I have learned a lot in the last two months that I've been a grown-up with a full-time job. I learned how to access distant files via WinSCP, how to use an interferometer, how to formulate a research project... but I think the hardest thing I learned is to be responsible.
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| Oh, and managing caffeine intake... |
The things I do have implications for other people not just myself. When I was in college, the worst thing that could have happened to me would have been failing a class. This would have been devastating for me, but besides friends who truly cared about me and were concerned to see me in despair, this would have been an island of disaster affecting really only me.
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| snacking while running to next experiment- counting down 10 minutes.... |
But now I feel like I am an atom in a well-organized crystal lattice which, by me acting out (being the wrong charge or size), I'll affect the stability of the entire grain by serving as the flaw which initiates mineral dissolution(can you tell I work in a geochemistry lab?). People depend on me for things.
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| Pure Au makes this a priceless piece of sticky tape. |
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| Practicing safe lab protocol. |
Something cool I've learned to enjoy is having conversations about my research where we brainstorm and discuss ideas. Coming back from a play with a friend, he mentioned something cool he saw on PBS, which I watched and naturally relayed to my co-worker. He was excited and amazed that we hadn't heard about it, and prompted me to dig up some papers(thank you B!). Every conversation can be a spark for research material. I've grown to love our "power meetings" where we throw out ideas, discuss potential problems, mention papers we've read... three is definitely better than one.
In other news, I am becoming a CheB- bacteria in my own bed. Maybe because I have no less than nine pillows and three comforters in my bed, but I wake up every morning facing a different direction.
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