The good fighters of old first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then waited for an opportunity of defeating the enemy. To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself. Thus the good fighter is able to secure himself against defeat, but cannot make certain of defeating the enemy.

-Sun Tzu

Consider: the undefeated swordsman must be exceptionally poor.

-Meti’s Sword Manual, Precept 12

I suppose the story began in an entirely different dorm then mine. For reasons that still elude me, a group of people I knew decided that they should start an intramural softball team. As the minimum team size was four, the fact that they numbered six gave them a considerable advantage. I now list the first six members of the team and their respective capabilities.
One baseball player
One actual softball player
One dude who runs fast
One lady who is good at throwing stuff but can’t run fast
One swimmer
One team captain (who is confident in the abilities of everyone except herself).
It was on these terms that Team Mouse Rat was founded.

So last Saturday night I was hanging out with these people, and they decided to try to recruit me. There were several arguments they made to convince me to join, but only one of them really stuck: “we’re so low-commitment you don’t have to show up to any of the games.” I also had a reason of my own: “this might be funny.” At that point, they informed me that I needed to sign up on the official website: a task made harder by the fact that the website in question experienced severe technical issues when viewed from a mobile device. So it was that, three hours before the deadline, I signed up for Team Mouse Rat.

Monday morning I got a text from the team captain telling me to prepare for a game Tuesday. I was surprised. She was as surprised as I was. Apparently we were to be facing a team called the “Chunder Boys.” This seemed odd, because the “Chunder Boys” happened to be a softball team of three people. None of us quite understood how a three-person softball team would function, as we figured that they might eventually end up with a boy on each base and no one at bat. Anyway, a game was a game.

On Tuesday afternoon, I walked down toward the field. As I went, I glanced at the forecast: 50% chance of rain. I felt a raindrop, followed by another and another. I decided that the forecast might be a little out of date. The fields on campus are well known to turn into mudpits under such conditions, but I pressed onward. Most of the team, including a few new recruits, was gathered on the field ahead of me. The other team was notably absent. An official looking man walked up to us and helpfully informed us that if the other team did not show up in ten minutes, it would be counted as a forfeit.

Team Mouse Rat’s first game was a resounding success. Our team captain distinguished herself with an insane chain of base-stealing, our batters hit several stunning home runs, and our fielders did a lot of running around. The other team was so utterly overwhelmed that they did not score a single run against us. In fact, they could not even hit a single ball. In fact, they did not catch anything either. They were so overwhelmed that none of them actually showed up to the game.
The now-undefeated Team Mouse Rat stands in the strong position of being the second-largest team in the league. I am left with no option but to conclude that this is the beginning of an exciting season.

Without a doubt, this has been my most stressful semester of college. Between midterms and just everything, finding a balance between work and relaxation has been a difficult challenge. Although there is a current lull in stress, post-Spring Break, we’re slowly nearing the end of the semester (!!!) and, as a result, I wanted to share a few of the ways I destress.

1. Craft. I’m a person who is constantly fidgeting with my hair or with jewelry or with anything, really. I re-took up knitting and I find the constant rhythm of moving the needles is an easy way to relax.
2. Watch a funny TV show. Throughout the course of the semester I’ve made it through a purposefully unmentioned number of episodes of The Office. It’s nice to mindless watch something and laugh at the antics of Dwight and Jim. As an added bonus, I can knit while watching the show.If you don’t have time to watch an entire episode of a television show, here’s a short clip from an interview with Nick Offerman. Between 6:58 and 7:00 you can see Nick Offerman realize that the interviewer didn’t catch the joke.
3. Bake. Here are a few of my favorite recipes:
   • Sugar Cookies: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/9870/easy-sugar-cookies/
   • Snickerdoodle Cookies: http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2013/05/19/soft-thick-snickerdoodles-in-20-minutes/
   • Double Chocolate Crinkle Cookies: http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2015/11/30/double-chocolate-crinkle-cookies/
   • Lemon Blueberry Scones: http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2015/08/06/glazed-lemon-blueberry-scones/
   • Parsnip Muffins: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/parsnip-muffins-recipe
     
4. Exercise. Now that it’s slowly starting to get sunny again, taking a walk around Tacoma is a great way to reduce stress. Although Tacoma is beautiful in the fall, I happen to think that Tacoma in the spring and early summer is slightly better. I also recommend yoga. You can attend one of yoga clubs weekly meetings. If the times don’t fit into your schedule, here’s a youtube channel that you can watch and follow along to: https://www.youtube.com/user/yogawithadriene.
5. Deep breathing. Here is an article from Time earlier this year that explains why deep breathing is the fastest way to calm down: http://time.com/4718723/deep-breathing-meditation-calm-anxiety/. Mediation Studio is also an app that I’ve used on and off that has some really good guided mediations.

Here’s the second part. And if you haven’t read the first part, click here.

JUNIOR

BIO 212 – Light microscopy

In this lab, we learned the different microscopy techniques (bright-field, dark-field, phase-contrast, fluorescence), because looking at small objects requires more than just placing it under a microscope. These techniques allow us to manipulate the microscope lens (changes the light) to better view certain things.

BIO 311 – Fruit Flies

In this lab, we analyzed the transmission of a trait and tested for genetic drift between small and large populations. Our test subjects being fruit flies, Drosophila melanogaster. To do this we observed multiple generations of fruit flies, looking at gender and the mutant trait (“white” eyes). To determine gender and if they had the mutant trait, we looked at them under a microscope. But to prevent our subjects from escaping, we would blast them with an air of CO₂ to make them sleep.

CHEM 231 – Titration/Urine Vitamin Lab

Of all the labs, this was definitely the most memorable (and not necessarily in a good way). We had used the titration method to determine vitamin c concentration in urine samples (our urine samples). So, coming into lab that day, everyone was toting around a brown paper bag with containing cups of their urine samples. My lab partner and I looked at the difference between consuming Vitamin Water and orange juice. Although interesting, the smell was not pleasant.

CHEM 250 – Jacobsen’s Catalyst

This is a major project done in organic chemistry that is done around the second half of the semester. Just mention “Jacobsen’s” to any student who’s taken organic chemistry, and they’ll reply back with a groan and an “Ooh my god,” as they remember the long hours spent in lab, but mostly the time spent writing the report (20+ pages). However, after complaining about all the effort they had to put in, they’ll immediately talk about how awesome it was to do it. For me, there are so many cool things about this lab that I won’t be able to fit it all in. The biggest one would be the fact that we had the opportunity to produce a popular reagent used for enantioselective epoxidation of alkenes.

From this lab, I’ll definitely remember bright, highlighter yellow product we made.

*PLUS, Jacobsen actually visited a couple weeks back! It was an experience to be able to attend a couple of his lectures.

Honorable Mentions

CHEM 213 – titration and glassware calibration + glassware calibration

The best thing about Spring Break is nothing. Absolutely nothing.

There’s nothing to worry or stress about. Nothing to do. Nothing.

It’s an incredible feeling after a crazy Spring semester so far. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have nothing to do.

Being a biology major, most my time is spent in lab. In addition to lectures, almost all sciences courses require a four-hour long lab once a week (though sometimes we don’t use the whole four hours). And being a Senior, I have taken a fair amount of science courses. Looking back at the courses I took, I am astounded by the variety of labs we’ve done. So I wanted to make a list of all the memorable labs/experiments for each science course I have taken/am taking (some with pictures!).

(Since this list is pretty long, I have divided them up.)

Most memorable experiment done in lab (Sophomore Year)

BIO 111 – Biofilm*

We tested the effectiveness of four different treatment (enzyme amylase, cranberry juice, honey, kanamycin (antibiotic) on biofilm formation of the bacteria Pseudomonas putida. To test this, we used crystal violet dye which stains biofilm a vibrant purple color, so the amount of dye correlates to the amount of biofilm formed.

*biofilm is a biological layer made up of a group of microorganisms that stick together and adhere to a surface

BIO 112 – Bird Flight

We measured the amount of lift that was exerted by different bird species wings. This lab was memorable because of this crazy “contraption” (aka a wind tunnel) we used to measure lift. It was such an unusual sight see. There were these just giant, coloured, plastic tubes set on the table tops. Inside these wind tunnels we would then clip in the wings, which was connected to a balance to determine the amount of lift.

BIO 211 – Species Richness

This was one of the few labs that did not require actually being inside of a lab, and was more of like a “field trip.” In this lab, we looked at species richness* in intertidal zones. To do this, we took a little trip to an area close to Fox Island. Under the Bridgeway there was just a plethora of aquatic organisms: anemones, crabs, mussels, and star fishes (just to name a few).

* the amount of different species

CHEM 120 – Synthesis and Recrystallization of Aquapentaamminecobalt(III) nitrate

In this lab, we created cobalt(III) complexes by oxidizing cobalt(II) salts with hydrogen peroxide, and using ammonium hydroxide and ammonium nitrate for our ammonia source. We then used recrystallization to isolate our desired cobalt(III) product, which involved increasing pH of the solution. This was my first occurrence with recrystallization, so it was interesting to be able to see crystals forming as it cooled in the ice bath.

Click here for part II.

*Excuse me for the poor image quality, they were taken when the Iphone 5c was the new “it” phone

The last time I think I took a walk through campus was probably not long after moving in Freshman year. A floormate and I just explored campus and got to know it better before everyone else got there.

But since then, I haven’t really explored. I’ve just been too caught up with life and busy with other things. But today, I had nothing to do. No tests to prepare for, no midterms or papers, nothing.

So I decided to do what I haven’t done in so long and take a walk. I texted one of my friends and we met up by the Donor’s Circle in front of Trimble with my camera. And then we just started walking.

We started at the Donor’s Circle and walked to the President’s Woods. Then we walked in between Thompson and Schneebeck before heading over to Wyatt. From there, we walked past the track meet towards the Fieldhouse. We talked down the street from there and turned onto Theme Row, finishing our stroll through campus at the SUB.

A tree in the President’s Woods

The side of Thompson

Ran across this at Wyatt

Ran into Nathan on his way out of the gym. The face only a mother could love.

Looking down Theme Row

Looking at Thomas Hall from Seward

Life is tough right now. Next week is midterms. For some, graduation is coming and the real world is on the horizon. For others, there are still a few years left here. For our country, well, I’m just not gonna comment on that.

Anyway, I feel like I need to inject some positivity into our world. So here are some wholesome memes:

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My fraternity is actually planning on doing something like this. It’s gonna be pretty freaking awesome.

AWWWWWWW

Same though

To all the seniors out there

I hope everyone reading this enjoyed it and their day was made a little brighter. For more wholesome memes, check out https://www.reddit.com/r/wholesomememes/