Second term wraps up

I have officially passed my second term of graduate school.  "Unscathed" and "successfully" are not the right adjectives, but I feel like a more evolved scientist no matter what the politics of graduate school think of me.  To celebrate, H.K. and I went on a small hike this weekend.

Yes, that thar is the ocean.

That is not to say that I haven't done well.  I have.

Yours truly is -- as of several weeks ago, actually -- part of a new lab home.  Where did I end up, you ask out of unbearable curiosity?  Why, in the bustling and exciting new lab of Dr. StemCell!  I have a tremendous project manipulating cell therapy in several PD models and cannot wait to imbue myself full-time this summer.

The Crohn's baby has been oddly tolerant of the inordinate levels of stress that this term has induced.  Only three minor flares the whole term.  The rest of my body, I'm afraid, has not been so tolerant.  It seems that I have developed anemia again, and consequently have been demonstrating vasovagal responses all too frequently for anyone's liking.

Apparently I have joined the ranks of the chronically anxious (although one would think that anxiety would be accompanied by more frequent flares, hence, "oddly tolerant").  My awesome university physician has a philosophy that there are two kinds of graduate students: the kind that are on SSRI's and the kind that should be.  She also recommends the greens, which I can't say that I'm opposed to.

In other fascinating news, my constitutively dry eyes which were "diagnosed" roughly a year ago have advanced into a new stage of dysfunction.  Welcome, Blepharitis, to my platoon of Misfit Side-Effects!  Since the psoriasis, exoskeleton nose and bladder infections calmed down I've been aching for a new challenge.  Srsly though, thank god for polyquaternium eye drops.

And -- AND -- my new anti-nausea drug (Zofran) does not knock me out cold.  Which means that I can actually take it when needed.  Score.