The End (Reference to LOST and The Beatles, I’m really not this boring)

This may be a long one since I haven’t posted in a long time.  A LOT has happened since LA here in Berkeley.  Our group went to see Wicked at the Orpheum Theatre in San Francisco, which was AMAZING, and when they sang “For Good” at the end we started crying about leaving each other.

Karla and I eating in the Castro

The Boys

The Girls

And my favorites- after the tears :)

Then we went to Alamo Square to see the houses from Full House, one of my favorite shows from when I was younger.

The Painted Ladies

The cutest dog on Earth

And the group reenacting the Full House opening scene, minus all of the sleepy people

These past few weeks have just been insanely busy and stressful.  We had our poster session on Monday and I finished my oral presentation today- what a relief!  

My poster!

After the poster session, on a balcony overlooking the Campanile

I’m so proud of everyone!

And then, just like that... it’s almost the end.  As much as I’m SUPER excited to come home, I’m going to miss everyone in my program.  I mean, we lived together, worked together, learned together, and had fun together for ten long and stressful weeks.  I have made a lot of friends here, some I know that will continue beyond the program, and we already have plans to visit each other.  If we’re lucky, some of us will even go to the same graduate schools.  I can’t believe it’s ending!  I’m so grateful for this amazing experience and all of the things I get to take home with me, like my new skills, knowledge, life experiences, and friendships.  Thank you Amgen, Amgen Scholars, UC Berkeley, and San Francisco!  You’ve made this summer so much better than I ever imagined!

I Love LA

Hey everyone!  Last weekend every Amgen Scholar in the country headed to UCLA for the Amgen Scholars Symposium.  268 of the country’s brightest young minds and future scientists, professors, and doctors came together to discuss biotechnology, the importance of a Ph.D., industry vs. academia, and our summer research.  We did listen to a LOT of speakers present about their research and what it’s like to research for a living.  We heard from professors, scientists, and Amgen, and even a surgeon-astronaut!  The  only downside was that our weekend was packed with meetings and speakers, so we didn’t have any time to explore LA... so here are some pictures of me and my fellow Berkeley Amgen Scholars!

Karla and I at the airport

Laramie and Karla, waiting to take off!  Notice our matching shirts.

Just discussing research at the symposium

Pamela and I waiting for a speaker to begin

Karla and I at Universal Studios

Mom’s Visit and Paul McCartney!

Last weekend,  my Mom came to visit me in San Francisco!  We did the usual tourist-y things and also visited Haight-Ashbury, the beach, walked down Lombard Street, rode the trolleys, and best of all... went to the Paul McCartney concert at AT&T Park and had sixth row seats!!!!  It was such a great weekend and the Paul concert was probably the best concert I’ll ever go to, unless I go to another concert of his.  Check out the pictures!

On Lombard Street

Curviest street in the world

THAT is how windy it is here

Every seat filled

Paul looking at me during “All My Loving” hahaha

“Got to Get You Into My Life”

Telling a story

“Let Me Roll It”

“My Love”

“I’m Looking Through You”

“Something”

“Sing The Changes”

Paul and Brian

“Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da”

“Hey Jude”

First Encore

“Helter Skelter”

Sir Paul!

"Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”

Yay!!!

Pride!

Today was the SF Gay Pride Parade and it was definitely like nothing I’ve ever seen before in St. Louis.  The most prevalent things I saw were: 1. Shirtless men, 2. Drag queens, 3. Men wearing briefs or hot pants, and 4. Topless women.  Despite the nudity, I had an absolute blast and thought everything was hilarious.  My friends and I really didn’t fit in with the crowd today, though, as we were all wearing our normal attire and everyone else was wearing tutus, feather boas, rainbows, or glitter, all with as little clothing as possible.  Here are some pictures from the fun day!

The busiest I’ve ever seen the BART station

Crazy crowded downtown near the Civic Center

A collection of Drag Queens:

A collection of shirtless men:

My favorite- the men of the “Miler Lite Bare Chest Calendar”

A collection of clever signs/shirts:

Lady Parts Automotive Servies!

Self explanatory

We’re Here, We’re Queer, We’re Buddha

Once again, the picture says it all

Whole Foods employee tees: “Ohh Baby, we like it RAW.  Wanna taste?”

Gay Astronaut Association sign: “Next Mission: Uranus”

Hey look, it’s Nick Verreos from Project Runway Season 2!

The festivities continued after the parade

All in all, today was so fun, but it made me think.  I wish the LGBT community could have the same rights as everyone else in America and were accepted in more parts of the country.  I understand why so many gays and lesbians live in San Francisco now; they’re not viewed as outcasts and everyone seems so supportive of them.  I wish that St. Louis and other areas were more welcoming to the LGBT community.  Today was so eye-opening and I saw first hand how fun, free-spirited, confident, friendly, and loving gays and lesbians really are.  I mean, everyone there had at least their midriff showing!  I would be way too nervous to walk around in some of the outfits I saw today.  And I saw so many loving gay and lesbians couples; a lot of them together for decades and with children of their own, which I think is so amazing.  It was so cool to see companies like Google, Bank of America, and Whole Foods, celebrities, and politicians come out to support Pride.  I really hope that some day everyone will have equal rights, including the right to marry.  I support equal rights for LGBT and I can only hope that those reading do, too!