Name: Ben.
Hometown: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Current Location: Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Work: My project has yielded some promising results, so that's a positive. I don't find my project particularly interesting or beneficial for me career-wise, so that's a negative. Additionally, my current research isn't really that congruent with my PhD training, and it's not what I want to research in the future, score more negatives. I came to Boston to gain experience such that I could return to Sydney and consider starting my own lab. My current position isn't facilitating this ambition so I'm scoping alternate labs, with the aim of starting afresh early next year. So this work transition is totally stressing me out. Work score = 4/10
Family: My family is dysfunctional to say the least. Brother is still recovering from his psychosis and remains out of the workforce. Dad continues being a selfish asshole that makes me ashamed to be his son. Mum is overworked and always stressed due to Brother's illness and Dad's antics. Since I am the only family member she can really speak to, she misses me significantly. I'm constantly battling the feeling of guilt over leaving her (and Brother) to pursue a life on the other side of the world. Still, things on the family front aren't as volatile as they have been previously. Family score = 5/10.
Friends: Bing and Lulu continue to be my extremely compassionate guides here in Boston, I owe them a lot. They're like caring older siblings, who are wiser, reassuring and less erratic than me. I continue to talk with them extensively about my work dilemmas and Boston life in general. My two very close friends in the lab, Maestro and Ariel have been extremely considerate and are two really positive people who are fun to hang out with. I'll blog about our time together in future posts. Bay-buddy is constantly supportive and has helped me out immensely, but since he is no longer in the lab we only catch up weekly or so. Of course there's Ex-flatmate and my other long-time mates, GK, Entrepreneur, The Scotsman, Ace & Surfermate, providing essential support +61. Friends score = 9/10.
Love: My status is single. Very, very single. Sigh. I didn't blog about it, but there was an Irish guy, Sean, who I am no longer seeing, but it's OK as it never seemed to be a serious long-term relationship from the beginning. There just wasn't that 'something' between us, but we had some great times, he was charming and damn his accent was adorable (of course he said the same about my Aussie speech). I haven't been particularly proactive in finding a boyfriend recently and this is something I'm seeking to improve on in the immediate future. Love score = 3/10.
Mental health: Between my family and career, it's been a particularly uncertain and worrisome period of my life. Boston still continues to show me novel experiences that makes me feel as if I'm moving forward in my life, perhaps not always in an anticipated direction or as smoothly as expected, but still 'proceeding' nonetheless. There have been times when I've been on the precipice of slipping into depression again, but thankfully this has been avoided. A few weeks of being generally melancholic is the worst I've felt. Mental health score = 6/10.
Physical health: The gym is one of my favourite places. Maestro and I go regularly. We not only train together and motivate each other, but the gym is our place to discuss the lab and everything else in our lives. It's one of our sanctuaries away from work where we can work-out and goof around. I also feel that the exercise-induced endorphins are a key to me avoiding depression. With winter here, running outside is no longer an option, so the gym has become crucial to my mental and physical well-being. I'm definitely as fit as I've ever been, although an underwear-model-worthy six-pack still eludes me, so minus one point. Physical health score = 8/10.
Overall: It's been an emotional, life-changing year, and compared to some other awful years, 2007 ranks as a good one. My Boston life could obviously have been better work-wise (and relationship wise), but in the end this is irrelevant as it could have been much worse. It's difficult to not regret or overanalyse certain decisions I've made in, and leading up to, Boston life, but I'm trying to remain pragmatic and positive about my current situation.
With the close of another year, it's natural to take stock of our lives and resolve to improve on the less optimal parts. I'm looking forward to the challenges of next year. It's not going to be any easier that's for sure, but that as they say, is life. There's no guarantee that I'll rant any less, but I'll try to rave a bit more. My Boston adventure is just getting interesting, I feel that it's "maturing". Should be an intriguing next couple of months.
Blogging was initially designed to keep my mates up to date with my activities here, and it has also been cathartic and immensely enjoyable, I anticipate blogging through next year.
Life is always a struggle, and as one individual amongst the 6,639,361,044 current inhabitants on this world, I try to remind myself that I'm very fortunate to be in my current position. For those of us living relatively privileged lives (I'd imagine the majority reading this blog fits into this category), it's always refreshing to look outside of our daily microcosm and gain a wider perspective on the grander scheme of humanity. Considering I'm not fighting for survival in a war-torn country or suffering from a debilitating illness, it's clear that having an ideal job or being in a loving relationship, really are luxuries in life.
Of course we all know these realities, but it's not often that we actually remember them.
Having the opportunity to live abroad in a great city, getting a PhD, having a Macbook Pro to play with, hanging out with some amazing friends and having a loving (albeit messed up) family are luxuries in my life. I shouldn't complain.
Well that's my current status and the last post until I return to Boston from my European holiday (I fly out in a few hours and still have to pack, shit!). To my mates, enjoy the Sydney summer, don't go too crazy over NYE (I'm looking at you Scotsman), and if there's anything I've been reminded of from living in Boston, it's to be a little more bold and dip outside your comfort zone from time to time, who knows what you'll gain. Miss you guys immeasurably. To everyone reading this, may the New Year find you safe and well. My overall score remains = +61.
Showing posts with label Work. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Work. Show all posts
23 December 2007
21 November 2007
We come in peace
According to the US government, I'm an alien. A legal non-immigrant alien with working privileges actually.
One of the first things you need to do when starting work in the US is to get a social security number (SSN). When dealing with gas, real estate, phone companies etc. for the first time, your SSN is a crucial component for a smooth transaction. Having a SSN is important. Without it, you can't get paid.
One of the first things I did after arriving in Boston back in March was to catch the subway (known as the 'T') to SSN headquarters in downtown Boston. As a government building, the usual strict security procedures were observed upon entering. After dutifully emptying my pockets to be X-rayed, I found myself waiting in a standard office-grey processing centre that housed the SSN bureaucrats. As I sat with all the other aliens, subdued alien conversations in Spanish, Chinese and what seemed like Russian filled my ear.
I expected a lengthy waiting period but was pleasantly surprised by the very efficient and quick processing of my application. In little time I was told my SSN would be sent to me in 4 weeks or so, and I was back out in the cold, blustery weather and on the T heading home.
I like being an alien.
One of the first things you need to do when starting work in the US is to get a social security number (SSN). When dealing with gas, real estate, phone companies etc. for the first time, your SSN is a crucial component for a smooth transaction. Having a SSN is important. Without it, you can't get paid.
One of the first things I did after arriving in Boston back in March was to catch the subway (known as the 'T') to SSN headquarters in downtown Boston. As a government building, the usual strict security procedures were observed upon entering. After dutifully emptying my pockets to be X-rayed, I found myself waiting in a standard office-grey processing centre that housed the SSN bureaucrats. As I sat with all the other aliens, subdued alien conversations in Spanish, Chinese and what seemed like Russian filled my ear.
I expected a lengthy waiting period but was pleasantly surprised by the very efficient and quick processing of my application. In little time I was told my SSN would be sent to me in 4 weeks or so, and I was back out in the cold, blustery weather and on the T heading home.
I like being an alien.
20 November 2007
Tips for removing an agarose overlay
Have you ever done a viral plaque assay that requires an agarose overlay and wondered how to remove the overlay without disrupting the cells below? Sure you have. Here's my method:
1. After seeing plaques in your cell monolayer, remove media and add 2 ml (per well of a 6-well plate) 1% formaldehyde/PBS to your agarose-overlaid cells. Incubate overnight at room temperature. This will fix your cells.
2. Remove formaldehyde, rinse wells with water.
3. Use a squirt bottle to squirt water along the edges of the well. This will loosen the agarose. Invert the plate over a biological waste bin and continue to squirt water into the well, while giving the plate a tap or flick. The agarose should slide out of the well and into the trash, leaving your cell monolayer unscathed.
4. Stain cells with 0.05% Neutral Red (or Crystal Violet) for a few hours, or even overnight, wash with water, air-dry the plate and count the plaques.
5. Viral titre (PFU/ml)= number of plaques/(dilution factor)*volume of diluted virus added to the well.
It took me a few attempts using other clumsy methods before stumbling on the squirt bottle trick. It's a method I haven't seen online anywhere so hopefully this will be helpful to a fellow scientist. Happy virus culturing.
1. After seeing plaques in your cell monolayer, remove media and add 2 ml (per well of a 6-well plate) 1% formaldehyde/PBS to your agarose-overlaid cells. Incubate overnight at room temperature. This will fix your cells.
2. Remove formaldehyde, rinse wells with water.
3. Use a squirt bottle to squirt water along the edges of the well. This will loosen the agarose. Invert the plate over a biological waste bin and continue to squirt water into the well, while giving the plate a tap or flick. The agarose should slide out of the well and into the trash, leaving your cell monolayer unscathed.
4. Stain cells with 0.05% Neutral Red (or Crystal Violet) for a few hours, or even overnight, wash with water, air-dry the plate and count the plaques.
5. Viral titre (PFU/ml)= number of plaques/(dilution factor)*volume of diluted virus added to the well.
It took me a few attempts using other clumsy methods before stumbling on the squirt bottle trick. It's a method I haven't seen online anywhere so hopefully this will be helpful to a fellow scientist. Happy virus culturing.
13 July 2007
Fuck I'm Old!
Has been a good night out, I've returned home after a few beers with work colleagues, with me celebrating another week without getting yelled at by the boss. I had my first lab meeting presentation this week and I didn't get a frown, destructive comment or confidence-crushing remark from the boss which was a relief, my talk actually went pretty well surprisingly. The fact that there were two potential new postdocs in the meeting might have had been a significant factor in my escape from a public flaming.
But man, tonight made me feel bloody old. So there we were, having beers, laughing and relaxing, when I look around the table and realise that I'm hanging out with Assistant Professors, Doctors and married couples with kids, mortgages and all manner of grown up responsibilities. It was about this time that I ordered another intoxicatingly tasty Lagunitas IPA Maximus (alcohol content 7.5%/bottle, woohoo!). Instead of the good old student days of having beers and bitching about our supervisors, there was a total reversal tonight, where talk revolved around our students (yes I'm helping to supervise a fairly lost summer student at the moment), and the difficulties of running your own lab.
Yeah so...um whatever, it's a pretty useless post, but I've had several beers so gimme a break! Right, all this despairing at how I am warrants another beer. And if you think that drinking alone is a sign of an alcoholic, well fucking hell, I'll drink to that.
But man, tonight made me feel bloody old. So there we were, having beers, laughing and relaxing, when I look around the table and realise that I'm hanging out with Assistant Professors, Doctors and married couples with kids, mortgages and all manner of grown up responsibilities. It was about this time that I ordered another intoxicatingly tasty Lagunitas IPA Maximus (alcohol content 7.5%/bottle, woohoo!). Instead of the good old student days of having beers and bitching about our supervisors, there was a total reversal tonight, where talk revolved around our students (yes I'm helping to supervise a fairly lost summer student at the moment), and the difficulties of running your own lab.
Yeah so...um whatever, it's a pretty useless post, but I've had several beers so gimme a break! Right, all this despairing at how I am warrants another beer. And if you think that drinking alone is a sign of an alcoholic, well fucking hell, I'll drink to that.
4 July 2007
Alarms
Every now and again, certain events trigger us to reassess the priorities and situation of our lives. Sometimes these events are cataclysmic (e.g. the loss of a loved one), but often, they are relatively minor occurrences, which serve as intermittent alarms to wake us from our day-to-day drudgery. I experienced one of these small jolts of reality last week. It came in the form of email and was from my good mate Ace. It reminded me of how much I value my friends and family, and has made my worries about having a hard-time dealing with my boss pale into a trivial annoyance in the grand scheme of things.
Ace is a police officer, and in short, he nearly died. I hope he doesn't mind, but here's a snippet of his story:
"I had a run in with a mentally ill male on Monday night. I was about 2 inches from being killed... he was armed with a massive meat cleaver which he swung at my face and neck with full force. Luckily I had taken a baton from the car on the way up to his unit*, which I used to deflect the blade".
(*unit is Aussiespeak for apartment)
It took several officers with a lot of capsicum spray to finally subdue the attacker and thankfully Ace survived the situation unharmed, but reading his words and realising the alternate outcomes of the situation made me feel sick and really homesick. We've been through so much together and I can't imagine not ever having the chance to give him a hug, share a beer, discuss cute boys passing by, or just chat and share our lives.
Ace and I shared the suffering of coming to terms with being gay, and I've always looked up to him and admired the way he dealt with the whole situation. Where I slipped into depression and senseless direction, he was positive, pro-active and infinitely braver than I in seeking to become a confident, well-adjusted gay man. I'm uncertain whether there is such a thing as 'destiny' in life, but it does feel that Ace and I were destined to meet at such a critical stage in our lives to share our experiences and support each other. The endless hours chatting about our future as gay men, how our friends would react with the news, and accepting that we were gay, seem so long ago. We have certainly seen less of each other and have drifted apart over the past few busy years, which makes me a little sad, but such is the evolution of friendship and I know that our history still binds us strongly.
It's Independence Day today in the States and I can hear the rumbling bass and sharp stabs of fireworks blasting loudly close by. The roars of fighter jets have also passed overhead tonight. The noise is at odds with the quiet rain pattering outside, and the explosions sound like a distant battle raging in the otherwise still night. I'm sitting alone in my apartment, the lights are off, Triple J radio is playing lightly from my laptop. I feel very much like a foreigner in this city tonight. I feel as if I have no right to celebrate with the rest of the population. For me, the night seems conducive to self-reflection. Thinking about one's life is futile and torturous at the best of times, but I often ponder about where and how my life has unfolded. I know I am bloody fortunate to have the opportunity to be here in Boston and Ace's story helped me remember this.
I've received a lot of much appreciated advice about my work situation since my last post and I've decided to stay in the short term and see how my project turns out. I might have already made one lousy choice in coming to Boston, so is staying here a bit longer the right choice? That's a question not worth stressing about, time will tell. Anyway, worrying about getting yelled at by the boss makes me laugh when compared to the worries about personal safety that Ace has to deal with.
Due to their inherent nature, many of the life alarms that forced me to revalue and appreciate my life have been horrible, I'm just glad that Ace's story was not in the cataclysmic category. But why wait for the next alarm to appreciate something in your life? Go and give your loved one a hug, your family a call, or arrange a catch up with a mate. Do whatever is uplifting for you. Life sucks too much to have to miss out on these simple pleasures.
"Think of all the beauty that's still left in and around you, and be happy." Anne Frank.
Ace is a police officer, and in short, he nearly died. I hope he doesn't mind, but here's a snippet of his story:
"I had a run in with a mentally ill male on Monday night. I was about 2 inches from being killed... he was armed with a massive meat cleaver which he swung at my face and neck with full force. Luckily I had taken a baton from the car on the way up to his unit*, which I used to deflect the blade".
(*unit is Aussiespeak for apartment)
It took several officers with a lot of capsicum spray to finally subdue the attacker and thankfully Ace survived the situation unharmed, but reading his words and realising the alternate outcomes of the situation made me feel sick and really homesick. We've been through so much together and I can't imagine not ever having the chance to give him a hug, share a beer, discuss cute boys passing by, or just chat and share our lives.
Ace and I shared the suffering of coming to terms with being gay, and I've always looked up to him and admired the way he dealt with the whole situation. Where I slipped into depression and senseless direction, he was positive, pro-active and infinitely braver than I in seeking to become a confident, well-adjusted gay man. I'm uncertain whether there is such a thing as 'destiny' in life, but it does feel that Ace and I were destined to meet at such a critical stage in our lives to share our experiences and support each other. The endless hours chatting about our future as gay men, how our friends would react with the news, and accepting that we were gay, seem so long ago. We have certainly seen less of each other and have drifted apart over the past few busy years, which makes me a little sad, but such is the evolution of friendship and I know that our history still binds us strongly.
It's Independence Day today in the States and I can hear the rumbling bass and sharp stabs of fireworks blasting loudly close by. The roars of fighter jets have also passed overhead tonight. The noise is at odds with the quiet rain pattering outside, and the explosions sound like a distant battle raging in the otherwise still night. I'm sitting alone in my apartment, the lights are off, Triple J radio is playing lightly from my laptop. I feel very much like a foreigner in this city tonight. I feel as if I have no right to celebrate with the rest of the population. For me, the night seems conducive to self-reflection. Thinking about one's life is futile and torturous at the best of times, but I often ponder about where and how my life has unfolded. I know I am bloody fortunate to have the opportunity to be here in Boston and Ace's story helped me remember this.
I've received a lot of much appreciated advice about my work situation since my last post and I've decided to stay in the short term and see how my project turns out. I might have already made one lousy choice in coming to Boston, so is staying here a bit longer the right choice? That's a question not worth stressing about, time will tell. Anyway, worrying about getting yelled at by the boss makes me laugh when compared to the worries about personal safety that Ace has to deal with.
Due to their inherent nature, many of the life alarms that forced me to revalue and appreciate my life have been horrible, I'm just glad that Ace's story was not in the cataclysmic category. But why wait for the next alarm to appreciate something in your life? Go and give your loved one a hug, your family a call, or arrange a catch up with a mate. Do whatever is uplifting for you. Life sucks too much to have to miss out on these simple pleasures.
"Think of all the beauty that's still left in and around you, and be happy." Anne Frank.
20 June 2007
Choice
The freedom of choice is a double-edged sword.
When I was choosing labs for my postdoc, I essentially narrowed down the choice to 2 labs. One lab was in California. The boss was very laid back, well liked, and very hands off. The postdocs lived a more laid-back existence although the drawback was that the quality of science from the lab wasn't fantastic. Good yes, but not great. The other lab is the lab I ultimately joined here in Boston. The boss seemed more intense, more involved in people's projects and the science was of a higher quality. It was a higher stress lab but the trade-off was a better career opportunity. It was an agonising decision, and the 'what if...?' scenarios played through my head for a month before I decided. In the end I chose 'career' over 'life and joined the Boston lab.
I now realise that I've made a terrible choice. The more time has passed, the more I've realised and heard from other postdocs that my boss is generally very abrasive and quick to shout at the postdocs: information that the postdocs failed to mention for some reason when I was interviewing for the position. In particular, no scientific proposal seems good enough to avoid the Boss's wrath, even if it is well-thought out and explained clearly. I learned this the past week and it was hammered into me today as I got yelled at by the Boss. It was a full on tirade of wrath. It was completely unreasonable and the factors leading to the shouting are too complicated to write about. I was completely taken off guard and was barely able to mumble a few answers in attempt to clarify the situation or defend myself.
I was made to feel completely worthless and stupid. My recent efforts and hard work over the past week went utterly unrecognised and not one word of encouragement was given. Criticism in science is expected but my Boss delivered it with vengeance that was crushing, humiliating and upsetting. Getting verbally abused in front of fellow colleagues in the lab is not fun. The honeymoon period of being the new guy abruptly ended today.
Sad thing is, almost everyone in the lab at some stage gets treated this way apparently. I was told not to take it personally, but I'm a sensitive guy (over-sensitive perhaps) so I was pretty upset afterwards.
I've considered changing labs but that is a pretty traumatic process and I don't think I can handle it. I've only been in the lab over two months, maybe I'll get used to the Boss's 'unique' management style. I see this time as a way to learn to better myself and be less sensitive.
With choice, comes regret. Sometimes choice sucks.
Reading over this post I can see that it's not very well written, but I'm too tired at the moment to give a shit. I just needed an outlet to vent. I'll reassess the whole situation tomorrow.
When I was choosing labs for my postdoc, I essentially narrowed down the choice to 2 labs. One lab was in California. The boss was very laid back, well liked, and very hands off. The postdocs lived a more laid-back existence although the drawback was that the quality of science from the lab wasn't fantastic. Good yes, but not great. The other lab is the lab I ultimately joined here in Boston. The boss seemed more intense, more involved in people's projects and the science was of a higher quality. It was a higher stress lab but the trade-off was a better career opportunity. It was an agonising decision, and the 'what if...?' scenarios played through my head for a month before I decided. In the end I chose 'career' over 'life and joined the Boston lab.
I now realise that I've made a terrible choice. The more time has passed, the more I've realised and heard from other postdocs that my boss is generally very abrasive and quick to shout at the postdocs: information that the postdocs failed to mention for some reason when I was interviewing for the position. In particular, no scientific proposal seems good enough to avoid the Boss's wrath, even if it is well-thought out and explained clearly. I learned this the past week and it was hammered into me today as I got yelled at by the Boss. It was a full on tirade of wrath. It was completely unreasonable and the factors leading to the shouting are too complicated to write about. I was completely taken off guard and was barely able to mumble a few answers in attempt to clarify the situation or defend myself.
I was made to feel completely worthless and stupid. My recent efforts and hard work over the past week went utterly unrecognised and not one word of encouragement was given. Criticism in science is expected but my Boss delivered it with vengeance that was crushing, humiliating and upsetting. Getting verbally abused in front of fellow colleagues in the lab is not fun. The honeymoon period of being the new guy abruptly ended today.
Sad thing is, almost everyone in the lab at some stage gets treated this way apparently. I was told not to take it personally, but I'm a sensitive guy (over-sensitive perhaps) so I was pretty upset afterwards.
I've considered changing labs but that is a pretty traumatic process and I don't think I can handle it. I've only been in the lab over two months, maybe I'll get used to the Boss's 'unique' management style. I see this time as a way to learn to better myself and be less sensitive.
With choice, comes regret. Sometimes choice sucks.
Reading over this post I can see that it's not very well written, but I'm too tired at the moment to give a shit. I just needed an outlet to vent. I'll reassess the whole situation tomorrow.
17 June 2007
Into the Berkshires
Work seems to be consuming my Boston life already. It's been bloody hectic these past few weeks due to ongoing experiments. Plus the pressure to present some positive results at the weekly group meeting, or risk getting grilled by The Boss, is always a prompt motivator to be in the lab doing stuff. With scientific research, experiments don't work 90% of the time (well for me anyway...), so most of your time is spent tweaking the conditions for one experiment in order to get it working. This means there's a lot of repeating experiments which can be incredibly frustrating and demoralising. Coupled with the constant threat of a verbal crushing by The Boss, it has been getting increasingly stressful. I'm very conscious that the honeymoon-period of protection that is conferred by being the new guy is wearing thin in the eyes of The Boss.
In non-work news, made my first sojourn out of Boston last weekend. Went with Bay-buddy, his wife and another postdoc in the lab on a 2 and 1/2 hour drive west of Boston to the Berkshire region of Massachusetts that borders on New York. We spent the day hiking in the area around Bash Bish falls and Mt Alander. It was a fairly moderate hike of about 7 miles I think (11.2 km) up fairly steep terrain for the most part, so I was glad that we were only lugging day-packs and not rucksacks for camping.
I had a great time being out in the US wilderness for the first time and I really enjoyed the tranquil and my somewhat sweaty reconnection with Nature. The only thing that bugged me was that the map they provide at the beginning of the track sucked big-time as it wasn't very detailed. So if you're ever heading out there for a hike, I'd recommend getting a decent map of the trails elsewhere before you go.
I also saw my first chipmunk running around the bush which excited me greatly. There was this fuzzy little brown and black ball capering noisily through the undergrowth and when I excitedly pointed it out to Bay-buddy and asked him what it was, he glanced up for all of 1 second and in a completely unimpressed tone said "It's a chipmunk". Then he turned back to cursing at the map. I assume now that chipmunks are quite common. Well I was excited... Glad I never told him how cool I thought it was to see squirrels running around Boston.
So this was my animal spotting list: chipmunks, a small snake, two frogs, a green and yellow caterpillar which plopped onto my arm from the sky, and many birds. Again, I got childishly excited when the tap-tap-tapping sound that echoed through the woods was identified by Bay-buddy to be a woodpecker. A lyrebird calling, and not a woodpecker pecking, is the norm in the Aussie bush: hence my excitement.
Leave a comment if you spot the wildlife in the photo (it's actually pretty easy).
In non-work news, made my first sojourn out of Boston last weekend. Went with Bay-buddy, his wife and another postdoc in the lab on a 2 and 1/2 hour drive west of Boston to the Berkshire region of Massachusetts that borders on New York. We spent the day hiking in the area around Bash Bish falls and Mt Alander. It was a fairly moderate hike of about 7 miles I think (11.2 km) up fairly steep terrain for the most part, so I was glad that we were only lugging day-packs and not rucksacks for camping.
The falls were only a few metres high and not that spectacular, but hey...
I had a great time being out in the US wilderness for the first time and I really enjoyed the tranquil and my somewhat sweaty reconnection with Nature. The only thing that bugged me was that the map they provide at the beginning of the track sucked big-time as it wasn't very detailed. So if you're ever heading out there for a hike, I'd recommend getting a decent map of the trails elsewhere before you go.
Ferns and fungi, what's not to like?
We crossed into New York going to the South Taconic trail and Mt Alander.
I also saw my first chipmunk running around the bush which excited me greatly. There was this fuzzy little brown and black ball capering noisily through the undergrowth and when I excitedly pointed it out to Bay-buddy and asked him what it was, he glanced up for all of 1 second and in a completely unimpressed tone said "It's a chipmunk". Then he turned back to cursing at the map. I assume now that chipmunks are quite common. Well I was excited... Glad I never told him how cool I thought it was to see squirrels running around Boston.
"How's the serenity?" A small stream from the falls.
So this was my animal spotting list: chipmunks, a small snake, two frogs, a green and yellow caterpillar which plopped onto my arm from the sky, and many birds. Again, I got childishly excited when the tap-tap-tapping sound that echoed through the woods was identified by Bay-buddy to be a woodpecker. A lyrebird calling, and not a woodpecker pecking, is the norm in the Aussie bush: hence my excitement.
(Left) Aaaagggh snake!; (Right) Spot the wildlife...
Leave a comment if you spot the wildlife in the photo (it's actually pretty easy).
26 April 2007
Working at lunch
A significant mile-stone was achieved in the settling-in process at work today, I was asked to join a group for lunch. Even though I've been in my new lab for almost a month now, I still feel like the new guy and am still in the process of feeling like 'one of the lab'. Everyone has been very helpful and friendly since I arrived, and my bay-buddy (the guy who works on the bench behind me in what forms a ' lab bay') even volunteered to drive me to Target to buy stuff for my flat (as mentioned in the Kung Pao chicken post), so I've definitely made inroads into being accepted into the lab, but being asked out for lunch had so far eluded me.
I've been asked out for coffee, tea and even ice-cream, and only today had I finally been asked to lunch. Success came with the smell of a beef burrito with jalopenos. It was huge, tasty and shamefully calorific. Yum.
Usually the same handful of friends, out of the lab of 20 something people, hang out at lunch together and it's not uncommon for people to eat alone due to busy experimental days. My usual lunch-buddy is Bing who is working in a lab downstairs to mine which is an ideal situation for scheduling lunch, and we have a selection of eateries on our lunch rotation menu. From burrito places which are really good here and would go really well in Australia where they are basically non-existent, to a Cajun chicken place that has a lunch serving of yummy chicken with rice and veges that is easily enough for the two of us, to a very tasty $2.75 clam chowder soup in our buildings cafeteria.
Apart from the social fitting-in process, my actual scientific work is still in its infancy. I've done a few experiments, but am still figuring out where reagents/equipment are and basically how the lab runs. My boss is a little scary as in my first two group meetings she was yelling at another postdoc for not having any results and basically not having a clue about his experimental methodology. From what I gather he kinda deserved it but I felt really sorry for him, especially since I get the feeling that not many people in the lab like him too much. To be blasted by your boss two weeks in a row seemed a bit much. I have a little expertise in what he was trying to do so I gave him some tips after the second yelling/meeting which he seemed grateful for.
Bay-buddy told me that my honeymoon period in the lab was coming to an end and that I should be wary with The Boss from now. He was only half-joking so now I'm scared of what kind of lab I've gotten myself into. My question is why the hell none of the postdocs mentioned The Boss's scariness when I visited the lab for my interview?! Hopefully I can get enough results to stay in her good books. We'll see.
After dinner tonight Bing told me he has already planned tomorrows lunch. It's a place a work-mate showed him the other day that does a mega steak and cheese sandwich that can easily feed two. Time to loosen that belt.
I've been asked out for coffee, tea and even ice-cream, and only today had I finally been asked to lunch. Success came with the smell of a beef burrito with jalopenos. It was huge, tasty and shamefully calorific. Yum.
Usually the same handful of friends, out of the lab of 20 something people, hang out at lunch together and it's not uncommon for people to eat alone due to busy experimental days. My usual lunch-buddy is Bing who is working in a lab downstairs to mine which is an ideal situation for scheduling lunch, and we have a selection of eateries on our lunch rotation menu. From burrito places which are really good here and would go really well in Australia where they are basically non-existent, to a Cajun chicken place that has a lunch serving of yummy chicken with rice and veges that is easily enough for the two of us, to a very tasty $2.75 clam chowder soup in our buildings cafeteria.
Apart from the social fitting-in process, my actual scientific work is still in its infancy. I've done a few experiments, but am still figuring out where reagents/equipment are and basically how the lab runs. My boss is a little scary as in my first two group meetings she was yelling at another postdoc for not having any results and basically not having a clue about his experimental methodology. From what I gather he kinda deserved it but I felt really sorry for him, especially since I get the feeling that not many people in the lab like him too much. To be blasted by your boss two weeks in a row seemed a bit much. I have a little expertise in what he was trying to do so I gave him some tips after the second yelling/meeting which he seemed grateful for.
Bay-buddy told me that my honeymoon period in the lab was coming to an end and that I should be wary with The Boss from now. He was only half-joking so now I'm scared of what kind of lab I've gotten myself into. My question is why the hell none of the postdocs mentioned The Boss's scariness when I visited the lab for my interview?! Hopefully I can get enough results to stay in her good books. We'll see.
After dinner tonight Bing told me he has already planned tomorrows lunch. It's a place a work-mate showed him the other day that does a mega steak and cheese sandwich that can easily feed two. Time to loosen that belt.
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