Well, where to begin tonight? It is Sunday night, 9:30 or so, and once again I face the spectre of returning to work at MUSC tomorrow. I've told some folks there that, when I enter that building, I feel like I'm entering prison. Well, maybe it isn't all that bad. There are good parts... with a few exceptions, the people I work with are great. It is those few exceptions that really make me dislike the job as a whole. And working in medical research using animal models has really taken its toll on me. I find myself trying to avoid any work involving killing rats or mice. And the problem is, almost every aspect of the research that I'm directly involved in requires the killing of a rat or of a mouse on a regular basis. I find myself trying to delegate those tasks to others in the lab, and it is getting to the point where that is no longer an option. The boss has told me he wants me more involved in the actual animal work, including the maintenance of the breeding colony of transgenic mice we have. While this does offer me the opportunity of learning new methods (PCR, genotyping, DNA isolation, etc), what good are those new methods going to be for me? I'm now 62, and nearing the end of any career I may have in research at my level, which is low (technician level). I'm always trying to shun new work and leave as early as I can get away. It isn't good for my state of mind, and it isn't good for my employer, either. And that in itself is a source of inner conflict.
Enough... I just have to suck it up, go to work, do what I have to do, and keep on working toward my goal of becoming a certified genealogical researcher. I'm now working on the second disc of the NGS Home Study Course. I hope I'm ahead of schedule... There are three disks, and I have a total of three years to complete the course. I started in January, so if all the assignments/lessons are of equal length and require equal work, then I should be ahead of schedule. That's probably really optimistic, though, as the lessons and assignments are supposed to get harder and require more work as we progress through the course. Here's hoping that I can get through this quickly, and then it's time to work on certification, which is another kettle of fish altogether.
We actually caught up with Maya on Skype this evening. She looks great, and it appears that she is happily fitting into the food and bev business in Portland. She has made many friends, is dating a guy she really likes, and is learning a lot on her job. We found out that she will be coming with her chef to the Food and Wine Festival here in Charleston in February, and she hopes she will have lots of time to visit while here. She also told us that the restaurant will close for a week this fall, so we can go out for another visit and spend a lot of catch-up time with her. It makes me feel good that she looks so good and seems so happy.
Well, time to go do some more data entry... I continue to build my database on Rutherford County, North Carolina families connected to my Lovelace family there. Sometimes tedious, sometimes boring, but always a fun alternative to the lab work ;-)
Oh, by the way... Wife and I saw Sarah Jarosz again last night at the Charleston Hippodrome. It was a great show! That trio is a truly gifted group of musicians. This was the second time we've seen them, and this time we were in the third row... could see faces, fingers, guitar brands.... it was great! In a few weeks Lindsey Buckingham (of Fleetwood Mac fame) will be in town. Already have tickets, and I'm looking forward to his show. The guy is a guitar wizard and a great songsmith.
And with that, I bid good night to any who might be reading this. Hope your lives are happy, healthy, and productive tonight. Have a great week!
No comments:
Post a Comment