child devil of tuna

Sorry for the long delay and the lack of posting. It's been a crazy couple of weeks and I don't really know when it'll let up.

Long story short, I found out early last week that the modified experimental protocol that I'd been given had a tiny (but HUGELY significant) error in it and all of the work that I had done during the four weeks before was CRAP. If that wasn't depressing and lame enough, after working late every day for the rest of the week and coming in on a Saturday to finish everything up, I made a stupid mistake and forgot to freeze my purified protein and I ended up just leaving in on my lab bench at room temperature until I remembered on Sunday (early) morning in a fit of crazy "Oh my God what have I done I'm so stupid I can't believe I did that." I made it back to the lab Sunday morning only to have to start it all over again from scratch. I was resigned to my fate and I figured from here on out, I'll be more careful and things will start to go well. That brings me to Monday. I purified another protein and when I looked at my gel, there was NO PROTEIN. Don't know what happened. Don't know why. It just wasn't there. In desperation, I asked my supervisor because I couldn't explain what had gone wrong. It had worked every time I did it before, but apparently, according to him, things like this "just happen" and there's nothing we can do except start over. BLARGH!

So where does that leave me now? I'm nearly done re-doing everything and this afternoon, I'll find out if the last three days will have been in vain or not. I'd like to think that since so much has gone wrong in the last 7 or 8 days that nothing can go wrong today, but I'm not going to count my chickens before they're hatched. Knock on wood, fingers crossed, wish me luck, whatever. I just hope there's protein in my gel...

Ahh, science. How I love and loathe it.

posted by Grace @ 11/30/2005 12:36:00 AM 0 comments

I finally get blog "tagging" now. Sorry Eva. I didn't quite understand what you meant when you had it on your blog. For some reason, I was thinking that I had to write up some crazy html tags or something to make it work but in actuality, it's much more simple than that! Anyway, I'm stealing this from Christine's blog. Do what it says and... tag, you're it!

If you're reading this, if your eyes are passing over this right now, even if we don't speak often, please post a comment with a memory of you and me. It can be anything you want - good or bad. When you're finished, post this little paragraph on your blog and be surprised (or mortified) about what people remember about you.

posted by Grace @ 11/17/2005 04:20:00 AM 0 comments

Real-life websites that are unintionally dirty and offensive. Think think think before you give the go-ahead on a new website!

Who Represents? - A database for agencies to the rich and famous.
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Experts Exchange - A knowledge base where programmers can exchange advice.
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Looking for a pen? Then look no further than Pen Island!
http://www.penisland.net

Need a therapist? Then find one at:
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Mole Station Native Nursery, based in New South Wales:
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New to Milan and you need an electric light? Why not sign up on-line with Power-Gen?
http://www.powergenitalia.com/

posted by Grace @ 11/15/2005 09:56:00 AM 0 comments

To PhD or not to PhD? That is the question on hand. And I have to make a decision soon. They're accepting applications until this coming Friday.

I can think of a lot of reasons to not do it. Obviously, I'm not certain and it's not something you take lightly. I'm pretty sure that I don't want to spend another 3 - 4 years away from home. It will be harder (although not improbable) for me to find funding because I'm American. Mostly, I don't know if I want to be a student for that much longer. I want to work, to find a place to settle down (even if only semi-permanently), and to have the kind of lifestyle that I had when I was part of the workforce. Besides, if in 10 or 20 years, I still really really wanted to, I could very easily do it.

However, being a "Doctor Lee" would be fresh and it's not like I'm NOT capable of doing a bio-Phd.

Decisions, decisions. Does someone want to make them for me?

posted by Grace @ 11/13/2005 11:06:00 AM 0 comments

I've managed to find myself in a post-less rut, a creative black hole. Nothing new to report and no new photos to share.

I think what this means is that I've finally fallen into the tedium of routine and living in the UK, going to lab, and eating lunch in the Smith Building cafeteria are no longer new and/or stressful. However, this doesn't mean that I'm on top of my shiznit either. I still need to find a 2nd lab, start the write-up for my first lab rotation, and give my first tutorial presentation. ARGH. Will I EVER outgrow my procrastinatory tendencies?!

Sorry for the lame-ass post. I will try to think of something more entertaining for you guys to read. Patience please.

posted by Grace @ 11/08/2005 07:24:00 AM 0 comments