“If I'd known how much packing I'd have to do, I'd have run again.”

I hate packing.

Even when I'm just packing for a weekend away I always end up feeling uneasy... just a lil queasiness in the tummy.... and it's always telling me that I've forgotten something. Even when I've been through my mental check list a hundred times

Undies ................. check
PJs ....................... check
Clothes ................ check
Toothbrush ......... check


I still think there is something, something important, that I'm missing! I don't know why. However once I'm at my destination the feeling passes and I go on living my life in happy blissfulness.

I had to repack for MIF last night. I had all my stuff in a relatively large (& heavy) sports bag however had then discovered we may be staying in shared dormitories(!!) where I would need to lock up my bag and also that I apparently wasn't going to be able to park on site... which means I'd need to lug my bags from the car to the school. So I pulled out Mum's suitcase... it's lockable and has wheels!! It's also the smallest suitcase in the house... though it was actually a lot bigger than I remember. I look like I've packed for a few weeks instead of a few days! I still feel like I've forgotten something (not sure what!) but I also feel like I've overpacked as well... there is no winning with my brain.

Last night I also received acceptance for my ANZBMS abstract. However... this paragraph:

"Your work has been highly valued by this stringent peer review system. Since your work is expected to receive a lot of attention at the scientific meeting, the ANZBMS Council asks that you take considerable care with its presentation."

SCARES ME!

I'm hoping that it comes standard with every abstract acceptance! (I'm waiting for Mahvash to get hers!)

An Article of Substance

With the obligatory "welcome" message out of the way I thought I should probably write a proper journal entry...

At the moment I'm just sort of waiting around the office for our weekly lab meeting to start (in about 2 hours). It's been pretty bludgy for me over the past few week - which is both a good and bad thing. Obviously I would like to be doing more work, however, due to circumstances out of my control (i.e. Our fluorescent microscope being out of order) I've only really been able to do a few other things. I'm seriously hoping for the scope to back and running in the next week or two... so once that happens hopefully it'll be GO GO GO on the experimental front. BUT in all honesty... I'm beginning to think that this microscope is cursed!

First off, our 'waterproof' microscope got liquid all the way through it causing the reflector turret to stop moving automatically. We discovered that it wasn't the turret that was causing the problem... but probably the motherboard. Then the lens off the 63x objective managed to come unglued and could only be replaced by a 40x objective. Then the bulb died on the DG-4 wavelength switcher. When the new bulb was installed, the length of the main connector was changed meaning the light reaching the microscope was more than halved... but we didn't discover that until 3 months of crappy results. Now... it seems as if the bulb of the DG-4 has gone again and since we have no spares we've had to order some in from the US. While this allowed "the company" to take the scope away to fix the turret/motherboard problem... and apparently they manage to break something while transporting it back into the lab. *sighs*

Fingers crossed that this is the last problem we have for a long, long, LONG time.

Hmmm I've just looked out the windows and realised it is looking very dark and gloomy at the moment... not good. Tonight, I am (hopefully) going out for dinner with 'The Girls' (and yes I capitalised that on purpose!), however apparently our booking at the Flying Fajita Sisters is for the outside courtyard and I fear dinner may be cancelled if the weather worsens... which I sincerely hope does not happen as I haven't seen a few of them for a few weeks and I'm really looking forward to a good catch up!