11/29/2013

Thanksgiving

As a European I've never celebrated Thanksgiving. We don't eat turkey and gravy and cranberry sauce, we don't eat pumpkin pie. And we, certainly, don't eat turducken (and I'm thankful for that, because seriously, that shit looks disgusting). I know Thanksgiving has a long history and kind of controversial or whatever, but I like the fact of being thankful for the things that you have. So welcome to my first Thanksgiving (that doesn't involve eating, but thinking).

Since I've never ever done a Thanksgiving, I guess it will have to be a broad one.

First of all, I'm thankful for having a whole body, it might not be flawless but it can function without help (which is clearly a great feat). I'm also thankful for being able to walk, after being on the brink of never being able to. And I'm thankful for having a brain that works (sometimes), and allows me to dedicate my life to what I like the most.

Secondly, I'm thankful for being able to work on something I love, on being excited every day about new perspectives. For being given all the opportunities I've been given, for working where I am working, and with the people I am working. For the places it has taken me so far, and for all the others that will come.

Thirdly, I'm thankful for being able to write for real, for NaNoWriMo, for pushing myself to finish it.

Now I guess I'll fall into topic territory. I'm thankful for my family, because sometimes we haven't been the best family in the world, but they shaped me the way I am. I'm thankful for my friends, because they help me push the boundaries and because they listen and understand (and they have to put up with loads of crap).

Finally, I'm thankful for having lived a lie during most of this year, for having been down, and having been angry. And knowing that, maybe, it wasn't worth it, but learning to forgive. And, as strange as it might sound, I'm also thankful for still being able to believe in people.


(So that's it, I'll continue next year (maybe)).

11/27/2013

Pizza party! (in the lab)

Today we ate pizza. In the lab. It was seriously the biggest pizza I've ever seen.



I don't think I need to say anything else, after all it's pizza!

11/26/2013

I saw a Monarch butterfly or a multicultural party or being sick on a boat or winning NaNoWriMo

Let's do this in order... I saw a fucking Monarch butterfly on Saturday! It was big, and bright, and it flew with such a grace that I wanted to chase behind her (but I couldn't because I had to go buy food, because, you know, food). Still it was beautiful, but it flew so fast that I couldn't snap a pic of it (and now I feel sad).

Secondly, on Saturday evening I went to a party where there was people from all over the world speaking in Spanish (well, in Mexican), it was fun, specially because the host had a book in Catalan and I got to read it out loud to several people making them realize that Catalan is awesome (yes! I'm promoting Catalan all over the world! I should get a paycheck for this). It was one of the best parties I've been lately, and I am saying this taking into account that I didn't know much people in there, and that I am socially awkward.

Third, on Sunday we went to Xochimilco where there are channels and some kind of boats, BUT I was sick all the time (not because of the boats, but because of something I've caught (maybe) because today I was still feeling a bit unwell). It's beautiful and different, but apparently the whole city was like that before, they would grow stuff on the water and they had to go everywhere with boats. It was crowded mimicking the traffic jams that you can find in the real city.

Finally, I'm pleased to announce that I've won NaNoWriMo! This basically means that I've written 50k words in less than a month, and the good news is that I keep writing! Now I only need to finish it, edit it, and find a way to publish it! Yay! I also get to brag about it as much as I can as you can see by the new picture that is on the right of this post.

11/22/2013

Things that make me happy or Frank Turner is coming to Barcelona!

This morning I woke up to an email of Songkick about Frank Turner's future tour dates near me, at first I thought that it was an error, it wouldn't be the first time I get all pumped up for a concert and then it doesn't happen. So I checked every place I could find to be sure that, yes, Frank Turner is indeed coming to Barcelona (well I say coming when I'm not there now, but you can understand me).

If you don't know Frank you'll never understand why I got so excited, but I went all the way to London just to see him live. I bought the ticket as soon as I could, I almost had a heart attack because the website wasn't working, but I made it! And on January the 31st I will be in Barcelona listening and crying to this man.

And now just because I feel like it, here are some videos.





I was here! And this is one of my favorite songs!







If he plays this live that day I promise I'm going to die crying.

11/20/2013

NaNoWriMo or why going crazy is actually good for me

As some as you might already know I'm doing this crazy thing called NaNoWriMo (which ALMOST made me write "I am" instead of I'm so it would count as two words). It is completely insane and I already feel that I'm losing my mind (again my inner editor told me to write "I am"), but I realized that it is actually a really good exercise for me. Reasons below:

1) I'll have to write at least 50,000 words before the end of this month. By the way I'm already past 41k (I go!). So I have a deadline, and it is making me write under pressure, as all the scientists know deadlines are the worst, so I am basically making myself go through the suffering of one without any of the external pressure! (now I see that I was crazy before starting this). 

2) I'm writing in English. Main reason because I'm a masochist, and I love putting myself up to the challenge on writing in a language that is not my first. Second main reason because I've only been writing in English lately, so it made sense? The thing is that I'm making my brain think differently (okay maybe just think). 

3) So all of it combined means that when it's time to write my thesis I'll be ultra-prepared! Because if I can write more than 41,000 words in 19 days when I actually have no idea of what's really going on, imagine what will I be able to do when I do know everything! (this was such a big revelation that I stopped writing my novel, announced it on twitter and hurried here to write it). 

So my advice is, if you ever have to write something long under lots of pressure, do one NaNoWriMo and after it everything will be as smooth as silk.


P.S.: people from my Facebook, I know you read me, I see the traffic sources in the stats, so be nice and leave a comment either here or on the Facebook link, I'd do it for you (unless I didn't like you, then I wouldn't and I would make as if I had never seen anything you posted). 

11/18/2013

A month overseas

I've been on the other side of the ocean for a month now, I say on the other side of the ocean instead of in Mexico because last week (as you might be aware) I was in San Diego.

During this time here I've realized a couple of things. First, that I really only talk about my daily life with a couple of persons, of course I post stuff in here every now and then, but I only reach out to some people to inform them without them asking. An example of this is that I've only talked to my parents twice since I'm here, we've sent each others emails, but I'm not really explaining much to them. I also realized that I'm missing some things from Europe, one of them is the food. I'm cooking, I am, but the vegetables just don't seem to taste as good and the European food that you might find here is Americanized in some way, I also miss European cities, cities in here are much more different, there's so much space it's weird, I almost have in mind flying over to Montréal to see a "European-like" historic center. I also miss the cold, a bit, yesterday I went out in the street wearing sandals, a tank-top and shorts, on the 17th of November! So if the cold doesn't come here I might end up flying somewhere cold. Finally, I've surprised myself wanting for it to be Christmas, I've never liked Christmas much, but spending it away from my family is making me long for it, which is really weird.

If I think all this after only a month here, I wonder what will I think after the two remaining months...

11/16/2013

On being single

One of the things that happens when you meet lots of new people is that they ask you things about your life. I don't know the reason but one of such questions tends to be about the relationship status that one might have. Seriously, I never ever ask this question, I don't understand why people are always asking.

So, thing is that these past weeks I've been asked whether I had a boyfriend a lot of times. And when I say I don't I always get the same reply "Why not?".

As if I could choose... well I think that maybe the problem is that I can choose and I'm too picky, but don't they say that you've to aim for the best. Is not as if I haven't been in love, which I have, like a thousand times. It's that I only like guys who are too handsome for my own good. Seriously girls, handsome guys are trouble.

Anyway, why do I need to justify my singleness? Do people ask people who are in a relationship why they are in one? Imagine this you ask someone you have just met I've they have a significant other, they tell you they have and then you ask them "Why?". How would they react? Now that I come to think about it, it's pretty awesome so I might well start doing it. Enough of making single people feel bad asking why they don't have someone, or to make them feel as if they should have someone, and let's start making people who are in a relationship justify that they are in one, isn't that what equal rights is (in part) all about?

For those of you who are going to say that I'm bitter about this topic, I'm not, it's just that it should be the same if someone is single or not. Also, I've had my experiences and I'd rather be happy that live in the nest of lies some relationships are all about.

11/15/2013

San Diego day 7: Poster and the flight back home.

Yesterday was my last day in San Diego, which also meant that I had to present my poster. I won't lie I was really really nervous because well... I guess you're supposed to be nervous.

I got into the Convention Center with lots of time to spare, and to get more nervous of course, I just couldn't stop walking up and down all the time. But it turned out to be awesome. Lots of people came to see my poster, and some of the important one's on the field of Down syndrome actually. I felt really well and I got lots of positive feedback. I also got asked a lot whether I was a postdoc, which made me consider... do I look so old?

After the poster I had to run to get my luggage and then get on the bus to the airport. I'm glad most of the airports around here have free wifi because it was an opportunity to catch up with my friends. I also wrote some more for NaNoWriMo, because I couldn't write much these days I was in the Congress.

On the plane I meet a man who had presented a poster that I actually saw during the first day, so it was kind of fun. I also got sick on both of my flights because I don't know exactly why there was lots of turbulence, I hadn't got sick in a flight for ages, so it was weird. I ended up arriving back to Mexico really late at night so today I was sleepy for the most part of the day (which sucked a lot).

Overall, Neuroscience 2013 was a really good experience which has allowed me to interact with lots of different people, to present my science and to see some really cool stuff that I would want to buy to create the perfect laboratory, but it's too expensive so I'll have to wait until my lab hits the jackpot.

11/13/2013

San Diego day 6: more congress, a wish list, a "social event" and a Social Event

Today was the penultimate day of congress and my last full day. It was a busy day, in the morning I attended a Minisymposium on Tau in dendrites, which was really interesting and gave me lots of ideas, I also went to some poster sessions and then met with a friend who came for the day. We were planning to go for dinner together but then my boss emailed me to go to a luncheon on Women and Neuroscience, which was really good, the thing is half of the PhD students are women, but not so many women are in top positions, so we need to change that.

After the lunch I went to a Plenary Lecture that was kind of disappointing and then to more posters, that were quite good, at least some of them. There I met my boss again and we went to check out some really cool stuff that I wish I could have, but it is really expensive so... who knows?

In the afternoon I went to my first social events, I feel really bad that I haven't gone to any before, but I'm awkward. So the first one was actually some kind of meeting about creating committees on Down syndrome and Alzheimer's disease, and it was not so social, but more work. The other one was a meeting from UCI, which I'm not part of but I know people who work there, and it was much nicer, I met lots of people around there and I also caught up with some others. And well, this will be my last post from San Diego, Neuroscience 2013 has been a really stimulating experience so far and I hope I'll repeat it more often.

11/12/2013

San Diego day 5: congress, congress and more congress

Today was the middle day of the congress and one of the busiest I've had. I started the day with a Nanosymposium that was a bit disappointing because one presenter I really wanted to hear didn't attend, and, also, some of the presenters weren't really good speakers, which was a shame. After that I went to a Minisymposium that was really interesting where I met my boss. Morning poster session was short, but with lots of potentially applicable things. In the afternoon we went through the exhibitors for a while and got some fun nice useless stuff, that we all love but then we all regret taking because it only takes space (and everyone knows that I don't have much space left in my desk). Then we went through at least half a hundred posters and to a symposium on epigenetics, it was nice to see how everything got together. And today I finally got to do something I've been wanting to do since I got here: see the sunset. It was nice, but I had kinda wanted to see it over the ocean and Point Loma was blocking the direct view...

11/11/2013

San Diego day 4: a different kind of birthday, more congress and hunting for stuff.

My day started really early today because my parents wanted to talk to me through Skype to congratulate me on my Birthday. I've to say that it was kind of strange having people wishing me happy birthday from yesterday afternoon because of the time change, but it was also fun.

The congress was much more relaxed today, I went to a nanosymposium in the morning and to a minisymposium in the afternoon and between that I had time to check out posters and to look through the exhibitors to see if there was something I liked. Of course there were things I liked, but I tend to like the most expensive things... For lunch I went with both my PIs to a street market and we ate something that was like stuffed potato that was delicious. And during the afternoon I spent more than half an hour looking for bags with my PI, we have already planned on looking for more tomorrow (total scavengers).

After the congress I went to buy myself some cake to celebrate that I'm 26 and I'm getting old, to say something.

11/10/2013

San Diego day 3: walking around San Diego, a market at Little Italy and full-on Neuroscience 2013

Because I'm not a normal person, I woke up early today even if the congress was starting at 1 pm. I did that for one reason, I wanted to walk a bit around the city. So I took the trolley and I went to Seaport Village, on the trolley something really weird happened, a man gave me a card that read "I like you. Contact me", it was SO creepy!

So I went to Seaport Village, it was really nice but it had this feeling of amusement park (as in Old town) it was really really sunny and I think I might be getting a tan. Then I went to the Gaslamp Quarter and walked around taking tons of pictures. And suddenly I thought that it was still early so I could go to Little Italy, and that was probably the best decision I've ever made, there was this farm market that was completely awesome. I bought some orange juice that was absolutely amazing, I hadn't realized how much do I miss orange juice. I also bought an italian panini to eat for lunch and after going around for a bit I decided to go back to the Convention Center, find myself a place at the sun and write. However, when I arrived there I met my boss and we went for a walk around some other part of the city and then we went for lunch.

After lunch the fun started! I got introduced to the real world of Society of Neuroscience meetings. Dragging my boss around we went through rows and rows of posters, finding some awesome things but also being critic with some other posters. One of the presenters was a researcher I really wanted to meet because I've used lots of his articles as reference, so I was really excited to talk to him, curiously enough when he heard what I'm working on he was like "I want to come work with you". So far I'm really loving this Congress, and I never thought I'd say that and probably some people would want to kill me but, I'm having fun going around with my boss.

P.S.: There won't be pictures today because it's taking forever to upload them (I'm sorry!)

11/09/2013

Goodbye 25, goodbye

Here we are again, a few hours away of becoming a year older, and everything's different in a way I never though it would be.

For a start, I'll be spending my first birthday away from my family and friends. I'm in San Diego now for the congress, and I'll go back to Mexico after that, so I won't be back to Barcelona for some time still. I'm really happy to be in San Diego attending Neuroscience 2013 congress, I've always wanted to go to the SfN meeting even if you can go crazy because it is almost too big. As I said, I'll be back to Mexico after this. Mexico is proving to be an enriching experience in all fields, both personal and professional. I think it's a teaser of the life that awaits me in a future.

Professionally this year I've been doing lots of different things. I attended a course that made me think that I'd go insane, because it was too many hours, and the professors kept repeating the same all over again, but it also helped me met a wonderful person, as well as to perfect my skills as a translator. I also became sort of a "teacher", having an excellent MSc student assigned to help me. It made me realize that I'm, maybe, not such a bad teacher. I have also had some bad moments because of my stubbornness of not wanting to ask for help. I, also, wrote, cooperatively, a review, that I hope will get published eventually. And prepared a poster for SfN13 (yes, that's why I'm in San Diego). And went to Mexico to learn a new technique for 3 months.

I've become quite a "sporty" person this year after finishing my "weight loss program" (that wasn't actually a program or anything, but...). I took part in two different 10k races, and I even ran 19k one day as a training. I also signed up for the beach volley tourney with the people from the lab in Barcelona. And went back to the MTB when it was too warm for me to run. Incidentally, I broke my left wrist falling from the bike, but this hasn't stopped me from wanting to go back on (I'm having a serious case of MTB withdrawal right now).

I've also travelled quite a lot. I went to Greece this summer to visit a very good friend of mine who lives in a fabulous island named Milos, and I had the kind of holidays I never thought I'd have: spending the day on the beach. I also visited the Acropolis in Athens, which I've always wanted to visit. In September, me and my broken wrist went to Monza for the F1 Grand Prix. And now there's Mexico and San Diego, I think I've put a nice number of kilometers under my belt.

I've done some other new things too. One of them is starting to sing, a friend of mine convinced me to sing while he played the guitar at an Open Mic, and we've already done it twice. The first time I was so scared... but the second time we did it much better, and I can now say that it was worth it. I also signed up for NaNoWriMo, I always define myself as a failed writer because I once started a novel but I never finished it, now it's my chance to prove myself wrong by finishing the 50,000-words-novel before November the 30th.

In what would be a more personal insight, I'd say that I discovered that I'm not made to live with someone. For several reasons I ended up living alone for almost two months, so it was me and my crazy self-imposed mental schedule, which no-one can really understand unless they get inside my brain. I also had to go back to live with my parents until the time came to go to Mexico, it's hard going back to live with your folks when you're used to do as you please.

I've met lots of people who have had different levels of impact in my life, some for best and some for worst, and some have had to put up with so much crap from my side that I do feel sorry for them. I also strengthened ties with some other people, specially with the guys in my office, we've created a really nice and supportive atmosphere that I needed very much. I also recovered some friends that help me understand better how I work in life.

And I fell in love. And that made me a fool. I hadn't been in love for ages, and that struck me pretty hard. I was paralyzed, I didn't know what to do, I didn't want to mess up. So I didn't fight. It made me blind. It made me irritable. It made me feel both happy and helpless. I don't know if it was the butterflies or what it was, but in the end it made me stupid. And for nothing. So I learned that when it comes to love I'm a coward, but I'm not the only one. I also learned that I become obsessed and that's not good for anyone.

It does look as a pretty intense year, and something tells me that my 26th year is going to be crazy too.

San Diego day 2: Neuroscience 2013, social awkwardness, California weather and getting sunburnt.

Today was my first day at this crazy meeting of crazy people called Neuroscience 2013. It's completely awesome, and, even if it has not yet fully started, completely overwhelming. I assisted to a workshop on iPCs which was interesting and gave me lots of answers, even if not the ones I wanted to hear, but also reassured me about the stage I'm doing in Mexico. It was nice seeing so many people working in so many different fields sharing the same interests.

Funnily enough I met people who was attending the congress both on my way there and on my way back to the hotel, however I still managed to eat by myself, because I'm awkward that's it. Which was probably for the best because otherwise I wouldn't have been able to write any NaNoWriMo. I ate at the sun and I got really red, so red that I did end up with a tan. But all the sun was gone by the time the congress finished and there was this thick thick horrible fog covering everything.






11/08/2013

San Diego day 1: falling in love with American Airlines or getting lost in San Diego

Today my day started early, really early, like 3.30 am early. A taxi driver picked me up to go to the airport an hour later and I got to the airport with enough time to have some left to write some NaNoWriMo. At 7.30 I got on my first flight, from Mexico City to Dallas. I flew with American Airlines and it was the first time I did so, I really liked everything about it, in Europe for short flights you usually get in crammed planes, this one however didn't feel so, specially because I had a full row of seats for myself. Dallas airport was another whole experience too, the assistance staff were dressed as cowboys or something with bests and hats, and this completely sweet lady helped me find my way to my boarding gate, which included a ride on a some kind of monorail. I had some more time to write for NaNoWriMo and I even had time to have lunch. Then plane again, I have to say that I slept most of the way, but I also got to watch some "Parks and Recreation" which I had never seen.

After a long journey I finally arrived in San Diego. And after getting installed in my hotel I decided to walk around, the thing is that I'm really stubborn so I had to go see stuff, the other thing is that I'd never ever ask for directions so I followed the TripAdvisor "Point Me There" so I ended up walking through a bike trail that ended up nowhere and decided to change my destination. I went to San Diego's Old Town, which I had expected to be more authentic and look less like an amusement park. Then I kept walking and walking, and I think I must have walked like 3,000km through what looked like the worst neighborhoods of San Diego, and then I learned something, there are a fuckload of highways crossing the city and there's almost no way across.







11/04/2013

A day at the museum

Today we went to the Dolores Olmedo Patiño Museum. Dolores was a really rich woman who lived in Xochimilco and she had this insanely big house that was converted into a museum. A part of the museum holds some of her belongings: craved ivory, chinese and japanese statues and all sort of insanely intricate and insanely expensive things.

Another part of it holded an exhibition on traditional Mexican artesany, it was awesome, there were some things that had such a detail and so vibrant colors! There was also a temporary exhibition brought from the "l'Orangerie" museum in Paris: Picasso, Monet, Guegain. I was glad they brought them because, even if I have been four times in Paris, I've never been to that museum.

The museum has also some really huge gardens and in a part of them they have these Mexican hairless dogs who were the cutest!


Additionally there was also an offering for "Día de Muertos", there was a big queue to get in but it was completely worth it. The theme for it was Paris in accordance to the temporary paintings exhibiton. So all the catrinas (the skeletons) were dressed up as Parisian characters or even as famous painters. It was really beautiful.







11/03/2013

"Día de Muertos": CU and Coyoacan

Today my flatmate took me to see the offerings for "Día de Muertos" in the CU which is the campus, actually it is the "Ciudad Universitaria" which is like the University City. I think CU is bigger than most of the cities back at home, I've only seen a part of it and I already felt overwhelmed, but also Mexico City is gigantic so it only makes sense that CU would be so big.

The main esplanade was full of offerings. Each year they have a theme and this year the theme was Remedios Varo, a Spanish painter who lived in Mexico for a long time and who did actually become a Mexican citizen. She was a surrealist painter and that got reflected on the offerings. The level of dedication and detail put on them was completely insane. I don't think I can make justice to what the people involved on them has done by writing about them so here you've some pictures.






In CU I also tried the tamal, both sweet and salty. It's nice, but you end up feeling completely stuffed because it is made with corn.


After that we went to Coyoacan where there were some more traditional offerings, as well as an international fair of chocolate and pan de muerto. Pan de muerto is a delicious special sweet that is made for the Día de Muertos. I didn't have any of it, because I already ate some for breakfast, but I did have some warm chocolate that made me realize that all the chocolate I've ever tasted is a lie, a horrible, horrible lie, but I know what real chocolate tastes like now.




Yes, this is pan de muerto. And yes it is as good as it looks like, or even more. 



11/02/2013

NaNoWriMo and "Día de Muertos"

Today is 1st of November and this means a thing: NaNoWriMo has started. For those who don't know what is it or how it works, basically you sing up and start writing a novel on the 1st of November, the goal is to get to 50,000 words by the end of November and you have to monitor how many words you've written every day. I had heard about it before, but I don't know why I never signed up for it. But this year I decided to sign in. You can follow my progress in here and donate in my behalf in here. And I'm serious about finishing it! My head has been boiling with ideas the whole morning.


On another note, this weekend is "Día de Muertos" here in Mexico. People makes offerings to the deceased, and it's quite spectacular. Today I went to see the offerings at the center I'm working in and tomorrow I'll be going at the university where they have some even bigger offerings. So just to let you know how these things look like: