Through the Doors

As I've been waiting for an experiment to develop (I've got to dip slides into emulsion and leave it to develop for six weeks), I've been assign other tasks to perform, tasks that have been kept for unsuspecting masters students such as myself. A particular task I have to do is count little black dots on a slide. This has to be done in the microscope room, known as the "BIOIMAGING FACILITY". I know this because of a fancy sign they have stuck up on top of a stack of lockers, telling me of this fact.

To get into the room though, is okay if i'm coming from upstairs to downstairs, but there are doors that you can go through that gets you through to the cafeteria, and those doors. Well. They don't like me.

It usually takes a while for the door card reader to respond to my card, to grant me access. Sometimes I feel as though it is trying to figure out who I am, and then doesn't think I should be let through, but then lets me through anyway because it can't deal with me talking to it and dancing around like a maniac.

                                                

 But its usually still a very long wait... especially when you feel like someone is watching you, and you begin to think, what if they think i don't have access! Then panic slowly creeps in. 


                                                






One time a cue begun to form behind me. Which of course, made me even more paranoid. Then the people in the queue realized they knew each other and starting to have a conversation.

                                             


When I was actually let through I had to stop myself from laughing madly, and running quickly through the doors in utter ensnarement and other such feelings. Not as easy as you may think.

Stud the labcoat got stolen!

A few days back someone stole stud! Tis a horrible thing, but I found him again the next morning. I just went for lunch and then he was gone! I searched everywhere and couldn't find him. Twas frustrating. So I have listed about how not to get your lab coat stolen. Because I hear lists are all the rage!

Will not ensure your lab coat is not stolen:

1. Writing your name inside the lab coat
2. Writing your name on the outside of lab coat
3. Hanging it on 'your hook'
4. Hanging it hidden behind someone else's lab coat for safekeeping.
5. Hiding it in general.
6. Putting things in your pockets. Spiky things.
7. Yelling loudly in the lab to not steal lab coat.
8. Stealing someone else's lab coat.
9. Not wearing lab coat for five mins.
10. Bad odors. (Not like I have bad odors. *Ahem ahem*)

Will ensure your lab coat is not stolen:

1. Come in very early -> put on lab coat -> never leave the lab (until go home time).

My lab coat is called Stud.

I've had a wonderful week off two weeks ago (details of that will follow in a special blog episode to come! tune in for more later!) and now we started doing our dissertations. The main reason I wanted to join this masters course is really because of this dissertation, and the ability it will have to further my career (i.e. allow me to get experience in what working in 'science' is like, and help if i want to get a phd).

We've been at it now for a week, going in and out of the lab working away. Before starting I was assigned a nice little desk, (which still really has nothing much on it, except for a mug), stationary and my own lab coat. The lab coat was a hand me down old thing, and thus was already used by someone. When people use lab coats they write their names somewhere near the tag at the back, and the (i believe him to be a guy) dude who last had my lab coat wrote "stud." on the back. Either, it was a man/women named Mr. Studly, or Studlington, or this guy thought himself rather wonderful. And so at any rate, I have taken to calling my lab coat 'stud' since, it had its name already written on it.

My supervisors are both wonderful wonderful people. They have already prevented me from chucking myself out of the window when my cryostat wasn't working like it should. A cryostat is a giant machine which cuts tissue, and is freezing cold cause the tissues have to be in minus temperatures. So, day in and day out my hands are dipped into -20°C temperatures. Sometimes this machine, like most machines with personalities just doesn't like to work. I've taken to calling it Joey. I have to sing to it sometimes so it cuts nicely for me. I have discovered it likes love songs and musicals.

See, science is wonderful fun!

Happy Easter!!

Tis a wonderful Easter day today! It's all bright and sunny today! >.< After several days of being very very cold and having snow and rain and hail, today is a wonderfully sun shiny day.

It is a holiday for us, and we get to have a holiday for a week! because we took the week off. So me and my friend decided to take a week off to Nottingham (our old Alma Mater). Traveling takes  a while, especially for 6 hours and taking a train and 2 changes along the way. But in the long run, its worth it to see friends and family for a few couple of days and to take a well deserved break. After weeks on end of non stop work! After this anyway we will be starting our dissertations. This means we will be in the labs! So it will be interesting and challenging. I've never really done much work where I was not partnered up and where someone else knew the answers to what I am going to be looking for! 

Doing a masters is hard work, but you do get breaks every once in a while. Even if they do seem to be sparse. Its not all work all of the time. Sometimes we all need a little time to recuperate so we can get ready to bounce back up again. 

Kidding Season

Here is an interesting thought for you. If calving is for calves and lambing is for lambs, do they call the season when goats give birth to kids, kidding season?

The answer to this seems to be yes (after a wonderful check via typing 'kidding season' into google (they all do talk about baby goats)). Isn't that interesting?