Nada Mucho!

Well I don't have much to report this week other than after I take my next exam next week, I'll be DONE with exams for the rest of the semester!Yeah!!!! MCAT studying is still going well, although very slow but I'll pick that back up after my next exam.

Funny thing happened after I was banned from yet another blog, I've decided that it's better for me to avoid majority blogs (and of course I'm reminded of why out of almost ALL of the blacks I know, I'm the ONLY one who blogs regularly on such sites), with the exception old premeds. People seem to be under this illusion that because Obama has attracted the attention of so many nonblacks, racism has disappeared. But just one visit to a political blog shows otherwise. People seem to at will, be able to viciously attack him, his mother, and toss in an affirmative action debate for good measure, call Blacks coons, and not a dam thing is done about it. Derogatory posts stay put and poster is allowed to post another day. It seems that Black bloggers or anyone else who is offended, are expected to smile real big, shuffle their feet, ignore the comments and never respond (or else you get banned, lol). Now I've had a few MRM members talk to me about this over the years and I guess you can say that NOW I get it. "Battling" racists on the Internet is like trying to remove stink from a pig and we all know how impossible that is. Besides the absolute best way to "battle" a racist is with excellence in everything I do.

Labwise, everything is everything. Right now I'm focused on growing up my cells and isolating the proteins then freezing them for later. My next step will be to do a TON Of Western Blots, followed by some immunohistochemistry. Unfortunately, because I'm in class, I can't put the kind of time I'd like to put into getting my work done, but I'll do the best I can. I'll have to present my results at the end of the semester so while I have some time, it's not a lot.

Other things in my mind these days are the 4 people I know personally,including 2 relatives, with cancer or terminally ill with cancer. My cousin is in her mid 30's and has recurring breast cancer. When she was initially diagnosed, I had my boss look over her path report/slides to confirm the diagnosis. That was in 2005. A few months ago, she learned that she had metasisis to the hip, and while she is currently undergoing chemo, the prognosis is not good. Sadly, I knew the moment she was diagnosed that the chances of her making it to the 5 year mark were slim, although I never told her this. Black women have less breast cancer but are far more likely to die from the disease. Knowing this and given her weight, about 50 pounds overweight, I suspected she wouldn't make the nesessary lifestyle changes that could have given her a better shot at surviving the disease. While we aren't particularly close, we both had daughters that are very close and the same age, so it's a tragic situation all around. The other 3 cases are liver cancer, final stage (my stepfather), prostate cancer, and another breast cancer but in an 80+ year old woman. This is just sad on so many levels.

Moving on, as a member of the American Chemical Society I receive a weekly magazine and I was very suprised to learn that China now leads the world in the number of PhD's in the Sciences and in Engineering. Now, I've been saying for YEARS, that China would be the next super power but I guess I never expected it to happen so fast. Since last Fall, my daughter has been taking Chinese and recently told us that she wants to live/work in China as an Engineer. Her interest in Asian culture I believe she inherited from me and culminated in my life in a degree in Eastern Philosophy/Religion. Additonally, I've always had realitively strong Asian influences in my home decor. Still it's so funny to see this manifest in her but I'm proud to know that at the rate she's going, she'll be more than prepared for whatever world changes occur. Unlike the grooves of people who learned Russian during the cold war(Dr. Rice comes to mind) I seriously doubt her training will be a waste of time.