Spending time with One Another at the Lake Cabin

Some of our small group spent the weekend at a lake cabin a few hours NW of Minneapolis. Thanks, Michelle! Thanks, Devan!

We did a lot of activities, and I treasure the many moments that we could connect, sometimes with actions, sometimes with words. There was much grace. It was great for me.

Where I work: Outside and Inside

Part of our lab might be moving to a different building soon. I'm a little sad about that, because I still can't get over the splendor of the current building I work in, Nils Hasselmo Hall (NHH).

NHH looks good from far away . . .





. . . NHH looks good close up . . .








. . . there's a grassy field, purple flowers, and a funky bridge nearby . . .






. . . from one part of the building you can see the Minneapolis skyline . . .






. . . which looks amazing in sunny, cloudy, or stormy weather . . .






. . . and from another part of the building you can see the Mississippi river!






Or just take a short walk right down to the river itself!

However, my actual view from the inside is a little different. In my old lab, I had my own bench, lab desk, office desk, and a futon!

My official workspace now . . . it's in the lunch room! That part of the table in the left corner--that's mine.

But, I still like it here. :-)

Visiting Caltech for graduation

The weekend of June 9, I went to Caltech's Commencement (graduation). Three people in my old lab graduated: (l to r) Eric, Eun Jung, and Jessica! And, yes, I'm wearing my reflective biking vest . . .

The brown thing in the bottom of the pic is chocolate fondue.

A lot of my undergrad friends also graduated. Overall, I think I knew more people graduating this year than in my own year! From the many pics, I have chosen to show Melisa's. I really like her "Victory"/"Peace" gesture; it's very familiar.





The next day, I flew from LA to Sacramento for my high school's 11-year reunion. I'm really glad I went, but I regret not taking any pics! I hope to eventually find and post a group one. For now, just marvel at the unclaimed luggage at the Sacramento airport . . .





The next day I flew back to LA and spent a few hours with Caltech friends before flying back to MN. Here, Brian is playing with Marena's bird. I don't remember who's sitting up straight: Brian or the bird.

Jumping into my first Minnesota lake!

Some people in my small group organized a Memorial Day barbeque at Northwestern College (NWC). (Not to be confused with Northwestern University.) NWC is right along Lake Johanna, and there was a nice tree swing there. After seeing someone do it and being assured that the area was shallow (but not too shallow), the water warm, and the lake floor soft, I took the plunge! My only regret is that I didn't do it again! (And I didn't bring a towel or any insect spray!) Thanks to Jenn for taking these pics!

Next week, the plan is to really go to "the Lake," full-Minnesotan-style!

Labmates 2

Karl was our computer guru, but he just left to work at a company and do Java programming. Needless to say, Karl's a pretty funny guy.

















Peter was one of our lab managers. He's very fast with the repeating, multichannel pipettor. Peter recently moved on to a medical device company.








Ward is like our super-lab-manager, especially since Tim is often away traveling. Ward also leads our lab Bible study, although I don't always arrive early enough for it. :-( Today was Ward's birthday!