Busy-ness

Work has been really hectic recently owing to some nice data, so I will just break down some of my doings in a nice list:

• I successfully gathered the final bits of data for a paper and then intensely worked on paper. We are now awaiting comments from co-authors before revising and submitting to journal.
• Data that had been in the hands of a core facility for processing (more than half a year now) finally was completed and I have been busy analyzing and trying to draw some conclusions. I hope to finish the rest of the data collection in the next few months and finally write up the results. I am happy to say that the data looks correct and that the last several months of waiting have not been for naught.
• Our tissue culture facilities have been shanghaied by flood conditions. A leak in the ceiling turned out to be more severe than initially thought and I have spent the last two weeks anxiously ferrying my cells and studies to another lab in another building. It has been very stressful and I have been bitter.
• I have been preparing two talks for an upcoming conference. This has also produced anxiety attacks even though I've given talks before and they have been fine. I hope to get over this kind of thing eventually or else I might have to retire from science completely.
• Last weekend was the hottest weekend of all time, and I managed to choose that weekend to host a bbq. It was much too hot to sit out on my roof as I had envisioned so hot dogs were speedily cooked on the grill outside and we all gathered inside to douse them in chilli and eat the potato salad and regular salad I had prepared. I can't say it was much cooler inside, but we all had a fun time anyway watching the horse race (Big Brown did not win the Triple Crown) and playing Settlers of Cataan.
• Tortoise went away for an international conference/honeymoon and gave a talk on his prize-winning paper and enjoyed many delicious foods. During this time, many funny/absurd things happened in lab.
• I have been completely obsessed with reading Female Science Professor's blog. She is my unknown role model. My officemates are probably getting sick of receiving links to her posts and my continual references to her. I can't help that her life is so interesting! I'm sad because I've only got about 100 posts left in the archives. I'm trying to ration them out a bit better instead of gobbling many at once.
• I am slowly recovering from my ankle sprain. I wish I could say I was completely well now, but it still hurts sometimes. I think next week I will start working out again. I feel bleh.
• Bunny is getting married!!! The date is December 14th. She's managed to somehow plan her wedding and honeymoon in the space of about two weeks. Every time I speak to my mother, she (my mother) reminds me that I have to come up with some nice thing to say on her behalf. I'm not sure why she can't prepare and deliver her own speech for her daughter's wedding, but I can do without being constantly reminded.