Tara Sigdel

We all wish it was a little lower

Four years ago, while eating lunch with a Stanford professor during his trip for an invited talk, I asked him about life at Stanford and living in the Bay Area. One thing that I still remember is that the way he expressed difficulty for him and his wife, also a professor at Stanford, to own a house in the region. At that time, as a graduate student graduating from a school far away from the west coast, I did not have to take it seriously. After two years of that conversation, I graduated and decided to join my current lab at Stanford. I knew it was going to be expensive, still my family and I decided to move to the Bay Area. The cost of living did not matter in making the decision.

During a recent visit to my doctor, who happens to be an affiliate of Stanford, we talked about the life in general and the rising living cost in the region. I found him concerned about the pay scale of the postdocs that universities including Stanford have been offering. His personal view was that maybe this high living cost is hurting Stanford because some potential postdocs and faculty choose not to join it for that very reason. Last week, I met a friend of mine who was in the Bay Area for a job interview for a tenure track position in one of the three powerhouses in the region and again it turns out that one of his major concerns about moving to the Bay Area was the cost of housing. As a postdoc, I try not to think about the expensive housing in the area and hope everyone who Stanford offers to join could accept the offer and move in. I wonder if it has become one of the factors in decision making by likely postdocs and faculties.

We wish the living cost in the Bay Area was a little lower and affordable.

Adios

Good Bye 2007 and Welcome 2008!

No doubt! It has been a very busy life. The research, the family and other social obligations have taken almost all the time that is available. At times, increasing gray hair reminds the reality of me growing older. But the way I have been blessed with family, friends and colleagues, I can not complain and must not complain.

We invited my parents to visit us from Nepal. It was their first time visiting the US and it was a wonderful time spending together for three generations of us. They enjoyed our stay in Palo Alto during the great bright summer days. I enjoy driving. We drove south to San Diego and north to Portland and Seattle. The drive along very scenic California highway 1 was just amazing while going to south. We had a great time in Universal Studios, Hollywood, LA and the Sea World in San Diego. Our trip to the Disneyland during this winter break was once in a life time experience. I never saw as many people in my life in one place that were gathered in Disneyland. It was a very special experience to be part of the celebration of the holidays. I hope these pictures will reflect some beautiful scenes that we had enjoyed.

Looking forward to the year 2008, I do not see any better in terms of time pressure, the deadlines and living a life of a "postdoc". I will be updating the events in my life here more frequently which is one of my New Year’s resolutions!

I wish a very Happy New Year 2008 to you all. May peace, joy, prosperity, and success be yours.

Research in Dr. Benkovic's view. How many of us think in his way?

I have attended a number of events as a member of Stanford community which I will remember for long. Such events include two reception ceremonies for the two Nobel Prize winners Dr. Andrew Fire and Dr. Roger Kornberg and a talk given by Dr. Paul Nurse (Rockefeller) this year, and a talk given by Dr. Steven Benkovic (Penn State) last year.

I had an opportunity to spend some time with Dr. Benkovic while taking him out to lunch when he was invited to give a talk at Miami University. During the lunch, I asked him about the secret of being able to be active in research with such an amazing vigor. He responded saying that for him the research never felt like some work, rather he felt as if he is a small kid in a room full of toys.

About a year later, I was sitting in the meeting room in the Clark Center where Dr. Benkovic was presenting his work on T4 DNA replisome. The room was full of Stanford University veterans, junior faculty, and students. It was one of the lifetime experiences when I saw Dr. Benkovic appreciating Stanford University researchers for convincing him to make some changes in his research and a gift of E. coli at the end of his sabbatical at Stanford in early 1980s. Nobel laureate Dr. Arther Kornberg was the one who said Dr. Benkovic was probably the best person to start the research on the replisome assembly.

As a junior postdoc it was wonderful to watch demonstration of such respect and appreciation from such revered names in the field to each other.

I do not know how many of us take research the way Dr. Benkovic does. For now, I have to end this entry as I have to go back and play with my toys in the lab.

Stanford and the Pleasure of Blue Sky

Living in the Bay Area not only gives me a wonderful sensation of living in the vicinity of three research giants namely Stanford University, USCF and UC Berkeley but also a feeling of home away from home because of the hills that I can see while driving around and the beautiful weather. Be it hiking to the Dish or biking around Palo Alto with my kids, it has always been refreshing and a lot of fun under the blue sky.

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Beginning this spring I have started commuting by bicycle. believe it or not, it takes me about 25 minutes by bike compared a 20 minutes drive for the same distance. Perhaps it is because of the large Stanford University Campus and also because of the comfortable weather I see majority of Stanford students commuting by bicycle.

For someone like me who has spent a considerable time in nepali towns Pokhara and Kathmandu the weather and the beautiful surrounding scenes here in the bay area is definitely a plus. I hope you will enjoy the following two pictures.

By now I must have conveyed the message that we as a family enjoy Palo Alto and the Bay Area as much I like my research. We have been enjoying some of our weekends exploring the Bay Area and the vicinity.

About Me

One thing is for sure, this is going to be interesting and quite an adventure to express my thoughts as a postdoc at Stanford University School of Medicine. Over the period of next couple of months I will try to share some of my unique experiences working and living in the San Francisco Bay Area. I would appreciate it if you'd drop any comments that you'd like me and others to read.

]]> I have been working here as a postdoc for a little more than a year. After completing PhD from Miami University of Ohio, I chose to join Stanford to expand my research experiences.

It has been great so far. The excellent academic environment at Stanford for me and the very highly rated Palo Alto schools where my kids attend, I could not ask for more.

By the way, I am happily married with my wife, Sharmila who works for Stanford University Hospital and clinics. Our son, Shashwat, is a freshman at Gunn Highschool and daughter, Shristi, is a first grader at Barron Park Elementary School. These are the people who mean so much in my life and help me stay cool during both good and not so easy times.

I hail from Nepal. At this point I am assuming you know what country I am talking about. As a hint, I would say it is a beautiful country. I will talk about Nepal in some time to come.

I think, I tried decent enough to introduce myself. Please drop me an email if you like to know more about my experience here at Stanford or schools in the area and also if you are planning to go to Nepal for trekkeing Annapurna Circuit or climb Mt. Everest. The last one will for sure be a lot of fun! I guarantee.