that I was interested in (see blog post regarding those). I received word from the University of Michigan that they did not want me in their program (Rejections 1, Accepted 0). Nonetheless, I have five other schools that still have to make their decision about me (and c'mon, its me!). I have continued my research in the lab and I am excited in the direction that we are heading once winter quarter begins. I am anxiously awaiting what 2014 has in store for me!

Have a happy New Year!

NT

...and one indoor helicopter.

Happy Boxing Day everyone! I hope that you all have had a wonderful holiday season thus far and will continue to enjoy bringing in the New Year with reflections on 2013, looking ahead to what 2014 has in store.

For the past few years I have been compiling all of the gifts I received on Christmas into a list (more so just as a keepsake for myself).

So here it is, the list:

Various Gift Cards:
$100 Safeway
$50 Subway
$30 Olive Garden
$30 Red Robin
$25 iTunes
$20 Chilis
Grey Aeropostale t-shirt
Blue sweater
Grey-striped Adidas beanie
Red/Grey striped Aeropostale sweatshirt
Various scents of Usher
48 Snickers bars (Full-sized)
Reflective leg bands (for running!)
A Natalie Grant CD (Awaken)
A novel, Wild at Heart (by John Eldredge)
A new yo-yo (to add to the collection)
15 pairs of boxers (including a pair of gingerbread ones!)
20 pairs of socks (including four pairs of sweet designed ones!)
A new pair of slippers
Two pairs of winter gloves
Costco pack of Belgian cookies (Tradition)
Stone-wave cooker (The "makes an omelette in one minute" item!)
A pair of headphones
Two identical 3-pack wooden puzzle sets (miscommunication of gifts or great minds think alike??)
Blue fleece jacket
A new reversible belt (brown and black)
A Puma athletic jacket (and matching pants, dark blue in color)
Red/gray/white flannel shirt (CWU colors!)
Columbia winter jacket (with the silver lining in it, very warm!)
Pair of Tony Hawk casual shoes (kind of look like Vans!)
Pair of blue Vans
A North-Face jacket (running jacket!)
Blue thermal shirt
Another beanie (Aeropostale brand)
Four new pairs of jeans!
Neoprene face mask
Five cans of peanuts (courtesy of John)
A "Burger stuffer" gadget
A plush "If you give a mouse a cookie" mouse
An iPhone 4s
New pair of running shoes (Brooks Adrenaline GTS 13)

...and one indoor helicopter.

That was my list of gifts that I received this Christmas and I hope that your gift exchange was as enjoyable as mine.

Happy Holidays and take care until next time,

NT.

Preparation precedes performance.

If I had a single superpower, it would be that I could state an athlete and could immediately acquire their peak fitness-level. I know that this sounds like a dorky superpower, but let me explain my thought process. If you were a collegiate athlete, you could simply state the name of a professional athlete and suddenly gain their fitness. You would never have to worry about training and you could win several, if not, all or your races. You would win accolades from your school, such as scholarships, or even championships. Fortunately, the superpower that I mentioned does exist; it is called dedication.

I went for a run for the first time in about a month. Prior to my run, I told myself that I am going to run sub 1:30 for the half-marathon distance (13.1 miles). A sub 1:30 performance calls for the runner to average 6:51 min/mile. I even went out on a limb and looked at the pace that would be required to run sub 1:20 (which is 6:06 min/mile). The most I have ran at the sub 1:20 pace is roughly five miles, let alone for 2.5x the distance. Nonetheless, I have established my goals and my winter and spring quarters are slightly lighter in terms of academic load. I even put a countdown at the bottom of this post.

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" - Lao Tzu

Have a good day,

NT