Day 33

Another week in IA down, 11 more to go until home for Xmas! (Not that i’m counting, by the way!) 

Work has been pretty slow this week, having to wait for DNA primers and enzymes to be delivered definitely has a drawing-out affect on daytimes in the lab. I managed to put my unnatural talent for organisation to good use in designing and populating a Plasmid database for the lab, and configuring their freezer system to reflect the new in-silico library. So even if I do go to sleep in lectures about new small-molecular flow-cytometry dyes, I have at least proved to my colleagues I have one useful skill to offer! (Aside from my entertainment value, that is, as their comedy British girl who’s pronunciation of words such as ‘struggled’ and ‘buffer,’ provides much amusement.) 

When I finish in the lab I’m usually pretty sleepy and my nightly pattern has tended to be bus back to Hawk’s Ridge, gym (or sometimes not!), cook some tea, shower and sleep.I made a bit more of an effort this week whilst work was less busy; Wednesday I attended a cupcake decorating night help by apartment building managers, Thursday my colleague and his flatmate introduced me to the delights of an American Chinese buffet (YUM!) and on friday I headed out to the mall to spend a few hours browsing, particularly Barnes and Noble :) Highlight of my week was definitely the postcard I received from my Auntie and Uncle’s holiday, thank you both!

Aside from being in the States, the fact that the weathers nice and I’m working in a real research lab, my favourite part of this placement so far has to be my apartment.... For those of you who don’t know, I share a two bedroom apartment with another girl (who is more often than not at home a couples of hours away with her boyfriend) and I have my own double bed ensuite with a walk-in wardrobe. I love how quiet it is and how much space I have all to myself- quite the different story to the room I share with my sibling at home in the UK! 

My parents have made some more progress with our summer holidays, having booked all bar one of the hotels for our trip. Now we need some good suggestions of must sees/must dos in California, Grand Canyon, Vegas, NYC and DC- anyone have any ideas? 

Yesterday was a day of ultimate facetiming. I have never before spent so much time video-chatting, which i guess is a symptom of a fleeting bout of homesickness getting hold of me! It was lovely to speak to my family and friends without having to worry so much that they were 6 hours further into their day than I was and all of the knock-on effects this time difference has regarding our conflicting schedules! I did two loads of washing, the gym, cleaning and a little reading.

Big news (EMMA LISTEN UP)... I made my first ever omelet for brunch this morning. Despite having watched my Bath flatmate make one numerous (numerous, numerous) times, I basically ate a scrambled egg/vegetable combo. Following this, I had a little walk into the city to buy my Brother’s birthday presents and some bits and pieces that I needed for the week and I’ve just finished my chicken stir-fry... sadly, this meal has nothing on the no-doubt beautiful roast dinner my family enjoyed at home!

Hope you’ve all enjoyed your weekends, maybe next week I’ll have more exciting times to discuss! 

Thanks for reading :)

love love xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx