Motivational Tweets

Decided to start a Storify on motivational tweets I have added as favorites on Twitter. I'll add more as I come across them.

Janet Evans

Here is an awesome story about Janet Evans, 4 time Olympian, staging a comeback at 40, in her signature events, the 400 and 800 meter freestyle. I remember when I was 10 years old watching her kick butt and leaving the taller, stronger East German swimmers' in her wake. Really inspirational story, in my opinion.  And if you take a look at the pictures in the article, there is no way Janet looks anywhere near 40! Swimming is a fountain of youth!

Train your brain, then your body

I read this inspiring article on CNN, written by 4-time Ironman World Champion triathlete Chrissy Wellington:   Ironman champ: Train your brain, then your body.  While her advice is directed toward an athletic endeavour, it can be applied to a lot things in life. When I read it, I thought it of it as good advice to getting a PhD. 

Why I like exercise

Improving my mood is the biggest reason I like to exercise. What is yours?

#IAmScience

There was an interesting hashtag that popped up in my twitter feed yesterday: #IAmScience
People were tweeting about their 'non-traditional' paths into science. It was started by Kevin Zelnio with this blogpost. It was great to read some of the tweets streaming in and to find out that I'm not alone, and there are others with even more non-linear arcs  into science.

B.S mol bio -> bioinfomatics tech -> M.S. bioinformatics -> PhD  reject -> bioinformatics tech -> PhD student that can't wait to get out 

I've been feeling stupid for a while now ...

I've been feeling stupid for a while now, but after reading this , I feel just slightly better since apparently its a quite common feeling in graduate school.

At least that's what I'm trying to tell myself. 

RIP Mr. Ladue

Today I learned through a friend that my high school chemistry teacher, Mr. Ladue, passed away. Its been more than 15 years since I had taken high school chemistry. Mr. Ladue's class was considered one of the harder one's on campus, but I managed to get As (I think) in both fall and spring semesters.  That year was his last, as he was going to retire. He had taught at Corona since its opening and was quite popular amongst students.

While I've forgotten most of my chemistry,  he's one of the most memorable teachers I had in high school. (One thing  I do remember was watching films  made by  noted chemist  Roald Hoffmann, whom I met a few years ago when worked at Cornell)  While at still liked biology and genetics more than chemistry, his class prepared me well for college chemistry classes. Reading his obituary brought back so many fond memories of his class, my time in high school, and friends and  places I hadn't thought of in quite a while, but brought a smile to my face remembering them. RIP, Mr. Ladue.