A Fun Evening

Tonight's equation: 

rice-eating contest + laughter + a little gossip + conversations about old Pinoy soaps = an evening of fun and relaxation

Today is payday, and six of my officemates - the guys whose cubicles are half a kembot away from mine - decided to go to a totally unplanned dinner at Chicboy's Paseo branch.  We have long been talking about going out to dinner, but our plans never materialized until tonight when I suggested that we go someplace to eat.  Hunter (not his real name) immediately searched the internet for restaurants that offer delicious but affordable meals.  The boys originally suggested going to Gerry's Grill, but we settled for Chicboy because they apparently wanted to have a rice-eating contest.  

And so we left the office at around 7pm, having finished our tasks way before it.  Me and six others (not their real names) - Hunter, Kkino, Chemist_King, JV_Chemist, NJM, and NL - walked along Ayala Avenue to Chicboy Paseo, where we were lucky to find a table that seated us comfortably.  We were supposed to order the barkada meal that came complete with pulutan and beer, but since some of us aren't drinkers, we decided to forego the barkada meal and instead settled for individual meals that came with unlimited rice.  

The rice-eating contest started as soon as our meals arrived.  We decided to compete by school.  I, of course, represented UP Manila (due to an earlier decision to not merge the UP campuses).  Hunter and JV_Chemist represented UPLB while the rest represented their respective schools.  It was clearly UPLB who took the lead from the start, with the UPLB guys eating an average of five cups of rice each (we averaged their number of cups of rice to be fair).  On the other hand, I could hardly stand after three cups of rice and three glasses of iced tea.  I was still glad, however, that I did my alma mater proud by not surrendering to the UPLB guys.  Hahahaha. 

Later, we all talked about the local TV shows that we grew up with.  Conversation centered on our favorite cartoons, anime (Slamdunk is the only one that has appealed to me so far), local shows and soap operas.  In addition to that, we also talked a bit about the guys in the office who have always gone out of their way to make us feel welcome and at home.  My sides ached from laughing all throughout dinner and I felt suddenly unburdened of the not-so-good news I'd received earlier in the day.  After all, it's been a long time since I laughed my head off with a bunch of people and laughing helped release the pent-up tension in me.  It restored my positivity and serenity in a wonderful way.  

I shall be missing these terrific guys, but I'm sure evenings like the one we've had can be scheduled so we could get together again and laugh our heads off.  

P.S. Too bad, none of us had the foresight to bring a camera.  It would've been wonderful to include some pictures in this entry. :)

Counting the Days

In twenty days, I'll be leaving my job in order to give my thesis the much-needed attention it deserves.  It has already been given the green light by UP Manila's ethics committee, and my reagents and kits have already arrived.  All I need to do is put on my white lab gown (I need to buy a new one) and latex gloves and work away the days.  It's not exactly work, since I love doing it and the experiments are so designed to give me lots of free time, which translates to Facebooking and tweeting in between PCR runs and incubation periods  - which last anywhere from an hour to 4 hours - and quick trips to Robinsons Place for food, food and more food (a must-have especially during those all-nighters).  

I really miss lab life.  I miss the days when I could wear comfy jeans, a T-shirt and sneakers and not bother to put on face powder or lipstick.  Luckily, I'm going to get those days back when I formally resign from work later this month.  Not that I hate my current job, but some things just have to have top priority for the good of everyone involved.  I certainly wouldn't want to divide my time between the lab and the office as it is an impossible balancing act.  

And so I'm looking forward to being a full-time student again.  Perhaps I'll be able to bag a nice job as I go along, but for now, I'll gleefully anticipate my upcoming independence day.  :))

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

This blueprint-like / microchip-like picture illustrates all the chemical reactions our body undergoes at various times of the day and under different circumstances.  

What makes it amazing is that these reactions do not contradict one another and are highly regulated by a number of molecules.  One mistimed reaction, and the body goes into chaos, resulting in death or sickness to the individual.   Looking at all these reactions and discussing them in class has given new meaning to the Bible verse that I've memorized since first grade: I will praise Thee for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.  Marvelous are Thy works.  (Ps. 139:14).   

I admit that I am not a very religious person and that I am far from living the ideal Christian life, but looking at this vast network of body reactions has always strengthened my belief in the existence of an all-knowing and powerful God because such an organized and synchronized system could not have occurred by accident . Only a Creator could made a living machine that is as complex as the picture above.  Only a loving and compassionate God could have designed it in such a way that the reactions do not contradict each other and affect other pathways or produce by-products that are harmful to us.  This metabolic blueprint speaks both of the power and love of that Creator.  

Indeed, "from Him who created all, flow life and light and gladness, throughout the realms of illimitable space. From the minutest atom to the greatest world, all things, animate and inanimate, in their unshadowed beauty and perfect joy, declare that God is love." (taken from the last chapter of EG White's The Great Controversy)

Geeky Saturday Night

Because I'm still a little under the weather to be going out with a graduate school classmate to watch the latest Spider-Man movie (note: we're not dating or something... just good old classmates), I've decided to download online lectures on physical biochemistry concepts in preparation for my prelim exam on the third week of July and study these concepts in hopes of getting a decent grade.  By decent I mean a grade above the required 2.0.

On second thought, physical biochem isn't supposed to be that much of a horror show to someone who's gone through THE horror shows that were Chem 156 and Chem 157 (a.k.a. Physical Chemistry I and Physical Chemistry II) and the relatively tame Biochem 121 (undergrad physical biochem).  I'm supposed to have known the basics by heart.  Still, I'd rather review my the basics just to be on the safe side because it's been a long time since I'd encountered those heart-attack-inducing problems.

While waiting for a file to download - I have to make do with the dorm's unreliable wifi - I took some screen shots of the stuff I'm currently reading.  They're arranged in no particular order.  

The first law of thermodynamics.  The equation in the slide is another take on the classic ΔU = Q + W that I've known way back Chem 156. 

  

The second law of thermodynamics (and my favorite... hehe!).

Reversible and irreversible reactions (the horror!)...

                                      

And that, so far, is the stuff I've studied.  CJ, who has taken the course before me, has just warned me that there are more horrors to come. He still has the old lecture slides the profs used in his class, and he told me he'd email the files for me to peruse.  Thanks a lot, pal!  You're really a lifesaver.  Hope I won't flunk this penalty course.  Haha!