This is my first ever blog entry.

If you already know me, thanks for reading. If you don't, let me tell you a bit about myself. I've lived in the SF Bay Area for the last 5 years, most recently working as a tech in a biology lab at Stanford. In September I'll be moving back to LA, where I grew up, to start a PhD program at UCLA. What would I do if I had a million dollars and didn't have to work? Don't know yet.

I've decided to start a blog because I'm going to Europe in 2 weeks and I'm going to be using this as a sort of high-tech travel journal. Before and after that, I think it'll also be a good way to document some of the random things that I notice around me all the time, but never give more than a few seconds' effort to recall. I guess working in science has trained me both to be more observant, but also to communicate what I observe so that it can be shared with others... essential characteristics of a blog.

In many ways this is nothing but a personal scratch pad for myself, but I hope that in the process I could entertain you, pick your brain, make you consider something in ways you never have, make you want to try something new, or at least divert your attention for a few moments.

That said...