Thursday, September 25, 2008
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Updates on random stuff
I just finished doing dishes and cleaned up a little after Renee and I had dinner together at home. All of sudden I started feeling hot, so I decided to come out to our apartment patio and write a blog (because I have not done this in a while...).
So what should I write about... Well, for the past three months or so I have been gradually gathering stuff to build a new PC to do some serious photography work. The major thrust to take on this project came when I realized that none of my computers can handle today's softwares (as you can see, I haven't worked on photography for a while). I guess I could have just purchased a budget PC from Dell, like I always used to do. But when this calendar year started, I wanted to build a computer by putting together individual parts because I have never done it before and I thought it was a cool personal project. Things are almost done--I am just waiting for a hard drive and monitor calibrator. The machine will run under Intel Quad Core 2 and 4GB of memory. I am going to start with 1.5TB HDD for now, but I am sure more storage space will be added on later.
Something that I noticed in the past two years is that as I spent more money on my personal projects (camera and computers for now), I spend less money on clothes, shoes, and other stuff. I hate to admit, but I am a sucker for well-constructed computer bags and comfortable shoes (*sigh)--I usually don't go after good looking ones (otherwise, I would be labeled as 'metro'). But I can't resist temptations to get better fit computer bags and more comfortable and water resistant shoes (I hate getting my socks get wet when it rains). There, I said it--I am a sucker for bags and shoes.
On to a different subject... Church: recently, Renee and I have been going to Contra Costa Korean Presbyterian Church in Walnut Creek. My old pastor from Buffalo, NY moved to Walnut Creek about two months ago to lead the church as the senior pastor there. The last time I saw him and his wife was back in 2002 to say 'good-bye' just before I moved to San Francisco (yes, I drove 7 hr from New York City to say good-bye in person). I thought that was the last time we would see each other face to face. Now, they live only 30 min away from me! After the second visit to the church, Renee and I decided to attend there regularly. Sadly, that meant that we had to leave Richmond Baptist Church. But I hope to keep friendship and continue fellowship in Christ with them, because we are no strangers and we live so close to the church.
Let's see... what else... Oh, I have been biking to work on a regular basis, about three times a week. Since one way is about 6 miles, I bike about 36 miles of total distance every week. I biked on and off, mostly on weekend when I had to go to work. On my first week of riding bike on weekdays, I tried three days straight--the first day was tough... the second day was the toughest... and the third day I had the most pain on my legs. So I am riding bike to work on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. If I keep exercise like this and eat healthier, maybe I will lower my cholesterol and blood sugar level.
Work... well, I don't want to write anything about my work any more. But I can talk about science in person and make it interesting! I am still a rookie-postdoc, and learning to swim here and there. It is kind of hard to tell where I can go two to three years from now after I am done with the postdoc appointment. But I try not to distract myself with that kind of thoughts for now.
So what should I write about... Well, for the past three months or so I have been gradually gathering stuff to build a new PC to do some serious photography work. The major thrust to take on this project came when I realized that none of my computers can handle today's softwares (as you can see, I haven't worked on photography for a while). I guess I could have just purchased a budget PC from Dell, like I always used to do. But when this calendar year started, I wanted to build a computer by putting together individual parts because I have never done it before and I thought it was a cool personal project. Things are almost done--I am just waiting for a hard drive and monitor calibrator. The machine will run under Intel Quad Core 2 and 4GB of memory. I am going to start with 1.5TB HDD for now, but I am sure more storage space will be added on later.
Something that I noticed in the past two years is that as I spent more money on my personal projects (camera and computers for now), I spend less money on clothes, shoes, and other stuff. I hate to admit, but I am a sucker for well-constructed computer bags and comfortable shoes (*sigh)--I usually don't go after good looking ones (otherwise, I would be labeled as 'metro'). But I can't resist temptations to get better fit computer bags and more comfortable and water resistant shoes (I hate getting my socks get wet when it rains). There, I said it--I am a sucker for bags and shoes.
On to a different subject... Church: recently, Renee and I have been going to Contra Costa Korean Presbyterian Church in Walnut Creek. My old pastor from Buffalo, NY moved to Walnut Creek about two months ago to lead the church as the senior pastor there. The last time I saw him and his wife was back in 2002 to say 'good-bye' just before I moved to San Francisco (yes, I drove 7 hr from New York City to say good-bye in person). I thought that was the last time we would see each other face to face. Now, they live only 30 min away from me! After the second visit to the church, Renee and I decided to attend there regularly. Sadly, that meant that we had to leave Richmond Baptist Church. But I hope to keep friendship and continue fellowship in Christ with them, because we are no strangers and we live so close to the church.
Let's see... what else... Oh, I have been biking to work on a regular basis, about three times a week. Since one way is about 6 miles, I bike about 36 miles of total distance every week. I biked on and off, mostly on weekend when I had to go to work. On my first week of riding bike on weekdays, I tried three days straight--the first day was tough... the second day was the toughest... and the third day I had the most pain on my legs. So I am riding bike to work on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. If I keep exercise like this and eat healthier, maybe I will lower my cholesterol and blood sugar level.
Work... well, I don't want to write anything about my work any more. But I can talk about science in person and make it interesting! I am still a rookie-postdoc, and learning to swim here and there. It is kind of hard to tell where I can go two to three years from now after I am done with the postdoc appointment. But I try not to distract myself with that kind of thoughts for now.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Wii Fit
According to Wii Fit, I am overweight.
How is that possible??? Maybe the game is programmed to Japanese standards. At least, my fit 'age' is 30, which is not too bad at all. :)
How is that possible??? Maybe the game is programmed to Japanese standards. At least, my fit 'age' is 30, which is not too bad at all. :)
Friday, June 20, 2008
Teaching Science
One day after I started postdoc work last week, I was told that I am co-mentoring a summer intern starting that day. Earlier today, I was told that there will be another summer intern for me next week.
It's kind of strange to start work with mentoring interns, because I did not expect to have any opportunities for teaching science at my new work place. It's not that I am complaining--I think I secretly like teaching science (well, I guess it's not secret any more) as long as I feel comfortable with the subjects. As an undergrad, I had my own tutoring classes for chemistry and physics on weekends. When I was in graduate student, I had to oversee five rotation students and one summer student. So I am not new to this area, but I really have to figure out a way to manage my time at work to have these interns happy while I focus on my research work.
The contents of this blog is supposed to be non-work related, but I have been writing work related stuff lately... Sorry, I will try to put some photos next time. :D
It's kind of strange to start work with mentoring interns, because I did not expect to have any opportunities for teaching science at my new work place. It's not that I am complaining--I think I secretly like teaching science (well, I guess it's not secret any more) as long as I feel comfortable with the subjects. As an undergrad, I had my own tutoring classes for chemistry and physics on weekends. When I was in graduate student, I had to oversee five rotation students and one summer student. So I am not new to this area, but I really have to figure out a way to manage my time at work to have these interns happy while I focus on my research work.
The contents of this blog is supposed to be non-work related, but I have been writing work related stuff lately... Sorry, I will try to put some photos next time. :D
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Going back to the real world
After 5 years and 10 months, I finally received my Ph.D. degree from UCSF. I feel like I gained so much from school--not only knowledge and expertise, but also close friends whom I hope to keep for the rest of my life.
But I know for certain that I will never miss graduate school.
I started my postdoc work at the Joint BioEnergy Institute in Emeryville as an employee of Sandia National Laboratories. I'm in Deconstruction Division for Enzyme Engineering. The laboratory at JBEI is not fully operational yet, so earlier this week I didn't know what I was supposed to be doing. It's finally getting better, so I'm happy about that. It took me a while to get used to hear people introduce me as 'Josh, our new POSTDOC'(most of times) or 'DR. Park'(rarely).
For those who are not familiar with postdoctoral positions--these jobs in academia and industry are offered for recent graduates with a doctoral degree in science or some disciplines of engineering to gain more work experience for faculty jobs in academia or scientist jobs in industry. It is similar to residency programs for medical doctors. The reason why I chose to do postdoc is to expand my background in protein biochemistry and molecular biology to gain expertise in protein engineering. By the grace of God, I found an opportunity to work on biofuels research, which is very different from what I have been doing in laboratories for the last 11 years or so as an undergrad, research technician, and grad student.
********************************************************************************
Renee and I moved to El Cerrito, about 35 min drive away from where we used to live in San Francisco. We now live in a 2-bed room apartment, and we love the place! I just bought a hybrid bicycle last week to bike to work. I'm going to have to get used to my bike to ride ~12 mi everyday, but I think I can do it as long as I find a safe bike route to take.
But I know for certain that I will never miss graduate school.
I started my postdoc work at the Joint BioEnergy Institute in Emeryville as an employee of Sandia National Laboratories. I'm in Deconstruction Division for Enzyme Engineering. The laboratory at JBEI is not fully operational yet, so earlier this week I didn't know what I was supposed to be doing. It's finally getting better, so I'm happy about that. It took me a while to get used to hear people introduce me as 'Josh, our new POSTDOC'(most of times) or 'DR. Park'(rarely).
For those who are not familiar with postdoctoral positions--these jobs in academia and industry are offered for recent graduates with a doctoral degree in science or some disciplines of engineering to gain more work experience for faculty jobs in academia or scientist jobs in industry. It is similar to residency programs for medical doctors. The reason why I chose to do postdoc is to expand my background in protein biochemistry and molecular biology to gain expertise in protein engineering. By the grace of God, I found an opportunity to work on biofuels research, which is very different from what I have been doing in laboratories for the last 11 years or so as an undergrad, research technician, and grad student.
********************************************************************************
Renee and I moved to El Cerrito, about 35 min drive away from where we used to live in San Francisco. We now live in a 2-bed room apartment, and we love the place! I just bought a hybrid bicycle last week to bike to work. I'm going to have to get used to my bike to ride ~12 mi everyday, but I think I can do it as long as I find a safe bike route to take.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)