We’ve been sampling the Santa Monica bay since Jan for changes in the marine microbiome due to runoff of debris from the fires. Today I brought a sampling buddy along. We should teach him to pull the cart.

I really wanted a long distance penpal as a kid - so a fun upside of the transientness of early career academia is that I am now sending new years cards to friends all over the world - just posted to Germany, Australia, Switzerland, the UK, Italy, Russia, France, Canada, and Chile!

5 years ago toda I defended my thesis (thanks for the reminder @maksaito.bsky.social!) 1 year ago today was my first day in LA. Time flies! The dog is not impressed.

Starting my rejections garden. Adding a plant for every no. Going strong at 4 months in - I’ll have an epic office garden in no time. Anyway, even though it feels crummy, there can be growth. 🌿

In times like these the Oceanography training really pays off - I basically got a PhD in shipping weird stuff halfway across the world.

Though it is changing, one thing I love about proteomics is that small companies still have a powerful niche. I love these SPF plates and I love even more that I can order them with a quick email to a two-man operation in Ipswich (from what I can tell).

The bagel pileup - major plus of a meeting in NYC.