A day in the life...

I once promised a student I mentored that I would write a blog post detailing my week as a scientist. That has proven to be more challenging that I expected. Some days are busier than others and often times I opt to write about something else when I have a chance to leisurely think. As I scrolled through my phone's notes at lunch, I came across some bits of material that I had recorded for a potential blog post. In retrospect, these notes explain my moods. By Wednesday (April 5th), I was starved of conversation with my old lab mates, one who left for a three week vacation and another who began a job elsewhere. Great colleagues make failed experiments more bearable. They also provide laughs for every day occurrences. On Thursdays, thoughts are unleashed and subject to the whims of the lab. Granted, this happens every day, but depending on who is giving lab meeting, the pressure is heightened. On Friday, it's time to get down to business. Of course, whatever I just described could happen in whatever order on any day of the week. What is presented below happens to be a snapshot of just three days. And it's not even a detailed description. It's just whatever I had written down and enhanced with gifs for my own pleasure. 

Wednesday April 5^th, 2017

12:15 PM- My two main peeps are no longer in the lab. They were enablers when it comes to getting a burrito fix. The craving is strong enough to visit Pepe…solo.

Whilst walking there, I develop a hankering for some shaved ice (a well known weakness of mine). I call my sister and she reveals she is eating a popsicle, a childhood delight of hers. We realize together that our mom pairs any dessert with ice cream. We laugh at our predilection to cold treats. 


via GIPHY

12:30 PM- I return to the lunch room to eat my asada quesadilla in peace. There is only one other person there. Unfortunately, it is a character who frequently likes to talk about marriage with me. Of course this warrants a text to my two peeps. 

*It's not forbidden.

1:59 PM- I walk to the annual campus wide safety training session. Every year, the Safety People pick a theme to focus on. I speculate as to what it might be. I can't help but think of this popular t-shirt slogan. 

2-3 PM- Turns out the theme for this year is brush fires... Australian brush fires.

via GIPHY
  

2:10 PM- Chuck (the instructor) plays a video highlighting the dangers of Australian brush fires. We are presented a scenario in which we need to combat an encroaching fire with a list of tools. Chuck stops the video so that participants can begin to form a plan. The girl next to me reads the directive on the screen, "Please stop the VCR and complete the exercise." She asks, "What is a VCR?"

via GIPHY

 

My reaction... and I wasn't even wearing my glasses. 

via GIPHY

2:30 PM- We are instructed to talk with the people at our table to determine a survival plan when our vacation home in the Australian outback is threatened with a brush fire. I'm not in the talking mood.


via GIPHY

Chuck emphasizes that we are better off with a group of people than alone. My succinct conclusion to the group of strangers sitting at my table after calculating our score.


via GIPHY

3:00 PM- I return to the lab and asked how the safety training went.
via GIPHY

Thursday April 6^th, 2017

9:30-11 AM- Lab meeting
We discuss whether we should put some of our mice on an exercise schedule. I am more motivated to stick to my running schedule. I don’t want to be outdone by our experimental mice.

Rest of the day- Emails, phone calls, meetings, scheduling, reading, analysis

Friday April 7^th, 2017

9:00 AM-6 PM


via GIPHY

Bring it. Today is busy. It demands the classic rock playlist. 

1- metabolite extraction... 6 hr incubation followed with ~2 hr speed vac

2- set up for proliferation assays... cell counting (6-well plates) and MTS (96-well plates)

3- sonicate fixed cells for chromatin immunoprecipitation with p53 Ab (DO-1)

4- collect protein (use RIPA)

5- use protein for gel electrophoresis (Western blot analysis)

6- place a large order for laboratory bulk items (pipets, tissue culture plates, medium)

7- routine tissue culture (1.5 hrs)

8- search and rescue mission for mRNA stored in -80C... use to repeat qPCR experiments (use the dates from the hardcopy of my experiments printed yesterday)

One day, I will expand on Friday's to do list. Trust me, it was a fun day. I sat down at my desk once (to order items).