Regina Cheung's Blog http://med.stanford.edu/blogs/students/regina_cheung/ 2007-03-07T16:34:37-08:00 where did she go? http://med.stanford.edu/blogs/students/regina_cheung/archives/2007/03/i_try_to_occasi.html I try to occasionally update my original blog, rcantilles dot blogspot dot com, so for further updates (and past stuff) head over there.

Ciao!

]]> antilles 2007-03-07T16:34:37-08:00 hey mom I made the paper http://med.stanford.edu/blogs/students/regina_cheung/archives/2006/10/hey_mom_i_made.html This afternoon, our lab administrator, the lovely Howard, came over to tell me that as he browsed the internet, he stumbled upon this blog. (Hi Howard, if you're reading this!) Then I realized that this article had come out. I had not known that the blogs would make the Stanford Report when I signed up for this... eep!

The most interesting part of the article was this summary of where this year's students are coming from. 4 from Caltech? Strange to think of it, but I probably have no idea who the other 3 techers are, as it's likely I graduated before they started. 2 from New Jersey? Where my homie at? Average age of 24? Yeah, I guess I already knew I am a bit on the older side.

I guess I should get on with describing my first week of classes.

]]> antilles 2006-10-02T23:04:37-08:00 ze goggles zey do noz-ing http://med.stanford.edu/blogs/students/regina_cheung/archives/2006/09/ze_goggles_zey_1.html This weekend, I went on the Biomass camping trip. I think there must be something about school sponsored camping trips; every single one I have attended leave me broken the next day. This particular time, I twisted my ankle 2 miles into a 11 mile hike. (I was trying to take a photo while walking along the trail.) Between that and general soreness, I'm a bit of a mess.

Just in time for classes to start!

]]> antilles 2006-09-25T13:31:24-08:00 supposedly oriented http://med.stanford.edu/blogs/students/regina_cheung/archives/2006/09/supposedly_orie.html The past 3 days, I've felt a bit like I am back in my freshman year of college all over again. Just as I was one of about 20 freshman who were inducted into Blacker House (Tech's equivalent to a 100 person frat), I am now one of 13 first years into the ~ 60 person immunology ph.d. program.

]]> antilles 2006-09-22T10:34:19-08:00 first afternoon on campus http://med.stanford.edu/blogs/students/regina_cheung/archives/2006/09/first_afternoon.html I've stopped by campus a few times in the past couple weeks, but today I spent a full afternoon there. Now I really feel like a student, and a lot of the butterflies in my stomach have calmed down.

]]> antilles 2006-09-18T19:56:43-08:00 my last free weekend http://med.stanford.edu/blogs/students/regina_cheung/archives/2006/09/my_last_free_we.html School doesn't start till next week. But orientation and other things start up in earnest this week, so I wanted to take advantage of my last free weekend before I dig in.

In summary, I hung out with some of my fellow first years, played a lot of World of Warcraft, and took a day trip out to Half Moon Bay.

]]> antilles 2006-09-18T11:30:54-08:00 registration http://med.stanford.edu/blogs/students/regina_cheung/archives/2006/09/registration.html I've been spending a few days as a couch potato. Robin is waiting to hear from a potential employer, and I'm just trying to relax before the 5-6 year grind starts. It's been very nice, but I'm starting to itch for something to do more than watch tv and play World of Warcraft.

Tomorrow I'm going to purchase a bike, go out to lunch with an old college friend (who coincidentally will be starting her master's in biosciences this fall, and will be taking an immuno class with me), and maybe do some clothes shopping.

More importantly, I finally got up off my ass (well, alt tabbed out of World of Warcraft), did some research on classes, and registered.

a few thoughts:

]]> antilles 2006-09-14T18:39:35-08:00 my first complaint http://med.stanford.edu/blogs/students/regina_cheung/archives/2006/09/my_first_compla.html For the first time since Robin and I arrived almost a month ago, I am seriously irritated about a quality inherent in CA living.

Driving. Sucks.

]]> antilles 2006-09-12T18:56:37-08:00 and now for something completely different http://med.stanford.edu/blogs/students/regina_cheung/archives/2006/09/and_now_for_som.html I'm grateful that I have been given this amazing opportunity to study here. I'm grateful that I have the support of my friends and family. But most of all, I'm grateful to this man.

]]> antilles 2006-09-12T11:34:48-08:00 remembering how to be a student http://med.stanford.edu/blogs/students/regina_cheung/archives/2006/09/remembering_how.html Our boxes are almost all unpacked, and we've hung up most of our framed photos. Now I really feel moved in.

This leaves me with more time to think about the upcoming school year. Well, maybe it would be more accurate to say that I worry.

I've been out of school for about 3 years now. The last class I took was over 3.5 years ago, while doing my master's at MIT. The last semester I took more than 3 classes was about 5 years ago, during the first trimester of my senior year at Caltech.

]]> antilles 2006-09-12T09:56:18-08:00 yikes http://med.stanford.edu/blogs/students/regina_cheung/archives/2006/09/calm_before_the.html Just as I thought Robin and I were really on top of things... our crate arrived. Gone are any thoughts of starting a lab rotation early; Robin would be furious if I left him to deal with this disaster alone!

Almost every square inch of our apartment is covered in boxes. At least Wirt is enjoying his new playground. The crazy cat is climbing as high as he can, playing a solo game of "king of the mountain". He also had fun with my old Furby from college days.... after we dug it out (upon hearing it start up because we jarred the box), Wirt sniffed at it, picked it up by the fur on top of the head, and carried it off.

I hope that we can be unpacked relatively soon. I really should get to a little pre-term reading, and preliminary research on profs I would like to rotate with.

]]> antilles 2006-09-02T09:53:37-08:00 almost settled in, but not quite. http://med.stanford.edu/blogs/students/regina_cheung/archives/2006/08/almost_settled_1.html Unfortunately, our Door to Door crate is not arriving till Friday, so we're still making do with very little. Fortunately, this gives us plenty of space to put together new furniture and arrange things.

At this point, we're almost as at home at Ikea and Bed Bath & Beyond as at our actual apartment! Today, the last piece of furniture will arrive (a sofa and nighttable), and we won't have to haunt those places anymore.

What really makes me feel like we've moved in is that we've had our first overnight visitor, and gone out to our first social function. One of my best college friends stayed the weekend, and last night we went to a bbq. We even contributed a salad and some corn. However, the way we brought the salad sort of exemplifies our current state of being....

]]> antilles 2006-08-28T09:58:34-08:00 The Roadtrip http://med.stanford.edu/blogs/students/regina_cheung/archives/2006/08/the_roadtrip.html We left Boston the morning of the 14th, arriving in Toledo OH after sunset. The 15th, we drove from Toledo to Sioux Falls, SD. The 16th, we drove from Sioux Falls to Sheridon , WY. The 17th, we drove through Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons to Jackson, WY. The 18th, we drove from Jackson to Sparks, NV. And today, we finally arrived in Palo Alto.

This was the first cross country drive for all of us. I did some of the driving, but most of the time, Robin was behind the wheel, while I navigated, and Wirt lay between us.

]]> antilles 2006-08-19T16:01:42-08:00 And so it starts. http://med.stanford.edu/blogs/students/regina_cheung/archives/2006/08/first_entry.html I've known since early spring that I would be attending Stanford in the fall. But until this week, it hasn't registered that I really am going.

My last day at the Hacohen Lab was last Friday. My husband, Robin, and I have spent the last 4 days packing up our home in Cambridge, MA. Tonight, we had our friends over for the our last weekly dinner get together in the Boston area. Saturday, Door-to-Door will drop off the trailer for us to fill, and we'll sell off the last of our furniture. Monday, we set off in our new car, to drive from here to Palo Alto, with our cat, Wirt, in the backseat.

The lease for our new apartment is signed, our bank accounts have been moved, the new car purchased, our lives packed up and ready to go. Now, we just have to do it.

]]> plowney 2006-08-10T23:00:00-08:00 About Me http://med.stanford.edu/blogs/students/regina_cheung/archives/2006/08/about_me.html the basic facts:

I am:
- a 26 year old American born Chinese woman
- a born and bred Jersey girl
- a wife of 3 years
- an engineer (I received my bachelor's in Engineering & Applied Sciences from Caltech, my master's in Mechanical Engineering from MIT, have worked on the 2003 Mars Rover and Payload System's Cell Culture Unit that was to go on the International Space Station)
- a biologist in training (I am entering Stanford to work on a ph.d. in Immunology, and am interested in applying systems biology to autoimmunity)
- an amateur photographer
- an avid gamer (both board and video games)

]]> About Me plowney 2006-08-10T17:57:52-08:00