Bye Li, Hello AA!

AA does not stand for Alcoholics Anonymous. In fact, it stands for Atomic Absorption. Here is my graphite furnace (Pb, As, and Cd):And here is my cold vapor (Hg):As you can see, they're both sooooo nice. We went through a very difficult time this week.

Mercury needed a new computer, since the air inside my AA room is so moist and full of acid and such...yeah, the computer corroded itself to death. So that was replaced...fun times. Mr. Graphite Furnace had a bad week, too. First, he wasn't getting enough power to his circuits, and his magnet failed. It turns out that the silly men working downstairs turned off my power while I wasn't looking. Apparently the switch is right next to the switch for their swamp cooler. Oops. Next, the computer decided that there just wasn't a furnace at all, nor an autosampler. So, the repair guy came out and fiddled and poked and prodded and came to the conclusion that he couldn't fix it unless he could get schematics and the service password. SURPRISE, Thermo wouldn't give it to him, so we had to have a Thermo technician come out, and of course, that costs a lot of money so the boss wasn't too happy. SO. The Thermo technician came and fiddled and poked and prodded, and said we needed a new part. THEN, all of a sudden, it worked! For no apparent reason! So we sent the technician home. The next day, the lead sequence ran just fine, but when it came time to play Arsenic, it died. Again. SO...the Thermo guy came back (His name is Freeman. I don't know if this is his first or last name.) and it turns out he had to recalibrate the alignment on the arsenic lamp, which he should have done the first day, so he only charged us for half an hour of work this time. While all this was going on, we had to get the samples tested somewhere, and the lab we normally contract out to was broken just like we were, so we had to find a place who could do it fast and that means lots of money. So, to sum up:

Travel expenses to have the Thermo guy come out:

3,300.00

7 hours of labor:

1,960.00

Getting 5 days of samples run at an outside lab with a rush priority:

12,000.00

Finally having my freaking instruments back:

PRICELESS.


Li is gone and I'm a little sad. We had so much fun. I took some pictures of animals at the zoo...we intended to go to Lagoon but it didn't end up happening because we forgot to check the schedule and when we remembered it was too late. Oops.

Li! Panda!

Work today was cool. Everything worked perfectly the first time, so I got done quite early. I came home and tidied up a bit because LI IS COMING! I'm so excited. I haven't seen her in over a year, so it will be nice to catch up and do all our fun things. We're going to hit Panda, since that's something we did together quite frequently during college.

So we went through our shed and some of our closets today and got rid of a lot of things. I feel less cluttered...so relaxing. I still have odds and ends around the house that I need to find places for, or put them where they're supposed to be.

Scott has been trying to sell some old games and paintball gear, and of course the Jetta, and people keep calling, saying they're interested and that they will come at x o'clock, and they never show up. This has happened like ten times. It's getting old. But what can you do? We have it on KSL, and we bought window paint so we can put a note on the window that it's for sale.

Yesterday we went to get groceries and when we came out to the car, the tire was flat! It had a big hole in it that looked like we had run over a nail. So, we went to the only tire place that was open (Wal-Mart) and spent a few hours wandering around while we waited for our car to be better. Our other front tire was close to bare, so we had that one replaced while we were at it. This car is turning out to be more expensive than we thought...one of the headlights is out and the dealer said it would be $400 to fix it...and we tried to get another mechanic to do it, but he said it was beyond him, so we HAVE to go to the dealer. Snakes, the lot of them.

I love my new phone!!!

So, when I turned eight years old, my mom bought me a ball of yarn, a crochet hook, and a little book about how to crochet. Here is a picture of the first thing I ever crocheted: Clearly, I've come a long way. Right now I am making a tablecloth/centerpiece for Naomi. Here is one of the pieces:And of course I'm making all my scarves for the homeless shelter (except this year I learned how to make hats!), and I think I might make myself another purse sometime. Here is a picture of the tree I crocheted onto the end of one of my scarves.I think I will go do logic puzzles for a little while. Then I will sleep. My favorite!

Pink!

So after seeing the receptionist at work with her adorable nails, I decided I wanted them too! And, since I don't work with organic solvents, they won't dissolve. Turn yellow from nitric acid, maybe...but they won't dissolve!

Anyway.

Work today was ok. There weren't many samples, but outside companies contract with our lab to have testing done, so I ended up testing lots of samples on FTIR. Also, I couldn't get the graphite furnace to behave while I was trying to test for cadmium so I had to replace parts and take it apart and fiddle with it for like an hour...at least I'm becoming a pro at fixing the darn thing!

Now let me vent/brag for a minute. I'm venting because the guy training me is annoying. I'm bragging because everyone at work already likes me better than they like him and they think I am doing a better job. SO. Maynard is his name. Actually, it isn't. His name is Kirk. But he doesn't go by Kirk because someone once told him he looks like the lead singer of TOOL (which he doesn't). Anyway, so Maynard. He's a jerk. Straight up. Nobody likes him because he's just mean to everyone's face and talks trash about everyone behind everyone's back. Nast. But, tomorrow's his last day, so I think I might survive. It's funny how I totally had the wrong impression about him. I guess I just want to like everyone.

Here's the braggy part: so, apparently, Maynard is a lazy bum. He doesn't clean up after himself, he doesn't refill things when they're empty, he won't help anyone out, and he leaves work for other people to do that would be easy for him to do. He plays all day on the internet and talks on his cell phone, and, though his purpose in still being there is training me, exhibits obvious distaste for any questions I ask. All that is to say: I am so better than he. Everyone has already said so. I get results to people in a timely fashion, I fill things if they're empty, even if I didn't empty them, I go the extra mile. That's how my Mim taught me to work, so there. I just hope everyone likes me. I try to be nice to everyone and I don't say mean things about people behind their backs.

The end.

My stomach hurts.

Mercury and Sugar Free Candy

GOOD NEWS: Lamictal went generic! Now, instead of paying at least sixty dollars a month for it, it's ten! I win the race!

Today went ok. I had 23 samples, which isn't too bad...the other analysts think it's too much but it doesn't bother me as long as everything runs smoothly. BUT, after my 23 samples, I had another 14 because every month at my company the water from every faucet has to be tested for heavy metals, and, oh, look, that's my job. OH WELL. It wasn't a problem. The problem was, the mercury AA didn't want to play nice today. I checked everything and replaced the tubing and everything, and it still didn't work. I thought maybe it was something to do with my prep work, but after about an hour of messing around with it, it just all of a sudden started to play nice. Everything came out just as it should, so I'm sure I'm prepping right.

Last night I took Nyquil, since the last few nights I haven't been able to sleep. I felt terrible this morning, since it doesn't wear off for me in six hours like most people. For me, it's more like 12-14 hours. So, about eleven this morning I started to feel not dead. I had to take a break this morning and run to the gas station and get a diet Dr. Pepper (mmm, favorite) to help wake me up. You can't be messing with concentrated acids and be sleepy. Bad mix.

The Atkins diet is hard because I crave carbs. Mostly, I just really want a biscuit. I had a dream about biscuits the other night. The diet is easy in one sense: I have a problem with portion control. Instead of seeing Oreos and thinking, oh, I'll just have one, I have twelve. So, on this diet, I know that if I take even one bite of forbidden food the whole diet will crash, so I just don't. And there are cravings, but no temptations. However, I do have a sweet tooth so I have bought stuff to make low-carb fudge and the other day I tried to make low-carb chocolate mousse, but I whipped it too long and it turned into chocolate butter. But, I have bought some sugar-free candies (which are meant for diabetics, but some of them are ok for this diet, too), like Yorks and chocolate covered caramels. HAPPY DAY!

Right now I am listening to the soundtrack for Prince Caspian, and it makes me so happy. I grew up with the stories in the Chronicles of Narnia, and I was so afraid that when they started making them into movies that they would butcher them. They didn't! They did such an amazing job! I know that some people were disappointed that they changed the storyline of Caspian, but as long as I look at them as different stories, I don't mind. The music is beautiful, they chose perfect actors and actresses, and the costumes and computer imagery...wow!

I better get some sleep. Work is early. I don't like early. Boo.

Atkins and KBr

So I am getting into the rhythm at work. Monday I was a little out of it so I made a few mistakes but other than that everything turned out splendidly. Today I did all my stuff and was done a little early, so I read some literature about a patented way to measure percent chelation in a chelated mineral sample using an ICP and an FTIR. The problem is, we don't have the right equipment to use with our FTIR. We would need a die set, press, amalgamator, and the inner setup that allows for the use of KBr pellets. So, my task is to find a way to make it work without these extras, and I'm thinking it isn't going to work. Oh, well, something to work on while my 5 zillion samples run through the graphite furnace.

That is a very nerdy paragraph.

I'm on a regular sleep schedule now and I think that combined with the new diet (Atkins, or some personal variation thereon) is giving me a lot more energy. And, I got my logic puzzles in the mail yesterday so I am energetic and sharp as a tack. I could do those for hours. Actually, yesterday I did.

So I'm eating weird, since that's the definition of Atkins. It isn't so bad. Atkins makes some products that are portable, so I can take a shake or a bar to work for lunch. I also got lots of sugar free sodas, some sugar free candy, and string cheese. I love it. I did a test, and I'm already in ketosis, so I should start seeing some weight loss soon. I hope I lose a million.

New Job

So, I now have a new job. My company manufactures chelated minerals for use in nutritional supplements. I work in the quality control testing lab as "Analytical Scientist".

So yesterday was my first day. It was a little hectic, seeing as I had to learn how to use two new instruments, one of which didn't work so we spent about an hour trying to get it to work, and of course a whole day of new routines is just a lot. I am training with a guy named Maynard. He's really funny because he walks around trashing people all day. He's totally kidding, which is why it's ok and funny and I don't think he's just some jerk. Anyway, I'm to be his replacement, so I have to learn everything I possibly can in the next few weeks before he skips off to grad school.

Today was a bit better but still crazy because the first day Maynard just showed everything to me and explained what, why, how, etc. Today he made me do all of it, which is fine, except he kept saying "OK what comes next?" and sometimes I got it right and sometimes I just had to smile and say "I don't know what button to push." But I wrote everything down today and I can review it tonight and make a list so I know exactly what all I need to do tomorrow. He isn't going to be there tomorrow, so I will be on my own. My supervisor will be there in case I have questions, but mostly I'm alone. I think I'll do ok, unless something superbad happens.

I like it there so far. The only thing is, I'm not used to standing all day since my last few jobs have been quite sedentary, so my feet are killing me. After yesterday I thought that if I wore my shoes with the squishy inserts they would hurt less, but apparently I was quite wrong. I'll probably get used to it.

I'm so glad tomorrow is Friday. I worked all last weekend since I had the paperwork mountain, so it'll be nice to have a weekend. Speaking of paperwork, Andrew called me AGAIN and said, well, we found more papers, so you should do them for us. And I had the satisfaction of saying, NOPE! I got a new job! I win!


I've been toying with the idea of going on Atkins again. I would have to be super careful about it though, I don't know if my stomach could handle it. Maybe if I did it with more broccoli. I just really want to lose about 50 pounds.


Anyway. I'm off.

A Car For Em

SO, the stack of paperwork that was supposed to be a two-day project is much much bigger than we expected...I foresee working ten hours or so both Saturday and Sunday to get it done.

In other news, I have a job interview scheduled for this coming Wednesday. I hope I get it, or something, soon. This particular job would be as a heavy metals chemist, which sounds like fun to me! The pay would be low for the first six months, but then get much higher after I've proven my worth...shown them how sparkly I am.

We went to pick up the new car this morning and when we got there we found out that the mechanic had not actually done the alignment like he told us he did, so we had to wait the rest of the day. I think Scott is on the way home from picking up the car as we speak...type...thing.
So today was pretty uneventful. I didn't have anything in particular to be angry about. I miss my mom, which sounds silly coming from someone my age, but we hang out all the time and I've been too busy. I need to get down there soon, though, because she's thinking about buying the Jetta for Emilee to use. I'm all for this, except for the car is starting to make noises and need new things, etc., and I don't want Mim to have to deal with that. But, if she's ok with it, it would be a great first car for Em.

I get terribly timesick. It's like homesick, except you're not really sick for a place, per se, but for a particular time in your life. I get so sad sometimes to think that even if I went back to SD right now, it wouldn't, and never could be, the same. Shelby has moved away, and a lot of my other friends are all over the state or else busy with plays. A lot of my friends have also stayed close the whole time they've been in college, so I would feel like the odd one out even if I got everyone together again. I miss theater, I miss the Pan and Perkins, I miss movie nights and sleepovers and all the other fun stuff.

Later: I just got back from the hospital. It looked like Scott's dad had a heart attack, but he didn't. It was just pain. So, they're keeping him overnight just to keep an eye on him. Good idea.

A New Beginning

SO...back to blogging. I had a blog before, started my first year of college. I abandoned it...life got too crazy what with the college thing. Anyway, I've been itching to write, either in a journal or a blog or notebook...to put my thoughts down, whether in a cathartic manner or creative. I have dreams, strange dreams, but dreams that could be used to create fiction, the stories are so vivid. I have a crazy life, with drama leaking over from my family to my own life, creating tension. At times, I feel like screaming, and at other times I feel completely at peace with the world. Either way, I've been told that writing can help with the tension. And, who knows...maybe someone will stumble across this and get something out of it. What they would get, I can't tell you. Just maybe.

So what is it today? I had a wonderful experience at a car dealership. After months of financial planning and research and fighting with dealers, we settled on what car we wanted and got approved for a loan. Dealers have tried to sell us vastly overpriced cars, and when we tried to negotiate, they pushed and lied and made us feel like we were stupid, which we're not (I have a degree in chemistry. It may mean I'm unemployable, but it also means I am NOT stupid). So today, when we had given up all hope of getting someone to treat us like people, we saw the light at the end of the tunnel. We found the car we wanted on KSL and called to set up an appointment with the dealer. We were surprised when we got there to find a small dealership with only one employee, the nicest car salesperson I had ever met. No hassle. This is the price. Take it or leave it. The price was perfect, it was the perfect car for us, and it was in fabulous shape. So, we bought it. All in under an hour, with no arguing whatsoever. HAPPY DAY!
So, we have a bright, beautiful new precious. I will drive it with the utmost paranoia in order to keep it pristine.

I had a moment today when the drama with my family overwhelmed me and left me speechless. I have no qualms about openly declaring to the whole world (or at least any who read this) that my dad has crossed all boundaries of human decency and family responsibility. The fact that he is a very successful doctor, but my family is struggling financially because of his self-sabotage and his selfishness absolutely leaves me speechless.

I got a call from the pharmacy yesterday, asking me to do two boxes worth of paperwork by Friday, so I better get to work. 15,000 prescription payment records, wooHOO!
I put some papers in a box today and shut the lid. Somehow, the papers magically got out of the box and onto the lawn. There was no hole in the box...the box was securely closed...I must be magic. SO, I win the race.