Four weeks ago, I arrived in California and entered a room with a lot of deep freezers. Removing a vial of cells from their liquid nitrogen resting place, I thawed them, bathed them in yummy media and I nestled them among other flasks in the incubator at a steamy 37 degrees.
It can take some time to adjust to a new environment. Coming from the tundra of Michigan to the banks of the golden state, I felt like I needed to do some thawing myself. It was jarring to be removed from my chilly surroundings and thrust into the most notoriously Californian state ever. It's no surprise that, like my little dish of cells, I didn't exactly hit the ground splitting. First, I needed to answer the questions: Where am I? What is this "beach" you speak of? Where can I get falling coconut insurance?
As destiny would have it, I managed to mess up experiments in increasingly creative ways. First, a flask (or, erm, incubator) full of unhappy cells...ok, dying cells. I can't even remember what happened after that, but let's just say I had to fake an earthquake to get out of it.
Thankfully, I've managed to gain a foothold on those mudslid banks and am progressing with both research and life outside of work.
I checked out the Conejo Valley Botanical Gardens a while back and got to know all the little critters with whom I've coexisted lately...though it often required a sharp eye. Chilling to know there are jackalope lurking in the shadows.
But while microscopic observation has its place, it is refreshing to once every now and then step back and see the progress you've made. And from the steps I've taken in lab to the many friends I've made so far, I can look upon this big picture and be happy with the panorama.
Having resided in California for about one month now, I can finally say we've moved from acquaintances to good pals.
And if the experiments are any indication, my cells and I might be getting along soon as well.
It can take some time to adjust to a new environment. Coming from the tundra of Michigan to the banks of the golden state, I felt like I needed to do some thawing myself. It was jarring to be removed from my chilly surroundings and thrust into the most notoriously Californian state ever. It's no surprise that, like my little dish of cells, I didn't exactly hit the ground splitting. First, I needed to answer the questions: Where am I? What is this "beach" you speak of? Where can I get falling coconut insurance?
As destiny would have it, I managed to mess up experiments in increasingly creative ways. First, a flask (or, erm, incubator) full of unhappy cells...ok, dying cells. I can't even remember what happened after that, but let's just say I had to fake an earthquake to get out of it.
Thankfully, I've managed to gain a foothold on those mudslid banks and am progressing with both research and life outside of work.
I checked out the Conejo Valley Botanical Gardens a while back and got to know all the little critters with whom I've coexisted lately...though it often required a sharp eye. Chilling to know there are jackalope lurking in the shadows.
But while microscopic observation has its place, it is refreshing to once every now and then step back and see the progress you've made. And from the steps I've taken in lab to the many friends I've made so far, I can look upon this big picture and be happy with the panorama.Having resided in California for about one month now, I can finally say we've moved from acquaintances to good pals.
And if the experiments are any indication, my cells and I might be getting along soon as well.
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