I got my feet on the ground and I don't go to sleep to dream

On Friday night, LS was gracious enough to meet up with me, even though she was flying out the very next day to her wedding in India, people. I can't even meet up with people the night before I fly to places like Seattle for something as stressless as a mind-numbing business meeting. The inner calm she has going on is something that has to be witnessed to be believed. All through dinner, I had to keep reminding myself that she is younger than me. It's something I have going for me, my immaturity. LS also has this inner, nurturing quality that just encourages the dynamic of older sister giving sage advice.

I tried to mix hard labor into my Labor Day weekend, but kept injecting little flights of fancies to distract myself from the many tasks at hand. Like going to the Sausalito Art Festival, or going to Napa, or baking cookies. Still, here I am at work, having just spent four hours plugging away at the things I absolutely abhor and therefore put off until push comes to shove.

Thanks to LS, however, I lost myself in reverie at several points during this weekend. She and a trip through old college journals started me thinking of S_N1 and S_N2 reactions. These reactions are all about bonds breaking and forming. It's something of a soap opera- the substrate is one partner, the leaving group is the one that's about to get the heave-ho, and the nucleophile completes the love triangle, the new love interest.

S_N2 reactions occur in one fell swoop. The substrate stays bonded to the leaving group, until the nucleophile shows up. The substrate stays connected to the leaving group, but it's not that interested. Once the nucleophile shows up, kiss, kiss, bang, bang, and it has displaced the leaving group. The substrate never spends a moment in solitude, stays bound to both the leaving group and the nucleophile weakly until the strong attraction to the nucleophile wins out.

S_N1 reactions, on the other hand, proceed in steps. First thing's first. The substrate is just not that into the leaving group, or vice versa. So, even with no nucleophile to catch the substrate's eye, the substrate and leaving group part ways. The substrate is left behind as a cation; but this substrate forms a stable cation. It holds out until the right nucleophile shows up on the scene. Attraction is not the key; it's actually about what will result in the most stable bond. In certain instances, the cation is so stable that it will remain a charged molecule independently, indefinitely.

It's not random why reactions happen one way or another; it's something innate. S_N2 reactions happen as they do because the substrate is the type of molecule that is unstable, that can't be sustained without being bonded to something else. S_N1 substrates, conversely, are highly branched, complex, and therefore can handle the solo gig. In some cases, they appear simple, but, upon losing their leaving group, are able to rearrange into a branched version of their former selves in order to become stable on their own.

All of this reminds me of a total Excuse me while I kiss this guy blunder of mine from years past. I once thought the Talking Heads were singing "I'm just an atom looking for someone to share the same orbit for a minute or two." Say it with me now- NERD!?!