He's blond, tall, does weird eyebrow movements, make funny faces/sounds, crazy, currently on his laptop, stalk me from time time, and moves his head to his music. These are the ingredients required to make the perfect roommate.
Yes.
He helps me make thin sections of cricket ganglia. Which is uber cool. Uber.
His name is Zach. And he is from Massachusetts.
So I have to be careful, because he holds a very sharp blade. The ganglia is frozen onto a circular disk that attaches to a cylindrical knob. Turning the wheel on his side causes the cylindrical knob to advance forward 18 microns per revolution. Yes, it's a slow process.
He is currently staring into his laptop and bobbing his head up and down. I'm assuming that he's listening to music. Oh wait, I can see the facebook screen on his laptop...not that I'm looking at him or anything. Nor am I sitting right next to him...I wondering who he's stalking...
He's pretty white. A white, rectangular machine about two-thirds my height. The small chamber inside is kept cold - 25 degrees to be exact. Every liquid must stay frozen.
Did I mention that he's silly? He does goofy things to make me laugh. God bless him.
The ganglia he cuts originated from adult crickets. It is frozen in a little container with a slimy liquid. Yes, the frozen liquid is sliced along with the ganglia. So he's always covered with ice shavings.
"Does it work?" said Dan.
"Don't think so...it's failing," said Zach while singing.
He's cool. Get it? HA!
Oh him and his 25 degree attitude.
A cryostat.
My roommate.
~Dan
P.S. Don't be confused. I'm describing two separate entities here. :)
Monday, February 23, 2009
Monday, February 16, 2009
Blog Fail. Seriously Dan.
Hey Everyone,
OMG. Dan, blog fail. Way to keep a journal.
Sorry guys.
Speaking of failing, please visit http://failblog.org/ for some entertainment!
So semester two started a month about a month ago. I am taking more math/science oriented courses this time:
Biology 109 (introductory biology--all jammed into one semester)
Math 171 (integral calculus)
Computer Science 101
Religion 216 (the new testament in its world--which fulfills an Exploring Social Differences requirement)
A lot of work each week. But still manageable. For now.
So rooms and housing became one of the big topics recently. I want to live in a chem-free (no drugs/alcohol allowed) dorm next year. Howard Hall is the best choice for me.
How housing works at Bowdoin is that all freshmen has to live in a freshmen dorm. All upperclassmen has to enter a lottery. And being a future sophomore, we have abysmally small chances of being drawn first. However, being one of the current chem-free kids (for living in the chem-free dorm Hyde), our chances are slightly higher than those who are not chem-free. Woo!
Maine weather you ask? Quite warm. Unusually warm. Even NH wouldn't be this warm during February. It's been above freezing for a few days now. Crazy.
Anything else? I don't know. Ask a question about Bowdoin college, and I will try to answer it to the best of my ability.
Cheers,
Dan
OMG. Dan, blog fail. Way to keep a journal.
Sorry guys.
Speaking of failing, please visit http://failblog.org/ for some entertainment!
So semester two started a month about a month ago. I am taking more math/science oriented courses this time:
Biology 109 (introductory biology--all jammed into one semester)
Math 171 (integral calculus)
Computer Science 101
Religion 216 (the new testament in its world--which fulfills an Exploring Social Differences requirement)
A lot of work each week. But still manageable. For now.
So rooms and housing became one of the big topics recently. I want to live in a chem-free (no drugs/alcohol allowed) dorm next year. Howard Hall is the best choice for me.
How housing works at Bowdoin is that all freshmen has to live in a freshmen dorm. All upperclassmen has to enter a lottery. And being a future sophomore, we have abysmally small chances of being drawn first. However, being one of the current chem-free kids (for living in the chem-free dorm Hyde), our chances are slightly higher than those who are not chem-free. Woo!
Maine weather you ask? Quite warm. Unusually warm. Even NH wouldn't be this warm during February. It's been above freezing for a few days now. Crazy.
Anything else? I don't know. Ask a question about Bowdoin college, and I will try to answer it to the best of my ability.
Cheers,
Dan
Monday, November 10, 2008
A Quickie
I'm going to leave for lab work in a few minutes so this post is gonna be a quickie.
Like I said, it's been really busy for me these few weeks. Quizzes, Exams, Papers, Hosting Prospective students, problem sets, readings, and all that yucky stuff.
Speaking of which, I have a paper to finish by tomorrow and an exam to study for (which is also tomorrow). Bleh.
Now onto the positives...
I hosted two prosbies this weekend! I think it's just exciting to have high school seniors to come over and see how Bowdoin is like. I get to give them an uber tour (which I still yet have to do) of the campus, and if they like science I can give them a tour of the science building. And I can answer their questions and make them come to Bowdoin! :)
Yay!
lol That's it for now, I'm off to work!
~Dan
Like I said, it's been really busy for me these few weeks. Quizzes, Exams, Papers, Hosting Prospective students, problem sets, readings, and all that yucky stuff.
Speaking of which, I have a paper to finish by tomorrow and an exam to study for (which is also tomorrow). Bleh.
Now onto the positives...
I hosted two prosbies this weekend! I think it's just exciting to have high school seniors to come over and see how Bowdoin is like. I get to give them an uber tour (which I still yet have to do) of the campus, and if they like science I can give them a tour of the science building. And I can answer their questions and make them come to Bowdoin! :)
Yay!
lol That's it for now, I'm off to work!
~Dan
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Coming Soon to a Blog Near You...
So James said I should keep posting blogs.
I will. It's just that I haven't had the time to do this.
This is what usually happens. I start a blog, then I stop.
Meh.
I'll try to keep this one alive though.
So stay tuned y'all.
~Dan Yuan
I will. It's just that I haven't had the time to do this.
This is what usually happens. I start a blog, then I stop.
Meh.
I'll try to keep this one alive though.
So stay tuned y'all.
~Dan Yuan
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Going with the Flow
No, it's not a new trend here at Bowdoin.
I'm talkin' about finding my rhythm here in college. So far, things are piling up. Events here, activities there, homework here, and work there. It's getting more hectic every week.
But I trust that I will eventually catch a rhythm. A routine that I can stick by.
Speaking of rhythms, I joined a swing dance club! It's wicked fun and exciting. We get to learn how to swing dance and this week was my first time. It's really easy and the basic step is also easy. So far, I've learned the leading role, how to lead the follower into different basic turns, and how to switch hands. I wish I took pictures...maybe next time~
~Dan
I'm talkin' about finding my rhythm here in college. So far, things are piling up. Events here, activities there, homework here, and work there. It's getting more hectic every week.
But I trust that I will eventually catch a rhythm. A routine that I can stick by.
Speaking of rhythms, I joined a swing dance club! It's wicked fun and exciting. We get to learn how to swing dance and this week was my first time. It's really easy and the basic step is also easy. So far, I've learned the leading role, how to lead the follower into different basic turns, and how to switch hands. I wish I took pictures...maybe next time~
~Dan
Friday, September 19, 2008
Time Travel Back a Few Weeks...
Back to Orientation!
So to sum up what happened during orientation in four words: WAY TOO MANY SPEECHES. Although some of them were different and unique.
Of course, there's the president's welcome. Semi-formal dress, semi-formal dinner.
Then there's the group photo for the incoming class. Semi-formal dress, followed by the official semi-formal welcoming dinner.
Next is the Convocation (in other words, President's welcome #2). You guessed it, semi-formal dress.
Despite all the semi-formal speeches, there were fun ones too! Including the Do-Not-Take-Drugs Talk and Sex Signals Talk. I know what you're thinking, "Dan, what's wrong with you? Aren't those talks usually long and boring. And they convey the same message: Don't do it."
NO YOU'RE WRONG, well...half wrong. :)
Yes, there's still the don't do it in the first place reasoning, but also the speaker shared helpful info that IF you are doing it, here are some safe ways to reduce the chances of being drunk/high/trashed/whatever else there is to describe a crazy person. Plus, the speaker was funny, which is nice.
Sex signals was done in the form of improv, which is also nice. And hilarious.
Don't worry guys, I'm not going to do drugs or drink or rape people. That's just not nice.
Alright now to the really fun parts of Orientation: The Lobster Bake and Inter-House Olympics.
Lobster Bake is when all of us come together, bake lobsters, and then feast on it! It was so much fun bonding with the dorm and officially enjoying lobster for the first time.
The previous two sentences were lies.
A lobster bake is just everyone coming together to eat dinner (with lobster, already cooked, of course). Though it WAS my first time eating lobster. Bowdoin was thoughtful and placed instructions on how to take apart lobsters. It was really juicy. And by really juicy, I mean my tray was flooded with lobster juice. It was good though. :)
The Inter-House Olympics was just first-year dorms, along with their affliate upper-classmen house team up together against other teams and play fun camp games to compete for the number one spot (winner gets a trophy!). Sadly, my dorm didn't win and trophy...but we had fun being Mutant Teenage Ninja Turtles! Yes, our house color is green. We even had our own chant and theme song!
Fun times.
That's all for now!
~Dan
So to sum up what happened during orientation in four words: WAY TOO MANY SPEECHES. Although some of them were different and unique.
Of course, there's the president's welcome. Semi-formal dress, semi-formal dinner.
Then there's the group photo for the incoming class. Semi-formal dress, followed by the official semi-formal welcoming dinner.
Next is the Convocation (in other words, President's welcome #2). You guessed it, semi-formal dress.
Despite all the semi-formal speeches, there were fun ones too! Including the Do-Not-Take-Drugs Talk and Sex Signals Talk. I know what you're thinking, "Dan, what's wrong with you? Aren't those talks usually long and boring. And they convey the same message: Don't do it."
NO YOU'RE WRONG, well...half wrong. :)
Yes, there's still the don't do it in the first place reasoning, but also the speaker shared helpful info that IF you are doing it, here are some safe ways to reduce the chances of being drunk/high/trashed/whatever else there is to describe a crazy person. Plus, the speaker was funny, which is nice.
Sex signals was done in the form of improv, which is also nice. And hilarious.
Don't worry guys, I'm not going to do drugs or drink or rape people. That's just not nice.
Alright now to the really fun parts of Orientation: The Lobster Bake and Inter-House Olympics.
Lobster Bake is when all of us come together, bake lobsters, and then feast on it! It was so much fun bonding with the dorm and officially enjoying lobster for the first time.
The previous two sentences were lies.
A lobster bake is just everyone coming together to eat dinner (with lobster, already cooked, of course). Though it WAS my first time eating lobster. Bowdoin was thoughtful and placed instructions on how to take apart lobsters. It was really juicy. And by really juicy, I mean my tray was flooded with lobster juice. It was good though. :)
The Inter-House Olympics was just first-year dorms, along with their affliate upper-classmen house team up together against other teams and play fun camp games to compete for the number one spot (winner gets a trophy!). Sadly, my dorm didn't win and trophy...but we had fun being Mutant Teenage Ninja Turtles! Yes, our house color is green. We even had our own chant and theme song!
Fun times.
That's all for now!
~Dan
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Previously, On Dan's Life...
So I haven't been able to post more stuff about me these days. Busy busy busy! My calendar is already filled up with pencil and pen marks! Plus the homework assigned, I have virtually no time to waste.
BUT let's get a quick glimpse into Dan's Weekly Routine:
~Monday: Wake up at 8am ish, eat breakfast, go to Chem class at 9:30am. Done.
~Tuesday: Wake up at 8:30am ish, eat breakfast, go to Math class at 10am, eat Lunch, go to Psych class, go straight to First-Year Seminar, (now exhausted).
~Wednesday: Wake up at 8am ish, eat breakfast, go to Chem class at 9:30am, chill for an hour, eat lunch, go to 4 hour lab, (exhausted).
~Thursday: See tuesday.
~Friday: Wake up at 8am ish, eat breakfast, go to Chem class, chill, lunch, chill some more, go to Math lab at 1:30pm, blah,..., go to Super Snack at 11pm ish, sleep late.
~Saturday: Wake up at 11am or noon, eat brunch, HW, chill, work at dining at 5:30pm until 8:30pm, more HW?
~Sunday: Do whatever I want day. Plus HW.
*Rinse and Repeat*
Yup, that's my basic week. Don't forget to add on occasional events such as clubs and dorm meetings, HW, review sessions for classes, and other stuff.
I did get another interesting job though. I get to work with Professor Hadley Horch and her honor students on researching neuron regeneration using ganglia from crickets! For now, I have to help dissect crickets and cut out their ganglia. It's really cool trying to dissect under a microscope (hard too, because if you move too much you pretty much cut the cricket up. Thank God there's mini scissors.). I don't completely know what is going on, but I do know that they are staining and attaching florescent stuff to the ganglia. I'll post you guys on it when I find out.
Yay undergrad research!
P.S. I typed up this entry with a brain that's really tired and probably is probably complaining of not getting enough sleep. So I'm going to go and try to finish HW so I can sleep. :)
BUT let's get a quick glimpse into Dan's Weekly Routine:
~Monday: Wake up at 8am ish, eat breakfast, go to Chem class at 9:30am. Done.
~Tuesday: Wake up at 8:30am ish, eat breakfast, go to Math class at 10am, eat Lunch, go to Psych class, go straight to First-Year Seminar, (now exhausted).
~Wednesday: Wake up at 8am ish, eat breakfast, go to Chem class at 9:30am, chill for an hour, eat lunch, go to 4 hour lab, (exhausted).
~Thursday: See tuesday.
~Friday: Wake up at 8am ish, eat breakfast, go to Chem class, chill, lunch, chill some more, go to Math lab at 1:30pm, blah,..., go to Super Snack at 11pm ish, sleep late.
~Saturday: Wake up at 11am or noon, eat brunch, HW, chill, work at dining at 5:30pm until 8:30pm, more HW?
~Sunday: Do whatever I want day. Plus HW.
*Rinse and Repeat*
Yup, that's my basic week. Don't forget to add on occasional events such as clubs and dorm meetings, HW, review sessions for classes, and other stuff.
I did get another interesting job though. I get to work with Professor Hadley Horch and her honor students on researching neuron regeneration using ganglia from crickets! For now, I have to help dissect crickets and cut out their ganglia. It's really cool trying to dissect under a microscope (hard too, because if you move too much you pretty much cut the cricket up. Thank God there's mini scissors.). I don't completely know what is going on, but I do know that they are staining and attaching florescent stuff to the ganglia. I'll post you guys on it when I find out.
Yay undergrad research!
P.S. I typed up this entry with a brain that's really tired and probably is probably complaining of not getting enough sleep. So I'm going to go and try to finish HW so I can sleep. :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
