There are lots of 12th men and women out there, that's for sure!
Overall, Super Bowl is everywhere. For instance, Cake Wrecks is giving us Super Bowl Showdown, and Cute Overload lets Teddy Bear the Porcupine predict the winner (he/she/it better be right!).
Whatever happens, Sunday will be off the charts. Go Hawks!
Imagine my surprise when a padded envelope from the Seattle Marathon showed up in my mailbox the other week. I opened it and found a plexiglass plaque, with the inscription ”Age Division Winner / Marathon”. Wait, what? No note, no nothing.
I was pretty sure I hadn't won my age division, and a quick check confirmed my hunch; I was merely number 10 in the F30-34 class. On the other hand, the actual winner's name was Sophia... Aha! Someone must have made a mistake; the award should have been sent to Sophia, not Sofia.
Thus, I put the plaque back in the envelope and decided to swing by the marathon office after work to return it, but was smart enough to call ahead to make sure that they were in. I explained the situation, but no ma'am they didn't want it back; apparently, all top ten finishers in each division were awarded. I had actually deserved it.
This month's Science Spotlight articles could just as well have been titled ”International postdoc has to study up on kidneys” and ”Freaking out: The unexpected pressure of writing about something one actually understands”, but I chose to go with the more conformist
It should've been impossible; Seahawks were playing so utterly bad for three quarters, with endless fumbles, false starts and bad calls. But somehow - somehow - they stepped up in the last trembling minutes and changed 19-7 for the Packers, with little more than two (!) minutes left to play, to 19-14, then 19-22. Yes, they scored two touchdowns in 44 seconds.
9 Mill, the bar next door where I was watching the game with newfound friends from last week, pretty much exploded. Like, yeah.
Still, it wasn't over; Packers kicked a field goal, made it to 22-22 and overtime. We were having multiple strokes all around, but there was no stopping the Hawks at that point; they scored a 35-yard touchdown on the first drive in overtime, effectively killing the game with 28 points against Green Bay's 22.
I just... I don't... There's no... Wow.
15 seconds into this clip you can see me being just a wee bit excited. (Just a tad.)
Although I can truthfully say that I never lost hope completely, I can't quite believe the way they miraculously turned that game around, securing the conference championship and a place in Super Bowl XLIX, Febuary 1st. Whatever happens then, they've already won everything as far as I'm concerned.
January 18, 12:05 pm PST, CenturyLink Field, Seattle, WA:
Green Bay Packers Vs. Seattle Seahawks.
I'll be watching the playoff game at the bar next door, dressed up properly in my new favorite jersey. If they don't win this one, it sure enough ain't my fault!
Like last year, Fred Hutch showed its love and support with another Blue Friday shot. This time, I'm a little tricker to find but I can assure you that I'm there.
A very brief report, just to let you know that I have not succumbed to some premature February heavyheartedness; I know that it's merely January, and the worst has yet to come. The sun is actually shining and I am actually getting some work done, although I must confess that I had some trouble snapping out of the holiday mode.
Heavyheartedness, that's an excellent word, by the way; describes the feeling exactly. But not yet! Not yet.
Anyway.
Q: So, what am I doing?
A: I keep staring at tiny pieces of lymph nodes, trying to 1) understand what I'm looking at, and 2) describe it.
Did you fall off your chairs out of excitement? Did you drop your tea mug to the ground, hot liquid splashing everywhere? Well, you should have; it's awesome. Yesterday I snapped some pictures of a very van-Goghian section, complete with squiggly lines, bold colors and post-impressionist vibes. The Starry Night has got nothing on this one:
I'm thinking about calling it The Blobby Goo, or perhaps The Shaky Nerves. Regardless, it's a fairly accurate description of my current innermost feelings. Any takers?
Work, work, work. I'm looking at a lot of these right now:
Scanned microscope slides with sections of irradiated lymph nodes, showing various kinds of damage and other radiation-induced effects. Neat, huh? I get easily lost in this world of microscopic beauty.
Other than that, there is little news to share. I got my hair done yesterday.
