Lab Happy Hour

Work has been absolutely crazy this week. I'm right in the middle of 3 projects. Even though my boss doesn't know it, I'm trying hard to finish as much as I can in the next 2-3 weeks. It will be really hard to leave work unfinished. I'm the kind of person that needs closure. I don't think I will be able to finish completely, but at least I can find a good stopping point. I've also been keeping a very detailed lab notebook because I know that whoever takes over for me will need that information. And unfortunately when I took over for Laura, she had no lab notebook. So if I had a question there was nothing to go off of. I emailed her a lot in those first few weeks.

Since we've gotten back from Phoenix, we have been busy almost every day. On Tuesday, we went out to dinner with friends to welcome back one of Daniel's fraternity brothers who spent the last few months sailing around the world (tough job, right?). Also on Tuesday, Daniel's bank got robbed. While he was working. That was absolutely terrifying. At first when he called me at work and told me "we got robbed," I thought he was talking about our house! I freaked out and wanted to know what was taken, but Daniel corrected himself and said that the bank got robbed. Then my thoughts immediately turned to whether Daniel was okay. Before I had a chance to ask, he told me that he was fine. I was in the middle of something really important at work so as much as it killed me, I had to ask Daniel to call me back in 5 minutes. When we finally got a chance to talk again my first question was if there was a gun. When Daniel said no, I felt so much better. So many things could have gone wrong. I wanted to drive over there and give Daniel and big hug and see for myself that he was okay. But I had to just go back to work. It was hard to concentrate. When I finally got home and saw Daniel, I gave him an extra long hug.

On Thursday our PI David Schwartz (also Dean of the Department of Medicine) had the lab over to his place for happy hour. I didn't really want to go, but Daniel told me that I should take this opportunity to speak with David about my graduate school plans. Because he is so high up in the Department of Medicine, he could have some serious power in getting me into grad school. I also thought that it would be helpful to have some social interaction to diffuse any animosity that might come out when I resign next week. And when I resign I want David to know that I appreciated everything that this lab has done for me. I really didn't want to go, but these were compelling enough reasons to convince me.

I have a hard time with social situations, so an entire hour or two is pretty difficult for me. And I didn't have Daniel there as my security blanket. When I got there, I immediately noticed that I was the only technician- and the youngest person there by probably at least 6 or 7 years. But I didn't let that get to me. I immediately struck up a conversation with the person there that I knew the least- a new MD that we just hired. It was fascinating. He's from Colombia so he has a beautiful accent. And right now he sees patients on Mondays at Denver Health. That's a hospital for low-income and homeless people. He strictly sees HIV-positive patients. Combine low-income with HIV-positive and you get a very interesting clientele. I told him that I hoped to be a health care provider and we talked about what it's like to see patients. It was very informative. And I was so proud of myself for having this great conversation with someone I don't even know. As the night went on, I realized that I still hadn't talked to David at all. I kept one eye on him, but there was never an opportunity to interject. After about 2 hours, Judy suggested that we walk to our car together. So we went over to David and thanked him for hosting. I mentioned that I saw the picture of his daughter and son and he asked if I'd like to meet his son. I said yes, and he brought his son over. He is about my age, and just started school at UCDenver (where our lab is) studying economics. I told him that I had just applied there as well. David asked what program and I told him Physician's Assistant. He said that's a great program. I told him that I didn't know what my chances were of getting in, but I'm very excited. And David told me that there's no chance at all if you don't apply. So motivation #1 for attending Happy Hour was fulfilled. Then Judy left to thank David's wife, and that was the first time that I was alone with David. In my head, I'm telling myself "do it now, do it now, do it now!" so I got up the courage and turned to him and thanked him for the opportunity he gave me last summer to be a student in his lab. I also told him that I have learned so much and I am happy that I got to stay in the lab and continue working after my graduation. He told me that I've done a great job and shook my hand. Then I gracefully turned and thanked his wife, and we left. Motivation #2 fulfilled! As I left I was so proud of myself for spending almost 2 hours in a social situation with people that are much older than me, more educated than me, and that I hardly knew. I was able to have interesting conversations, and get some face time in with PI of my lab. It couldn't have gone any better. I am absolutely sure that the two glasses of wine I had helped me work up the courage to talk to David at the end. I'll have to remember that. Two glasses of wine make me a great conversationalist.

Okay seriously, in the time I have taken to write this, a PhD in the lab has asked me 5 different questions. I should be paid more.

Happy Weekend!

Wedding planning weekend

It's Monday, and I'm completely exhausted. I will definitely leave work a little bit early today, but it's no problem because I skipped lunch. The reason I'm so tired is because my weekend was crazy busy. We spent 3 1/2 days in Phoenix in another attempt to wrap up the on-location wedding planning. We managed to fit in a meeting with the coordinator to pick all the decorations (including table settings), some shopping to buy some materials for the table centerpieces, a hair trial and dress fitting for me, a private dance lesson for Daniel and me, and a private dance lesson for Daniel and his Dad. For non-wedding related activities, I saw a movie with my Mom and Grandma, participated in the Rosen family peace pole dedication ceremony, went swimming in the evening, went out for many meals, attended church on Sunday morning, and had a Sunday afternoon brunch for the Burton and Rosen family members in the Scottsdale area.

This is a complete surprise to me, but my favorite activity of the weekend was the dance lesson. I was not even planning on having a dance lesson, but Daniel's mom set one up for us with Daniel's older brother. Rennie just happens to be a professional ballroom dance teacher. He was amazing. In less than an hour he taught us the basics of the rumba. He knew immediately after listening to the song we picked for our first dance that it would fit the rumba very well. And he was right! After learning the slow, quick-quick, slow, quick-quick box step, Rennie started to add in more complicated moves. What an amazing sense of accomplishment when we finally got a dance step down! My Mom stayed and watched and cheered when we finally got it. I did the whole lesson in the shoes I bought for the wedding day. These shoes happen to be the tallest heels I have worn in my life, so it was good practice to dance in them. I am definitely getting used to them and I loved dancing in them. They look so beautiful! What I'm really concerned about is the dress. I hope all the fluffy underneath layers don't trip me up. Daniel and I are going to practice as much as we can between now and the wedding so that on that evening we look calm and relaxed. Right now we look like we're concentrating very hard. I think everyone will be impressed.

Daniel also practiced the waltz with his Mom. They're dancing to "What a Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong. If you know that song, then you know it is not a waltz. Luckily Daniel's Mom has no sense of rhythm so that isn't a problem for her. Daniel will have to work hard to dance in 3 to a song that's actually in 4. Rennie choreographed their dance more specifically, while our dance will be more impromptu- just the way I wanted it.

The other goal of this weekend was for me to get another dress fitting in and see what it will look like with the shoes and jewelry. Beth and my Mom were there and they agreed that the jewelry looked good with the dress. I wasn't convinced, but I trust them. The dress is bright white, and the pearls are off-white. To me that looked weird, but Beth said you can't tell from far away. The earrings look fantastic though. The dress still has a long way to go to fit me right, but the seamstress has done a great job so far. She has a great eye for detail and wants to get it just perfect. My last fitting was in March and since then she took 3 inches off the straps, took a few inches in at the waist and top, and lots of other minor things. The top is still too big. She marked the hem yesterday and she will have to take a good 3-5 inches off of that as well. Thank goodness we already paid for all the alterations. By the end, this will practically be a custom gown! But it will fit me perfectly and I know that makes a huge difference in how the dress looks.

I was very happy that the relationships with our family members survived in tact this weekend. It's always a little scary to see what argument will break out. But Robert kept all his thoughts and opinions to himself, so Daniel didn't have to defend himself at all. My Dad also kept his childish tantrums to a minimum. He had eye surgery on Friday morning, so he slept most of the weekend. I tried to do what I could to make sure he felt like I spent some time with him. I got to spend lots of time one-on-one with my Mom which was great. Pretty much my whole Saturday was spent with her- getting my hair done, out to lunch, grocery shopping and preparing dinner, and at the dance lesson.

So now looking forward I am very excited about the possibility of getting a new (higher paid) job! I have an interview on Wednesday so I hope to know on that day or maybe Thursday if I got the job or not. I am going to ask for about 10K more than I'm making now which will be a huge help with our monthly bills. So wish me luck!

Unexpected Opportunity

Last week, I had a very unexpected opportunity present itself. I got a facebook message from someone I met back in April. I was put into contact with her through a DU and Theta Chi alumnus. He told me that one of his friends told him about a job opening that I might be interested in. So I applied for the job, and got an interview. This was my first of many interviews to come. It went great. In fact, I remember thinking that I really fit in well with the people there. Like I could really picture myself working there. But, I didn't get a job offer. I think the main reason is that they needed someone right away, but I couldn't start until I graduated in June. So they hired someone else and I kept looking. Well, clear out of the blue I got a facebook message from the same girl who I originally talked to about the position. Her PI (the person in charge of the whole lab) was looking again, and she wanted to know if I ever found a job, or if I was interested. I responded back telling her that I did find a full-time position with my old lab, but that it was a research technician job, and not a PRA job. For that reason, I am interested in any PRA job they have open. I also told her that I just submitted my graduate school application and that if I am accepted, I will be starting that program next June. I didn't hear back from her for about a week. I assumed that because I already had a job with another lab on the same campus, and because I was hopefully starting graduate school in 9 months, that she wouldn't want to pursue it further. So I was very surprised when she responded yesterday asking for my email address so she could send me more information about the job. I tried not to get too excited, because in my experience NOBODY wants to hire someone for just a year, and even LESS people want to hire someone for just 9 months!

So in her email about the job (which I am extremely qualified for by the way) she asked for me to send her an updated resume and references. This posed a problem. All of my references before were people in the Schwartz Lab. But I can't put down my current employer as a reference- then they'll know I'm interviewing for another job! So I called Judy. She's not my employer, and she's leaving the lab in December so she doesn't have a huge interest in the future of the lab. I also trust her. She was almost more excited about it then I was! She said it was a fantastic opportunity and I should absolutely take it, and she would be happy to be a reference. So I emailed back last night with my resume, references (I also included Daniel's Mom as a personal reference) and a informal cover letter. And this morning I got an email back!

They want to know a little more detail about my experience, and also about my current status here on campus. I think she wants to know how easy the transition would be. I wouldn't have to go through new employee orientation, and jump through all the hoops to work in the vivarium because I've already done that. So I think they will be happy that my answer to most of her questions was "yes!" Also, she explained that the position would be open September 15th and that they are currently working with the HR department to see if they can bypass posing the job listing altogether and just have me alone apply. To me, that sounds like they are ready to just hire me without even looking for anyone else!

I cannot believe my luck. I interviewed 6 months ago, and now they have pursued me to hire me for a new position. I would get a promotion and almost assuredly a pay raise. I won't take the job if it isn't higher pay. Right now I'm a research technician. Almost everyone on campus is a PRA- professional research associate. The reason I'm a research technician is because at National Jewish (where we were when I got hired), they don't hire people right out of college as a full PRA. Instead, they hire you as a "trainee". At UCDenver (where I am now), research technician is the equivalent of a trainee. So they hire me as this special position so they can pay me an insultingly low wage just because I'm right out of college even though I have a full 18 months of experience. I think it also has to do with the fact that they are expecting me to leave in June for grad school. So it's a short-term position as well.

At first, I was pretty anxious about all of this. I love my lab, I love my employer, and I feel like it's pretty rude to just leave when the first opportunity arises. It took me a few hours to get over that guilt. But, here are the reasons I am using to justify my pursuing this new position. First, it's a promotion and a pay raise- nobody can argue with that. I think my PI will understand, especially because she's admitted to me that they don't pay me enough. Second, the lab will be fine without me. I'm finishing up my fourth week of being bored out of my mind 75% of the time. Things are just starting to pick up, but I'm definitely not leaving them with massive amounts of work to do without me. Third, we just hired another mouse technician. She starts on August 15, which will give us a full month to transition her into all of my responsibilities. And I think I'll be able to finish my current experiment by then.

Oh my goodness, I have no idea how this happened! I feel so fortunate in this economy to have a full-time job and have another lab fully pursuing me for another position. Thank you Jesus!

A Lesson in Patience

I have had kind of a bad attitude at work the last few days. And I don't know if it's legitimate, or just me being selfish. I'll let you decide.

My position as "student researcher" just ended on July 1. For 19 months, my job was to do whatever I was told, no matter who told me to do it. I helped whichever researcher needed help at the time. This worked fine for me. I was able to learn lots of different things because I did something a little different for each person who asked for my help. I also got to know everyone in the lab pretty well. Most of the time, however, I worked for one of two people: Laura, and Judy. Laura is no longer working at the lab, but Judy is.

On July 1, I became a research technician. This new position is a little different. My job is to work for Ivana. I do whatever experiments she needs me to do. In between her work, I can help other people if I want to. If you've been reading my blog, you know that the last 2 1/2 weeks have been pretty boring. We have been moving into a new lab which means we are lacking many of the necessary equipment and supplies to actually do any work. But on Friday, the first instrument was installed. So we were able to do some work- if it involved that single instrument. Judy asked me to run some of her samples on that instrument. I agreed without any hesitation. I was excited to get back to the bench and do what I love- science.

Then, on Monday, she asked me to help her with a new technique. Neither of us have done it, but we've both done something very similar. It involves many basic laboratory techniques that I am very comfortable with. However, it can be somewhat difficult because it involves RNA. There are 3 things that you have to be aware of when working with RNA: 1)If the samples are not kept cold constantly they will degrade and become unusable. 2)You have to work quickly and get the samples back into the freezer as soon as possible. And 3) you have to disinfect everything in the immediate area constantly because proteins that chew up RNA are sitting around on everything- the table top, your hands, etc. RNA can be somewhat difficult to work with, but if you follow those 3 rules then you're fine. And luckily, I know those 3 rules. So I'm thinking that I can do this new technique without any problem. But Judy wants us to do it together just to be sure it goes okay. On just 4 samples. This is kind of hard to explain if you don't work in a lab, but imagine having 5 people in the kitchen baking cookies together. At some point, there's just too many people trying to work on the same bowl of ingredients. That's how I felt about this procedure. You don't need 2 people working on 4 samples. And because we're working on it together, I have to go at Judy's pace. Which is S-L-O-W. I get so frustrated when I have to stand there and wait while she reads the directions for the 50th time. Or when she goes off on a speech about how careful you need to disinfect everything. Or how she wants to repeat the last 2 steps just to make sure we get everything right (when in my opinion, we did it fine the first time). I will admit that I am not the most patient person, and this pushed me to my limit. There were times when I had to tell myself to take a deep breath, and don't say anything I will regret later. Then, at the end of the day, she just leaves and gives me directions to finish. I guess I should have been happy that she left me alone, and I kind of was, but another part of me felt like "why do you get to leave, while I have to stay here and finish your work?"

I wanted to just tell Judy to do her own work in the first place, but that would be kind of rude when the only other thing for me to do is sit at my desk and check facebook for the 200th time that day. So I didn't really feel like I had a choice. And to be honest, I don't mind doing her work- if I could just do it by myself! I don't like having to do it her way, at her pace. It drives me nuts!

I have to say right now that this is nothing personal against Judy. She has been an amazing mentor for my entire time in this lab, and nobody has been more patient than her when it comes to teaching me good laboratory technique. But I'm past that point now. I'm ready to be on my own. So, do I have a bad attitude? Probably. I should take this as a lesson in patience. I wonder if that lesson will ever sink in.