In life there are accidents, some of them happy, many of them sad. My career, what of it there is, begun on a happy accident. That accident, after 22 years, has found me here, neurotically monitoring the Indiegogo campaign and hoping that there are, out there, other visionaries and pet lovers like CanFel principles.
It was about halfway through the semester in 1992. i was a Sophomore majoring in English and Biology (soon to be just majoring in Biology) and finding it difficult to make it to my Cell Biology class due to personal laziness and a dire hatred for the professor teaching the Cell Biology session i was in (the class was taught by two professors, Dr. M and Dr. H, i had Dr. M). That all changed after a string of events beginning with a rather uninspiring day and a night of college boredom. One of my floor mates, a Chinese fellow who was on the Pre-Med track (who, of Chinese ancestry, wasn't on a Pre-Med track?), came into my room at Myles Standish (3rd floor, overlooking the undertakers across the street) asking if i wanted to accompany him up to the 8th floor to be "moral support" as he asks out a gal who caught his eye in Japanese class. Suffering from utter boredom and needing a more concrete excuse to not study, i happily agreed and jogged up the stairs with him. What unfolded next was the happy accident that set out the course of life which resulted in me, sitting here, tapping out these words.
The empty 8th floor hallway was lit a sickly yellow green by the overhead lights reflecting off the thick - sometimes slightly tacky - white wash that covers everything in the building. A door was knocked upon by my floor mate, and we waited quietly. The door opened, revealing a darkened room. An image that shook my very core appeared in the threshold, frame by the alluring, captivating, enchanting darkness. She, also of Chinese ancestry, was a super Pre-Med, being in the 7 year MD program. She was, in my life at the time - yet perhaps still strangely so - the most beautiful and wondrous person i have ever set eyes on. Then she spoke. It was as if golden melodies shattered the staid world i had lived in so far. Hell, i think even the drab Myles Standish hallway brightened and beautified itself in my eyes.
She was also a Sophomore, she was also taking Cell Biology, but she was in the 8 AM session taught by Dr. H (i was in the 5 PM session taught by Dr. M and regularly found myself unable to get up early enough for it). All this information i found out by hook and by crook. Then one morning, i saw her leave the building. Three more days confirmed her normal departure time for me (yes, i was stalking her). That led to my first visit to the main library on campus. Which led to me sitting in on Dr. H's Cell Biology class. Which led to my continued attendance of Dr. H's Cell Biology class and a visit to the registrar's's office to officially change sessions. Which led to my realization that, yes, MRK may have been the impetus that drew me to her Cell Biology session, but i've been, through Dr. H's energetic lectures and passion for the subject, made a Cell Biology convert. My innate interest for biology was revived and glowed brightly next to my absolute adoration and love for MRK as i sat there in Dr. H's Cell Biology class.
That love for cell biology resulted in me taking every high level biology class the university had to offer (though at the same time i neglected my non-biology classes - addictive personality, what can i say). It led me to volunteer my time (sans pay) in Dr. H's lab, where i would begin days dissecting three dozen eggs to harvest embryonic chicken retinas and then head off to Mal's for the "Country Breakfast" and the three mugs of coffee that comes with it. My time at Dr. H's lab reinforced my love for bench research, MRK's continued education for her MD after University gave me reason to stay put and land a job in the lab of CAP. CAP would become my mentor and surrogate father, and his kids my siblings. CAP would be one of my few friends who i would continually keep in touch with and sought out for advice in my times of need. CAP would also instill in me my love for human neutrophils and the beauty of the epithelial tight junction. MRK's return to CA would drive me to ask CAP for help getting me placed into a job in CA, and, though MRK and i ended up splitting up a mere week after my accepting of the job, i couldn't find it in myself to renege on a job i have committed to. The job led to my return to CA, resulted in my meeting of JPM and PER and, most importantly, my wife. Meeting JPM and PER resulted in my dedicating 10 years of my life to what i still consider to be one of the finest biotech ventures i've ever seen. Leaving JPM and PER allowed me to meet KAT, who i consider to be a dear friend and who facilitated me sitting here today writing this blog in front of my computer as my PCR reactions crank away in a Bio-Rad PCR machine.
All this, from one happy accident of me, being bored, in 1992 saying "yes" to a a request for "moral support".
So thank you, my Chinese floor mate who's name i cant' recall.
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