Geeka will appreciate this. So will Geeka507.
I decided today that I need to get done before I permanently injure myself or break something. Again. I wore a dark purple shirt today. When I got to work only then did I realize that it matched my finger. About the only thing I can do with my finger that doesn't cause pain is type, because the end of it is kind of numb.
I have cut myself with a broken coverslip, cracked my head off an incubator door, gotten an unidentifiable rash on my arm, gotten blisters on my toes, and smashed my finger. And this is just in the past few weeks. You don't want to know what's happened in the past few years. It seems the longer I am a grad student the more that is happening to me.
It is extremely difficult to remove pipettes from rappers, uncap reagents and flasks, and so forth when I can't use my pointer finger. And I have to be careful because I'm working in the hood with blood and everything has to remain sterile.
So now that I'm done with blood I quit. No more today. I have microscopy data to analyze and more experiments to plan but I'm not going to do it. I'm going home. Before something else happens because I can't work properly.
I'm starting to wonder if I'm cursed. Or if there is a grad student curse. The longer a student seems to remain a student I notice the more physical ailments they have. And it's not just me!
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What about that pain in your wrist? Or something hand related?
ReplyDeleteI'm sort of glad I decided to live in the world of nonprofits and nonpaid stuff.
ReplyDeleteWould a bubble suit protect you?
I don't know. I'd probably figure out a way to pop it.
ReplyDeleteYes, grad students have physical ailments usually from lack of sleep, exercise, and from too much stress.
ReplyDeleteMy advice? Sleep more, exercise more, and go home when you start dropping things. That's my rule. If you're klutzier when you're tired, it's that simple.
If not, I don't know. Get off the coffee? Study ballet? One thing I hear a lot that makes me laugh is how most people don't realize scientists have to have good hand-eye coordination.
But if you can hang in for a few more years, you can get a technician to do it all for you! Or so I hear.
Good advice, I just have a hard time right now doing anything but work during the week. Unfortunately, most of my assays take all day, with no break longer than 45 minutes. I just seem to have time to work, eat, and sleep - not much else.
ReplyDeleteAnd this might sound trivial, but there is no way I'm giving up coffee. It's my one vice.
And yeah, hand-eye coordination is a must. Which becomes painfully obvious when I'm tired and start missing the wells of my 96-well plates!