This thing I refer to as My Life

A Moment For Spring

Tuesday for snow
Thursday for Heat
The record high
Today we meet

Tomorrow brings rain
This Sunday more snow
To bad that my poor balls
Don’t know where to go

Ode to a Great Line

Today marks the day
The last Oldsmobile built
Some badass cars
When taken to the hilt

Somewhere between
The 60’s-today
Good old GM, went off
And lost its own way

Though Buicks were favored
By me and my friends
We drooled over many Olds
Now and again

Somehow the brand name
Just did not stick
It’s not your fathers Oldsmobile
It’s a 442-stick

Pontiac tries to revive GTO’s
GM keeps the Buick
But Oldsmobile goes?

Late April around the land Arbor
And showers delivered an aroma of flower
Children thrust with a thirst for shine
Laughing, playing, losing track of time

Substantial signs that Spring sprung weeks ago
Bugs, birds, the lack of snow
Colors appear where once there were none
Even leaves on trees have begun

Winter can be a tricky friend and foe
Seems to drift away before you know
But not to go gentle into that good night
Today the air has a terrible bite

All is silent and clouds hide the sun
Outside a stern breeze which limits the fun
White flakes befall my eyes and my head
Flurries in April and cheeks colored red

It often amazes me how well I can function on a rather slim amount of sleep. After four hours last night, I’m not particularly happy but I’m also not particularly sleepy or loopy. Well, at least I cannot tell that I’m loopy. I know I have not been too diligent with this blog, but that previous thought should give you an idea of why. I did take a couple of hours out of the “weekend” to go to a really fun play put on by several of the medical students (all “grades”). This was the 86th annual “Smoker” where they pick some theme and use it to pick on the professors and poke at the medical student life. This year was *loosely* based on the play “Into the Woods” which is something of a medley of various fairytales. The title for this year’s Smoker was, of course, Into the Wards. Oh, and I should tell you all that Scrubs is a much more accurate description of the medical student life on the wards than ER. At least that’s what the upperclassmen say.

We are still in the infectious disease sequence and last week was quite dense. Honestly, or rather foolishly, I had the expectation that this would go pretty smoothly. Doh! There are an amazing number if nuances to learn about each disease, each antibiotic and each bacteria (which is apply named The Bug Parade). And, surprisingly, there is much less overlap between the topics as I would have hoped. That equates to more studying! Yes, I’m still keeping my head above water, but it is turning out to be substantially more work that expected.

I managed to frightened a handful of classmates last week during a class on bioterrorism. The professor was pimping us (asking us questions during class) and I decided instead of suffering through long silence, I was just going to blurt answers. The one question that I remember answering (although I know there were a couple more) was, “What does the size of an anthrax [endospore] (he said spore, but they’re really endospores and he really meant particle) need to be to induce inhalational anthrax?” After an appropriate moment of silence, I said, “Five microns!” And on like that. You can image the little uproar in the class and the handful of comments I received afterwards for knowing so much about bioterrorism.

A new experience! I’m studying (well, not at this very moment but it is the overall theme for the night) and monitor-sitting. I’m not actually babysitting because the baby asleep is a few doors down. Wish me luck!!

Before I get overly swamped with work again today, I should make a post! I spent the better part of the weekend studying for our first ID test and I fear that I will be studying all weekend for this one. It was particularly difficult last week because it was absolutely gorgeous outside! I bit too breezy to enough a long bike ride, but just right for working on the bikes and getting them ready for the season. I took the exam early Sunday afternoon, did a little shopping with ML (with the top down) and then spent a few hours outside. I set up shop just outside the front door and I should have known better. Within a few moments, I had a little audience playing with the wheels and rummaging through the toolbox. I quickly learned how to say, “What’s this?” in Korean. So I kept one eye on the bike and the other at the little hands exploring my toolbox. Those of you who know me best are aware that my toolbox is rather extensive with everything from three different size socket sets to dentist tools. Unfortunately, that also includes a couple of knives and razor blades. Fortunately, I was successful as dissuading the curious fingers from the more dangerous tools. The children next door may not speak much English, but they understand no and put that back.

During the middle of this, I had a flashback to a scene with the electrician that worked in the basement in the house in which I grew-up. I used to do the same thing with his tools when I was a young lad and, according to my mom, I used to eat his lunch, too. He made really good sandwiches, as I recall!

Sunday evening, I installed the upgrades on the Bowflex. Oh! So, I mentioned that I received the parts for it in the mail last week. Then next day, I received an apology card from Bowflex informing me that there was a tremendous delay in shipping the parts out and it would be another six weeks before delivery. (The left hand ain’t talkin’ to the right hand, I’m afraid.)

Now, I’m just swamped with another week’s worth of ID. So, I better get to it!

Just to follow up on my snot-blog, the medical term for a runny-nose is coryza.

Yea! Got to drive with the top down today! We had dinner out with a bunch of med students and a few MPH’s (Master of Public Health). Since it was 75F outside, it was time! Too bad tomorrow brings rain, but that’s okay. I gotta’ study and it’ll be good for ML tulips, which are starting to bloom. Did I mention that we are being attacked by bugs? But none of them bite. As of yet.

With all of this theft-stuff going on, I remember that it did almost happen to me. I had left my watch on at a computer desk after an exam several months ago and it was gone the next day. A couple of students said they remembered seeing, so I was able to narrow the time down, but it did not help. I sent out an e-mail to both classes asking them to return it to my mail box. The day went by with no response other than fellow students telling me I'd never see it again.

Here’s that first e-mail:

-----Original Message-----
From: gozansky
Sent: Tuesday, October 14, 2003 8:08 PM
To: 'm1'; 'm2'
Subject: Lost Watch

Hi there!

I think I may have left/lost my watch somewhere been the Cai lab and the parking deck last Sunday night. (I know I had it at 10:30p when I went to the Cai lab to take my quiz, but that is the last place I knew where it was.) It is a black Casio with a Velcro-clothe band and I was sitting at one of the Dell’s near the printers. If you found, please let me know.

Thanks much!
Elliott
------------------------------------

The next day, I wrote another one to all four classes:

-----Original Message-----
From: gozansky
Sent: Wednesday, October 15, 2003 10:50 PM
To: 'm1; 'm2; 'm3; 'm4'
Subject: Another Plea (for my lost watch in Cai Lab)

Hi Folks,

So one of our fellow students verified that I did leave my watch in the Cai lab since she saw it there on Monday. If you found it, please return it (I’m not upset or going to be judgmental). If you want, you can just discretely put it in my mailbox in Fursty or turn it in to the lost and found at the LRC. (And, I know it’s a neat watch, but remember that it has been on my wrist for the better part of six years, most-of-which was spent in the HOT and HUMID weather of Texas. If you know what I mean.) ;-)

Thanks much,
Elliott

The next day it appeared in the lost and found. I really think that last line helped out the most. Really, I was not upset and I’m really glad that it was returned. It’s entirely possibly that it was always the person’s intention to return it and it just slipped their mind the first day. Obviously, I don’t know if is the same person responsible for what is going on now, but at least the person that had my watch was reasonable, or they were just totally grossed out.

For those of you keeping track, I FINALLY received the upgrades for my Bowflex. It’s going to be a several hour project to put it all together. To their credit, I think they made some significant improvements in the safety and it speaks well of the company that they did it without being forced. Although, it is apparent to me that some of the updates are to keep people from improperly using the equipment: In other words, protecting people from themselves.

In other news, there seems to be a rash of thefts going on at the medical school. There have been a few wallets stolen from the medical student lounge. We all had hoped that it was some “other” person coming into the room that was not supposed to be there. However, there was a purse stolen today from the med student computer lounge. The purse was later found in a parking garage with the wallet and cell phone missing. Unfortunately, a medical school text book and a bunch of (loose) pharmacy flash cards were also stolen which points the finger more toward a student. That is simply shameful.

My dad asked an interesting question that I thought I would respond to here…just cause it’s fun and yucky! He wanted to know why do we blow snot through our nose? (in a nutshell)

Actually, the majority of snot is recycled in the GI system (poo and pee pathway). Only a small amount is actually blown forward. And, just so you know, swallowing your snot is thought to be a good stimulant of the immune system. Thing of it this way: the bug gets dies in the nasal environment. Either, it becomes caught up in the mucus and/or it attacked by a while blood cell. If it is a bug that your body had already experienced, there may be an IgE (an antibody) that binds to it and marks it as foreign. Now the part that I don’t agree with 100% is that it is identified in the GI system as a foreign body and the immune system is activated. From my understanding, I think that most of the immune response, including building antibodies, is initiated in the mucosa of the nose, but I'm just an M1.

Next, you have to consider that tears and sinuses need some place to drain. At it turns out, the nose is a conveniently placed orifice. (Now, I cannot quite answer why we have sinuses and I don’t think ML feels that her's do anything but cause her problems.) Evolutionarily, I think it is reasonable to say that our nose is there to smell. That is surely its most important function in both the fight (hunting) or flight responses. Although we became more dependant upon our eyes as we evolved, I am pretty sure the nose evolved first.

To come full circle, why all the snot? One reason is the mucus lining. When the nerve cells in your nose encounter a smell, it is the fluid from the mucus lining (or at least part of it) that washes away the sent. Otherwise, you would smell the same thing all day long—and if the first thing you smelled was your own morning breath, well then you have a lot for which to be thankful. Another function of the nose, and thus a source of snot, is that it humidifies and warms (or cools) the air you breath. This makes life a little easier for the lungs. So, for all of these fluid you need 24/7, you need a lot of mucus membrane. That, right there, is probably the evolutionary basis for the sinuses.

When you get an infection, one of the bodily responses is the release of histamine (among several other agents) from mast cells (another type of white blood cell). The histamine insights an inflammatory response which delivers more fluids to the area and causes the mucus membrane to pour fluids out (hence antihistamines). They can be thick and/or colored, depending on the source of the illness, and not so easily drain into the nasopharynx (back of your nose) with the inspiration of air. (Notice, when you exercise outside on a cool day your nose will run, but if you breath in through your nose and out your mouth, there will be sufficient air movement to keep the fluid going backwards. Once you stop exercising, you typically have to blow your nose because you are not breathing as deeply, but your nose is still making lots of fluid. Although I do not know this for sure, I suspect the fluid is made to help condition the air for your lungs as opposed to an allergic response to being outside, but that is based purely on my own observations integrated into what I have learned in school.) Back to the yucky stuff: Since your nose is producing a thicker mucus or more of it than can be dealt with by normal breathing, you get a sensation of fullness and the desire to blow your nose. I suspect that is part of the response to clear the passageway so you can breath.

One final observation: if they are open and working, your auditory tubes (Eustachian tubes) drain directly into the nasopharynx with a direct shot into the back of the throat (not to the nose). So, the nose just happened to be in the right place at the right time to be the recipient of all of the lovely fluids from the various other suppliers.

And, before I forget, it snowed last night! (But it did not stick.)

Almost a good idea!

We started the Microbiology and Infectious Disease sequence today. Historically, micro was taught during M1 in conjunction with cellular biology. It’s about a week long block. Then infectious disease was taught in the fall of M2 for a month. Now, it is one long (five week) block. That’s okay, they go well together! We have a little one hour lab almost every day after three hours of class. That’s the 8a – 12p grind. For our first lab today, we learned how to use a…get this…microscope! Duh, we’ve been using a microscope for a year now. So, you say, “Well, it’s a different microscope and kept in the microbiology lockers!” Well, that latter of that is true, but they are the exact same Nikon microscopes that we were using for Histology and Pathology and they are all in the same rooms. Thus, the medical school, has two complete and identical microscopes for each student. NOT SMART! That is over $100k worth of excess equipment and that is assuming they are getting a really good deal. So, today’s lab turned out to be pretty silly, but I think it gets better from here. Except that I have to plate and glow bacteria which I during my post-doc and while I worked in Boston. It’ll be relaxing I suppose!

And before I forget: We have yet another chance of snow tonight. :)

Yea! New blog entry. We’re having a relaxing weekend. Since last week was a CFM week our exam was open book. LOVE THOSE! I started the exam Friday morning and finished around lunch time. ML took a half day and we went out to lunch at Siam Square (Thai). Then we went to have me fitted for the Tuxedo for my friend’s (David Leck) wedding. Next, we rediscovered this little high end grocery store called the Produce Station. They actually had the BetaSweet carrots which are genetically engineered from Texas A&M. I guess the manager must have walked by when I said to ML that they had them and somehow got into a little conversation. They had purchased them because he thought they were “healthy organic” carrots. Could not be more wrong! But, they are damn good carrots.

We came home and prepared for a dinner we were hosting for a few of my fellow students. We had a great time visiting, eating and bitching about neuroanatomy.

Today, we slept in and, finally, got our act together and went to the UMICH botanical gardens. The trail we walked was really nice, but apparently the only poisonous snake known to Michigan, the Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake, likes to inhabit. Fortunately, we did not come across any. After a light dinner, we went over to a neighbor’s house to play a (fun) board game called Cranium. Now, we’re watching SNL and settling down for bed.

Next week we start infectious disease (ID) for five weeks. Classes, in general, will start at 8am and end at 12p. There is a LOT of material to cover, but it is purported to be the most well organized sequence. Well, after neuro, anything is going to seem well organized!

Yea! I passed Neuroanatomy. At least the way I work the numbers I did.

We did have some snow the night before last but it melted pretty much right away. Last night, however, it was pretty darn cold. It was supposed to get down to 18F, but I don’t know how cold it actually became. All that I care about is that it will help kill off any mosquitoes that we may have around here. They had already started hatching because I saw one a few days ago at the bus stop.

The short story on April 2nd: Since there are four people that have to sit on a defense committee—Dr. Schlafer, Dr. Grant, Dr. Liwang, and Dr. Gorenstein—it can be difficult to find a date especially when they don’t all live in the same state. The first date that worked for everyone was April 1st. I thought, “How Perfect!” Well, David must have seen the gleam in my eyes and, knowing my history for April fool’s jokes, looked at me and said something he rarely says to anyone: “No. Pick another day.” So, it was April 2nd, hence the anniversary.

The long story of the defense: when the lab moved down to UTMB, I was granted research in absentia from Purdue. So I would finished up my research in Texas, I had to go back to Indiana to defend. Since Dr. Gorenstein (David) was no longer Purdue faculty, he was not able to be the chair of the defense committee, so I had to choose another which ended up being a new professor called Igal Schlafer. This was an interesting choice on several levels, but ultimately turned out okay. As part of the defense, I put together a comprehensive lecture on the three main projects that were the bulk of my thesis. When I rehearsed it, without interruptions, it was about 2 hours. Pretty respectable considering how much research there was and the thesis is over 250 pages. As I packed my bags (figuratively speaking) I found out that David would not be accompanying me but would be at the defense much like Charlie was at the office in Charlie’s Angels.

I arrived in Indiana a couple of days before the defense and caught up with Dr. Schlafer the day before the defense. The first thing out of his mouth was he wanted the presentation to be 45 minutes, no longer. Well, that may not have been the first thing out of his mouth, but it’s the first thing that I remember coming out of his mouth. I looked at him and laughed and said, “No way!” I have five years research and three big projects in my thesis. It cannot be done in 45 minutes. Then, Igal said, just pick one project to present. That concept never dawned on me as a possibility. So, I went with my pet project, 3D DOSY-NOESY (my dad loves that name) and managed to work it down to 47 minutes or so. It was a stressful thing the day before the defense.

Okay, back to the defense. I got everything set up and ready. Mary Lee had made some brownies to help as a, well, not quite a bribe but as close as one could legally get. I also bought some bagels for a similar reason. I went into the presentation room to load the slides into the projector (it was 1997, after all) about an hour before the meeting. I turned it on to focus the projector and POOF! The bulb when out! There was no spare in the project nor in the room. Trying to maintain composure, I went to the main office to try to find a bulb or two.

Finally, we were all assembled and Dr. Gorenstein was on the speaker phone: Except, Igal was nowhere to be found. I had a few friends that wanted to watch the defense (which I later found out was not normal for a physical chemistry defense, but they had made an exception for me) and one of them (my evil-twin brother (we looked more alike when I had more hair), JC Poutsma) went to get Igal, who sitting in his office. We started 20 minutes late which I thought was ironic since Igal wanted this to be quick. We called David (Dr. Gorenstein) back and got things started. The presentation went about an hour and fifteen minutes as there were quite a few questions and comments along the way. All of my friends were excused and I had to leave the room for a few minutes. Then I had to go back in and really “defend” the thesis. The questions were pretty good and varying levels of complexity. At one point, the professors were talking amongst themselves and I decided to have a bite of a brownie because I was REALLY hungry. I took a pretty big bite and then, David asked me a really straightforward question. There was nothing I could do! All of the professors in the room saw me take a big bite of this delicious brownie, and there was no way for me to get it down. There were some light giggles in the room but David just heard silence. So, he started answering the question he had posed thinking that I was stumped. I finally got enough brownie “down” to tell him that I could answer the question but my mouth was full of brownie. We were all laughing at that point but David really did not understand until I explain it after I returned to Texas.

The defense part went on for an hour or so, I really don’t remember. The one thing that did stand out was one of the professors, Dr. Liwang, did not ask any questions. She and I had met before the defense because she (and her husband) did a post-doc in the lab I was going to do my post-doc. She had hinted at a few questions she had and I thought they were really insightful, but she never let out a peep. I should just e-mail her and ask.

After the defense, I was excused from the room again for all of the professors to talk amongst themselves again. To this day, I have no idea what they talked about, but I suspect it was their golf game and the weather.

Dr. Grant opened the door and said, “Let me be the first one to congratulate you, Dr. Gozansky.” There were some pleasantries passed around as people packed up, including myself. Igal lagged behind to pay me a “compliment” that I am glad he did not say in front of anyone else. I’m actually amazed he had the wherewithal to wait. You have to understand, he is theoretical chemist and so his skill of tact and politeness are a little less than refined. He said, “Well Elliott, you did *much* better than I expect you to do.” To which I responded, “Coming from you Igal, I’ll take that as a compliment.” It was, in fact, the nicest thing I had ever heard Igal say to anyone.

As luck would have it, my evil-twin had defended his thesis just before I arrived and so we combined our successes into one huge party including a couple of kegs of beer and lot’s of booze—I did eat the worm! As best as I can remember.

I'm still writing the defense story, but it's not done and I want sleep. So, you'll just have to wait until tomorrow.

It's snowing!!!

For the past seven years, my wife has made it evident to me that she loves me more than anyone else loves me. For the past seven years on this second of April, she wishes me a Happy Ph.D. defense anniversary! It was on this morning in 1997 when I stood in front of a panel of my superiors, at start the start of the proceedings, who congratulated me at the end as a panel of my peers.

It’s actually a good and funny story, but now is NOT the time. I had the lab practical earlier this afternoon and I need to dig into the lecture material for the written exam this weekend. Hopefully, I’ll be able to post the story next week.