Those of you who had taken PE with me in high school are probably wondering how I can take any kind of physical education courses, much less my current choice, without some kind of accident happening regularly. Well, today I accidentally elbowed my sparring partner and soon-to-be test mentor, Cathe, in the face (she was thankfully okay and we spent a few minutes trying to work on my timing so it won't happen again). I think I may also have sprained my toes. Didn't know this was possible -- the toe spraining. Though obviously from a physiological view it should be possible since toes have muscles and tendons and therefore, like all other things that have muscles and tendons, can be sprained. Nevertheless, I was expected arm / wrist / hand injury first, from either lab or class...or possibly neck, I guess -- toes didn't even register on the radar.
Life can be sneaky like that.
To follow up on some of the things I mentioned last week:
a) Insurance: went in to the insurance / optometry center (they are located conveniently right next to each other) to ask about it, and confused the people at both places before the very nice lady at the insurance told me to leave my email and she'll contact me after she figures it out with the insurance company. I was emailed yesterday-- apparently the insurance company made a mistake and my claim got filed twice. Somehow this resulted in me receiving only one copy of the claim, in which my glasses' frame was not covered, despite of the fact that it was and the claim has been processed.
"I'm really sorry about this," said the lady who works at the insurance office, once she found out that I'm a grad student. "You really don't need any more confusion."
"No. No, I really don't," I replied, because saying "Oh you have no idea" didn't seem very gracious.
b) Weird review session, maybe: contacted one of my classmate who TA'ed with me last year as well as the professor she TA'ed for. Turned out the person who emailed me is not in the class, I have no idea who she's organizing the session for, and my classmate also was emailed but he thought it was "fishy" so ignored the email. I emailed the undergrad again, pointing out that it's a really good idea for her friends, who will be taking the exam, to talk to the TAs because they can both arrange extra sessions / individual sessions as needed, have access to the course material, and oh, have an idea of what will be on the final. To which she replied that she wasn't really looking for someone with material or knowledge of the final, per se, but more of someone to give the students their attention as they study the night before the exam, and she suggested a session from 8-11pm. At this point I just decided to forgo the entire thing because I'd rather not go home by myself at midnight, especially given we just got another police notice this week that there was an attempted rape what? Wednesday night? And also? Not a babysitter.
c) Committee meeting next Friday. After I scheduled the thing and emailed the professor who couldn't make it and told him I can meeting with him separately at one of the time he said he will be available, his secretary emailed me back and said that he can make it after all so I will not have to give the talk twice. Huzzah.
Speaking of undergrads and dissertation, I am apparently getting an undergrad in two weeks. From New York. The exact details aren't clear but she's in some kind of program to promoter undergraduate research. I'm not entirely sure why New York is necessary, given we have loads of undergrads in California but well, I suppose I can ask her when she gets here. In the mean time I am frantically trying to figure out which part of my project can have a branch-off project for an undergrad who has never worked in a lab before. It will have to start with PCR. Everyone likes PCR right? Or at least, everyone who works in a biology lab (that has a bench work component -- comp bio labs are another kettle of fish altogether) had to have gone through the PCR phase at some point. It's practically a rite of passage.
She can even have her own aliquot of polymerase.
Okay, onwards.
No comments:
Post a Comment