More reasons why my job is awesome

Last week, the lab across the hall from my office held a sort of “labwarming*” party to show off their recently-renovated digs. Food, drink, conversations, et al.

Reason #A to love this job: Beer at the party.

Reason #B: When the party officially began, I was setting up the PI’s new network printer. The process was smooth and straightforward, but it was a little time-consuming to configure everything. While I worked, though, three different people offered me a beer at three different times, even suggesting that beer is useful as a “testing beverage”. (For the record, that is very true.)

Reason #C: Chocolate fountain at the party. Seriously.

Reason #D: Because food and drinks are not allowed in the lab itself (to prevent cross-contamination of food/drink, equipment, and supplies), the hallway was lined with partygoers eating and drinking. That made it very easy to mingle — just walk down the hall…

Reason #E: Somehow, I impressed a few people by pointing out the Mendoza region of Argentina on a nearby world map. This somehow led to a great conversation about the Shackleton Antarctic expedition and their numerous ordeals.

Reason #F: I got to meet or at least come to know of a bunch of spouses and children. I’ll think twice before calling any grad student or postdoc a “kid” again.

All this from a couple hours on a Thursday in February. Score!

*Have you ever stood near a PCR thermal cycler? Those suckers get hot, fast. This lab has several of them close together, and they get heavy use, so that part of the lab stays toasty warm year-round.

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