I am… diligent.
Language Study: Persistence
Reading: News Summaries about Science
I make a real effort not to write about my employment (in (a) my specialty, legal operations; now within (b) the biopharma industry, (c) primarily in oncology (cancer medicines)) here, but my work does lead to lots of interesting reading! Especially in the medical/pharmaceutical research area, where the statement ‘it’s a great time to be alive‘ is especially true: many health conditions that were previously immediately fatal can now be managed, and rather than having months left to live, one can often live to one’s nearly normal lifespan.
The European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) is meeting in Barcelona this week, and so lots of new research is being presented there, and will make its way into the news.
Back when I worked at a company that had a drug for melanoma (a type of skin cancer), we all received sunscreen and a presentation on how few patients were still alive five years after their diagnosis. (WE WORE THE SUNSCREEN AFTER THAT!). The article below describes further progress with newer treatments that allow more and more people to live longer, despite this previously-quickly-fatal disease:
Half of advanced melanoma patients live for 10 years with double drug treatment
Experts hail ‘remarkable’ trial results for treatment of a form of skin cancer that once had grim prognosis
I’m not a scientist, and I’m not representing any of my current or past employers when I write about this topic: this is my genuine excitement that science is delivering solid progress for serious medical conditions.
Many people will bemoan the state of the world uniformly, and there certainly is abundant war, strife, exploitation, and [so more other negative human stuff than I have time to detail here, and which you already grasp anyway]. There are also people working hard to help people they don’t even know live long enough to see their little kids graduate from school – and they are succeeding! These improvements in survival have been developed in our lifetime, and provide wonders that our grandparents could not have imagined.
While research about possible cures that are in the earliest stages of basic research (and have not been tested in people) appear to be more thrilling, the stuff that has already been proven to work in people is much more exciting – and close to being available to people you care about.
I’m looking forward to geeking out over more high level, non-specialist summaries about great scientific progress in medicine.
Music: Today’s Soundtrack is SoMA FM’s “Fluid”
Life: Plants and Music
Flower Piano (with real flowers)
Weblog by A. Elizabeth Graves. iPhone photography and links to science-y and foodie topics.
This weekend through September 22nd, there are pianos with talented pianists playing music in the SF Botanical Garden at the Flower Piano celebration. The pianos are out in the elements, but several of them have a canopy to protect them from above this year – hopefully they’ll stay in shape!
I visited yesterday and heard everything from Beatles covers to Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue from pianists of a wide range of ages.
Life: Migraines & Friendships
I returned home from work on Wednesday, and wondered why the lights were so bright and the lines in my kitchen seemed so wavy. I was just tired enough to wonder what was wrong with the lights… but it wasn’t the lights.
This is called “aura,” and it’s like the special effects you see when you have your eyes dilated by an eye doctor. I can achieve the same effect through the magic of MIGRAINE HEADACHES.
Despite the beginning of a new migraine series (they rarely happen just one day in a row), it’s been a lovely week. It isn’t just all the people congratulating me on my promotion, though that is sweet: it’s all the people just being delightful to interact with.
It’s the scientist I bumped into after leaving a bookshop, who chatted with me on the sidewalk for perhaps 20 minutes; it’s the young person from another team who is always so optimistic; it’s the gal from another company who once had me sample farmer’s market strawberries, and who chats with with me so comfortably that it feels like we’ve always known each other; it’s the gal from a global function who bought espresso with me and was charming even at 6:45 in the morning as we made our way toward our ferry; it’s the shuttle driver I ride with 3 or so times a week, who knows I don’t ride in the evening, yet rolled down his window to try to tempt me with a shuttle ride to the train station (which made me laugh out loud – it’s a free shuttle); it’s the attorney who popped into my office with a question, and then told me she is amazed that I am so consistently PLEASANT and that listening to my voice is like walking into a spa; it’s the workers at the fancy coffee place who know my name, and I know theirs…
Perhaps it was the isolation of 2020-2021’s safety precautions still influencing me, but I appreciate people being casually enjoyable so much. I’ve enjoyed it in the past, but it feels… more special now. Having lost those opportunities for a while, I ensure that I notice and enjoy them now. I will relish them right up to the next pandemic!
Coffee: Mmmmmmm
I’m still drinking the Black Cardamom Latte at Blue Bottle as my treat when I am running early on the way to work. it is delicious, plus two women I commute with are often there at the same time, so we can chat as we wake up. So pleasant…
Book (Manga): The Summer Hikaru Died, Volume 4 by Mokumokuren
The Summer Hikaru Died, Volume 4
(Japanese title: Hikaru ga Shinda Natsu)
by Mokumokuren
published by Yen Press
2024
The story of rural schoolboy Yoshiki and the eerie, replacement version of his dear friend, Hikaru, resumes with a sink full of bloody clothes, plus a newfound determination to figure out what Hikaru is.
The boys’ research uncovers darkness. A name written by original Hiraku triggers a rant from Hikaru’s unfocused grandfather about a man asking <a being> for something inappropriate in the distant past, which created the current misfortunes… Hikaru uncovers creepy place names of surrounding towns… A local back to bury her mother shares that her sister went up the mountain and never came back…
The only positive-seeming news is that Kurebayashi-san, the ordinary-looking lady whose dead husband’s unworkable-but-wanted return informs her views with deep empathy, intervenes when the boys are in danger. She has an ability to push <things> back to where they belong, and a theory about why there are so many <things> in the village now.
Her theory involves Hikaru.
This volume ends in violent suspense at the end of chapter 21. (Chapter 29 will be released this week in digital format, so my impatience while awaiting the tankōbon to be printed is catching up with me!)
This is my first real horror manga, and it is SUPERB. I am eager for more.
Language Study: Returning to Japanese
きゃーーー！(Me screaming, “kyaaaaa!”)
Sure, I got 14k in experience points in Japanese during the COVID safety era; sure, I made it to Section 2 / Unit 32… but I don’t feel like I remember a thing.
きゃーーー！
Life: Business Travel
Valley Lights
Weblog by A. Elizabeth Graves. iPhone photography and links to science-y and foodie topics.
This year, I’ve traveled by plane three times for my career, but only once for recreation, which likely does reflect my priorities (ouch). It also feels like a lot of flying after the pandemic shelter-in-place times, even though it pales beside my old regular-commute-to-Europe phase.
This past week, I attended a conference in Las Vegas, where it reached 107 degrees outside. The conference schedule was packed and in a large hotel/conference center, which made it easy to stay engaged while hiding indoors from the heat. There were coffee and even espresso stations to help balance out the increasingly aggressive air conditioning with inner warmth. It was a good experience, and I even dreamt about new (highly sci-fi versions) of the presentations last night, so I am still processing what I experienced.
I’ve only been to Las Vegas twice, both times for this conference.
I have found it difficult to explain to friends who like Vegas why I don’t: just because I don’t enjoy drinking to excess, smoking of any kind, gambling, dressing for attention from hard-partying strangers, etc., doesn’t mean there is anything wrong with those activities. They just aren’t my cup of tea. And when it is over 100 degrees Fahrenheit outside, it isn’t like I can escape to the great outdoors – even frozen tea wouldn’t be enough to cool me to functional temperatures.
Returning home, I was filled with joy at the fog, plainly visible from the airplane, as we approached the City… It’s so good to be back in my natural habitat!
Coffee: Verve Coffee Roasters & Cafe
I finally went into Verve at Church and Market, and enjoyed a superb almond milk latte.
The space is nice; other customers are relaxed; the air is redolent of coffee roasting smells… It is cozy and pleasant. My latte was less sweet than I expected, but also just right.
The company has several locations in Los Angeles, but have been in this sweet SF spot since 2017. This location is often PACKED (because of its pleasantness), so I felt lucky to relax there yesterday morning.