Serena's Adventures

As a woman with ADHD (self-diagnosed), Hank Green's "Focus Friend" is quite an interesting experience. Whenever I turn on the "Deep-focus" mode, I realize how easily I am to be distracted. That mode blocks many apps and functions: social media apps, music apps, etc.  Last weekend, I turned the "Deep-focus" mode on while studying for a CLS-prep course I am taking.  My thought process went from: "This is interesting insight." to "Ooh, I should text my PI on instagram to see if he wants a cat sticker." to "Aw man, I can't access instagram. I'll get back to it later"  My attention span only lasts ~ 5 minutes if I'm being generous. I don't know how I got through college. XD

I recently got into a new niche -- heat-pressing vinyl designs on various fabrics and making stickers.  I am confident in my ability to draw and design, and that's honestly the easy part in this process. In my opinion, trying to figure out material chemistry is more difficult than the actual design process.  Current findings include: Inkjet printer ink isn't waterproof -- at most cold water tolerant when printed on printable vinyls. The water temperature plays a huge role in whether the ink would stay on the vinyl or bleed. Moist heat like steam and hot water causes ink to bleed on vinyl, which is not ideal for a sticker's longevity.   I got my hands on some waterproof stickers today. I am going to test them by washing them in hot water and cold water to see if they're actually "waterproof". My hypothesis is that they will be fine if washed in cold water. I expect to see some ink-bleeding if washed with hot water. Let's see what happens.  ----- I also got ...

 Life After College     As a first-generation and a woman in STEM, I had lots of expectations for myself. I wanted to find a stable full-time job that I can utilize my degree in as soon as possible -- I was on a time crunch. I was only 2 months away from moving back home and being helicoptered by my parents. I have gotten used to bedroom doors that can properly close and be locked. Back home, while the bedroom is slightly bigger, the door just wouldn't close properly nor be locked. Not being able to have privacy as a 22 year-old adult bothered me a lot. My family isn't particularly wealthy, and we lived our lives frugally.  The cost of renting apartments in Davis was a big expense for them, so I was given until the end of my lease to figure out what my plans are.  Honestly, I don't remember being exceedingly exited about graduating college. I felt anxious to the extent of not being able to fall asleep for days on end. I was anxious about the life after college. ...