Happy Valentines from a not so bitter me

Tomorrow is Valentine's day and around the world there are single women (and men) prepared to raise the bitter flag and rail about this over materialistic, over promoted, manufactured holiday. A few year's ago, I would have been right there but this year, despite not having a boyfriend (though with one or two prehaps prospects on the horizon), I'm not feeling the usual bile rising. 

I don't know if its because I've recently decided that freaking out about being single has really accomplished nothing over the past few years, that I'm spurring myself on to be a bit braver when it comes to matters of the heart, or the fact that I'm really bloody tired, with another few very busy weeks ahead of me still. 

I am extraordinarily lucky after all. I have a wonderful family, fantastic friends, and my PCRs are working! (My priorities are awesome). I am looking forward to this weekend as one of my besties is coming into town, and then I get to go explore Vancouver next week. Of course having someone special in my life would be great, and I am looking, and open, but I think I need to take some time to count my blessings. 

I could also just be extraordinaly charmed by this, perhaps the cutest story EVAR (Koalas fall in love post rescue). In any case, I hope you have a lovely Valentine's Day, whether you celebrate it with roses or ranting. 

Oh February

Not even halfway through ya, and I feel as though you are speeding by like a bullet.

I am currently in Ottawa doing some very intense exams/interviews for what could be a really good opportunity. I'm trying not to get too hung up on it, there are offers to be made to 45 people and there are 120 people being interviewed for them. Not terrible odds but not a sure bet either. I've had to wear the suit and other professional clothes my mother bought me over Christmas, a definite adjustment from my usual garb of jeans and t-shirts, perhaps with a nice cardigan thrown into the mix from time to time. 

I'll have to haul out the professional wear again next week as I'm jaunting off to Vancouver for a conference. I'm really excited for this as it's my first opportunity to visit B.C., and hope to do lots of looking around. I'll do my best to keep you all updated. It's also my first time presenting my work at a real conference so we'll see if I'm really as smart as I hope I am (I am currently hoping I'm smarter than 80 other people.... there are some pretty smart people here). 

Anyways, in between that we're having a lovely former roommate to visit and at some point I guess I should keep with the actual working on the thesis huh? Oh lab work.... I will not miss you (the e-mail I got today about some not so great results is not being terribly encouraging in terms of wanting to get back to it. Sweet salaries and contributing to my country seem a great deal more interesting right now).

I should get off to bed, have another round of interviews tomorrow so night!

Unabashed nerdiness

I should so be asleep right now but I had one of those days today (run to school, run gel, work on poster, have graduate society meeting, wait for supervisor to appear, meet with supervisor, run back to lab, set up plate for sequencing, run home, watch Battlestar....) that has left me still feeling a little buzzed. So I thought I'd write a post about being both a nerd, and a scientist.

Being a nerd: 

• it's Darwin's 200th birthday next week! I am such a nerd when it comes to Darwin, its rather like Schroeder and Beethoven. I just really the love the guy. I'm a little sad as I currently haven't heard of any events for it going on at my current university, while I know my former supervisor is part of a big panel at Undergrad U and also at one of the universities in my home town. Without evolution, without Darwin, I am a firm believer that nothing else in science really makes sense. So I'll celebrate on my own a bit this weekend by reading a book about him I recently found at the library at school. 
  
• Am really loving 'The Big Bang Theory'. Very few shows on TV make enough science jokes for my taste so this one, about geeky scientists trying to deal with the real world/their pretty neighbour, absolutely tickles me. 
• I've been following debates on a couple of websites, including on Dr. Isis (whom I adore for not only sending me get better wishes on Twitter, but also advocating for looking hot while doing hot science) about Jill Biden -AHEM, DR. Jill Biden asking that she be addressed as such on official invitations, announcements from the White House. Some people seem to have a problem with this, that it seems 'pretentious', as only medical doctors should use this title. It has also come out that many journalists will not refer to people with ONLY a PhD as Dr. Sorry about the caps emphasis, I seem to get more self-righteous after midnight. This just bugs me. I am currently not studying for a PhD partly because its incredibly intimidating to me! It takes a lot of work, I would almost think more work than medical school, in part based on the sheer number of partying photos that friends of mine in medical school have posted on Facebook in the past few years. She earned it, she should damn well use it and be proud of it.

• I mentioned briefly that I have a job interview coming up with the government of my fair country. If I was hired, it would be because of my background in science but I would no longer be a scientist per say. I have to admit to developing mixed feelings about this. I was quite sure it was the shift I wanted to make, but as my mother starts insisting I only purchase 'professional/work appropriate clothes' now, I am more and more drawn to the hoodies and yoga pants I can wear to either the lab or the field. However, based on my sheer nerdiness for science (such as my extreme love for David Attenborough going through the animal tree of life, here,)(he is another Darwin lover!) I know I will never really leave it.
• (P.S. Way to go Steelers not letting me down!)

The Bellybutton Debacle

So as you know, several weeks ago, I had my gallbladder removed. It was a quite painless process all in all, whose recovery only required me lying on my parent's couch for a few days under a blanket. Oh no - ANYTHNG but that! Ha ha. It was great, especially when my friends came over and I schooled them at Scrablle (EQUATION - first word, using up all my tiles = 77 points BITCHES).

I was back at work a week later and while my abs were still a little sore, really feel quite normal now. I went to go see the surgeon for a follow up on Monday, where he told me that my gallbladder had been 'really quite inflamed' upon its removal. So I think we can all agree that this was really for the best. He had me lie down so he could examine the 4 quite small incisions on my belly (its not like I'm a bikini wearing kind of girl, so I am really not broken up about this at all. I still win the scar war thanks to the one courtesy open heart surgery). They were still covered by small strips, and upon seeing them the surgeon merrily announced 'You don't need this anymore!' and removed them. He then said I was fine, I thanked him effusively, along with his secretary who had been quite patient though somehow unable to locate a fax for long periods of time, and then left.

On my way out, I stopped in to the washroom and decided to have a look at these incisions. The ones on my stomach all looked great, and then I looked down to the one in my belly button. Also looking gr.... wait.

My belly button was smaller. IS smaller. Continues to be smaller thanks to the larger incision which was made into it. It's not incredibly noticeable unless you really look. But I can tell. I was not warned that this would be the price to pay.

The roomie thought I was delusional for a day or two until our good friend, who had the surgery several years ago, came over and agreed with me. 

I haven't decided yet whether or not to sue.

(Kidding!)

(Or am I)

(This post was written as a means to prevent a post ranting about not being able to get into my lab to get work going in there due to the seemingly never ending construction/alterations being made. I may need to have words with someone come Monday if I can't get in then.)

Bad blogger

I've been bad.

I haven't been able to sit down and come up with a blog in the last little while. I got through the recovery from surgery quite well, was back at work one week later but maybe have been overdoing it a bit, am exhausted each day I come home. I'm getting stuff done though, despite unexpected roadblocks which include the PI in charge of the lab area I work in deciding to put in a door between two rooms, necessitating construction and dirt - which are not so good for running PCR reactions. So I'm writing. I'm mainly working on an article based on all my real time results, also need to start working on the poster version of it as I am going to Vancouver next month to present it! Am actually quite excited about that.

Beyond that, been doing lots of extracurricular stuff, it appears most of my Wednesday morning is going to be swallowed up by it. A while ago, one of the bloggers I read ( I just looked around, but can't find who. Someone in the universe of female scientist/grad student bloggers, sorry!) commented in her blog that she didn't think that extracurricular activities really helped you. I have a slightly different perspective, which may be in part due to the fact that as of right now, I don't really want a career in academia. I think it teaches you to work with people from all different parts of the university, to better understand how the university itself works, requires you to have excellent time management skills so that you aren't sacrificing your work for your other commitments, and also lets you flex both your team work and leadership muscles. I am currently applying for jobs outside of the academic stream (c'mon sweet government job, I just want to help my country... in a well organized, stable and convenient locale...) and it only helps me. I don't see how any of the above wouldn't help you in the academic stream either. As a professor, you do not spend most of your time in the lab, rather the opposite, and will be required to serve on committees, task forces, etc. Getting a sense of it early certainly couldn't help.

And when there are big men in coveralls drilling holes in your wall its an excuse to get away from Word and SPSS.

(P.S. due to me applying for jobs that may or may not relate to this country's government(s), I may be doing some editing of the blog. I stand behind all my opinions and don't believe they hurt me in any ways, I just may have gotten carried away here and there.)

Minus one organ

I had my gallbladder removed today.

The saga of the gallbladder started in September, when only a few short weeks from returning south, I woke up one morning in the worst pain of my life. I almost thought I was dying. After trying to deal with extra strength tylenol and pepto bismol to deal with the nausea, I trucked myself up to the emergency room here in M-Ville. 

First of all, the last time I had seriously been in a hospital had been as a child and they treat you WAAAAY better, vs. assuming you're a responsible adults. My tears throughout the experience handily proved that really, I still needed popsicles.

Long story short, they discovered the pain was from gallstones that had escaped into my bile duct and were interfering with my digestive function. I spent the night in the ER, and then was told I could MAYBE have the stones out on Monday (I had been admitted on Wednesday). After an uncomfortable weekend in Ottawa, I returned and had them out. However, they found more stones and so determined that it would be best to have the whole gallbladder shebang out to prevent any further attacks, which I was all for. Had to wait until now, and so have spent the last few months fretting a bit about what I was eating and having days of feeling MISERABLE. I was nervous about the surgery today, but it went smoothly and now I'm looking forward to not being so neurotic about it after this. Am currently holed up in bed in M-ville, the parentals are here taking care of me and hopefully we will return to O-town tomorrow for further recuperation. It should take me about a week, and I even hope to do some of the work I completed NONE OF over the holidays. In any case, if I  get really bored they may be a lot more blogs. 

If you can eat fat today though, have some ice cream for me, that's a no no for at least a few days still :(.

Merry Christmas Eve!

Back on the couch, still freezing.... going to go and watch tv online in bed but first wanted to wish everyone the very happiest of Christmases! (and Hannukah, and Kwanzaa, and Festivus, and.... whatever you celebrate, make it great!)