I told you that a significant part of my skill set and jobs were to detect patterns. I have wondered where this all came from. Part of it was innate and through just living but I realized just recently that an unlikely source contributed greatly – my second job out of college at a relatively new company named Digene on Clopper Road. 

This job was slightly better than the previous one – although that company, Celera on Gude Drive, was a part of history as it helped sequence the human genome. The Digene job had regular working hours and slightly easier work. It was still repetitive and was blue collar work. The most difficult yet memorable part of the job was having to go into these warehouse freezer rooms that were at a negative 20 degrees Fahrenheit. We were supposed to have jackets to wear when inside but sometimes they couldn’t be found. It was already super cold with the jackets but without them, it was torture to be inside for more than a few moments. 

I was an ok lab technician. My bench space was neat and I put up pictures of the Peanuts characters – Linus being my favorite. I did the same lab assay or test everyday. I got to used to the timing for each step that from then on I could tell how much time has elapsed without the use of a clock or timer. 

I did this job for a year. The repetitive nature drilled into me in some form how to discern patterns a is lthough I still can’t place my finger on exactly how. Oh and they also had colder freezers at -70 degrees Fahrenheit that I used to put candy bars inside to eat later on. They were delicious frozen. 

The people in the lab were like family.  There were individuals from Vietnam, Thailand, Egypt, Ethiopia, Nigeria, the Philippines, Malaysia, as well as white and black. The potlucks were amazing. I would sometimes go outside to throw a football with my friend. One of my colleagues was almost run over by another colleague’s car who tried to hit her on purpose in the parking lot. I sat next to my friend whose mother was dying of cancer. I helped walk her through that and we are still close today. She was one of the first people to tell about my upbringing and she said she didn’t know I had so much hidden pain. She and my other football throwing colleague would have Popeye’s days where we would order a large spread and eat in the cafeteria. 

I play on the company’s softball team and learn to play the outfield from the COO. I learned that every time a fly ball is hit your way, the first step to take is backwards. It’s much easier to run forward to catch a ball than going backwards. In a game, I make a circus catch to end the game.

I think this was possibly the healthiest full time job I’ve ever had. It was like family and home. That’s why I said when I think of you, this is one of the places I think of in addition to Boston and the fair. The places I felt most at home. 

It was during this period where I studied and applied to law school. I mailed off my applications at the post office near your school. The funny thing is that this is when one of the major nudges from God occurred. I applied to about 10 schools all over the country but Indiana wasn’t one of them. It wasn’t even on my radar. What happened was one day, I receive a free application from them in the mail. I hastily fill it out and that ends up being the best school I was accepted to. It turns out that it’s the best place I could have attended. Although all law school programs are somewhat difficult and competitive, Indiana was probably less so because of the environment. 

I often say that my journey started in Indiana but that would be wholly untrue. It started when I took my first breath in a local hospital in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. All these stops mattered and gave me something I needed.

Digene gave me my sense of timing, patten recognition skills, fielding ability, and lifelong friends. A very unexpected source of light and joy.

Like you.