Back in MD by Melis A. '08

Where in the world is Melis? Clues: laundry is free, my room is a single, and I do not have to use the Saferide or MBTA. Yes, I am home. Today was my first day of work at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), where I am working in the National Human Genome Research Institute. More on that later.

But first, a State of the Institvte address. The school year ended with a fizzle. I must admit, I love rolling out of bed on the Saturday morning before exam week, grabbing my backpack filled with textbooks, highlighters, and practice exams, buying a breakfast sandwich from La Verde’s, and studying in the Student Center all day. There’s nothing like looking up from your little desk and seeing a line of caffeinated beverages (usually in the order of coffee, Coke, coffee, water, Coke). Usually I worry about caffeine addiction but during the exam period, I feel like any abuse I subject my body to can be justified by the increase in productiveness.

Unfortunately, the end of the year also initiates the terribly painful process known as “moving out.” At MIT, we are lucky enough to have in-dorm storage, while my friends at other schools have to pack up everything and ship it home. But even lugging my things down two flights of stairs and cramming into the humid, moist basement of Next House is too much for me. On the bright side, all of my worldly possessions are now sitting in the storage room, waiting for me to find in the fall.

I gave myself a week of rest and relaxation before starting work. I had a great time hanging out with friends from high school and my family. I visited my high school and had lunch with one of my teachers, who happens to be an MIT alum. I also made a surprise visit to my 5th grade teacher along with my best friend from middle school. Since we showed up unannounced, we found out that she was running the spelling bee for the 1st-3rd graders. It was pretty hilarious, especially because all of the “challenging” words that appeared in the later round all dealt with thermodynamics (i.e. turbulent). In the 2nd to last round, the kids who got eliminated started to cry on stage and after the round was over they ran to their parents and cried some more, which was difficult to watch =(

Ooh, I also got a chance to read Nature and I swear there were at least 10 MIT references. In fact, my 5.12 (Organic Chemistry) professor, Dr. Drennan, wrote a short summary of some research in the Chem department.

Eek, I probably should go to sleep soon. Waking up early is killing me!