Drabble Geeks

Geeks…Being Total Geeks.

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The History of Our Evolution

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Sometimes, we all just need to read a book that answers the question of “how did we get here.” Other times, it’s a question of how in the world has humanity not destroyed the world five times over by now. I’m still surprised that half the US hasn’t gone up in flames with people announcing the sex f their almost babies. Anyway, the answers to both those questions and more are answered in Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari.

On top of explaining some of the important advances in human evolution, such as the scam that was the Agricultural Revolution, it also asks questions that I don’t think many people think about. Such as assuming imperialism is bad, is there really any way of getting rid of the effects, or are we just doomed to live with it? How money came about is still super confusing to me, but it is still interesting to me how it came about. I still don’t understand lots of things, but it was really interesting reading some thoughts about the last couple of thousands of years that the human species have been on the earth. If you like history of any kind, I’m positive you’ll love this book.

Singing Your Heart Out

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A lot of the time, singing in written media does not connect the way it should. You cannot hear the heart behind the words while sometimes you are just told the feelings that you’re supposed to feel. That is not the case with Full Moon o Sagashite by Arina Tanemura. Maybe it is just that medium of manga the lends to it so well, but it has so much heart and soul.

Full Moon follows Mitsuki, a girl who loves singing but has throat cancer that is preventing her from pursuing a career. Enter Shinigami, gods of death, who believe that giving her the ability to follow her dreams will allow her to peacefully go with them. On top of this seemingly basic plot line, there are many twists and turns that leave your heart racing and unable to put down a volume until the very end. While this manga was amazing, one of the best that I have ever read, there are some serious topics discussed which are impossible to say without giving plot away, so do take care while reading. I’m almost certain you will love the story.

Murder High School

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Think about it: going to high school, only to be locked in, and finding a body a couple of days in. You would think that it’s out of this world, but instead it’s Danganronpa. I’ve played the first two games as my computer can’t handle the third, but I absolutely loved every moment that I played.

Danganronpa is an insane story with so many plot twists that revolve around solving murders in a think-tank style of accusing everyone without having a single piece of evidence or shred of logic. The characters are lovable and hate-able and each have their own unique characteristics that make getting to know each character an experience. There is also an amazing villain to top everything off. If you are not into learning more about the characters, you can skip this. The art style is unique in that everything seems 2D in a 3D world while other parts stick with the typical animal style with a sprinkle other others. Ether way, it is a gorgeous experience, but do know that there are some very dark themes that I don’t know if I could explain without major spoilers.

Semester 3 Grad School Reflection

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This is coming out later than I wanted, but that’s life sometimes. In December, I couldn’t handle all the things coming my way, and for the two weeks of my winter holiday, I did nothing but play video games and watch old TV shows. I also watched The Matrix for the first time, binging the trilogy in a day before seeing the newest movie the next. I had a fantastic break, but now it is time to get back to work, starting with reflecting on this past fall semester.

Firstly, this was the semester that we went back to in-person classes. It was a bit jarring since my first year was entirely online. Traveling across campus was a weird experience for me, especially with all the people who ended up being out and about. It was nice seeing people around town, but at the same time, there was the usual nonsense that I’d come to expect. This includes, but is certainly not limited to, crossing streets without looking both ways because your head is stuck in your phone.

Anyway, the class that I took this semester was a cancer biology course. I learned a lot and was very surprised with the A I got in the class. The material was challenging, and I was not expecting to do well in those classes even though I enjoyed it. Of course, every time I would be in class, I would wonder how any species has lived without any massive catastrophe because biology is wild. One mistake can cause several problems in the long term, and you just have to hope that everything goes well. This really just proves to me the evolution is wild.

Next, I would like to talk about my research. Right now, I think it is going pretty well. I have some experiments in the bag, and I hope that I can get a paper out sometime this next year. We have some pretty remarkable findings that we just need to validate before putting it out there. I am very excited about that. It will be nice to get something out before my research has to slow again. The lab is currently trying to start up a colony of mice that will generate the testicular cancer phenotype that we want. Even though we are following a paper, which makes this slightly more straightforward, we will have to have tons of mice and lots of breeding before doing any experiments. At least while my experiments are slowing down, I can focus on my exams.

This year, the focus will be getting ready for my qualifying and preliminary exams. My qualifying exams are answering questions in writing and being a part of an oral presentation with my committee members. This is the next step in becoming a Ph.D. candidate. I have no clue what I could be asked concerning these exams, so I just have to do the absolute best I can. I’ll be spending the next 3 to 4 months studying; I wish myself luck. I will be learning all that I can on testicular cancer, male reproduction in general, and toxicology topics since that is the focus of my research. I’m just hoping that I can handle the craziness that will be a part of this year and make it through okay. I suspect that I’ll have a couple of panic attacks along that way, but it’s nothing I can’t handle. I think.

Call the Wolves

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Heartwarming is what I would like to call this book. At the same time, this book was heartbreaking. Throughout reading the book Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt, I was pulled in different directions concerning my feelings toward June and her unconventional family. The dialogue was realistic, and the family dynamics were so natural. Brunt did a fantastic job creating the characters for this story.

This book takes place in the late 1980s and surrounds the AIDS epidemic as June must confront that her uncle, whom she loves dearly, dies from the disease. She must learn to confront the world without the one person who understood her while discovering more about him along the way, making unconventional friendships. I think that anyone would love this beautifully written work of art.

This is Romance? Pt 1

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I’m a sucker for romance. That being said, I have some standards. Such standards include having some kind of conflict, whether an external force causing friction in the relationship or some internal conflict of not feeling good enough. That being said, The Notebook is the worst romance novel I have ever read.

For years, I was told that The Notebook was the most romantic movie ever made. In my thinking, the book should be better. It wasn’t. Now, I have adored other books by Nicholas Sparks, such as Safe Haven and The Lucky One. There was just literally nothing going on in this book. Our couple spent a day together, and we’re just supposed to believe in happily ever after? Yes, they grew old together, but their relationship, in essence, amounted to nothing. I honestly expected more from this novel. There is a sequel, and I don’t know what it will entail, but I’ll read it. See if this relationship gets any better.

Semester 2 Grad School Reflection

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A second semester in the bag. I’m feeling pretty good about school, even with the pandemic and everything. Full disclosure, I do have my final grades in, just checked them, in fact, and saw that I got all A’s. For that reason, I might be a bit biased about my assessment of the last couple of months.


First, I absolutely hated the fact that there was no spring break. Totally understandable with a pandemic, but I just wanted days off. Yes, I’m a grad student, and I technically don’t have vacations unless I specifically get in planned. Still, I just wanted some time to not think about classes. I wasn’t going to go traveling anywhere because I’m a homebody. Still, I just needed the mental break because moving to where spring break usually is, I felt myself getting into a rut, and I couldn’t dig myself out of it. Mental health-wise, this semester, I struggled for a bit.


Secondly, I was able to throw away my notebooks from the past couple of years. I was incredibly proud of myself because I always had this thought in the back of my head of “What if I need this information?” I thought getting me to throw them away would be to transfer the information to the cloud. It was even on my 2021 goals list. Earlier in May, I actually said forget this. I just got tired of transferring the information and tossed the notebooks in the recycling bin. This might not seem like a big deal to some people, but it is to me.


Lastly, I wanted to mention that I was able to “go” to a conference. It was interesting with everything being online and having to talk with presenters with a chatbox. I did have to deal with one incident dealing with racial undertones. It was surprising, and I had no clue what to say at that moment. Heck, I have no clue what if it were to happen in front of me right this second. It was just so weird to have something happen directly to your face. As in, me being the only African American in the virtual call with my camera on… It still blows my mind months later.
Other than that, I have nothing to really report. This summer will be enjoyable. I have many experiments going on, and I’m hoping that a paper may come out of this. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

My 2021 Goals

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A new year is starting, and what else is necessary when that comes around? A list of goals that I want to achieve. I don’t call them resolutions, but you can think about them in that way if it makes you happy. Many of these goals are achievable with diligent work throughout the year, and a couple are stretch goals. Something that might not happen this year, but something that I would definitely like to accomplish, and I can use this year to get closer to the goal. Now, since I’ve survived the terrible year 2020, here are the goals that I want to work on for 2021. Now, these goals are in any particular order, but I’m going to number them anyway.

  1. Read 50 books…at least
    This is a goal that is on my list year after year. It’s also pretty easy to keep track of my progress using my Goodreads account. This approximates to about a book a year, but if I let life get in the way, I wouldn’t even do that. I do love reading, but it is something I have to think about doing. Now, 50 books aren’t the end goal. If I’m far from December and already have 50 books, I’ll usually add to the number by some interval I see fit. Fifty books are just my starting measure.
  2. Publish Every Week
    For this blog, I’ve been relatively all over the place with my posting schedule. I started toward the end of the year because instead of trying to get two or three posts out a week, I’m focusing on only doing once a week. This has been a lot more manageable, and I don’t have to stress about what I’m going to put out every week and end up going on hiatus for months. If I’m having a good week or two of scheduling content ahead, if I have, for say, a test to study for, I don’t have to worry about this blog. I can entirely focus my energy on my test.
  3. Finish “One More Cloudy Day”
    For this one, it is not really a measurable goal like many of the others. “One More Cloudy Day” is a text-based interactive fiction game that I have been working on. It has only been recently that I’ve really been pushing myself into writing the story. I’m still tinkering with my work style when working on this project, but I think I’m getting the hang of it. By finish, I want to have, at the very least, a rough draft of the game: having the story and some general coding done. From that, I’ll check the writing and grammar because I know that that’s going to be a hot mess when I get done, and make sure there is nothing too broken that makes the game unplayable. For now, that is my goal for this year. I do have some stretch goals associated with this project, but I am nowhere close to thinking about those in-depth right now.
  4. Complete a Cross Stitch
    One thing that I got into this year was cross-stitching. I really like it, and I find it very relaxing, but I’m very slow at it, and I recently got a pretty large piece with lots of colors. It’s going to take a while; I just want to finish one work. I think that is manageable for me, considering all the other projects I’m doing and my skill level.
  5. Transfer Notebook Information
    This isn’t really a goal that I feel the need to get on top of. It’s more along the lines that I want to get this stuff out of my apartment. I was the person who kept all of their notebooks and textbooks. Now I feel the need to keep all of my textbooks, but at the same time, I can’t get rid of my notebooks. I want them gone, but I can’t get rid of them. I’m hoping that transferring all of the information will let me let them go into the recycling bin. Got to be environmentally responsible.
  6. Begin Writing Project
    I don’t know what writing project I was thinking of starting, but this goal depends on completing goal number 3. I am working on these projects by myself, and I want to do the best I can. Stay tuned.
  7. Continue to do well in grad school
    I will admit that I should have thought about school a lot earlier on this list, but I didn’t. I am a student, and that should come first. Now that I got that nonsense out of the way, on to the next.
  8. Have a published manuscript
    With the work I am doing in school, I would like to have a paper published. I don’t expect in any way to be the first author, but I think it would be really cool to have a paper with my name on it.
  9. Get Cells to 3 months
    Part of my work in the lab includes cell culturing. By getting my cells to three months, I mean have a three-month cell culturing experiment. This is something that I really have to plan for, but it needs to be done. It will hopefully get me lots of information for my project.
  10. Downsize
    Along with the many things that I have managed to get myself in this year, I began reading books and watching videos on minimalism. I am definitely of the opinion that I could own fewer things. I don’t know how less I will go, but definitely less. I’m not planning on having a huge trash day, sorry Marie Kondo. Still, I am definitely taking in the principles of minimalism. I’m not buying something until I’m out of it or am going to need a replacement really soon. I currently have duplicates of things, so I won’t buy a new one until all those duplicates are done. For example, I don’t know why I have a bunch of razors, but I do. I’m not going to buy a new one in a while. I’m only keeping something if I really want it and donate what I can. In that way, I will slowly but surely “downsize.” Many people may disagree with my plan, but that’s what I’m doing.

Semester 1 Grad School Reflection

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I have started writing this the day I finished my last final for the semester. Well, you could say it was my only final. Either way, it’s over with, and I can relax until late January. Now, I couldn’t say I have the most typical grad school experience with a pandemic and all. All of my classes were online, an experience I must say that I never had before. Also had meetings entirely online. Zoom was the entire way that we connected with others. Even though we were distant, I could still tell I was the only African American woman in my year. The only African American. At this point, I’m the only African American student in my department, from what I have seen, wandering around the halls whenever I was trying to figure out what I was doing with my life in between meetings.

I also felt very isolated semester. The halls were silent of people, and my main company were those from my lab and the pictures that joined me in my Zoom meetings. Even though I really only interacted with six or seven people in real life, I did have some fantastic groups that I really enjoyed: a graduate student and post-doc organization, an accountability group, and two book clubs.

First, let’s start with the organization. This was done through my home department and is a way for everyone to get together and talk about things. In a way, this felt like the only part that tried to still have get-togethers and lunch together. What we would do would be to get take-out lunch boxes and eat together over zoom. It wasn’t everything, but it felt that someone was trying to do something while in this pandemic.

The other two groups were more so based on an outside department in charge of all the graduates, aptly named the Graduate College. Anyway, this accountability group had me working for three hours at night with a couple of people every week. It is also where I learned the joy of the Pomodoro technique. 25 minutes on. 5 minutes off. It is now the only way I do work. It keeps my eyes from going wholly turned inside out. I wasn’t doing school work for three hours, but I did get a lot of work done on my personal projects. Not only that, but I’m probably going to keep it up through the next semester,

Also, I was part of two reading groups. This semester I read Degrees of Difference: Reflections of Women of Color on Graduate School by Kimberly D. McKee and Denise A. Delgado and Deep Work by Cal Newport. I personally enjoyed reading Degrees of Difference. It was a way of preparing myself for all the grad school might offer for me. This semester, I felt privileged that I did face any harassment based on my race or sex. I was also privileged to have a group filled with many people of color, a rarity from my science lab’s experience. It was a welcome change from what I was used to seeing and had prepared myself for.

Now, I’m going to get a lot of flake for my opinion on this, but I didn’t really enjoy reading Deep Work. I agree with some of the points that Newport made but hated reading the book. Often, it felt like he was coming from a privileged position and didn’t realize that others do not have the same luxury that others have. He relented somewhat to the social media front for socializing functions when friends or when it may be something necessary for work. There was so much I felt that he was overlooking. But that could easily be because he has never seen or experienced nor talked to someone who was in a situation much different from himself. He sure didn’t interview people much different from himself. In short, I agree with the idea but disagree highly with the execution.

Other than that, I’ve been working on a couple of projects in between classes and seminars (as of writing this, I have not yet gotten my final grades). It was fun. I’ve been learning many techniques around the lab and getting competent at doing experiments by myself. I also have spent tons of time reading journal articles. Honestly, I’m starting to understand some of what the people are saying. I still have to use a lot of brainpower to read the papers, but it is getting easier.

Other than that, I don’t really have anything to report. If anything happens, I’ll be sure to let you know.

Chao

Know the Mind in 20 Minutes

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In a continuation of my feat in watching every documentary and documentary series ever, I watched The Mind, Explained. It is a spin-off of Explained, but this one focuses exclusively on the brain, dealing with topics such as dreams and anxiety. I will say that I felt completely attacked by the episode on anxiety in the fact that is exactly how I feel when I’m overcome by anxiety. Once I got over being attacked, it felt completely validating as I had a hard time explaining how I felt in the midst of a panic attack with others.

The episodes we’re interesting and very informative. I don’t know the most about psychology or neuroscience, so I cannot comment the validity of what was being told, outside of the anxiety one. I would definitely check this out if you are interested in these topics. I just hope that there is another season in the works.

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