Another day in the lab

It's hot here! Progress in the lab today, Dr. Kuromi thinks I have graduated from practicing FM1-43 staining and should sail into drug experiments. The Jasplakinolide came today, but I will start with Latrunculin A tomorrow looking at readily releasable pool loading and unloading. High frequency loading will be the next set of experiments and last Saturday Atsuko introduced me to the evil electrode puller. It's an odd one, vertical, and they burn the tips of all of their suction electrodes. Atsuko is firmly convinced that if you don't do that you will damage the nerve and I believe her! It's a very good new thing to add to our long list of reasons why ephys just doesn't work sometimes. Speaking of which, how are things going with the electrodes now Carin?

I tried out my Japanese yesterday in an attempt to buy a prepay cell phone to use here. My language skills are going to need some work. I can ask great questions, but heck if I know what they are saying back to me. Then they look at me really confused because obviously I know Japanese pretty well to ask such great questions by why do I keep saying I don't understand the answers? I must be dumb or something. I get a lot of whistles when I ride my orange bike around. I never get this kind of attention in the states. I have to ride fast because it's hard to keep a straight face and ignore them long enough to get out of view. It's weird. Gunma is out in the sticks. In Tokyo foreigners are ignored.

The food situation is going to be okay, don't worry. I have identified my usual items at the grocery store and as soon as I figure out how to work the stove I can add some spagetti and other primitive dishes that I know how to make. Atsuko brought me some food today. Hehe. I guess I worried her with my last display of lunch. When we went shopping last week she helped me pick out some interesting things to try so I stuck a few in my bag with some chopsticks so I could blend in with the crowd in the cafeteria, but as soon as I emptied it on the table they busted out laughing. The sour apricot things are supposed to go with rice and after trying one I understood why. The jelly thing is supposed to be eaten with some sort of tea, and the pbj sandwich in the middle set off the strange look. I cannot read Japanese, I do not know what any of the packages say about rice or whatever hehe. I had a weird dream about my sister eating live octopus and somebody named Prince Andrew taking me on a date to MacDonalds. Does anybody know a Prince Andrew?

My neighbor is an American guy and his family including cats and a dog named Virgil. I flew out of the house this morning after hearing cat meows, but after sifting through a bunch of bushes I found the big fat furry cats on the other side of the neighbor's screen door. I know there is a wild one out there. Hopefully he'll drop by for his breadcrusts soon. I think if I leave milk out in this weather I'll kill him.

This morning I was later than usual getting out of the house (rough octopus dream), and had the tar scared out of me by a loudspeaker outside my door yelling in Japanese. I figured I was off to prison. I went out and it was the high school next to my apartment with all of the windows and doors open and some kind of drill going on to start school at 8:30. Good grief.

I suppose I should get on home. Lots of drug work tomorrow. I successfully asked for a fan today (Senpuki arimasu ka?) and got one so perhaps it won't be so hot. After the octopus I woke up and it was so hot I just moved to the diningroom floor. Not terribly comfortable.

Later!
Janel