Thank goodness it's Saturday. I needed the extra sleep this morning. Work has been a little boring lately. As an intern, I basically just do what I am told. So if nobody gives me anything to do, I am stuck trying to look busy all day. I feel guilty if I'm not doing something that's actual work. And 3 weeks ago I was told not to read a book or surf non-science related websites while at work (facebook is blocked anyways). So I'm not left with many options that don't explicitly contradict rules I was given. Usually I just try to surf science-related websites, or do dishes, or just basically clean up the lab. Yesterday I did a lot of this. Sometimes people make up a solution and just leave it there. Nobody knows what it is, so it just sits there for weeks and weeks. So finally yesterday I just threw away a bunch of stuff that had been lying around for a while. And I did inventory of the freezer. That was really fun. Our freezer is kept at -80 degrees celcius (about -140 farenheit). There are important samples in there and if they thaw and re-freeze, they are basically ruined. Our job was to take out boxes, write down the numbers written on each little tube (81 in each box), and if there is space then consolidate boxes down. To keep everything cold, we have to take only two boxes out at a time and they have to constantly be surrounded on all sides by dry ice. Every box and the entire freezer is covered in a layer of frost so every time we open it, chunks of ice fall off and melt onto the floor. We also have to use these big mittens to touch things because it's so cold. And then we have to rub off the ice and read the top of each little tiny bottle. Needless to say, it's a very cold job. And to make it worse, when the freezer gets above -70 degrees, an alarm goes off. Just opening the freezer for 30 seconds causes it to raise about 5 degrees each time, so that happens a lot. But we finished that so I won't have to do it again. At least I felt somewhat useful.
There are a lot of crazy rules in the lab. For example, yesterday I had to take these boxes off the shelf in the lab, put them on a wheeled cart, and wheel them to another room. In that room is a sterile hood. I had to take each box off the cart, set it under the hood, turn the top 180 degrees, and put it back on the cart to back into the lab. There actually is a reason for this. When we sterilize things, they get really hot. If the tops of the boxes were on correctly, the pressure would build and they would explode. So we put the tops on wrong so there's space for the pressure to escape. When they are finished, we have to let them air dry. But if the tops are on wrong, then un-sterile air can get in and contaminate them. So we have to put them under a sterile hood and put the tops on right so that they are sealed and protected. I really felt OCD doing that whole procedure. I felt ridiculous. But at least I know that all of our tips are sterile!
Today I am going to church to scrapbook and then my family is going over to Daniel's house for dinner and then I'm babysitting for the Francis'. I'm excited for church tomorrow. I'm playing the piano and it's been a few weeks since I have gone. I really like going and sitting with Daniel. It makes me feel like we're married or living together or something.
Right now Nicole is babysitting Mariah and Mercedes. They just wandered in here looking for the kitty haha. I think I'll go play with them. They're so cute!
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