Why hello!

Dear Internetz,

I'm a 4th year PhD student at a research university. As such, I am naturally possessed of an abundance of both angst and opinions.

Last night I had a total meltdown about my life, because let me tell you, even if you don't have kids, there is no such thing as work-life balance when you're in grad school (or probably if you're in academia at all)! Then today, as I watch my seal resistance aimlessly climb to 900 megaohms and hover there without getting a gigaseal for about the millionth time this week(I do patch clamp electrophysiology), I realized that I needed a better outlet for my rage than my poor husband.

Hence, I am officially "on the internet." Here, I will tell you what life is like as a female grad student in an all-male biophysics lab, rant about my life in general, and post the cool stuff (research, comics, videos) that helps me remember why being a scientist is worth it.

So, if you like blue-haired snarky biophysicists, you want to hear what science I think is awesome, or you just wonder why grad students are such basket cases, I hope you'll stick around!

Love,
Alethea (not my real name)