Top Ten of 2006
In chronological order ...

1. Marshall Semi Formal, March – gotta put this one in since it’s the last college dance ever. Some quality mexican food and a little YMCA make for a good night out.


2. Padre game, May – I went to a bunch of Padres games this year, and they only won two. I choose this one though since it’s the only one where I got to hear Hell’s Bells and see Trevor Hoffman save the game. Exciting stuff.


3. Beach Ultimate Frisbee, June – this is an odd one to include, but it was the day of my last college final in history, and it included some burgers, karaoke, and a trip to historic La Jolla Shores, which makes it a bookends of sorts (significant La Jolla Shores trip the summer before college started). Ultimate frisbee is fun, especially since I scored a touchdown. (pic is of professional ultimate frisbee'ers)



4. UCSD Graduation, June – its over and done with! Sat next to our old friend Vic, which makes for another bookend of our long and distinguished educational careers. Quick ceremony with 5 minute speeches makes for a good graduation.

5. Disneyland with the folks, June – This was a fun trip to kick off the summer, and a return to the happiest place on Earth. Props to Indiana Jones and the Buzz Lightyear game. We were the only family to wait in line to see Mickey Mouse that didn't include someone under 10 years old. And they still talked to me like a kid.


6. Lifehouse, June – this was the first show I’ve seen in awhile, and I really like Lifehouse. Great music, plus hanging around the San Diego County Fair makes for a good summer day.


7. Disneyland with peeps, September – Another return to the land of long lines, this time with lots of people. Indiana Jones was fun, as was space mountain, Fantasmic, and Denny's. A great day morning to night.


8. Utah, November – my first med school interview, along with a weekend exploring Salt Lake City with the Mom. This was a very introspectful (I made that word up) trip, complete with lots of thinking, shopping, and cheering on the chargers through the radio.


9. Palm Springs with the Folks, November – Thanksgiving in the land of Palm trees with the whole family, furry guy included.

10. Charger game, December - my first Charger game in awhile. Got to see my hero LaDainian Tomlinson on an 85 YARD touchdown run, which resulted in lots of cheering and screaming by your’s truly. I'm still jumping up and down.


Honorable Mention – Julian trip with Mario and MJ, Halloween with CEC, family trip to San Francisco, fondue with Kiger lab, car show with Vic, seeing Derek for the first time in 2 years, pool with Vic, Vic’s birthday, Dave and Busters for my birthday. Here's to more moments in 2007.

Merry Christmas!!

Of course, Christmas would be better if I didn't have to spend more quality time in lab tomorrow, but I guess I can't complain about a few days off for hot chocolate and ham with the folks. And a game winning touchdown throw with 30 seconds left in the game. Wooo!

"That's what Christmas is all about Charlie Brown."

Got to go to the Chargers game last night!!!

WOOOOOO!! It was a primetime night game, which made things extra dramatic, and we had pretty good seats too. My life is now complete, as I was present to witness LT bust out an 85 yard touchdown run, the longest of his career. The crowd was going crazy and they had fireworks bursting all over the place while I was jumping up and down screaming; it was easily amongst the top five moments of my life, and that even includes the time I met jessica alba (in my dreams). There was also a really cool flyby by some jets that flew right over the stadium, which was pretty neato. Anyway, the Chargers won and I got to see LaDainian Tomlinson run for 199 yards, two touchdowns, and the longest run of his career and most exciting experience of my life, so all in all a good day.

I've been hard on the lab recently, but props must be given to Big Boss himself for treating the lab out to lunch and giving me a glass of wine for christmas. My lab building also had a christmas party type thing, complete with shrimp, sushi, and macoroni and cheese topped with blueberries.

Also a Christmas dinner with some peeps at someone's apartment in Mission Valley, which was good fun and included much better food. I got the Goonies on DVD from the gift exchange, and we also played a good game of Mafia. The good guys won, but I was cop and ended up getting killed right before we got the last mafia member. I like to think of it as dying in the line of duty to save the world.

Us four hours before the game.


Our great view of the Chargers kicking butt in primetime.


I got a decent shot of LT himself during practice!

San Diego Chargers: 2006 AFC West Champions
LT: New single season touchdown record, and greatest player ever.

"I believe he's the finest running back I've ever seen in professional football" -Marty Schottenheimer"For all the skills he has as a player, they pale by comparison to the person" -Marty Schottenheimer
"Once I got over the pylon, my initial thought process was to bring every guy on the offensive unit over to share that moment. When we're old and can't play this game anymore, them are the moments we are going to remember, that we'll be able to tell our kids, tell our grandchildren. We can talk about something special that We did. We made history today" -LT, the greatest ever.

An Ode to Christmas in Lab

On the 12th day of lab work, my PI gave to me ...

Twelve hour growth curves
Eleven strains to transform
Ten anthrax mutants
Nine acidic compounds
Eight minutes in the cold room
Seven tubes on fire
Six bugs contagious
Fiiiiiiiiive golden e. coli cultuuuuuuuures!!!
Four useless papers
Three boring meetings
Two scary bosses
Aaaaaannd a work day after Christmaaaaaassss!!!!