Dearest Bugs

Dear Research Organisms,

You know that I love you all and enjoy working with you for the most part, yeah sometimes I get jealous of the others with their bugs* that do not have to be incubated without oxygen like you but all in all you are great bugs. The fact that first B. breve, my shining star bug, stopped growing after the initial revival step. That was bad enough but then when I got up early so I could inoculate for the last run of my last rep (not counting redoing some runs that did not turn out after I am done with rep 3), I was so excited! Then I pulled you out of the incubator and only B. bifidum grew well, B. breve grew a tiny bit, and B. infantis and B. longum, nothing!

It makes absolutely no sense that you did not grow, you grew in the first step and that was coming out of the -75°C freezer. It would make some sense if you did not revive at that point but the second pass, why!?! I am trying again but this puts me way off my schedule! Thankfully the new schedule works so that I will still be able to see Doc on Monday, though of course I am quite nervous about this appointment since it is basically a one way ticket to referral land and I do NOT want to go there! You all are so not helping, you know stress is a trigger for GI issues right? I will admit, I stress you out with my simulated GI tract, I'm sorry but it is for your own good. Have you all gone bad and made some sort of deal with Helicobacter pylori??? Giving me an ulcer will make this take longer but it is not going to stop me so you might as well be good little bugs and grow like you are supposed to!

Yours,
Karen



~~~~~Copy LiteralDan Section~~~~~
*Bugs means bacteria or other microorganisms, it is a somewhat common nickname in my field and I use it a lot.

This can't be happening!

My tiny little baby niecey is in kindergarten right now (her first day).

















She did not attend preschool and so there was no easing into it for this auntie. I have demanded pictures of the event, they had best come through with them! I wish I could have been there to walk her there and see her off but alas I am stuck here with my contaminated cultures (even if they weren't contaminated I'd still be stuck here). I was talking to Middle Sister last night, she is concerned about Niecey not being popular/liked and wants to dress her all fancy to make a good impression. I told her that kids that age don't really care what the others are wearing. Cheryl is worried that she will be unpopular like she and I were and that she will be bullied. And then there is me, I am still trying to grasp the fact that my baby isn't a baby anymore!














I saw her dismembered looking gray head come out facing me the day she was born (#1 most disturbing thing I have ever witnessed). I stayed in the hospital with Middle Sister until they were discharged (2 or 3 days), only leaving to go to work and get food/shower. I got yelled at by a nurse when Middle Sister and I decided to take a walk in the hall with me holding Niecey. Apparently they were worried that I would drop her and they would have to fill out reams of forms, which I can appreciate but seriously if there was a risk of my dropping her wouldn't the hospital be the perfect place to do so?! From the day she was born until August of 2005 I was part of her everyday life with few exceptions. I moved here when she was two years old and was worried that we would lose the strong bond because of it, thankfully it hasn't happened, it has changed a bit but it is still there.

Being here and not seeing her everyday made her growing up go even faster in my perception and now she is 5 and in kindergarten and I am left with memories of a tiny little baby (by tiny I mean 8lb 2oz at birth so not that tiny). A baby who would cling to me if something was scary, who I finally convinced thunderstorms and fireworks were not scary (the fireworks one nearly killed me, she was literally strangling me and I was pinned down). A baby I saw take her first steps. A baby who didn't like to cuddle (cuddling time cuts into getting into things/destruction time) but usually would spare a hug and a short cuddle for her Auntie Kee. A baby who delegated giving kissies to her teddy bear(s) for awhile. A baby who has grown up into a beautiful little girl whether her auntie is ready or not.

I love you Niecey, you'll always be my baby no matter how old you get!

Picture 1: I used to kangaroo Niecey in my hoodie when the weather was cool, she made a nice heat source. She is a couple months old in that pic.

Picture 2: Me hanging with Niecey in the hospital when she was a day or two old.

Picture 3: Niecey playing in the truck I rented when I moved out, she loved it until she found out what it was for!

Picture 4: A cute pic I took of Niecey when she visited me this month.