In between experiments 4

Waiting for another experiment to finish. Been listening to a band called The Shins from someone's iTunes. I love the music sharing thing. Anyway, I think this song is good:

So Says I
By The Shins

An address to the golden door
I was strumming on a stone again
pulling teeth from the pimps of gore when hatched
a tragic opera in my mind...
and it told of a new design
in which every soul is duty bound
to uphold all the statutes of boredom therein lies
the fatal flaw of the red age.

Because it was nothing like we'd ever dreamt,
our lust for life had gone away with the rent we hated
and because it made no money nobody saved no one's life.

So we burned all our uniforms
and let nature take its course again
and the big ones just eat all the little ones
that sent us back to the drawing board.

In our darkest hours
we have all asked for some
angel to come
sprinkle his dust all around
but all our crying voices they can't turn it around
and you've had some crazy conversations of your own.

We've got rules and maps and guns in our backs
but we still can't just behave ourselves
even if to save our own lives, so says I, we are a brutal kind.

Cause this is nothing like we'd ever dreamt
tell Sir Thomas Moore we've got another failed attempt
cause if it makes them money they might just give you life this time.

Such a loser...

It's bank holiday and here I am at work. The building is quiet and I feel very odd indeed. Sigh!
Since all cafeterias are closed, I went to Sainsbury's to buy lunch. Big mistake. The noodle salad a bought was not only cold, but half of it was frozen. Now I would have gone back to complain but it's like a 20 minute walk. Blech!

Today I feel like such a loser... :(

Gloomy thoughts

Boss (AKA supervisor) is throwing hissy fit again... well as far as I know that it's got nothing to do with me, but the fact that he is taking it out on people creates resentment.

That is only one of his problems.... Anyway, here I am thinking if continuing this course of work under is one particular person is a decision I should change. If it was just a regular job, I would think about not renewing my contract or quit before things get worse. But as it were, I'm actually trying, at the end of three years, to obtain a PhD. I'm in doubt now wheter I would finish my PhD at this rate. Sigh!

Just how far would I go before actually resolve to give up for good?
Well, I got a meeting with the Boss today. Hopefully it won't be too bad. Must remember to not cower in fear... X_X

Life without a computer

My powerbook has finally kicked its aluminium bucket. And I'm without a computer at home. Life seems so much more quite and boring without a computer. I've began to pace around in my noiseless room, it's just so odd...

That is how dependent some people has become to computers, sadly.

I need to get my little lappy fixed! I'm now using a very old iMac at work... well, at least it's better than none.

Lab boredom antics

If you work in a lab, do you sometimes find yourself sitting around waiting for your samples? Long enough to get bored, but not long enough for you to walk away and do something else. Here are 10 things I've done/seen in my lab other than the usual sitting and stairing into space.

1. Sleep/dose. I've observed a researcher in my lab taking forty winks on his chair, feet up on the mini fridge, while waiting for his samples/results. Surprising how he never falls.
2. Kata practice. Tekki Shodan is the best for long and narrow lab spaces such as mine. Perplex glass on the microbiological safety cabinet/ fume cabinet is good for seeing your reflection while you practice. Recommend you do this when no one is around. Be careful not to topple things.
3. Spinning around on the swivel chair. Makes you dizzy. Only if you have one of those in your lab. I remembered doing a lot of when I was four or five, and broke my tooth once when I fell... Oh well.
4. Talk. Have a good chat with another colleague. Only if you have friendly and good-natured ones. Some researchers get highly annoyed if you try to chat with them or make noise generally in the lab. Luckily, non of my lab colleague are grumpies.
5. Sing. Sing along with the radio in the lab. Or just sing your own song. A couple of researchers in my lab like to do this. Sometimes one of them would whistle a tune. Mostly though this is done when they are still doing something, and not waiting around.
6. Clean. Give the work bench a good wipe down.
7. Read. Anything from newspapers to work articles. Bleh.
8. Dance. Know some moves? Why not try it out on the smooth floor (if you have a smooth floor) of the lab. Again, alone is best to avoid embarrassment.
9. Organise. Keeping your work place free of clutter.
10. Write/draw. Usually work-related things like a 'to do' list for tomorrow or 'to buy' list. Sometimes though it's just doodles.

OK. That's all. Hope that inspired someone, or made someone laugh at least.