Necessary Administrative Absurdities

Will she consider?

Life, just got real... again. I'll hopefully graduate with a PhD soon. The last time it got real was when I was about to finish my Masters and had no idea where life will take me. I was crapping bricks because I wasn't sure what kind of letters I'd get from my Boss for my applications to grad school. The metaphor is apt, I assure you. Before that, I was crapping bricks (very apt again, though it doesn't do justice to intensity), when I didn't know whether I'd make it to a decent university for my masters. This time... I really can't say where my luck and past nearly six years in this lab will take me. The normal, strong minded reaction would be to swallow your apprehension, see where life turns and make the best of that situation. Survival and thriving in whatever situation you are, makes you evolutionarily viable, for several generations. But then, I'm the kind of person who knows a good blogpost when he conceives it, most of the time :) And people like to read about folks in the metaphorical predicament to which I allude. :D

Anyway... I have a wacky idea for a post doc. This is the only chance I'll get to do experiments that won't be a safe bet. If they fail, I'll look for another career, but what's life without a little whimsy. When the chair of my thesis committee said "High risk is high rewarda, righ'!" I never believed him. But seeing the direction of research that is asymptotic with with maximum funding and publications, whether they mean anything or not, I'm reading up on a subject which right now seems worth exploring.

To interject, the other day, Amma said to me on Skype "Someone called to see if you're interested in marriage. The girl is from %^&*)) college. She had a good job but went off to do her master's to  $$$$ University but she also had the option of  !@#$%^ School of )#$*@*(%#." The flavour of that sentence can best be likened to a smooth, rich 90% dark chocolate. Go on, analyze what that flavor means to you and what it might mean to me. :)

In exploring this new field I was reading a paper. I'll give you a snapshot of how I read it.

"In this case, in addition to EGT, transfer of genes between the unrelated organisms by lateral or horizontal gene transfer (HGT) and loss of genes occurred as a result of the ‘‘merger’’ of the two nuclei (host and endosymbiont) (7) She seems interesting. Maybe she'll have more to talk about than... mundane rags of conversation people employ. You know, subjects that encompass more than petty details in the lives of people I don't know. In this case, in addition to EGT, transfer of genes between the unrelated organisms by lateral or horizontal gene transfer (HGT) and loss of genes occurred as a result of the ‘‘merger’’ of the two nuclei (host and endosymbiont) (7) As a result of primary and sec- ondary endosymbiosis, plastid genomes (ptDNAs) encode less than 10% of the predicted 1,000 to 5,000 proteins required to sustain the metabolic capacity of the plastid (8, 9).It would be nice to be with someone. I'm 28 years alone, 12 of them were spent away from family, or people who really truly would be affected by my sudden disappearance/death... That's long! And I've found over the course of the past three years, I'm not superman. I thought I was, but I'm not. I'm as much controlled by biology and kicked around by loneliness as the next single guy in my demographic. *shaking my head* In this case, in addition to EGT, transfer of genes between the unrelated organisms by lateral or horizontal gene transfer (HGT) and loss of genes occurred as a result of the ‘‘merger’’ of the two nuclei (host and endosymbiont) (7). As a result of primary and sec- ondary endosymbiosis, plastid genomes (ptDNAs) encode less than 10% of the predicted 1,000 to 5,000 proteins required to sustain the metabolic capacity of the plastid (8, 9).

Examples of HGT between unrelated or nonmating species are abundant among prokaryotes (10, 11) but less so between pro- karyotes and unicellular (12–14) or multicellular eukaryotes (15–

20). Most of these latter examples are associated with parasitism or phagotrophy, including the elegant studies of HGT from the 􏰒-proteobacteria Wolbachia to insects and nematodes (16 –18), and the finding of rhizobial-like genes in plant parasitic nematodes (19, 20). The exchange of genetic material between two eukaryotes is extremely rare, or at least not well documented to date. The best-studied cases include the transfer of mitochondrial DNA from achlorophyllous or epiphytic plants to the mitochondrial genome (mtDNA) of their closely related photosynthetic hosts (21), the exchange of transposons between two animal (22) or two plant (23) species, and the presence of plant genes in plant parasitic nematodes (in addition to the rhizobial genes discussed previously), which are hypothesized to be ‘‘defense’’ genes whose products protect the parasite from host detection (20).

The sacoglossan mollusc (sea slug) Elysia chlorotica represents a unique model system to study the potential for interdomain HGT between two multicellular eukaryotes—in this case, from a filamentous secondary (heterokont) alga (Vaucheria litorea) to a mollusc. This emerald green sea slug owes its coloring and photosynthetic ability to plastids acquired during herbivorous feeding (24–29). But then again, if she is that appealing to me, there'll be other suitors, probably better off in life, with more hair than me right now, who will be interested as well. Then again, she might want to wait to settle into her career, irrespective of whether there is anyone else interested. And not everyone gives as much of a damn to what their parents' suggestions these days. Damn! if I didn't care... oh screw it... It's her life you know. She may have her mind set on a career and/or someone else and that's all. Dhananjay's law of availability "Girls are either taken or untakeable." exists for a reason .. But it would be nice... company, intelligent company. More like a smart, quick witted friend who laughs at my jokes and doesn't interfere with my life unless absolutely necessary. And likes to dance, because that is something I can do. Who understands from having been away from home for a while, the value of good, honest, faithful company; following your ambitions and the costs of loneliness... and following your ambitions. *Cursing in Hindi under my breath*The sacoglossan mollusc (sea slug) Elysia chlorotica represents a unique model system to study the potential for interdomain HGT between two multicellular eukaryotes—in this case, from a filamentous secondary (heterokont) alga (Vaucheria litorea) to a mollusc. This emerald green sea slug owes its coloring and photosynthetic ability to plastids acquired during herbivorous feeding (24–29)."Heterokont", such a funny word. hehe. This emerald green sea slug owes its coloring and photosynthetic ability to plastids acquired during herbivorous feeding (24–29) But just think for a second. Someone I can be happy with, and with whom I can have kids. That'll be SOOOO AWESOME. Yes they'll poop and cry and keep me awake. But so do my experiments :D yes... the kids. I can be the first one to tell them all the jokes in the world for the first time and they'll laugh each time. Maybe apart from Amma, Papa and Noshi they'll be the only ones to actually like me, just by force of knowing me throughout their lives. I'll get to play with them, and we'll learn Tamil together. I really want to learn Tamil. That sound they write in the roman script as "zh"... ohohohhhhoo. Also, Spanish and Italian would be great languages to learn because of their texture on the tongue. They can learn Mandarin. I have failed at every basic attempt. Arabic will be an awesome language to learn, with the features in my family and everything. Hindi will definitely be a priority. And then of course we'll go hiking and and play cricket and football together. Hell! I'll even learn basic stitching and embroidery with them. I wish I could just bud them off my arm right now. Who knows whether one will have a happy marriage and how that'll affect the upbringing of children. The best probability I can glean of a happy marriage, however the couple met, is about 0.5.... Hang on.... I'm thinking about kids when I don't even know the girl or vice versa. Do Estrogen levels rise in men before 60? I didn't think so...

I went on to finish the paper after that. I started thinking of where I'd be if I didn't get a good position. Would it matter whether I'm single or not, if I got into a shitty place? How much would I value my life then?

Life, just got real... again.