Some troublesome types who frequent laboratories require special handling.

Some troublesome types who frequent laboratories require special handling.


They have some of the types I have encountered over the years, but not all of them. Might I suggest:

The Dinosaur: has been in lab for >15 years and has never learned a new technique or idea

Pickled Post-Doc: spend more time at social hour than in lab. Blames problems on you rather than the hang-over

Time Suck: problems with communication lead to everything taking 3-4x as long to explain as it would for you to just do it yourself

Confident Buffoon: announce they can do something better than you after only WATCHING you perform the procedure. Will mess up, but continue to say they can do it

I am seeing red right now about an asshole co-worker of mine. Technically he is my lab manager. In reality he is just one of the road blocks to success in the lab. Yesterday we had a freezer go down in the lab. We had tons of material in that freezer, and I was scrambling to find space for everything quickly. I called my lab manager and asked for his assistance in getting everything moved. His response was "I sorry I can't, I am meeting some friends for a movie." SO, I had to do everything by myself (with the assistance of some kindly members of OTHER labs). I guess catching a movieis more important than saving all the lab samples from the past 20 years.
Now, I just put in an order this this lab manager. He has come up with the idea that we have to enter everything into a spreadsheet for him to approve, then re-enter it into the accounting software to get a PO, so them we can finally order it. I suggested that he just generate the PO for us, and give us that instead of a CUFS. NO, that would be too much work for him. So, I am left in spreadsheet mania. Now he just adds what he wants to MY orders instead of doing it himself. I am SO pissed. I have covered for him multiple times when he has failed to do his job. I am fed up!

You're likely to encounter men who never learned how to relate to strong competent women.

You're likely to encounter men who never learned how to relate to strong competent women.


The story of my life.....

Eden Prairie students plan walkout over Facebook discipline

Eden Prairie students plan walkout over Facebook discipline

This entire story disgusts me. It is a great explain of the privileged, winy kids breaking the law (as well as honor codes they signed), and trying to get away with it. The internet does not allow for privacy. What really annoys me is that their parents might sue the school district. The parents should be thanking the school district for looking out for their kids. If these kids are having parties that allow that much alcohol, the parents should be concerned and want to use this opportunity to teach their child a lesson about how their actions have consequences. Suing the school district is just a great way to teach your kid that is it ok to break the law (and your word), as long as you 1. don't get caught 2. are able to spend enough money to not face the consequence. None of these kids are going to pay a long-term consequence for their punishment. Will they lose a season of a sport? Yes. Will it end their life? No. I will agree that they might lose a scholarship, which can cause financial hardship, but it their parent is wealthy enough to hire a lawyer and file a lawsuit, they probably did not need the money. Can they still list that they received the honor on their all-important college application? Yes.
Did I attend parties when I was underage where others were drinking alcohol? Yes, when I was in college and people were of legal age. Did I ever consume alcohol at these parties? No, because I realized that my action (drinking before I was legal age) had a consequence that I was not willing to face. These kids apparently have not be taught this lesson. Now for those kids who say "but I didn't drink at the party, I was just holding my friends' drink for them!" how many are just trying to save their ass? Take a lie detector test, or have the friend come forward and swear "It really was my drink, Sarah never drank....." I don't think we could find a kids in the group who would do that for a friend.
Overall I commend the school officials for not acting like ostriches and sticking their head in the sand. This state (and the one I grew up in), has lost too many young people to alcohol-related deaths. Parents and the greater community are too quick to overlook problem drinking in the youth, which is leading to tragic consequences. Just this week their was another young man buried because his drank too much. People need to open their eyes and realize that there needs to be consequences for looking the other way when young people are drinking too much.

I am really missing my father this morning. No explanation.....I just do.
I am very happy to report that our family friend Mary is healing well from her surgery. She was diagnosed with oral cancer right before X-mas. Luckily, the surgeons at the Mayo Clinic were able to excise the entire tumor AND her lymph nodes were negative, so she will not have to have chemo or radiation. Karen and I are babysitting for her grandkids on Saturday.

Early morning in the lab today. I had to dust off my phlebotomy skills for a study. All went well. Ok, back to work....

Careful planning and outlining can make writing your thesis less daunting.

Careful planning and outlining can make writing your thesis less daunting.

It is never too early to start planning ahead.

The first weekend of the New Year finds me SURPRISE! in the lab. I managed to survive the ASH meeting, Dad's birthday, X-mas Eve, X-mas Day, and New Years. I will admit that it was really really hard going through the holidays without Dad. We through a New Year's party at Karen house. Mom traveled from ND by flying (out of J--town!) and I made the tapas for the party. It was a LOT of work, but I was pretty happy with the fruit of my efforts. It was great getting so many of our friends from different parts of our lives together. I was SO happy Jenny and Nancy could come. Plus, Tyler A. is now back, after a few years of being a little distant. Brian's new girlfriend is really nice. I hope she stays around because it is nice to have someone to talk to when the Fargo boys get together. Doug's wife is not much of a conversationalist. All I can say is that I don't know how my mom does so well. She amazes me. Karen does as well. When I think about the last 14 months of Karen's life, I am so proud of her. A lesser person would have not ridden out the breakups, disappointments, move, and loss half as well as she has. I hope that 2008 will be a MUCH better year for my little sister. I also hope she keeps dating, as it provides me with some entertainment. Things around the Lar-Beck household are not half as drama filled. Karen, with her buds Tellanovela and Short Circuit should provide me with some vicarious living situations (and plenty of laughter). About the only drama I have in my life is how angry I get at Matt for not doing more. How can one person spend so much time playing video games, then turn around and complain about not having friends? YOU HAVE TO LEAVE THE HOUSE TO MAKE FRIENDS!!!!! I worry a lot about this summer. If he spends only 2 weeks of his "vacation" working, and the rest playing video games when he could be earning us some extra money or taking a class, or working out to lose some of the 20lbs. he has put on over the last 2 years, I am going to start getting mean. It is hard work pulling the load for two at home AND at work. Something has to give.....


I am concerned about someone I work with. For several months I had heard some rumors from other people about his behavior in the lab after hours. Last night I had these rumors confirmed, as he called me, obviously intoxicated, asking for the door code because he "couldn't remember". This is a door code we use up to 30x a day! Plus he had been in lab at least 6x that day alone! I am really torn about if I should 1. confront my co-worker with my suspicions or 2. let our boss know about my concerns or 3. just forget about it. My mother, who has dealt with a similar situation at her workplace wants me to do option 3. However, I am afraid that due to the inherent hazards of our work, that my co-worker might put himself or others in danger. I would hate to have my complacency lead to a tragedy. Man....they don't prepare you for this type of stuff in medical school OR in graduate school.......all that high priced education for naught!

Matt starts school and BB stats up again on Monday. I am attempting to get another project started while writing up my first paper. I hope this process will go quickly, however the first attempt at thawing cells does not appear to be going well. Julia is out of town next week, so I will have to dust off my cell culture prowess to problem-solve. It will definitely be an interesting New Year in the lab, as the behavior of two of my co-workers makes me suspect she might not be with us at this time next year.

Well, I better get back home. Our unseasonably warm weather today might lead to icy roads if I wait much longer.