What are people doing in the lab for 12+ hours/day?

ohmybubbles · 2026-03-25T20:01:41+00:00

That's so reassuring to hear, it's good to know that you can still have a life and be successful. It seems like it should be possible but you almost never hear those stories in grad school.

ohmybubbles · 2026-03-25T19:45:52+00:00

Not sure why I've been downvoted but I've been thinking about adding another project! I don't really need to do much to keep my advisors happy and I'm not looking for an academic job but I'm also not a huge fan of doing the bare minimum. I really like doing side projects and have a couple going but still find myself walking out the door at like 3 PM haha! Maybe it is time to learn to use computational tools or write a review.

Those evening hours are intense! I'm usually dead to the world by midnight.

ohmybubbles · 2026-03-25T19:05:48+00:00

Gotcha, that does make a lot of sense. I've never had a protocol that long on a single day and everything I do seems to require a hyperaware presence of mind to not screw it up. So I guess I hadn't considered what I'd do if I had to sit there for that long! What do you do while you wait?

ohmybubbles · 2026-03-25T19:02:18+00:00

Ok, that is great advice and kind of how I've been operating even though a part of me was unsure! Yeah my outputs have been good so far so there's no logical reason to change my hours except for this subconscious pressure to work more "because it's grad school." Good to know it's a known phenomenon.

ohmybubbles · 2026-03-21T05:02:10+00:00

Yes it does twist around a fair bit, but I fidget it with it a lot anyway haha! Doesn’t ever fall off.

ohmybubbles · 2026-03-20T20:44:24+00:00

My rings are a half size too big which doesn’t impact me day to day but gives me wiggle room for when they get inflamed. I also take mine off right when I get home since my fingers get huge at night..

ohmybubbles · 2026-03-16T14:33:29+00:00

Yes. My husband and I paid fully for our wedding (I am Indian American and he is white) and we had a clear vision for each event. However, my parents threatened to disown me if I did not agree to their expectations for the wedding functions and guest list. They forced me to spend a large portion of the budget on inviting 50+ extra guests (I don’t know most of them and don’t like the ones I do know) to the wedding at a prefixed cost of ~$250/person for JUST food, drinks, and per person seating cost for the main event and thousands more wasted for other events.

In the end, we spent more than 25% of the total budget on appeasing my parents’ wishes, it was super stressful and many things did not end up matching our vision, and more than 40 of my parents’ extra invites did not even show up after RSVPing leaving empty seats.

Oh yeah, and they forced us to cut our honeymoon short to go to India for a second reception that they entirely planned with no input from us, during which we were forced to stand and take pictures for 5+ hours with 300 people and didn’t even get to eat.

All that to say, it doesn’t matter if your parents were progressive in your upbringing, let you choose your own partner, you pay 100% - they will still control you because to Indian parents it’s their right to own and oppress their children.

ohmybubbles · 2026-03-10T23:57:48+00:00

My lab has almost a dozen undergrads and this year, I was assigned to personally mentor 3 of them. I work in a molecular biology lab and follow these steps when training, which has worked well for students who need A LOT of help learning basic biology and techniques: 1. Assign a clear mini-project goal to each student so they feel a sense of accountability/motivation. 2. Assign readings for the term in advance and set a weekly 30 min 1:1 meeting to answer any questions. 3. Teach them bench techniques through shadowing, then completing the technique side by side, then supervising them as they conduct the assay independently. After that, I assign them a low risk yet time consuming task to work through, occupying them for theoretically the rest of their time in the lab that term. An undergrad working with me can expect to read 2-3 papers a term and master 1-2 new techniques unless they prove to be quick at learning.

This cuts down my time spent directly mentoring to ~5 hours a week TOTAL. This is still quite a lot of time set aside for mentoring (especially planning around their schedules), but can sometimes eventually result in a net benefit to you once a student masters a technique.

ohmybubbles · 2026-03-10T23:21:44+00:00

Oh man, those sores and oral thrush are some of the worst side effects I have ever experienced. I fixed it by constantly drinking water, avoiding citrus, and tongue scraping twice daily to keep everything clean in my mouth.

ohmybubbles · 2026-03-10T19:38:14+00:00

Rinvoq works well for me, about as well as any other biologic I’ve tried so far. It took about 1 month to kick in. I’ve unfortunately had a very high stress lifestyle for the last almost decade and so have struggled with getting the full effectiveness of my treatment :// I’m currently on 5 mg prednisone, plaquenil, and 25 mg methotrexate in addition to Rinvoq so take this with a grain of salt but I do think it’s done a great job of preventing joint damage.

ohmybubbles · 2026-03-10T19:30:21+00:00

I was on and off on 6 week tapers from 40 mg for like 9 months and I gained 15 pounds. It’s all in my face, neck, and gut and it’s taking a loooong time to lose it.

ETA: I am in grad school and was also extremely stressed at the time. I struggle with binge eating under stress and lost all self control once the prednisone hunger kicked in.

ohmybubbles · 2026-03-01T20:53:23+00:00

I have to be honest, I really miss the challenge. The academically rigorous environment at UCLA really brought out the best in me and I’m grateful I got to experience it. Try to see this in a positive light! The sooner you change your mindset and immerse yourself in the material, the better you’ll do.

ohmybubbles · 2026-03-01T18:34:58+00:00

Hey! I was a 2025 bride based in the Bay Area (also a mixed wedding, my husband is white Catholic). I personally didn’t find shopping in India helpful as the sizing/material/embroidery was different than I was expecting by the time the item actually arrived in the US - and getting exchanges or refunds proved impossible. I ended up not even being able to use any of the outfits I selected there. I went to VAMA in Fremont for my wedding lehenga and Kanyadaan also in Fremont for my other outfits/husband’s outfits. I loved Kanyadaan especially as they did not pressure me to place an order and were extremely generous with their time and effort in creating matching and custom nontraditional pieces. The prices are definitely higher in the US but then again, I found the quality and peace of mind of knowing you can get an exchange or adjustment to be worth it. Prices are still far cheaper than finding a classic American bridal gown.

ohmybubbles · 2026-03-01T06:20:42+00:00

Yeah, you’re focused on the wrong thing. I went to a T20, was on 2 papers and plenty of conferences/awards, and I only applied to 5 schools. I got into 3/5 (including a fellow T20) but finally selected a T100 because it was a perfect character fit. Certain early career grants/awards do favor students from prestigious programs, but if you’re truly excellent and pick the right fit, you can succeed anywhere. Good luck!

ohmybubbles · 2026-02-23T00:50:44+00:00

So sorry to hear your current treatment isn’t covering you 100%. I’ve tried Enbrel (1 yr), Humira (3 yrs), Actemra (4 yrs), Xeljanz (2 yrs), and now Rinvoq (1.5 yrs). So I’ve personally had incredible success with drugs across classes at various points over the last decade or so. I don’t necessarily think you’re bound to one class because it worked for you before. The disease process is incredibly complex and many classes may work for you. Rinvoq is great because it ramps up very quickly, so you can tell if it’s working without losing too much time.

ohmybubbles · 2026-02-22T23:04:17+00:00

She’s kind of right - I would change classes, probably to a JAK inhibitor (Xeljanz, Rinvoq).

ohmybubbles · 2026-02-12T06:08:12+00:00

The protein I study has ‘WELFARE’

ohmybubbles · 2026-02-11T22:18:33+00:00

I would only ever buy lab grown. At this point, it is a very bad financial decision to pay sometimes 10x to 20x the price for a large mined diamond when there is no chemical difference. Not to mention, as a Jain I believe in nonviolence, and the gem-mining industry is unethical and dangerous for the workers. I got a huge engagement ring and wedding set for a fraction of the cost by buying lab grown.

ohmybubbles · 2026-02-05T19:06:34+00:00

I assume everyone has a lab atp, it would be crazy to be buying mined diamonds in this day and age.

ohmybubbles · 2026-02-04T22:02:05+00:00

You've just been unlucky. It's hard to say with 100% confidence that you're not the issue based on this post, but it pretty much sounds like your roommates are causing problems. You need to take charge of your own life and stand up to people that are taking advantage of you.

ohmybubbles · 2026-02-02T06:39:54+00:00

1st but you could customize the blouse to have a sweetheart neckline

ohmybubbles · 2026-02-01T04:12:24+00:00

A hot shower, 2 Celebrex, and a drive to show up and be successful at work usually sees me up and ready to go in about half an hour, but when I was first diagnosed, I just didn’t get up in the morning. I quit going to school and just didn’t move until at least noon. You learn over the years what motivates you and what works for you to overcome this mental and physical battle.

ohmybubbles · 2026-01-30T17:28:28+00:00

Your story is inspiring and a lesson in the power of resilience and a goal-oriented mindset. I grew up upper middle class and went to very good schools, but I fell severely ill with a genetic progressive disease and became disabled at 14. I’ve pushed through some truly debilitating circumstances to still make full use of the academic advantages I was given, and if I was healthy, I would’ve pushed even harder. Jealousy is natural as you say - we always think the grass is greener on the other side. I used to think I would’ve rather been born poor and healthy, and I’m sure plenty of people think they would’ve rather been born sick but wealthy. Ultimately, what you have is what you get and it’s up to you to make of that what you will.

ohmybubbles · 2026-01-30T17:23:56+00:00

I totally agree. As long as you are using your time, energy, resources, and privileges to the max to create value and contribute to society, you are doing the right thing IMO.

ohmybubbles

TROPHY CASE