Value

We use a lot of stuff here. Everything is "disposable," and should be disposed of. Alright, not everything, but it sure feels that way. There is a lot of glass that is one time use. Glass is expensive right?

Two types of pipettes (only two that I am aware of!) are used for measuring small volumes. A pipette is basically a turkey baster but much more accurate and precise. The first type has a dial that you use to tell the device how much it should suction. This type works mostly in microliters. Do you have any idea how small a microliter is? There are about 40-50 microliters to a drop of water (depending on pressure, temperature, etc.). So we pull up 10 (or some such number) microliters in this pipette and put it in a different container, like a tube. Every time that we are introducing a new reagent (ree-agent. Fancy word for ingredient), we need a new tip for the pipette. You draw up a bit in that tip, eject the tip in the disposal container, and grab a new tip. We go through at least 10 of these tips a day, and as much as 50.

The second type of pipette is for larger volumes. For amounts of liquid that are larger than 1 milliliter (ml), we use this second type. There is a handle that is sort of like a hand-gun. It has two triggers. One pulls liquid up, and the other pushes liquid down. This is done by way of a pump mechanism in the handle. This pipette also has tips. However, each tip is a long glass tube of at least 10 inches in length. These are marked along the side with ticks for varying amounts of volume. You could put in a 50 ml tip or a 10 ml tip or anything between. These are not nearly as accurate as the smaller volume pipettes because you are using your eyes rather than calibrated machinery. These are used when it is OK to be approximate. Whenever a "recipe" calls for 10 ml of this reagent, it means around 10 ml. These tips that are specially calibrated and marked (and have a filter at the top to make it harder to destroy the handle by pulling up too much liquid) get disposed of after each use as well. I imagine they are the more expensive type as they are glass.

We also use a type of non-calibrated, non-filtered glass tip. This is to get rid of waste liquid. You attach it to a vacuum tube and it sucks away liquid stuff. Each of these has to be disposed of after use or if you change the type of liquid you are vacuuming.

These latter types get used whenever you are doing tissue culture, as you are working with "large" amounts of liquid, and have plenty of waste.

There is also the issue of gloves. Every time you enter a lab it's a new pair of gloves. When you leave (even if you are coming back), you throw them away.

Then the cost of reagents. A lot of things are for general use and come in large quantities. Sometimes you get something that is at a high concentration and you only use it at low concentrations. It lasts a while. Sometimes however, you need something that is very particular or of particularly high quality. A little vial that has 1 ml (20 drops of water worth) in it can sometimes cost as much as $300 (probably even more than that). Even the more common, bulk ones are not so cheap. A half-liter of PBS (Phosphate Buffered Saline), a reagent that we use quite often, is more than $30. We generally use 10 ml per plate. If we are doing 20 plates, that is 2/5 of a bottle. Trypsin, which is used in pretty much everything, is $40-$100 for 100 micrograms, depending on the grade (the lower grade can be used for many things).

Gels, which are used to see whether the proteins or DNA you were looking for are actually present, run upwards of $40 each. Ones that are actually useful for what we do run upwards of $60 each.

I have not gone into any of the one time costs such as the initial investment in a piece of machinery. Nor have I gone into utility cost (I'll let you guess; hint- it's astronomical).

What I am trying to get at here is that science is expensive. I probably think about the cost too often. I am afraid of how much I cost, in that I am not experienced and therefore my work is not as efficient or correct as a more-well-trained individual. I will keep on trying and spending your tax-dollars though!

Goals

The lab I am with is the Laboratory of Proteomics and Analytical Technologies. Particularly the proteomics part. If the genome is the sum of all DNA and gene interactions, the proteome is the sum of all protein interactions.

DNA is the code that tells the cell (and further, the body or organism) how to make proteins. Proteins are vastly complicated. There are only 20 amino acids, which act as the base units for making protein. A protein is just a string of amino acids folded into a particular way. Proteins can be strung together in interesting ways to make protein machines. All of the action, anything that is dynamic, in a biological system can be traced to proteins. For example, digestive enzymes are type of protein that breaks apart food stuff so that it can be digested better. Lipase is a digestive enzyme that breaks fats down into triglycerides, which is how the body utilizes fats. Lipase is a protein with a special function. By educated estimates, there are thought to be over 50,000 proteins involved in making humans work properly (and improperly).

There are proteins that stay in the cell nucleus (where DNA is located). Some of these help with DNA copying, or in making other proteins. Many of them bind to DNA at certain locations. That is what we are currently studying.

There are about 10,000 employees of the NIH on this base, so my group (less than 10 people) is studying a very particular piece of the pie.

Proteins are very small. You can't see/identify particular proteins in a microscope. The best method we have currently for looking at proteins is very indirect. It is called mass spectrometry. For this method to work, you need to have a sample of proteins. These are given an electrical charge. They are also cut up. These charged pieces are sent through a constant electrical current from one electrode to another that has a sensor. We are then able to tell the size and mass of these pieces by seeing how long it took them to get through the current. By putting them all together, we are then able to see which proteins were in the sample.

While we are a mass spectrometry lab, we sort of out-source the mass spec to the experts. We design and do the experiments that get the proteins ready to be looked at in the mass spec.

So what are we looking at? We are particularly interested in chromatin and the proteins that bind to it. Chromatin is the fibers that DNA is supported on. When I say DNA, you think double-helix, right? The DNA itself is the rungs on that ladder. The actual structure, helical part is chromatin. So, the long term goal is to develop a way to look at a specific part of chromatin, and the proteins that bind to it. Current research generally looks at the protein complex without DNA, but that is likely an important part of the picture. It seems that some proteins identify where to bind because of the DNA sequence at that location, and that part of its ability to bind is based on DNA as well. This can be illustrated by thinking of a house you want to visit. You find the particular house by its address, but you don't know where to enter until you find the door. By looking at chromatin and the proteins without the DNA, it is as though you visit a house (you've followed very detailed directions to get there) and are inside, but someone studying you from above makes the house invisible to see you standing there in what was the kitchen. If you are holding a frying pan, it might be clear as to where you are. If you are simply sitting down, you might be at the kitchen table, in the living room, or even on the toilet.

Looking at protein-binding on chromatin out of context is like this. We don't know whether that is the location that the protein would normally be if the DNA was still intact or whether the interactions are more or less as complex in vivo.

The intermediate goal is to be able to understand some or all protein interactions through a model system. Also, to learn novel things about proteins that we already think we know about. One issue is what is called "background." If we are studying p53 (a human protein that we are actually studying), there are bound to be tons of other stuff that just happened to be chilling around there at the time that we harvested the sample. How much of it is supposed to be there and how much is non-specific? In the past, background has been washed away, but then you also lose some of your sample. And it's hard to know how this affects the way you would find interactions in vivo. I don't know how we are trying to get around that.

Those are some of the goals of the group I am working with. It's hard to know how to actually get there, but basically you change little things until it gets you closer.

If you want to learn a bit more, the wikipedia post on protemics is pretty helpful as is the proteopedia.

science

I realize that up until this point, I have not really mentioned much about science or even that I have started working in the lab. I started working in the lab on Monday. This is the end of my first full week. It has been such a learning experience.

I have not really mentioned anything about the science for fear of not being able to make myself understood. Here is my charge to you: if you don't understand, please let me know! I will not get better at making science accessible unless you tell me where I have assumed things that are not true.

Also, bear with me. I don't totally understand it either. I would ask questions, but I am not sure what questions will make things clearer. My next post will be all sciency. Please help me to explain it better by asking about things you don't understand. Thanks!

JK comes out of his shell

Apparently, JK is quite a character. He asked me last night whether I had plans for the evening, I didn't so he invited me out to a local brewery with a friend.

The brewery has a deal on weeknights that from 8-12 beers are half off. They also put out a free wings buffet. SH, whom I have met on a couple of occasions, was there when we arrived. He had managed to get us a table (I have never seen a bar so busy on a weeknight!)

It turns out that both of them are politically liberal, which I had not known until this point. We discussed the healthcare overhaul mostly. SH does not stay too on top of the news. He did not know most of the details of the new law. For instance, he thought that health care would now be free. JK and I made it all clear to him.

Another big topic was eating contests. JK told us about a burger place in PA where you can get a 1, 2, 3, 10, or 30 pound burger. The two and three pounders were contests. You have an hour to eat it and if you do, the meal is comped, you get a gift certificate, and a little plaque on the wall.

A couple of years ago, JK gained about 10 pounds. He started this off by saying that he gained a bit of weight, to which SH responded incredulously, "A little?!" JK's response to the situation was, "Fuck it, I'm gonna eat what I want." It was a few month's until New Years, and JK wanted to gain as much weight as possible before the New Year. He was about 185 (whereas previously he had been about 175). He wanted to pass the 200 mark before the New Year. He would eat until it hurt. All the time. On New Years eve, he finished it off with 5 junior bacon cheeseburgers and a four pack of chicken nuggets from Burger King. His weight was 203. He then went on a diet and started working out. He is now in pretty good shape and goes to the gym (with SH or his girlfriend or both) two to three times a week.

It seems that a bar is JK's natural habitat. Previously I had thought he was kind of insecure and without much character. He totally opened up, and it was great.

Parking v2

Apparently the decal just works. I drove on to the base this morning, handed over my ID, and he handed it back and told me that I should have a good day. Much easier and quicker.

Parking

I lied a little when I said that the bureaucracy was finished. Only this morning did I get a parking decal for my car. Previously, I could only enter at one gate of the base, come at least 15 minutes early, and get in the non-decal line of the security checkpoint. When it was finally my turn, they would take my license, and write down a lot of information. They would ask me to open up everything in my car. This includes center console, glovebox, all doors, trunk, and apparently the fold-down arm rest in the back. Then, they go around the car with this funny mirror that is basically a much larger version of a dentist's mirror. It allows them to see the entire under-carriage of the car. They reach under the seats, and feel around. Then they tell me that I can close everything up, present me with a dashboard pass, and I can then find parking. Now I have a decal. I can enter any of three gates, I drive right up, they ask to see my NIH ID, and that's it. Theoretically speaking. I'll let you know if that works tomorrow.

A dip of the toes

When I went in on Tuesday, I was not expecting to stay there for a whole work day. In fact, I thought I would do my blood test and get my ID, then go home. I got to stay the whole day and it was great.

TA and AB collaborated in creating a list of papers for me to read. They gave me 12. I don't know if you have ever read a scientific paper, but there are really two types: easy to read/understand or is-this-English-it-is-not-comprehensible-at-all. They were all the latter type. Unfortunately, very few of the classes that I have taken at Hampshire were of any use to me in making heads or tails. I thought that maybe if I just read them, it would eventually click. Sort of like immersion in another language. So I just kept chugging through. I would finish a paper and think, 'I have no idea what their goal was, or if they accomplished it!'

For the past few months (since the beginning of January), I have been teaching myself Cell Biology out of a textbook. CJ told me which chapters I should definitely cover, and which I could skip. Unfortunately, he told me I could skip a lot of the protein and DNA stuff, which is all that these papers were about. I did preempt this though. I was interested in the protein and DNA stuff, so I did not skip that much of it. CJ, I know you meant well, and I don't hold it against you.

I wrote down questions I had about the papers. I was not sure that any of them would be particularly helpful, but I asked things about what a certain technique did, or why was it important to do such-and-such? I spent the entirety of Wednesday reading papers (I had spent some time reading papers on Tuesday as well, in between bureaucratic nonsenses). TA said that tomorrow (Thursday), I would meet with AB and him to ask questions and have a learning session. He set aside 1.5 hours, and I got nervous. We would meet at 11.

I came in on Thursday, and sat down to go over papers. And it clicked. I was not reading jargon, but I mostly understood what was going on! I finished that paper in probably half the time it had taken me to do earlier ones. [If anyone ever tells you that the human brain is not good at adapting, you should laugh at them...]

I finished the other papers I had left pretty easily, and went in for my meeting. I brought a sheet of questions, and even took notes. I did not need to ask half of the questions at that point. I think that TA and AB were impressed with my grasp of the material (they had not intended that I finish all the papers before Friday). They told me what they intended for next week, but they were in between experiments, so there was nothing for me to do in the lab until Monday. I asked if there was any reason for me to come in on Friday, and they could not see any (I am paid salary, not hourly, so if they said I could be off, I was still paid for it). It was not even lunch yet, so I went home and made lunch.

AK and I then went out to a park, and went on the swings a bit. I got to hang out with her for the rest of the weekend too! It was great. We went to a mega-church on Sunday morning. AK is studying fundamentalist Christianity, so it was a real treat for her. She really enjoyed it. I enjoyed it too. It is a really well-oiled machine! They gave us some really great travel mugs because it was our first time there.

AK had to leave shortly after the service so that she could be back at Camp Hamp before the vampires came out. I miss her already.

Bureaucracy!

Bureaucracy. The best word to describe the NIH and the NCI in just one word is bureaucracy.

I'll rewind a moment here. I admit it has been a while since I wrote anything. Sometimes it felt like it was worth writing, and sometimes it felt like there was very little new information.

I went into the office on Friday, March 5, and did paperwork. An hour of paperwork. In fact, there was a checklist of the paperwork that I had to complete before EOD (Entry On Duty). Poor DM, I sat at his computer and filled out my paperwork. Apparently, all the forms are online, but your computer has to be approved before you can access them. So I filled out a personal data sheet and a medical history sheet and bank direct deposit sheet and various others. I was then introduced to LC, the secretary for this part of administrivia at SAIC. She really is a sweetie. We had a sort of implicit agreement about the ridiculousness of all the paperwork. LC told me that my medical history needed to be signed by my primary care physician. My direct deposit form had to be signed by the bank. The physician was easier- I sent them a fax and asked that they sign it. It took a few days, but it came in. For the bank, I called the bank (which only has a physical presence in Texas) and told them about the direct deposit thing. They immediately faxed their own direct deposit form with a signature on it. Not good enough for the US government. It has to be their form, even though both had all the same information! I called the bank back, and they said that it might take three business days to deal with this particular form. Grr. When I had done all I could there, DM told me about an event that evening. They were having a going-away party for one of his post-doc fellows, and I was invited. He told me how to get to the restaurant, and even printed out something with the address and a review.

I went back home. JK had a lot of trouble understanding that I had gone into work for less than two hours and was already back... He works from home and is plainly aware of my comings and goings. I hung out and did very little. I looked at my clock and realized that I was already a half hour late for the dinner thing. DM had said that he was planning to be at least a half hour late, so I figured I was still pretty safe. I went. I only got a little lost getting over there, but my phone corrected me (if you have not heard me praise the Android phone operating system from Google, this is the first such praise). I got to the restaurant, which appears to be a converted mansion. It was quite large. I did not see DM, but I saw LC. She apparently works there as a second job in the evenings as a hostess. She pointed me in the right direction. DM was happy to see me. He introduced me to everyone around the table including his 10-year-old daughter. Whenever he felt appropriate, he would turn to me and explain something someone had said, or about some relationship. He wanted to make sure that I understood the inside jokes. It was pretty welcoming. Eventually, he had them bring in the bill. He wouldn't let anyone help pay. I was kind of glad of that myself, but the colleagues were miffed. Apparently, he has pulled this stunt before, and no one likes it. Hell, if my boss wants to pay for my dinner, who am I to complain? He left with his antsy daughter, and I learned that all the staff love him. They invited me to karaoke on Tuesday night. I neglected to ask details, but DM had explained earlier that the karaoke bar is this super redneck affair. You walk in there and realize that you have more teeth than three other patrons put together. It sounded exciting to me.

DM was going to be in Bethesda on Monday, so I should call Tuesday to come in for preliminary blood tests and getting an ID badge. I called Tuesday, and he said that LC had said that they were still waiting on things to process so I should come in on Thursday. I asked about karaoke that night, and he said that thought it would be at Cactus Flats, but he did not know a time. I figured that 8 PM was pretty much a good time for karaoke on a weeknight. I got to Cactus Flats around then, and only saw rednecks. I left, my urge to socialize not fulfilled.

Hampshire spring break started that Friday (March 11). AK decided that she was going to miss class on Wednesday and Thursday and come down to visit on Wednesday. The original plan had been that she would leave around 5 AM, and get here probably around 3 (Google Maps said it was a seven hour trip, but she figured it would take her eight). I got up fairly early. Not actually early, but for someone that had no real reasons to be up for quite some time, 9:30 felt early. I took a shower, made some breakfast, saw JK. He asked if I had anything planned for the day, and I reminded him that AK was coming to visit. He asked about when she would be showing up, and all seemed reasonable. Suddenly, I got a call from AK. I figured she would tell me that she was taking a pit-stop, and would be here in a few hours. Instead she said, "So, I think I am parked outside your condo." It was before noon. I went out, and there she was. Apparently she had trouble sleeping the night before, so she just left around 3 AM. I hung out with AK for the day and showed her around.

I came in on Thursday. Believe it or not, I filled out more paperwork. Also, the bank still had not faxed back the direct deposit form (nor had school sent in proof of enrollment, but I expect Hampshire to be a little slow). I called the bank, spoke to three different people of varying hierarchy levels, and the last one said that she would send it in just a few minutes. Is there anything else that I would like to do? She noticed that I don't have car insurance in my name on my account, and would I like to transfer the insurance to my name and my account? No thanks. I will let my parents pay for car insurance as long as they are willing to do so. The fax came in, and I was pretty well set up. I should come back in on Tuesday to get my blood drawn and picture taken.

LC sent me an email on Monday with more bureaucracy. I needed to complete an information technology security course online. It actually took about an hour, but I learned all about how to make awesome passwords and that I should not share them with anyone.

I came in on Tuesday, March 16, to get my health inspection. I would say it was a physical, except it was not. I never saw a doctor, but hung out with the same nurse for about 20 minutes. Both when I was making my presence known for the appointment and when the nurse was verifying my identity, they REALLY wanted me to have an NIH employee ID number. I did not have such a thing. I gave them permission to store some of my blood, so that if I came in contact with any blood-born pathogens they would have a comparison. They also ran a test to make sure that I had significant immune-system defense against hepatitis B; DM had apparently written that I would be working with human cell lines and would therefore be in a high(er)-risk environment. That was new to me.

LC scooped me up from the Occupational Health Services, and brought me to the ID badge room. I presented my license to prove my identity, and the clerk asked me to take a seat. I figured I would be waiting, but she said, "Tell me when you are ready to take the picture." I said that I was, and she asked me to look at the camera. There was a black box upon a tripod near the ceiling that had been indicated. I had figured it was a surveillance-type video camera. I half-smiled while trying to look natural (it is so difficult to take a good ID picture!). Moments later, she handed me an ID card! It was quite cool and quick. And the picture came out fairly well aside from a bright white light spot on my forehead.

LC took me out to a table in the lobby area that had vinyl ID holders and various lanyards. I picked a lanyard, grabbed a vinyl cover, and then she took me to the building that my lab would be in. It was an outdoor building maze getting to that building. When we got there, the door that she wanted to use was in a hard-hat under-construction area. We found a different door, and it had a sign that said, "For access to this building see Protective Services." She tried her ID to open the door, no luck. She told me to try mine. I did, and it worked. Pretty cool.

She introduced me to SW. SW does administrivia for this building. I think she might be considered a lab manager. SW handed me a piece of paper that had my initial login credentials. The two of them, LC and SW, walked me to my workstation. It had not even occurred to me that I would have a computer space all to myself. Actually the space I was in was much more office-like than [my mind's idea of] lab-like.

LC bid me farewell, but told me that there was still plenty more bureaucracy to deal with, and that she would email me. SW had me log in and get situated slightly before introducing me to TA. TA is apparently the head of my lab or something. They have not made titles well known to me. He has an office all to himself (whereas there are six other people in the room I am in), so he must be important. He fetched AB, who it turns out is pretty much my mentor. So the scientist hierarchy is something like: Tal works under the direction of AB, who directs a project under TA, who reports to DM, who know longer actually does science but directs it.

TA and AB had a little interview with me in TA's office. It was a little bit awkward. I could not see both of them at once because of the location of the chair I was directed to sit in; I had to look left to look at TA, and look right to look at AB. They were asking about how I got where I was at that moment (I did not direct them to read this blog...), what is my major, that sort of thing. They were trying to understand how much experience I (hadn't) had. I actually noticed TA's outfit half-way through. HE was wearing a very nice sweater, pretty nice non-worn blue jeans, and stylish black velcro shoes. Each one looked good in its own right, but they did not really go together. At some point, TA said something like, "Yea, we did not know you were even a possibility until DM told us this weekend." !!!! I was a little aghast. But, then I thought about DM and it made plenty sense. AB made mention that he could not understand how science was done before the internet. TA said that you would go to the library, pull a whole bunch of journals of the shelves, look up keywords in the index, read the abstract for the article, read the references, etc. I agreed with AB. It is so much faster now. TA said that when he was in grad school he had a professor who said, "You kids these days. You don't know how to do real science. You just know how to use kits!" TA responded, "But at least we get things done and learn new things. Your generation just made excuses for why experiments did not work."

We finished the interview with TA saying he would assemble a bunch of journal articles/scientific papers for me to read over the next few days so that we would all be on the same page. And that TA would show me where to go for lunch and would eat with me.

We went to lunch, and the cafeteria is actually pretty nice with reasonable prices. We both had buffalo chicken wraps, his with chips and mine with pretzels. We chatted for a bit, and I got to know him. He is from Iceland, did undergrad there. Did grad and post-doc in the US with his post-doc appointment at the NIH. He went back to Iceland, and came back here (to the NIH/NCI) less than three years ago. He seems like a great guy, and really wants me to ask questions and to learn a bunch during my tenure here.

The rest of the day was spent back in bureaucracy land. I had received the email from LC, which said something like, "Welcome to the NCI! Here is what you have to make sure you have done:" A whole welcome site full of fill this out, take this course, do this orientation. I did an ethics training course online that took about an hour. I did an orientation to the NIH that also took about an hour. I have to admit that these online courses are really well made. You have to answer questions so that they are sure that you understand the material. Finally, five o' clock came, and I left. No one mentioned that they were going to play Taps. I left my building at about 4:55, and proceeded to my car. There were military folks and contractors (I am on a base) talking jovially about the end of the day. Suddenly, a base-wide PA system blew out Taps. For those of you who do not know, Taps is tune often played at flag ceremonies, funerals, and other formal gatherings. It is very solemn, and is most often a closing. You may also know it by the name Vespers (used in Scouting) or Day is Done, which are the first words of the second verse. When the PA came on, everyone around me paused mid-word, faced in a particular direction, and stood at attention. I did the same. We waited for Taps to end (they did at least two verses), and I went home. Thus ended the bureaucratic saga.

Flurry of activity

It's been an exciting couple of days. Three, really. I called DM from BWI on Monday, after getting off the plane. I got voicemail, and left a message that was something like, "I am leaving BWI. I could be at the lab within an hour and a half. Call me back so I know what to do."

I drove back, and thought that I would be able to do it without a map or gps or directions, etc. I was wrong. I got a little confused about I-370 and I-270 and I-70. But that's what these new high fangled phones are for right?

I got back to my apartment unharmed. And uncalled. I took a nap (had been up since 3:30 am with some sporadic plane-sleeping), took a shower, took a skype call with AK. I finished the third season of Six Feet Under.

On Tuesday, I went into DC. I visited with a friend who goes to school at American, and we had some Chinatown Chinese food for dinner. I then went to a concert without her. She had been invited, but could not make it.

It was Hadag Nachash. Quite enjoyable. This was the fourth time I have seen them live, and it was easily the best. This was their last stop on their tour, and they really made it count. The venue was really weird. It was the Sixth and I Historic Synagogue. As in, it used to be a synagogue. Now, it is a venue for Jewish cultural programming. Sort of like a JCC, but they really know how to put on a concert. The concert was co-sponsored by J Street (the mommy organization of J Street U), so I got a free ticket and reserved VIP seating. Pretty cool. It was just weird to be at this hip-hop concert in a sanctuary.

Somewhere in the meantime, DM called. He said that he had been to the office of Mr. Guy-who-makes-decisions, and said that he needs this decision (of me being able to start immediately) today! Mr. Guy wasn't in. His secretary said she would have him call when available.

Wednesday was mostly shopping. I went to Ollie's Bargain Outlet. They are so awesome. They buy up overstock and outlet stuff. They sell it cheap. I think Ollie's should always be the first stop, because you never know what they are going to have. Afterwards, you can go to K-Mart or Walmart or the grocery store. They did not have everything I wanted but were close.

I called DM on my mother's wishes and told his voicemail that I would sit in Mr. Guy's office if need be. I only have time. Also, if DM were to give me his secretary's number, I could stop bothering him directly.

In the evening, I went to Aikido for the first time in Frederick. It was like going to Aikido for the first time ever. I have been doing Aikido basically for five years over the past seven. It has not been particularly contiguous, but I am certainly not a new beginner. I have now studied three styles, and this was a fourth. Aikido is a martial art wherein there is a lot of throwing and joint locks and that sort of thing, but it is all about compassion to your opponent. You never attack, just redirect their energy.

This dojo (training space) belongs to the Ki Society. I have always wanted to try this sort of Aikido, as they focus on cultivating Ki. Ki is life-force. It is a very difficult concept for Westerners. Basically, all of your strength in this type of Aikido actually comes from relaxing. I was working with the teacher when we were all paired up, and everytime that I would begin to use strength, he would freeze up. It was aggravating and motivating. I think I will stick with it.

This morning, DM called. He said, "Why don't you just come in tomorrow morning and we'll get you started. We are still waiting on Mr. Guy, but that's just a formality. Some come in tomorrow to my office, and we will get you started." OK. Cool. Sounds good. Etc.

I have showered and read a bit since then. He just called back (while I was writing this), and said "Mr. Guy called me. Everything is approved. You are set to go. Come in tomorrow morning, and we will get started!" Stupendous! Awesome! Suddenly I feel as though a gigantic weight has been lifted from my shoulders. And it's only lunchtime! What else might the day hold?

SPA conference round-up

I came to the Student Peace Alliance conference without any idea of what to expect. It seems that I assumed it would be mostly Jewish people. This was due to all of my previous conference experience; I don't think I ever before attended a conference with no Jewish undertones. It turns out that there were Jews aplenty, it just was not a Jewish conference. I think I can pretty much sum everything up by discussing my interactions with different persons or groups. They are in no particular order.

Aaron: The executive director of SPA. A really cool guy. I guess that part of my Jewish assumption was that Aaron mentioned to me before the conference that he wanted to have a minyan for a prayer service on Saturday. I did not actually happen. He was a little too busy to try to deal with that. He was my first contact with SPA, and he convened The Meeting. He is deeply spiritual, very into his Judaism, very down to Earth, and so willing to laugh.

Julia: The managing director of SPA. A fantastic public speaker. She was able to speak for a half hour with no notes! And clearly. I was very excited to attend a session for learning to speak well that was facilitated by her. Rightly so. Not only is she a good speaker, but a good teacher of that art. Whether or not I actually learned remains to be seen. She was the chief logistical person, and things went so smoothly. On Saturday, we got behind agenda by a half hour, and somehow she recovered that time and we finished on schedule!

Zana: One of the few students with whom I actually connected. Apparently SPA thinks of students in a different fashion than J Street U. SPA is really for anyone from middle-school to post-school community organizers. Zana got a scholarship from her school to come. She has never done peace organizing or advocacy. She had a lot of prior knowledge regarding domestic violence and other issues, but this conference was her first affirmation that she is not crazy; there are other people who think and feel in the same way she does. She is a little too sarcastic for her own good, and does not yet know how to use it only in the right situations. It was kind of exciting to see her change from the beginning to end of conference.

Mary Ann: A sweet middle-aged lady from West Texas. Her son was the lead coordinator at Southwestern University (the hosting school). She is very aware of just how rural her surroundings are, yet she has remained quite liberal. She is a lawyer who used to work with artists but now represents big oil tycoons after her husband insisted she get a "real" job. She took Kobi, a few others, and me (I was the youngest) out for drinks Friday night. She took us to a restaurant that was easily four stars, everyone got at least one round of drinks, we shared a cheese plate. The bill was probably over $100, but she covered the whole thing. She was really wonderful, and always had a smile on when she saw me.

Kobi: Once upon a time, I had no experience with planning events at Hampshire. Over the past 2.5 years, I have gained a lot of experience in that area. The first event that I helped coordinate was to bring in a speaker who had served in the Israeli Army and was brought up in a racist-against-Arabs youth movement, but who had renounced all that while in service. He is now a peace activist, and goes on speaking tours all over the country. His name is Kobi. Kobi was at this conference. It was really awesome to catch up with him. I think he was really happy to see how much of a peacenik and activist I have become. He went out with us for drinks, and in true Israeli fashion ordered a cucumber salad. We then got to talk about how awful the cucumbers and tomatoes are in this country. One of my favorite topics! He had lots of interesting insight and information to share.

Ben: I was picked up at the airport in a van with many interesting traits, such as the door usually didn't close quite all the way so when we went over a bump the door-open light would come on. More interesting than the vehicle were the people in it. Ben was one such person. He works for an NGO in Uganda called Invisible Children. They do a ton to get child soldiers in the Lord's Resistance Army to defect and rejoin Ugandan society. His work is totally amazing. He was a speaker for a break-out session (as was Kobi, but they were at the same time and I have already seen/heard Kobi's spiel), and I attended it. You should immediately open a tab and check out invisiblechildren.com. WOW.

Lisa: I kept seeing this girl who looked way too familiar. I had no idea where I knew her from but she had a very Jewish look about her. Also, she was hanging out with the kids from Brandeis so it was high probability that I knew her from some Jewish past life. Turns out we went on the NFTY (North American Federation of Temple Youth) Israel summer trip at the same time, and her group often did activities with my group. It was pretty cool to connect with her.

Emma's Revolution: A fantastic music group. Their music is folky, rocky, and all-around awesome. You know those salaam, shalom, peace shirts? OK, maybe not. It's a shirt that says peace in Arabic, Hebrew, and English. It was their idea. They are great. I got a chance to chat with both of them after the conference in the exhibition hall (I was there first and foremost as a representative of J Street U). The Emma in question is Emma Goldman. They live in DC when not touring, and want to meet up for coffee at some point. Check them out at emmasrevolution.com

Ed: My first "friend" at the conference. He noticed my tzitzit, commented on them, and proceeded to tell his life story. He is from Rochester. He was there to support his daughter. She started an SPA chapter at her high school, and brought three friends to the conference. He chaperoned. Poor guy dealing with four teenage girls who were not all his own! He was really sweet. Kept referring to Reform Judaism as reformed. He showed me pics his wife sent from their Purim celebration back home. It was very sweet. We chatted multiple times throughout the conference, pretty much whenever he didn't have his hands full.

Andrew: Probably the best connection that I made. He is the executive director of the Harry Potter Alliance. They use the allegories of Harry Potter to help to create social change in the world. It's been around for less than three years, and he has over 100,000 people around the world who have volunteered under the banner of the HP alliance. He sees Harry Potter as just the beginning; he wants to mobilize many fandoms in a fight for a social change. I attended a session by him on using new social media for organizing. YouTube and related is absolutely the future of activisms. We are so behind the times! It is some good stuff. He currently has a minor obsession with Buffy. We exchanged reading lists. This looks to be the beginning of a beautiful relationship. Check out the HP alliance at thehpalliance.com

Michael: I attended a session about letters to the editor and Op-Eds. The presenter was OK. Michael was fantastic. He has ghost-written Op-Eds for various Middle-Eastern and Asian heads of state. He currently is the communications director for a congressman. He knows his stuff. He gave me his card saying that he would be happy to send me the tips he gives to his students, or to read over any Op-Ed or letter to the editor that I write so as to give suggestions.

Echo: She was another interesting thing about the van ride from the airport. She has been in grad school for a long time. It's been long enough that her beginning credits are going to start expiring next year. By grad school, I mean seminary for Jews for Jesus. She was trying to shovel the concept of a "Department of Peace" down my throat. This was my first impression of SPA folks, and I thought, 'My goodness, What have I gotten into?!' It does turn out that SPA's long-term goal is the creation of a Department of Peace at the federal level. But they are not as pushy about it as she is. Also, they wait until they know you approve before pushing the Department of Peace concept. By the time the SPA actually mentioned it, I was ready for it and could believe in it.

Delta: They lost my bag. It got left at Atlanta with my connecting flight. I filed a claim when I got to Austin, but it took them three days (!) to get it to me. It is not fully resolved yet, as they said they would give me $50 off my next Delta flight. I would rather they just refunded me the check-in fee.

Victor: I am only including him because I was amazed that I encountered three members of the International Phonetic Alphabet (Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, etc), namely Delta, Echo, and Victor. He was also in the van to the hotel. I guess he just came along for the ride or as company. He said nothing the whole drive. Near the end, Echo asked if this was my first time in Texas, and I answered in the affirmative. She then said, "Well Victor is from San Antonio." He responded, "Welcome to Texas." And that was it.

Hotel Lady: I came into the Hotel on Saturday night. The woman at the desk looked at me and said, "This blue bag behind the desk belongs to you." I looked at her dumbly. How did she know!? She responded to my slack-jawed look, "I'm psychic. No, really you are just wearing your name tag from the conference." I took my bag to my room, tried to get in. The key did not work. I came back to the desk and she said, "Your key doesn't work." It was not a question. She knew her stuff. As I was standing there, she said to another fellow, "Who's wedding was it?" He gave her a familiar dumb look. She said, "You are wearing a pin that identifies you as best man." She explained that her uncle is a police officer and it rubbed off on her.

Southwestern University: A small liberal arts college founded in 1864 (?). They have a lot more money than Hampshire. It gives me hope for what Hampshire might look like once it has money to improve facilities. They have a fireplace. Something that I have said Hampshire direly needs. Also, they have Sodexho for dining services. Like we do. Except they are a Level 4 facility (I don't know what that means); their dining commons were so much more tasty than ours, though with less selection especially as far as veg and vegan options go. Apparently hipster-ism has found its way to middle-of-nowhere Texas as well. While I actually saw a tiny number of students (they disappear for the weekend), I saw plenty of fixed gear bikes. Related to being in the middle of nowhere, when I was speaking with Aaron before the conference, he said that it was taking place near Austin. I suppose it was "near" in Texas terms. It was a full hour from the airport.

The Meeting: Aaron's vision was/is to have collaboration between a whole bunch of peace/nonviolence groups. He organized a meeting of organizations. The real alliance behind the Student Peace Alliance. This was the first such meeting of its kind. It lasted from 4:30 in the afternoon until about midnight. But it was not painfully long, boring, or slow. Really it was so good. And powerful. There was such energy in the air. I will bring it back to J Street U, and I fervently hope that we will band together with the group. Aaron aimed high, and I think we met his hopes and ran with them.

That was pretty much the conference for me in a nutshell. I got so much more out of it than expected. I still have not heard from DM to know whether I am supposed to start today....