21 Jun Kaila Rebolledo Unda – USCD – week 2

MONDAY 06-15-26

As the next week started, the tests on oxycodone were finished, so we started a deep clean of all the cages. Washing, whipping, sweeping. We met another intern named Leyna, and she’s so sweet. While cleaning, we listened to music and got to know each other better. This continued, and we headed off to lunch, where we ate outside.

Once we got back, we started working directly on the catheters. The catheters are what go into the rat’s body to inject the drugs into their system. It was very small to work with, and what made it harder was that we had to wear gloves the whole time. There’s a chemical that makes it not touchable to human skin. But it was fun, the three of us were just chatting, making an assembly line reaching flow state. 

Stella’s rice bowls

When I got home, I was blessed by the amazing cooking of Stella, and we sat down to enjoy some healthy salmon rice bowls

TUESDAY 06-16-26

The day started off, and I headed off to the Skaggs building. I began the brain software program and worked for a bit before Selene had to leave the building, and she couldn’t leave me alone, so I headed to MDF. Selene explained to me that something in her project went wrong and she needed to get advice from some other people. This was such an interesting thing for me, as I had to remember that science goes through errors and bumps along the road. As Selene said, if science were easy, no one would do it, and it wouldn’t be fun.

 While she was doing that, I went to help make catheters. There was no lab meeting, so we got to spend more time building those. By the time we finished the round, we started it was lunch, so we took off to our favorite table.

After lunch, I went back to Skaggs to keep working on the brains. This one brain was frustrating me, but human error happened, and the brain that was scanned was a little bit deformed, which threw me off for a while. Selene gave me permission to talk about how bad a job she did cutting the brains, but seeing the size of them in person, I could not have done any better.

The red lines on the top of the brain are where the center of the brain should be flushed against the border where it cuts off.

I worked for a bit longer before Selene showed me and Stella how they set up the brains for a scan they had set up for the next day. We had a good laugh over how to open the glue and ended up having to cut open the tube.  

WEDNESDAY 06-17-26

This morning, I went straight to Skaggs and started working on the brain imaging software. I was going to see Selene and one of her colleagues put a brain into a microscope. They ran into a few problems with the microscope, so I didn’t get to watch that today, but it once again reminded me that this is real-life science and there will be many bumps along the way. 

My desk buddies

Speaking of bumps and struggles, one of the brains I was working on had a hard time. Because they weren’t cut straight, I have to adjust and angle the average mouse brain on top of it, but it’ll never fit perfectly. Sometimes I struggle to remember that. I can get so caught up in small details, trying to make something perfect. With this brian I spent a not so crazy amount of time lining it up to where it’s good enough. I spent the next maybe 2 hours trying to perfect it, and in the end, I used the good enough one that was done 2 hours ago. 

The crazy figures I saw in the brain this time

I took a lunch break with Stella, and after lunch, Stella came to Skaggs with Selene and me to work on something while Molly was out. We put Titanic on her computer and did our work while it played in the background, which was really nice. After the movie was done, Selene took us on a mini campus tour, and we went to the target to get Stella a watch, and we went to a souvenir-like store where we will definitely stop by before leaving, but in the meantime, I got a little rat keychain and a brain water bottle 

My rat keychain

Brain waterbottle

THURSDAY 06-18-26

As Thursday began, I went to Skaggs and waited for Selene to arrive. As soon as she did, I began once again on the mice’s brains. I looked at the chart, and while I did have a lot done, it was barely a dent in all the brains that have been scanned. While working, I realized that I could be smart and listen to an audiobook, so in the first half before lunch, I started a new book that was on my to-read list. During lunch, it was a slightly cold day, and we ate inside one of the lunch buildings on campus, Club Med. 

At some point, we descended to go back to the target we went to the day before, and I got a well-deserved Red Bull, and Stella bought herself a stuffed animal dolphin. For the afternoon, I kept working on the brains and deceased to re-watch Titanic. 

Titanic watching!

Zoe, Stella, and I went on a little walk and went to a boba shop, and got lunch at a Mexican place. We saw a 5-below and HAD to go inside. And we came outside with stitch slippers (because the hardwood floors at home are rough) and a very fire Troy Bolton shirt. We ended this great day by roasting marshmallows. 

me with my swag

FRIDAY 06-19-26

Today we had the day off because of Juneteenth. We let ourselves sleep in for a bit before getting up and going to the gym. Going to the gym every morning has become part of our routine. When we got back, we did a few household chores because another girl was coming! Liliana got here around 3, and after she got settled in, we took a little girls’ trip to Trader Joes, Walmart, Target, and finally we had dinner at Chick-Fil-A. 

“Raise a glass to the four of us. Tomorrow, there will be more of us”

-Hamilton 

Zoe in the shopping cart during our Walmart run

SATURDAY 06-20-26

Today we picked up Ellie and Belle! Finally, all 6 girls were here, and it was a full house. After settling in, we took a massive Costco run and enjoyed a big family dinner of pasta and some salad. And finally ended our big day by watching the sunset on the beach.

cooking dinner