I love working weekends!

No, seriously, it's actually really peaceful when it's sunny out and I have the whole lab to myself. Reminds me that I do like benchwork. I really do! Really helps to remember that sometimes. And it's nice to be able to work without being interrupted with questions every five minutes. It's amazing how bothersome that can be when it's happening every single day.

Someday, I will have an office, and office hours...

Actually, I did get interrupted with some questions, but they weren't too intrusive. I met someone new today, this woman who works in another building and teaches the main undergraduate lab course here. She came by wanting to use our microscope, and we ended up chatting about her project. Her stuff seems cool and she had a really good, mellow vibe, like she's in here on the weekend because it's fun and not because she's really stressed out about rushing to publish or whatever it is the rest of us are rushing around for.

Remind me again why it seems so important to give lab meeting, apply for a grant, and present my stuff at a meeting all within the next month? It does sound a bit crazy when I see it in print.

Anyway I am convinced I will have this PCR problem beat by the end of today. If the stuff I'm doing now doesn't work, it will never work. That much I am sure of. I will have exhausted the possibilities. So here's hoping it works, because if it doesn't, I may have to abandon this whole pile of data because I won't be able to follow up on it. And that would be a major waste.

I also stained a whole mess of coverslips, but at this rate I won't make it to the microscope (I already missed the slot I signed up for, although it seems unlikely anybody else would care on a sunny day!). So I think I will be here tomorrow regardless.

Went to lunch with a friend, talked science the whole time and wasn't the slightest bit bored or annoyed about it. And that's kind of refreshing. I think it's helpful that this friend works in an area close to mine. And she's always interesting to talk with, she's animated and articulate. It's a nice change- I can't really talk to the people in my lab about science at all.

Human contact is definitely overrated if it's with the wrong humans. I always agreed with Sartre, in general: hell is other people. Lab is soooo much better when it's just lab, and less of a busy beehive.