Ann of All Trades

Prior to my 30s, I was fairly inactive. At most I'd go on hikes once/week, but always gasped for air at any incline. I would try random exercises here and there, but nothing was consistent. In 2015, at age 30, a friend encouraged me to check out a studio workout class with her. Since then, I have been consistently working out 3 - 5 times/week. And it's all thanks to studio/in-class workouts. They are effective because my motivation is low to work out alone, and my current living situation doesn't have the space for me to do so. There are so many options and I'm in between memberships now and want to decide on a new routine. Below is my short list. The pricing options are based on numbers from Bay Area Peninsula studios. I may go back to CrossFit, but would need to supplement it with yoga and/or running to round out my workout regimen. Studio Work Out Cleanliness of Facility Amenities (e.g. towel service, tampons, deodorant, shower, hair dryer, etc...

My boyfriend and I just returned from the Caribbean islands, which are still very much recovering from hurricane Irma in 2017. Two things we learned on our trip were to plan the location well, and do not skimp on the accommodation budget! Not even before our plane touched down in the Bay Area had I already started thinking about my next solo trip. This wanderlust feeling definitely only exists in certain people. While sitting on beaches in St. Thomas, I enjoyed the sun bathing and people watching, but I also read about things like real estate and the hottest 2019 places to travel! My list below was specifically thought out. It includes locations I have not visited before, places I want to visit, and places that have low likelihood that my boyfriend would want to visit with me in the next few years. I need to choose a location soon to start my research: Mexico City, Mexico Panama Colombia Peru Malaysia Argentina Egypt 💭 I have a feeling it will be one of the top f...

My philosophy and thoughts on freezing my own eggs for potential future use are slowly changing. I stumbled across an egg donation organization through my work in biotech. A lightbulb in my head went off - why don't I try to donate my eggs? I see the following benefits for myself: My genes may never be passed on to my own offspring. I like my genes and I think they're good genes. If someone else can utilize my genes for offspring, that would be perfect. Egg donors are compensated approximately $10,000 per cycle (which produces ~9-12 eggs), depending on the donation organization. This compensation is fair as it's an extremely exhaustive (physically, mentally, emotionally, everythingy) process. I could use this money toward freezing my own eggs. Or a new car. By the way, egg donors are so thoroughly examined and prodded. Here are the steps you have to go through, and at every step, you can be rejected as a donor for any reason: Submit initial application, includin...

It's been 3 months since I received my fecal microbiota transplant, and I'm actually worse off than before. Unbelievable. It may have been due to a few factors: - I don't believe the antibiotic I took was the right one for my microbiota, nor the correct dose, but it was the randomized arm I was assigned to as part of the clinical trial - Taking a laxative hours before boarding a 5 hour red eye flight from SFO to BOS doesn't quite clear out the stomach as desired - Flying to Bali several days after having an FMT adds another variable to the gut microbiota I still believe FMT should work for some individuals, maybe even me, but not this time. My stomach has been uber-sensitive. Lately, stresses in my life have made my stomach, and really my life, a nightmare. I must have had liquid poop for a straight month. It was unbearable, and the disappointment, sadness, and depression of it (among other things) took over my life. I'm beginning to theorize that my overly ...

After April 13, Kaiser will no longer be my healthcare provider - THANK GOD. I've come to hate Kaiser and all of their doctors because of the poor care provided. I approached by GI doctor looking for help with IBS and this was his prescribed treatment regimen for all patients with IBS. I went for it since I don't have much to lose. 1. Xifaxan (Rifaximin antibiotic for 2 weeks) Idea is to clear out some bacteria from the gut that may not aide in digestion It did nothing whatsoever so we didn't repeat another course No side effects 2. Elav il ( Amitriptyline antidepressant for 1 week, then increased dose if initial dose does not work) Idea is to help the brain-gut dysfunction. Antidepressants reduce the uptake of neurotransmitters, which can reduce muscle spasms in the intestines This did have some effect on my gut. The feeling was a bit strange. I was still getting bloated and still had loose stool everyday, but it didn't feel as bad. It was as if my body...

2.5 - 3 years is generally the time frame my biological clock gives me before it itches for something different. Something more. This is where I find my motivation. Lately I have been underutilized at work. I thrive when the challenge of the work is over my head. That has not been the case for the last 3 years. I have learned tidbits here and there, but I feel I've reached my potential. I look around and there is nothing else for me to do and there are no jobs I can fulfill to make my time worthwhile, and the company's time worthwhile. I desire my progression to be like the green line in this chart (that yes, I made in Paint): I like for my growth to be slow at first, but continue to grow exponentially as time goes on. My growth the last 3 years has been more like the blue line. Quickly at first, and then at some point growth plateaued. I would've jumped shipped sooner as I have in the past, but I stuck around to experience product realization. That happened...

It's sad that the biotech/healthcare industry doesn't understand the gut much. So I've been on this on my own. I should've switched healthcare providers this past Open Enrollment, but I thought I could save some money as Kaiser was the cheapest. However, they're also the worst provider in most cases. Throughout the years I've stayed up to date with the research in the industry and heard about uBiome, a microbial genomics company based out of San Francisco. They offer testing of poop samples to determine your microbiome. Fortunately their uBiome Clinical offering has covered a lot of the costs (no thanks to Kaiser) for testing as I believe they're still developing their microbiome database and products. I submitted my first sample in June 2, 2017 - a time where I absolutely knew I had IBS. An excerpt of my results are as follows: Overall results: Organisms known to be associated with IBS: From the results, it seems like I don't have I...