Lab Rat

I'm a data grunt. Not only am I collecting data, but I am also the guinea pig.

I wear accelerometers, perform exercises, and then collect the data from the accelerometer sensors. So far the exercises have including walking slowly, walking quickly, going up stairs, and going down stairs.

My favorite experiment incident yet:
Before we begin each exercise, we perform a "signature" that will be easily read in the data so we can see when the exercises begin. We were monitoring ankle and knee movement today, so the signature was jumping up and down five times. So I was performing the signature jumps before beginning the side-stepping exercise, only to be laughed at by my fellow interns in my cubicle who had not seen us experimenting before, before awkwardly side-stepping out of sight. It was perfect.

Next week we're running :)

Speaking of which, I went for a run alone today because Ryon overslept, missed the turn off of Sunset Blvd, and got completely lost. At my farthest point I asked a woman for directions...
Me: Excuse me, I'm lost. How can I get to UCLA?
Woman: UCLA?? By bus?
Me: By running.
Woman: It's so far!!!
When I was even closer to campus I asked a man weed-whacking and he had no clue.

Granted it all ended for the best because I ended up running longer (5 miles! Not straight though, I walked up a big hill and spent many a minute waiting for the pedestrian crossing lights to change at every intersection because LA police are jerks and ticket for jay-walking), and I made it back to campus with just enough time for a quick cold shower and breakfast before it was time to head to the lab.

I'd go again tomorrow morning, but it's my first chance to sleep in in over two weeks, heck maybe even three. However, I will be going to the LA farmers market :)