anticipation

So today is the first day of classes.

I spent last week in Spokane on a retreat where everyone (grad students, faculty, post docs and lab techs) from the School of Molecular Biosciences got together to listen to speakers, from the school and not, and to get to know each other a little better. Overall, it was good times: nice hotel, wine, good speakers. The first night ended with the 1st and some 2nd years checking out some of the Spokane nightlife. I know a chuckle is in order, but don't laugh because we actually ended up at a cute bar which was actually to my liking, called Zolas. Stylish, with its lantern lights and cozy corners where people could sit and talk, or play cards, as some did. Dancing also ensued. Of the people I've met-- I like them. There are definitely some characters, which I can only hope will keep things interesting--in a good way.

One thing that was quite worrisome, is that of the 15 or so 2nd years that started out last year, only 8 remain. When I inquired about the situation, one of the surviving 2nd year said gravely, 'PASS YOUR CLASSES...'. Not that I thought the classes would be easy by any means, I didn't think they would have the same odds of passing as the Black Death.

Also, a student mentioned that Pat Hunt:
a) the amazing scientist who put together that Bisphenol A, a chemical known to be in plastic, can result in infertility (that you hear all about in the news stories-->see b)
b) who, because of the news stories, received a call from Nicole Richie (of all people) because she was concerned about her baby--seriously, like Bisphenol A was the first thing she was worried about?
c) who, because of the impact of her study, was awarded with Scientific American's Top 50 Researchers of 2007 (http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=sciam-50-2007),
d) who I really REALLY wanted to work with when I originally applied to WSU,
e) and thus, who I am starting my first rotation with,
has a 'sink or swim' mentoring style. It's a little intimidating, coming from a lab where my PI was a little more of a 'coach' mentor style. So there really is only one option-- swim. Mary Hunzicker-Dunn, another really prominent reproductive biologist reminds me a lot of Dr. Young, so I may try her lab for my second rotation. Her work revolves around cell signaling in ovarian cells. It's always a good thing to learn signal transduction techniques.

So here I am, sitting outside the classroom before it starts with all this going through my head. Sort of one of those 'first days of the rest of your life' kind of moments. I would be lying if I said I wasn't excited, or scared. But I'm ready for it. I think.

ps- my camera is on its way.