Mother Meme

OK I find this amusing, in all my months of blogging no one has ever tagged me for a meme. This does not upset me so don't be all, "OMG Microblogologist is such an unpopular whiner!" And I don't need to get flooded with meme tags, remember I will enact swift and total revenge on anyone who over-tags me by over-tagging them back with my access to multitudes of inane myspace bulletins! That aside my mother sent me an e-mail meme (what are they called in e-mail language, on myspace they are usually called surveys...). Breaking my normal rule of not posting someone's name without their permission here is my mom's meme with her answers (she doesn't have a blog I can link... yet, my commentary in parenthesis):

1. Six names you go by:

1. Susan
2. Sue
3. Susanita
4. Suzy
5. Mom
6. Grah
(interesting, I guess "Mom" and "Grah" aren't the cool names, not good enough for #1&2 eh Mommy?)

2. Three things you are wearing right now:

1. black denim pants
2. black sweatshirt
3. camouflage t-shirt
(I thought you swore off black after Grandpa said it made you look like a bowling ball, yes my grandpa can be a jackass dear readers, I wrote him a bitchy e-mail after hearing that one! Oh and Mom does not resemble a bowling ball dressed in any color, I'd post pics to prove it but she knows where I live and I'd like to be able to see my family again...)

3. Three things you want very badly right now:

1. for more hours at work

2. for it to be warmer
3. for my foot to be totally normal
(Thank all that is holy that sex is not on this list! I would've been so traumatized! My mother is a virgin damnit, Daddy said the storks came and dropped us off and I believe him! That said #1 is just pathetic, totally get 2 and 3.)

4. Three people who will fill this out:

1. Mel
2. Karen
3. Richard
(I am 2 not 1, sad, and rather presumptive aren't we...)

5. Two things you did last night:

1. read with [Niecey] for 90 minutes

2. watched American Idol
(I don't refer to the kiddo by name on the blog Mom, nor our hometown, don't want to end up on the news the bad way.)

6. Two things you ate today:

1. lasagna made by a co-worker

2. Alphabet cereal in skim milk

(Skim milk is gross, you should drink real milk, oh and a study showed a little milk fat is good for you.)

7. People you last talked to on the phone:

1. AT&T about my cell phone
2. Richard
(The red button turns it on AND off)

8. Two things you are going to do tomorrow:

1. work
2. see Twilight with Cheryl at the Tivoli
(Hahaha, Cheryl had no idea you had plans! Funny that you are going to watch the movie of the only vampire romance book you have not read.)

9. Your favorite beverages:

1. cold water

2. decaf tea (iced or hot)

(Can't think of anything snarky to say here, I must be losing it!)

And now to answer these burning questions myself:

1. Six names you go by:

1. Karen
2. Auntie Kee
3. Microblogologist
4. Microbiologist (this one amuses me)
5. Micro
6. Real Karen (there will be a post on this)

2. Three things you are wearing right now:
1. Jeans, leggings, and fuzzy pants.
2. Two shirts, a fuzzy shirt and a hoodie.
3. Boots, regular socks and fuzzy socks.

3. Three things you want very badly right now:

1. To stop refluxing/having GI issues.

2. For it to be 80°F during the day and 65°F at night all the time.
3. Niecey cuddles.

4. Three people who will fill this out:
Whomever wants to may play along, I am not officially tagging anyone.

5. Two things you did last night:

1. Wrote a blog post.

2. Listened to the Dreidel song (seriously the Jews' song is way better than most of the Christmas songs and it makes me giggle to see it listed as a "Christmas song"!)

6. Two things you ate today:

1. French toast

2. Chicken noodle soup
*cough and chocolate cough*

7. People you last talked to on the phone:

1. Niecey, she has discovered that hitting the redial button on the phone calls me, which will work until someone in my anti-social family calls someone other than me on that phone, this could get interesting.
2. Auntie D

8. Two things you are going to do tomorrow:

1. Spend a few hours in the lab inoculating and pouring plates and such.
2. Water Aerobics (it's back!!!!!!!!!!)

9. Your favorite beverages:

1. AE 2% Chocolate Milk

2. 2% Milk

Welcome to my blog Mom, while this is the official my linking you I totally know that you accidentally linked yourself and so may or may not have "snooped", I don't care if you have (I could have stopped you had I wanted to). I planned to link you eventually *cough after editing some posts cough*, I was introducing you to the concept with my vague blog references. Oh and don't freak out about stuff I write, if something is serious I'll probably let you know, or tell Cheryl because she is on skype so ask her, though she has the attention span of a gnat so probably will forget... You may comment if you like, I prefer you click name/url, you can write your name (Mom or Grah/Graw/Gra, not Susan like you keep signing your e-mails... I'm still your daughter...) and leave the URL blank. Oh and this so counts as communicating so my being a neglectful e-mailer is negated now by this (plus it is not like I have much to say in response to you talking about work, you so need to get a life or a more interesting job!). Love you! (I bee-lieve my not posting your Halloween costume is my mother's day present to you this year, the horrible pun would bee your bonus gift, though this parenthetical will likely get the attention of my regulars and have them taunt you into saying I can post it, I am so evil!)

And a little extra for all of you:
Public Service Announcement from Niecey: Fiber makes you poop like you never pooped before! (thanks Auntie Cheryl for teaching Niecey about fiber and Niecey for making me laugh my butt off when she called me to let me know this while I was working and to tell me to put it on my blog.)

"Tastey" Tuesday

Yesterday I went to the clinic and my amazing nurse sprayed the live attenuated flu vaccine up my nose (get vaccinated!). On the way back to my building across campus I decided I was hungry and since the library is between the clinic and my building and has a cafe this seemed like a good choice. The problem with this location is that the sidewalk leading into the library is a "free speech zone", and is often populated by clubs/people pushing an agenda. It is potentially irritating enough under normal circumstances but as we are quickly approaching the season finally of the "reality" show that is this year's presidential election (November 4, 2008: Find out who the American people will give the rose to and who will get voted off the island. Obama wins the swim suit competition but there is something about a man in uniform...), this area is often infested with annoying politically minded individuals. What's a poor microbiologist to do you ask? Why what she does every night, try to take over the world... oh wait wrong show. The trick to making it through this area unbothered is to not make eye-contact, walk quickly, and look occupied. Luckily for me my wonderful nurse gave me the vaccine info sheet, so I suddenly became engrossed in "reading" it and made it past all of them unscathed. I almost lost it at the register to vote table, they had a hilarious poster thing with people shaped cardboard cut outs with black and white pictures of the candidates' faces stuck on the heads. I wanted to get a picture but there were people manning the table that smell attention just as sharks sense blood.

So I made it past the insanity sidewalk and went to the cafe. All the sandwiches looked gross* and so I decided to not bother with solid foods (I could totally have gotten a cookie, you should all be totally impressed with my healthy choice!) and went to look at the drinks. I found this "health" drink stuff and looked at all the weird juices and concoctions they had to offer while longingly thinking about the AE milk in the next cooler over (I am a milkoholic but need more than just dairy in my diet). I decided the "Chocolate Protein" drink looked the most useful and had the highest probability of being drinkable, plus I decided that it was probably something my dietitian would approve of since she was talking about me drinking ensure and stuff like it to replace meals I don't eat. I think Doc and I need to have a chit chat about the dietitian thing, not sure she is "what the doctor ordered". Perhaps if I go through with the follow up with her it will be more useful if I have more of an idea of what we are aiming at with my seeing her. I have very mixed and confused feelings/thoughts after my first visit with her. Some of it reminded me of the last time I "allowed" Doc to refer me, which was a disaster**.

I actually had warmed up to the idea of seeing her (shh don't tell Doc, it would ruin my reputation) and was hoping she might have had some suggestions of foods I could eat and not get as sick on but she didn't really. Most of the time was spent with my defending myself because she could only see parts of my chart and on paper without context I come off as the worst patient ever to plague a doctor and that I was a waste of his time and hers and she was a waste of mine. But then she switched a bit and wants me to follow up next month, my sucking up to try and get her to not hate me and not think I am a total waste of everyone's time worked I guess. Not sure if she is going to earn a place on Team Karen or not, I think giving her one more try is in order but if the second visit is like the first then I won't go back again. I have enough trouble with feeling like I am a hypochondriac whining to Doc as much as I do and often allow my condition to get really bad before I cave and call him, and like many people I have insecurity issues that cause me to feel that I am a waste of his time (he does NOT make me feel this way). It has taken me quite awhile to realize this and I have been trying to overcome it since it is not healthy to let things go as much as I do, but having a professional practically tell me I am a waste of time does not help.

Anyway, back on topic, I bought the chocolate soymilk drink and left the library. This time I messed up, I glanced back at the poster that amused me earlier and one of the voter registration kids caught me. I quickly told her I already registered and intend to vote but thanks and she threw back a request that I volunteer to help them out, even if for only an hour. I told her sorry but I can't, need to be back in the lab and then I walked away as quick as possible. I am so not standing outside in the freezing cold to try and con idiot children to vote, I figure that if someone is not registered at this point that they have no intention of doing so and that is their choice, besides they are either informed and hate all the candidates or not informed and I don't like the idea of them voting anyway if that is the case. After making it out of that area I took my drink back to my office and made a video for your enjoyment, I think this is the first time I have ever drank soymilk, I've tried a few soy products but not that. Note I did not go to the campus book store, I have no idea why I said that since I am boycotting them and have been boycotting them for a year (they screwed me over). I was too lazy to redo it and besides my camera was running low on battery so it may not have been able to take another video. So here you go, my first soymilk experience and a product review on it.

~~~~~Copy LiteralDan Section~~~~~
*I am a picky eater in general but with my stomach issues I have become extremely picky since I have trouble digesting and can have a food "haunt" me for many hours. The food looked fresh and perfectly edible if it didn't contain nasty (by my definition) ingredients.
**What Doc says goes in the end, he lets me have input (awesome!) and he will let me get away with stuff as long as it won't hurt me so it is kinda like getting my own way and makes me feel more in control of my issues (which some days I totally need). If Doc says I am going to the GI then I am going to the GI, I try and convince him not to send me because I don't like the idea of it and I hated the last doc he sent me to (wrist doc). It is all his fault, if he wasn't so perfectly suited to my personality and the best doctor ever then I would not be quite as reluctant to see someone else. Another factor is the thought of cameras being shoved everywhere and it costing me who knows how much to run worthless tests (I have insurance but it is best for clinic visits). I find the whole thing kinda scary, especially if Doc "gives up" on me, psychologically I kind of see it as if he lets me get away with my crap that means I am not as sick.

Bon Voyage

Today I met V in the lab, haven't seen her in awhile since she is a morning person and I am a vampire. We went over our game plan for trying to figure out what is going on with the culture that keeps getting contaminated for her but not me. Her technique from what I've seen is solid, hell if we were unknowingly being judged she would kick my butt since I have developed short cuts that are not in the official rule book. We suspect there is a chance her pipette is contaminated, but that would make more sense if all the cultures were contaminated and not just the one... Oops, sorry, went into analyzing mode, I'm back. If you cannot tell this issue is somewhat of a big deal.

Microbiologists are obsessed with purity, contamination is generally one of our greatest enemies. We fight it with fire, chemicals, and good technique. Of course contamination led to one of the greatest discoveries in medicine. Dr. Alexander Fleming was actually looking for antimicrobials, he often worked with Staphylococcus aureus (the bacterium that causes food poisoning and is a common hospital acquired infection, it puts the SA in MRSA). Well he had some plates of S. aureus lying around (perhaps he had plate hoarding OCD like I do!) and one of them was contaminated with mold and he noticed that there was no bacteria growing by the mold. Turns out this mold was Penicillium notatum, which produces penicillin. I've had quite a few plates contaminated with mold but none have been quite that spectacular, though some are really cool looking! My coworkers likely question my sanity more than usual when I find a plate contaminated with a cool looking mold and dub it my "pet mold" and watch it growing until the plate dries out or it just stops. That picture is of one of my pet molds, this one formed a rather intricate pattern and has been fun to watch.

Well I finished with all that and was tinkering/loitering in the lab for a bit and got roped into helping order lab supplies for a bit. Then I noticed the time, it was 3:40, the next bus was at 3:50 and I wasn't sure if the post office closes at 4:00 or 4:30 (yes the post office here closes insanely early!). I almost rudely take my leave, one of those the person keeps asking you stuff after you tell them you have to go several times. I detour on the way out and google the local post office, it closes at 4:30, I had a shot at making it. The 3:50 bus gets me home at 4:00, then I had to throw crap into the box I found, tape it up, and address it before jumping in the trusty oldsmobile and hightailing it to downtown. I made it with 10 minutes to spare and the line was miraculously short given that the invasion of undergrads has doubled the population of this town in the past week.

I hand the nice lady the box and tell her it is the most important box she will have for the day. She looked at me as if I were totally mental and likely was considering pushing the emergency "crazy person is here, send backup!" button that I so know they have, telling her that it contained a priceless treasure didn't help my case either, until I mentioned that it was a ratty satin bow that a certain 5 year old loves to death. Then she got the "awwwww" look and was super sweet and told me I was such a wonderful auntie as she was getting the quote for overnight. When I heard that it would be over $20 I informed her that I am not THAT wonderful of an auntie! Besides, every time I have talked to Niecey one of the first things she has said was "Why haven't you mailed me Big Bear's old bow yet?", because she totally thinks that the USPS has same day delivery or something, she's gotta learn sometime... Ok fine, I'm cheap! But I did upgrade from the $4.70 or so "It may or may not get there in the next 6 months" option to the 2-3 day priority mail at a whopping $4.95, that makes me at least a sorta wonderful auntie right? The nice postal lady said she will likely get it Saturday since it is only going a state over.

I didn't attempt to insure it, though I have been contemplating the philosophicalness (oh hell yeah I can invent words) of it. To Niecey this is a priceless treasure she would trade just about any of her other possessions for I suspect. To pretty much anyone else it is a ratty piece of crap that they would carelessly toss in the trash. Thankfully my ingenious idea to have Big Bear "guard the car" when we go out somewhere that I came up with awhile ago automatically transfered to whatever lovie she brings on a trip and so there was less worry about losing the bow in public. Oh and FYI the car almost got stolen by TWO car thieves while we were in the lab, but thank goodness Big Bear was there guarding it and bit their butts and they ran away! Big Bear is so my hero!

And so dear readers who have followed the saga of Big Bear's old bow it is time to officially say goodbye, at least for now. Bon voyage Big Bear's old bow, have a safe journey back to Niecey Poo!

Oh and don't tell but under the fake grass skirt (another thing Niecey forgot here) there is candy, lots of candy. If Daddy or Baby Sibling read my blog they will have a heads up and likely intercept it, if they don't and Niecey opens the box unsupervised they may wonder why she is crawling on the ceiling >=) hahahaha!