Favorite Excerpts from The Alchemist

"It is we who nourish the Soul of the World, and the world we live in will be better or worse, depending on whether we become better or worse. And that's where the power of love comes in. Because when we love, we always strive to become better than we are."

"Your eyes show the strength of your soul," answered the alchemist. 

"But my heart is agitated," the boy said. "It has its dreams, it gets emotional, and it's become passionate over a woman of the desert. It asks things of me, and it keeps me from sleeping many nights, when I'm thinking about her."

"Well that's good. Your heart is alive. Keep listening to what it has to say."

"Most people see the world as a threatening place, and, because they do, the world turns out, indeed, to be a threatening place."

¡¡Mas despacio por favor!!

Estoy aprendiendo español con Coffee Break Spanish!

Es muy fantastico!!!!

Sunday Reflection

Alas, we find ourselves on top of the mountain asking for more. 

FINALLY!

Moma, I'm gonna be a doctor and make you proud!

Question of the Day

Can you simultaneously love and hate a person?

An Epiphany

Last night, a revelation hit me so hard that I found myself in an eternal bliss of happiness. 

No longer will I long for better days, because every minute of my life will be enjoyed. Whether I am in the midst of doing things I relish-reading, jogging, visiting museums, going out with friends, drinking (yes, I am drinking now), playing tennis, traveling, or doing things I dread-interviewing, studying, filling out applications, organizing paperwork, cleaning, work correspondence-I will do EVERYTHING with a genuine happiness because gone are the days where I will long for moments of my life to pass by quickly and no longer will I live in a dream of false anticipations.

No longer will I long for someone to make me happy because I am so happy. I have never loved myself as much as I do today-today marks the beginning of a Zanzounita who knows how beautiful life is and will not take it for granted. Today marks the beginning of a revelation-I have never been so happy in my life---and for the first time ever, the happiness came from within.

Life's Simple Pleasure #9

Endorphins.

teeth of ivory bites regret into shallow skins of silk made of a  spider's woven net catching all but the one true as the endless depths of eyes pierce bodies now carved from marble as the sly cat smiles at your empty life, you wonder what the fuck you've been doing all this time and the smoke clears and it's too late, for you were lost in a field of maize, crushed lost loves and passive hate, silent screams inside plea for help, but no one can hear the old woman in bed for her sons have long forgotten and remember wealth, for when you craw into the coffin, it cushions well for the bumpy trip that we will take to hell

Life's Simple Pleasure #8

My new kick-ass MacBook!

Vladimir Putin

Fools are lucky, we work day and night.

I Friggin' Love My Life

I have no idea how great I have it. 

Life's Simple Pleasure #7

My mother's warm hug.

Attitude is everything.

Zexy

If a woman sleeps with a man, she leaves him with nothing else to conquer. 

It Would be Cooler if You Would...

Growing up in the United States is not easy. There is a lot of pressure to fit in and succumb to peer pressure. Having sex, partying all night long, clubbing, and drinking are common social activities across the nation and shorelines...

The temptations to seek instant sexual gratification is all around, especially if a woman happens to be beautiful.

Today, I am grateful for having the ability and discipline to draw my own boundaries that define who I am. 

One Day..

I would like to visit Lake Como.

Today I am...

ENERGETIC!!!!!

In the Lab

As I am running an experiment, my lab mate looks seriously at me and asks,

"Do these paper towels look stupid? I need to buy paper towels, what do you think of these?"

Babe, you are one lucky person if that's what you are worried about now!!!

In the Lab

After 2 post docs forget to add a standard secondary antibody to western blots...

"What are you guys thinking? You are POSTDOCS!"--says my PI

In the Lab Part I

So, finally, I have survived the biggest lab screw ups in history.

Over the past months, I have been struggling to "think like a scientist," multitask, remember, and really, really focus.

Now that it is in the past, I can laugh about it and reminisce about the "old days" 

Here are some "funny" things that have happened over the course of my new lab job..

1. I overheated 6 liters worth of bacteria in a shaker overnight by overlooking the settings on the shaker.

2. Added 1000x more BME to cells and had to survive the terrible fumes that ensued.

3. Setting a plastic beaker filled with alcohol on fire- had to run and pour water on it and my experiment.

4. Eluting my DNA into waste during the final step of purification/extraction.

5. Breaking 2 glass beakers that had 2 liters worth of bacterial growth.

6. Being sprayed with bacteria-missed my eye, but got into my hair.

7. Mixing samples-classic one.

8. Overgrowing bacteria to a dense state.

9. Missing a step in protein purification-lost days worth of work--I wanted to throw myself out the window (that's why the uni. doesn't have openable windows hehe)

10. Overheating enzymes to the point where they become inefficient.