It's All About The Fermentation

I went to Denver last weekend for another graduate school interview. The people at the University of Colorado in Denver were a lot more down to earth and friendly than the people at UC San Diego. Too bad it's cold and snowy in Denver.

After interviews, the current graduate students took us downtown to look around. We crossed Larimer street; my grandma lived on Larimer street when she was a little girl. Her father owned a dress shop on Larimer and she would roller skate up and down the street.

I love listening to my grandma tell stories of her childhood, they all include Larimer street.

I was under the impression that we were going to walk around and go to a couple of malls or museums.

Before I knew it, we were passing the Rockies stadium and heading into a microbrewery. Only they didn't brew there, they just sold the beer. Wanna know what's more boring than watching while everyone else is sampling beer? Listening to them talk about beer and their favorite pubs while they drink the beer.

It was decided that we'd take off and walk to another microbrewery called The Great Divide. They actually brewed there.

Apparently you can attend brewer's school to learn about the process. They basically boil the grain and then feed the sugar water to the yeast; the yeast ferment it into booze.

The beer ages in kegs for some time.

Here's where they bottle it.

Don't forget though, it's all about the fermentation.

I eventually broke off from the group and headed to the 16th street mall. Exploring a new mall or shopping center is never boring.

We've been having a lot of fun watching the Olympics, especially the figure skating.

We're so glad the American won gold.

The speed skating has been really fun too.

Blah blah blah

I don't want to do homework.

My homework for the past weekend has been studying this:

Exciting huh? Hemoglobin transports oxygen throughout your body... it makes your blood red. You know how the rock and dirt in southern Utah is bright red? It's from the oxidized iron- the iron in the dirt basically rusts and turns red. Blood is red because there are iron molecules that bind to oxygen.

I took my first biochemistry test today. I bet you can't guess what was on it.

I have a test in Greek mythology tomorrow. You've gotta love GEs. Ironically, I haven't read any of the Greek myths assigned to us. Okay maybe it's not ironic, just lame.

I'm know, I know, this is the most boring post ever. I don't want to do my homework. I have a presentation to give in plant physiology tomorrow, and an assignment due in ecology.

San Diego

Just before my flight to San Diego, my Grandma lovingly fixed the hem on my pants. My mom bought me a nice suit for my interviews at UC San Diego- I spent like 3 or 4 hours the night before screwing around with hem tape and then trying to simply stitch the pants when the tape didn't work. The end result looked like a sloppy Home Ec. job. What can I say? My whole life seems to be a sloppy Home Ec. Job, I don't even know how to iron-it seems like when you get one part ironed it wrinkles in another. I know, it's lame.

My grandma says that ironing is the secret to a good hem. My grandma is really good at ironing and sewing.

Did you know my grandparents are famous?

Their picture appears in numerous Ensigns, Friends and Lesson manuals.

Check out page 65 of your Teaching of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith manual- they recently appeared there too.

Thanks Grandma for fixing my pants!

I think the interviews went good. I met with 5 different faculty members and had a 40 minute interview with each. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I'm competing with Harvard lab workers and other Ivy- leagers for a position at UCSD- it would be cool if I got in.

Here's a view of the Salk Institute- named after Jonas Salk, inventor of the polio vaccine. If I'm admitted to the biology program I would have the option to pick an advisor whose lab is there. I could probably spend five years researching in this building...

Citrus trees at the Salk Institute

View of the ocean from the Salk Institute. There are some stairs leading down to the beach.

This is a view from the Scripps Institute of Oceanography, if I was accepted to the program I might be able to do a lab rotation here.

They closed the Scripps Birch Aquarium to the public and hosted a private dinner there for the Biology "recruits." We had drinks (or diet coke) and cheese/crackers while we socialized with the faculty. Just before dinner, I took off to look around the aquarium.

Look at these creepy-ass eels. I tried to get some more pictures but they turned out too dark. I didn't want to freak out the fish with the camera flash.

Here's another picture of the UCSD campus on some benches between two of the biology buildings.

We went on a harbor cruise and saw some of down town San Diego (UCSD is located north in La Jolla).

I'm glad the whole interview weekend is over- it was stressful acting intelligent and alert to put on a good show for the faculty. I really hope they let me in.