in the worst possible place

I have been neglecting this. I've just been too sick to deal with this. And it took me almost two months to realize why I was getting sick.

It's my job. It's in part my fault for agreeing to do this project. But I learned bomb caliometry to justify them keeping me employed since my reason for being there wasn't working out. And bombing tissues shouldn't be a problem.

But until that project gets started, I'm getting comfortable with caliometry by bombing foods from the vending machine study. Gluten filled foods.

In prepping samples for caliometry, the moisture has to go away by freeze drying (like the one in the anthrax case). You're left with a dusty powder of gluten filled food.

You try NOT to breathe that stuff in. But you can't help it but get it everywhere. So I'm sure that includes my nose and throat.

Monday, I feel pretty good and get started in the weeks food prep. By Friday I'm feeling horrible, tired, crampy, sore, and just overall sick. I'm getting lesions again on my legs that I only get from chronic gluten exposure.

I don't know what to do. I signed the contract to do this stuff, without considering the toll it'd take on my health. Since the job market sucks, I can't just quit.

So I've been just putting up with it for the most part. I finally figured out how "big" the gluten molecule is, and I doubt I can find appropiate protection from it. If you want to know, the molecular weight of a gluten molecule is about 2,000,000 Da. But to but that in scale, that's 1/6,000 the size of your entire DNA genome!

I'm glad I'm getting out of town this weekend and going camping. The fresh clean air will probably make me feel a lot better.

It's useful to be gluten-free

I never thought I'd ever say that. But my gluten-free status is actually helpful here at my job.

I don't know all the details, but they're experimenting with low protein diets. And the nutritionist found that a lot of gluten-free foods are low protein. Who knew?

No wonder I go on these protein cravings from time to time....

So, she's been consulting me on what's good and what isn't. Plus, she's been getting samples of gluten-free things (like a whole box or loaf of bread). She takes what she needs and gives me the rest.

Score.

I'm glad they're renewing my contract. Haven't negotiated salary yet, but keep the faith there's a raise in there since training was added to new duties on the contract.

clinic duties

My supervisor in research is really retiring. I'm going to miss doing the research.

But doing clinic responsibilities are a good thing to learn in case I need to find a new job. And the clinic hours are more to my morning nature, having to be there either 6:30AM or 7:00AM (depending on the tests on the board).

And it's more interactions with the other staff, the doctors, the nurses, and the patients.

it's a hardy cell line, not fine china

I *heart* bosses like the one I'm working for.

He has me looking into the role this one amino acid plays into metabolism. He's noted that this amino acid is very temperature sensitive.

Lately, my metabolic assays have looked like crap. So I asked if I could offer suggestions as to why I think it's crap.

(A bit more tactfully...)"You've got some silly rules for cell culture. For example, putting the media into an incubator for two hours to adjust the pH when it goes basic. Also, you're supposed to bring the media to room temperature every time you use it. It's a fibroblast cell - not stem cells. I used to use cold media to cell lines and they survived."

After all, if this amino acid is temperature sensitive, if it takes you a month to go through the media, when you get towards the last half, perhaps that amino acid isn't there anymore.

"You might be on to something. I think I made a note to look into that in the past, but I guess I never did."

So I've got a game plan based on my suggestion.

Now hopefully I'll get proven right. I think that when I was going through a bottle of media every week or week and half, the assays were working.

I just like it when a boss is willing to listen to your logic (especially when it has a real logic to it), and try and work on the idea.

work update

Work right now sucks.

The labor day holiday screwed up my assay day on my weekly calendar. So I got behind on my assays, and these were double experiments. So instead of getting behind by three assays, it was more like six. And because we're having issues with consistency, boss asked me to get caught up. Then assigns me three lines to split and setup for experiments.

We thought the clinic was closing for the floors to get redone. At the LAST minute, it got scrubbed. So everyone started to come back, and with no patients, they're doing spring cleaning. I get out of doing that at least. But it's kinda fun to pull out thermocyclers about as old as I am.

Geez, did that sound geeky?

BTW: our new centrifuge arrived about the time I started. But it took some time to get it setup out of the box and the old centrifuge taken away. Finally got around to turning it on, and the compressor isn't working. After a long drawn out battle of fuse checking, and figuring out who to bitch to (eventually involving the company that made the centrifuge), the centrifuge has to be sent back.

And one of the clinicians I enjoyed working with (he made the sign for the lab next to mine) is leaving at the end of the month. I understand why (his dad is not doing well at end of life). But Friday we're having the farewell party. And it sucks.

So add to that uncontrolled hypertension (even with medication), and work this week sucks. But what's a real job if you don't have times when you bitch every once in a while.

my work neighbors

When I started, I was the only one in the "lab corridor" which is a "L" shaped hallway behind secure doors. Sure the nurses and various scientists would pop in because the department color printer was back there. And the radiation counter was back there, so once in a while a clinical scientist would pop in to run a batch of samples.

But I got a new neighbor. At least he has a sense of humor. Here's the sign they put on the sign by their door.



Sarahk got a big kick out of it.

punked

Okay, I was the unfortunate victim of a prank. I'll admit it was pretty good.

We have a cold room that I store my reagents in. It's also where I have to start my synthase assays. I got a heavy coat and fingerless gloves to wear for that. The other times, I duck in, grab reagent, and bolt out of there before the door closes.

My biggest issue with that room is that there's a pull handle on the door. Yet, to get out, you PUSH the door to open it.

I'm in possession of the key that locks and unlocks the door. Yet if it gets locked while I'm in there by some "helpful" security guard, there's a "oh sh*t" emergency handle that will get out out of there.

One morning last week, I unlocked the cold room to get my reagents to preserve my plates for a future assay. I had to keep them cold, so I had an ice tray to secure my reagents and keep them cold. So I enter the cold room wearing my lab coat, knowing that it won't take too long.

I grab the reagents, put them in ice, and the door closes. No problem, because I grab the ice tray, and a bucket, and prepare to leave the cold room. I push out on the door, and nothing happens.

Uhh, crap. I put down all the stuff in my hands on the bench, and try again. Still the door won't open out.

I reach for the "oh sh*t" handle and pull. Now the door opens out. I grab my stuff and run out of the room into the hallway. There's the IT guy with a big old grin on his face.

"Having problems with the door?"

I finally got to pay him back today. He usually locks his computer when he's not in, so I was just waiting for a day like today. He was in, but away from the desk for a while. It didn't take him long to figure that I had set his wallpaper as the desktop image and trashed the icons.

reality time

So I made it back to Phoenix LATE. It was supposed to be right before midnight, but a gate crasher left us on the tarmac for a half hour. So I got home at 1:30AM, and couldn't go to bed until 2:30.

But I am all unpacked. I clear coated the flower leis in an attempt to preserve them. I got my shopping done, and a couple loads of laundry.

I called work because the schedule wasn't set by the time I left, so I needed to see what was on the board. They were all "thank goodness you called!" I was then informed what was on the board and they commented "nothing's prepped for the tests in the morning, and we need everything ready by 6:00AM".

Dang it. Early start at 5:30, so I can leave early. But I'm so tired and worn out that it's still going to suck. I'll figure out who I have to beat up for not prepping the samples later.

We found a cure for diabetes

Scott Adams posted on his daily Dilbert blog about how just once he wants to read a headline "We found a cure for diabetes".

If only it were that simple.

I attended a seminar today about how the hunt goes in finding the genetic cause for type 2 diabetes is going. The best they've been able to find is a gene that when expressed in homozygous form is responsbile for having the patients BMI increase 2.1 units.

Most overweight diabetic people have a BMI much bigger than that!

And they really didn't go into gene linkages too much. It would have been too much for a seminar.

"So the search continues" is the take home message. They started with a 116,000 gene spread, and are going to widen the search to 1,000,000 genes. It helps that they have access to the Pima Indians with a more homogenous gene pool (polite way to say inbred) with a high rate of type 2 diabetes. They can compare those genes with non-diabetic Pima Indians and the "everyone else" population.

I'm still amazed when I try to comprehend how all these different parts work together in such a way to make us who we are and how most of us work without any problems. Then, you get the people like me that have something get screwed up causing problems such as mine. If it's the evolution of simple amino acids, it sure took a long time to get it right.

Does such logic imply "intelligent design?" I haven't had enough to drink to say one way or another.

job wrinkles

My supervisor is the primary person that I'm working for. He approves my time sheets, orders, etc. There's another person in the department that runs the clinical processing (not sure if they're considered collegues or what). Clinical doc told people that I'm to learn ALL the clinical procedures, but I didn't hear it first hand.

I don't honestly mind. I like doing clinical stuff because it's more people interactions with patients, doctors, and nurses. Plus, you have to be here before 7 and thus leave earlier in the afternoon.

But the word of me learning all the clinical stuff trickled down when my supervisor wasn't here. And if this is going to become a territorial thing, I don't want any part of it. I'm just here to do lab work.

Speaking of lab work, my supervisor came in and asked if I had gotten the email about my contracting agency.

"Uhh, no. Is there a problem?"

"I'll forward it to you and you can decide."

From what I got from the email (that WAS supposed to be sent to me, but wasn't) was that the agency that recruited me works with a different company to distribute the government's money to pay contract staffers such as myself. Different company got in trouble with the government, and government says "we won't release any more money after 9/30/07 if different company is involved in distribution of funds." The email was assuring that a new different company would get involved so we SHOULD still get paid after October 1.

Lovely. It only took how long to get the funding for my position, and now I potentially could be fired in October just because a third party pissed off the government?

Yes, there are a lot of middle men in between me and my job. I could probably get another $10/hr if we cut them out, but they have employees that need jobs too, right?

So I called my recruiting agency and asked for more information about if I should start looking for a new job or not.

"What email?"

"Funny, I said the same thing. But I'll forward it to you."

"Okay, I'll have to get back to you on that. Would you want to keep working there or should we start looking for a new job for you?"

"I think they're expecting me to stay for a while. I don't want to leave."

*sigh*

Celiac awareness

Well, what did you know? My current employer has launched a Celiac awareness campaign. I think this was created about a year ago.

I never heard of it from the various celiac websites I have been reading the last year and half or so. So they're doing a great job of increasing awareness.

BTW: I just stumbled across it when I was bored. And yes, I work for the NIDDK. To bad it isn't in celiac research.

more newbie hazing

Today I thought I'd be in the cold room all morning doing the synthase assay on a bunch of stuff that isn't results critical. Supervisor took the day off today, but didn't tell me until the last minute.

This morning, after fighting for one of the last parking spots in the lot (someone thought it'd be cute to put barricades on about two dozen random spots), I go look for the person watching me do the assay. She's nowhere to be found, and she's usually here before I am. So I told her office mates to give me a call if she turned up. Don't know what happened to her since I never get notices from people if they're not showing up.

Then I went to the culture lab to check on a problem child incubator. I KNOW I turned the lights on when I opened the room up. An hour later, I walked past and the lights were OFF. WTF? If someone turned the lights on, they'll probably be back. Besides, it's now my job to turn the lights off and lock the doors on my way out.

Wonder if this is more "torture the newbie" stuff.

that'd cheer anyone up

I just got some good news that will at least cheer me up for now. When I was going through the phone orientation with the national branch in Maryland, I mentioned that I am paying COBRA and wanted to know when I could dump their sorry ass and be covered here.

"Some divisions pay their employees 40% of their COBRA costs until they're covered. Check with your supervisor and division head to see if they'll do that for you."

Sure enough, they agreed. Once my check clears, I forward that with the invoice to the national outfit. And they'll pay me back 40% of the cost.

Sweet. Guess working for the governement has some benefits. Now I just need to come up with the payment in full.

the pitter patter of little feet

I'm not sure if it's the initiation of the "newbie", but I was told this horror story of how last summer they found rats in the roof just above our heads. Just another joy of working on the top floor.

Last week, I heard something on the ceiling late in the day around 5:30. But I was able to recognize the pattern as human footsteps. There's a slow deliberate pace of the human step (not to mention the groan of the roof from the weight). So I figured it was a maintainance issue.

Today I'm hearing a rapid pace of scritches on the ceiling above me. I don't think it's human. I'll guess I'll ask if the traps are still up there.

4 years in 2 weeks

I finally figured out what's going on with my training person. She's basically shoving her four years of knowledge down my throat.

Today was good though. I learned how to handle the biopsy stuff (just watched), and SHE had a major spill which ruined some of the stuff she had just processed. I started my second cell line and she had nothing but good things to say about how I was doing it.

If only it wasn't so freaking cold in here! I'm halfway tempted to wear the cold room jacket the entire time I'm in here.

and your previous job was where?

Since I've been in hospital environments since high school (as a worker, not a patient), I'm used to a couple things happening. Blood-bourne pathogens awareness training, TB skin tests, Hep B shots, tetnaus, etc. Heck, my first TB test was done when I was 17 and started working in the immunology lab.

Yes, when I started at the University, I got my Hep B shots, and my tetnaus shot.

But I started here, and was filling out the paperwork to get the file started. They asked when my last TB test was done. Do the math, and it was 1993.

"And your previous job didn't do one?"

"No. But I got a tetnaus shot."

"And they gave you the Hep B shots, but didn't titer you afterwards?"

"No. I was told that some people just don't titer, so there's not much point in doing them again."

I could see the look on her face of "Dear Lord, how did they allow such a lapse, and why is it my problem?"

So I got the TB test done. Was scared to know since I've been around people with TB (no active cough), and was working right next to the TB P3 room. But that all checked out fine.

Still haven't heard if they're going to titer me for Hep B or not. At least if they insist on another round of shots or such, I don't have to go far to get it done.

security?

For sure, I'm not naming names here. But this bugs enough I have to vent a second.

Girl training me/moving out of lab: "Don't you log out of your computer when you go lunch?"

Me: "Why, only lab workers can get in here anyway. Besides, my lunch time is 15-20 minutes anyway."

Then I thought about it. In their attempts to streamline things or prevent people from coming in and saying "I lost key to room *", so far every door on this floor has opened with the key I got on my first day.

This includes the stairwell. I started taking the stairs to work because the stairwell is right outside the locker area, and it feeds out right to the staff parking lot.

On the 5th floor, this specific stairwell is behind a magnetic lock door. It's designed to keep the general public/admitted clinic patients from getting in and mucking with lab stuff.

But I use my key to open the door. Is there someone that works on the floor with a key, but no magentic pass card? Probably.

Would they be so inclined to test this theory? Hopefully not. It's not a major deal because you wouldn't have the key in the first place if you weren't allowed to be on the floor.

Am I paranoid enough to want to log off my computer when I'm not here? No, I don't have the energy for that amount of paranoia.

living by the stopwatch

I love this lab in Phoenix. The people are very nice, the pay is awsome (just got paid for last week's work). Hate the drive time and the building heat - but Flagstaff weenies never returned my messages or emails, so I will take a hint and go away (for now; hopefully July will have some openings come up).

This lab lives and dies by the stopwatch. Most things are timed. But it's time paranoia. I can't use the nice digital timers, rather the old fashioned push button stopwatches and keep one eye on its clock. Oh, and I have to use certain clocks to determine time for records, but not others (and heaven forbid I use my NTS watch).

The worst part of the living by the stopwatch - the constant ticking. It's not the soothing "60 Minutes" kind of ticking, but more like a constat "tick-tick" noise. I'm scared to put in my pocket, so I hooked it up to my neckstring that was supposed to be for my ID badge.

And speaking of living by the stopwatch.....gotta run.

you say potato...I say "hun?"

Working in a new lab, you have to get used to their shorthand of terms. I was listening in on a conversation about the clinical protocols and how best to generate form labels for them.

Then the girl training me said something that took my brain a minute to process. Cytokine.

I know what a cytokine is. But she said it like "cyto-kene". And she claims to have taken the same immunology course I did. If she truly did, she would have heard it pronounced "cyto-kine".

Okay, I'm going to go off and scratch my head for a while.

and you didn't screw up once!

I have always loved that quote from "American Beauty".

But that's a summary of how my day went today when learning some of the clinical stuff that I will be doing tomorrow.

The best part of the clinical stuff is that you need to be here early. I got here in 30 minutes this morning. When I leave an hour later, it takes me 60-75 minutes. If only I could work this schedule every day.

But I'm enjoying doing this clinical processing stuff.