Seth Kinast’s Blog

Summer school started today, and with it, my time in the lab will also increase. I’m taking Quantitative Analysis, a chemistry course that emphasizes lab technique and accuracy of measurement. Unfortunately, that’s not my strong point. In a class where your entire lab grade is based on the hundredths place in a decimal, I’m a bit worried. I shall somehow overcome, though.

I’m not taking summer school because I need to catch up or anything, just in case you were suspicious. The opposite is actually true; I had run out of courses to take in the fall. So why am I taking this one out of my limited remaining pool? It goes like this. Because I knew I was staying an extra year, I needed to take something in the fall and spring (12 hours worth to be enrolled full-time). I asked my advisor, Dr. Nagle, what I could do to stretch things out a bit. He found that because my current degree program is a research-oriented Microbiology set, it already included almost every course needed to complete a Chemistry degree as well. So with just three more courses, I’d graduate with two degrees and my three minors (French, Computer Science, and the History of Science).

The RA job in the summer takes barely any of my time. I am in the office once a week, from 2:30-12:00, and that’s it. It doesn’t pay a ton, but it keeps me from having to find a place to live while I take this class, and it gives me lots of meal points to spend on tasty things.

(I’m typing this on Sam’s computer, which needs a hard drive replacement. So while it’s backing itself up to my iPod, I wrote this. iPods are great data shuttles; their drivers are ubiquitous, they’re compact, and relatively fast over USB2.)

(Also, I have no clue how I ever typed QWERTY. It’s so clunky compared to Colemak. My finger strain has eased a ton since switching. Check it out. I retain most of my QWERTY accuracy, but little QWERTY speed unfortunately; down to about 40-50 WPM vs. my old 90-100. I type about 120 WPM in Colemak though.)

A big part of what I’m doing this summer is working in one of the microbiology labs here on campus. I’m isolating and identifying a group of bacteria from fecal samples taken from autistic children. Ours come from another lab in Chicago.

My grad student mentioned that we needed some control samples from healthy individuals to compare to the current samples. At first I started thinking about where to order said material… but then I realized: the tone of her voice was unmistakable.

I guess I’m providing some samples.

I finished my Celsius workout study yesterday with the completion of a second day of max testing. After 10 weeks of training, I was ready to see results. And I did! My…

• Body fat dropped by over 2%
• Oxygen utilization effectiveness increased by over 15%
• Resting heart rate dropped by 15 bpm
• Muscle mass increased by over five pounds
• Wrist got shaved… again

This really was the most life-changing thing I did this year, easily. Exercising was never really a burden because of the time or effort committment; instead, it was just because I really didn’t know what I should be doing to exercise effectively. Now I know!

Celsius Exercise Plan

Monday, Wednesday, Friday: Cardio training. 35 (increase to 45 by Week 20) minutes at 65-75 (increase to 70-80) percent of heart rate reserve.

Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday: Strength training. 8-10 reps of 75% of the 1-rep max for the following:

• Bench Press
• Military Press or Overhead Press
• Lat Pulldowns
• Leg Press or Squats
• Prone Leg Curls
• Bicep Curls
• Tricep Pushdowns
• Sit-Ups
• Back Extensions

Spreading the Lurve

About halfway through my training, I started going to the gym with two of my RA friends, Val and Becky Jo. I would work out earlier in the day at the training facility, and then go to the student gym with them later to take them through the same sort of exercises I did. Now that the study is over, they’ll be my workout buddies!

Each semester, every student meets with an academic advisor from their particular college to discuss what classes to take the following semester, graduation progress, etc. I had my meeting this week.

My major is in Microbiology, with the “Professional” option (higher requirements, but looks better when applying for research programs). Because I came in with so many hours, I could have graduated in two-and-a-half years. Instead, I added several minors in different areas of study: French, Computer Science, Chemistry, and the History of Science. (Minors have to be attached to a major degree; they don’t stand on their own. They’re a way of telling future employers / grad schools “Hey, I am a well-rounded and multifaceted individual.”)

Even with all the minors added and such, I was still struggling to look for classes to take next semester. It’s my fifth year, and all of OU’s degree programs are designed to graduate you in four years with one major and no minors (about 120 hours of credit). After this semester, I’ll be pushing 180 hours.

When I met with my advisor, I mentioned that I was completely running out of courses to take. He looked at my degree sheet for a little bit and then pulled some papers out of his filing cabinet. “Let me suggest something: why don’t you take these three classes… and get another major!” Wow! It was about 10 hours of extra work to turn my Chemistry minor into a full-fledged Biochemistry major. I can take one of the courses this summer, and then one each in fall and spring. However, after a little more looking, one of the courses conflicted with my preexisting Microbiology major. So we switched it to a straight Chemistry major, which is actually slightly easier on my schedule.

I went to the College of Arts & Sciences to let them know what I planned to do. My A&S advisor informed me that I actually couldn’t double major in Microbiology and Chemistry because I had too many hours. The solution? Earn a dual degree instead. It’s actually cooler; instead of getting a “B.S. in Microbiology and Chemistry”, I get two separate diplomas, and two Bachelor’s degrees!

I figure this is my reward for starting college early and coming in with so many hours. Instead of using that advantage to graduate early, I’m using it to do as much as I can during the short time here. Not too much time left at OU…

Part of a good application to medical school is showing that you have real medical experience. They want to be sure that you know what you’re getting into before you apply. I’ve been to Africa and Mexico on medical trips, have shadowed in Joplin’s ER, and followed a couple of Freeman’s doctors around, but wanted to get real volunteering hours as well. So I applied to volunteer at Norman’s hospital, NRHS, to do stuff in the Emergency Department. I had to go in for an entire afternoon of training, and take tests and buy a uniform and all sorts of stuff. I assumed I’d be making beds and pulling charts and such. But little did I know. I sent this e-mail off this morning:
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