Día de los Muertos at Self Help Graphics

I’m a little too lazy to make my own altar for my loved ones who have passed, instead I keep up a year round altar with photos of and unlit candles. Even though I’m not one for altar making, I do enjoy the imagery and the events surrounding November 1st and 2nd. It’s nice to see the community come out and artists put in lots of hard work to honor the dead.

If I did make an altar, it’d probably look something like this since Grandma was a seamstress and Grandpa was a devotee to la Virgen de Guadalupe. I think next year I’ll make an altar in honor of my tío Johnny who passed away today. I’ll make sure it has a guitar, picks, running shoes and a Beatles record/CD or two.

Election Day

Sean and I voted early, but not often. The lines at my polling place were pretty long even at 7 am.

I know it would be easier to just do absentee ballots, but I usually wait until the last minute to read up on the various propositions. Plus, going to the polls means I get a sticker.

I watched election results at a party hosted by some friends. One is a political science professors and describes election day as her Super Bowl. The food was excellent as were the themed desserts.

The guests went in on these cupcakes after MSNBC called the election for Obama.

Science time at ABRCMS in San Jose

I spent Wednesday through Sunday morning with a bunch of really smart students and my boss. We took 20 students in research programs to present their research at ABRCMS. All of our students did a great job in their poster or oral presentations; most won prizes. I got the chance to learn a little more about the problems in the STEM pipeline from a different point of view.

We stayed at the Fairmont. I liked the view from the hotel room as well as the toiletries in the bathroom.

There were interesting sartorial choices and interpretations of professional attire.

The last keynote address on Saturday was given by Michael Eric Dyson. I don’t get the hype around the guy and didn’t have high expectations. I’ve heard him described as a blowhard and more interested in hearing himself talk. The conference attendees, mainly minority college students ate it up. Perhaps if I was still 20-22 I’d be excited to hear a speaker at a professional conference quote Mos Def’s “Ms. Fat Booty” and suggest that someone should study the science behind the line “ass so fat that I could see it from the front.” I’m no longer in the target age demographic and was more annoyed that Dyson’s only mention of women or gender dynamics in science were limited to having a nice butt. It’s even more of an oversight if you consider that a majority of minority students are women, even in biomedical sciences. Still, he did have a gem or two and I can’t argue with this point:

When I was done conferencing on Friday, I hung out with Vanessa. It was great to catch up over margaritas — all should be served with Tajín on the rim! — and margherita pizza. I saw her at the wedding, but that was barely enough time to really talk.

After three and a half days of conferencing, I was ready to go home on
Sunday.

LACMA fieldtrip with Sean and Lori

It was a beautiful autumn day in LA and I had great views from my window seat. I love trying to spot the local landmarks like the Getty, UCLA, Dodger Stadium and even my own apartment/neighborhood.

After Sean picked me up we had lunch with Lori at Father’s Office since she was in the area. I’m not sure she loved her first Father’s Office burger since it comes with caramelized onions.

After our late lunch, we goofed around in the furniture stores. Lori mentioned having never visited the lamppost sculpture at LACMA. We immediately changed that with a quick fieldtrip to the museum.

The outdoor sculptures and patios at LACMA were busier than I’ve ever seen them (I usually go on weekday evenings). It made me wonder if freely accessible art in open(ish) spaces like Urban Light and Levitated Mass were the closest we come to public space in LA. Maybe.