Today was from 8:30 to 6, which is a decent length longer than normal for the summer. Among sealing the deal on my little error and no one being any the wiser, I spoke with Birdie/Post-Doc about my data analysis. We discussed and debated in a park while her husband Ben played with their kid Ezra. Ben was being silly on a swing set and fell face down into the sand upon his kid tugging. It was precious. He and Ez were starving, but Birdie and I persevered. She suggested a new take on the analyses, which'd be the 7th or so time I've re-done them--but I actually like the challenge and the ways the analyses have evolved.

(Wow, I completely forgot I was updating and let this slide for two days. Eh.)

So yeah, analyses being re-re-re-re-etc. done.

In other news:

*I'm re-doing the Discussion section for my first scientific paper, so that my advisor can edit/slash/chop it before he leaves on vacation. I'm not sure quite when I'll get to it, but hopefully tomorrow as a break from packing.

*I'm looking into the prospect of writing a grant to fund my research. It'd have to be presented under my advisor's name, but he's given me the green light for it if I can find a place. So far the best prospect is the American Diabetes Association. Two projects I want to do involve an animal and human model of temporarily switching to a high carb, high fat diet. I'd want to see basically if: 1) Thin monkeys who gained weight and were eating 'bad' food became more emotional/neurotic and reacted to stress more severely; 2) If fat monkeys were more neurotic and stress responsive, given that fat cells generate an immune protein which reliably causes such effects, and also if a supplemented diet could drive them to be even more neurotic; 3) If humans eating a breakfast from McDonalds show an increase in inflammatory proteins and if this corresponds with changes in mood and/or cognition.

Some diabetes researchers already showed back in 2004 that inflammation goes up in those eating such a breakfast. My practical question for that study is this: if increased inflammation makes for dysphoric mood, elevated blood pressure, and fatigue, doesn't it stand to reason that people's mood on the job would shift? Could tens of millions of Americans experience a drop in work-related productivity and have worse co-worker relations in the afternoon based, in part, on eating a shitty meal for breakfast or lunch?

I think it's entirely possible. I also think it's a fucking sexy set of studies.

The problem is that these grants offer 3 years of funding. But I can easily think of a fake study to tack on for the 2nd and 3rd year. It'd be like the one I'm doing right now, which involves prenatal perturbation. I can't say anything more than that because who the fuck knows who reads this thing. Someone in Singapore might go apeshit and declare jihad on me.

Not that they already might have, but I don't want to tempt fate.

*I have a tentative lunch or dinner date with Erin this week. I never did receive a reply about which it should be or a good day from her, so I'll send another email. Maybe she's just busy, I dunno.

*Cold War is a twit with a short fuse. She just is.

*Apartment cleaning went fabulously well. I had my walkthrough today by one of the staff. They were pretty impressed the place looked as good as it did after 2 years. I guess it paid off not having a herd of jackasses and sheep wander through here while making a Gwar video. That and I cleaned this place from top to bottom. Even the outside and base of the toilet, and that my friends was foul.

*I went to an 'electronic festival today.' Birdie invited/reminded me around when I was doing the proliferations (read: sucking up cells from wells to get plasma to eventually science science blah blah blah). I put the event in quotes because it was really more or less the same bands from Reverence 2006 and that occasionally headline the Inferno. Sensuous Enemy was fucking awesome as always. CntrlShft was good for some songs, but the sound seemed fucked or the singer was out of synch with the synth on others. A for effort, though. People danced for the last several songs of Sensuous' set. I bopped around in that standing but dancing kinda position--you know the one--but I just didn't feel a pull to actually dance. Too much light out and too little booze in my system (or none as the case was). The smaller guy who dresses just like the Goth King occasionally looked over to me, as if to say "are you...'cuz if you are, then..." And yeah, I usually lead the charge on that shit because I usually don't know anyone, I feel extremely fucking awkward standing or sitting by myself amidst people I don't know, and I love dancing.

But dancing outside, even in the shade, on gravel around 6pm in the afternoon just doesn't seem right.

*Of course I was also saving my strength to dance at the Inferno tonight. The DJ whose set I really liked and had an awkward thanking session with is spinning tonight. I actually have more than 5 bucks in my wallet this time (!), so I may just splurge and get 3 drinks. The last part of the week was pretty shitty, so why not.

*Why was this last part shitty? Ok, basic synopsis of friday: I sucked up cells from wells and froze plasma in the morning. I learned via email that Kate couldn't come in to watch a group of monkeys, so I'd have to do that. I did my usual HIP induction with a monkey. They monkey vocalized during the entire session and it was absolutely miserable because I had no earplugs. I went to do a draw. Gabe wasn't there. I went downstairs to get her, we went up, and coincidentally Cold War was going up to do something, which meant 5 minutes of her at first angrily talking about the observation I wanted to do later, with me clarifying it wasn't in HER room I wanted to do it, but off the main wing; that placated her and we dashed. Gabe and I went to do a draw. The draw lasted way too long, she had to take over, and I found out I've been using the wrong needle gauge for 3ml syringes. I said I'd gotten that info from my advisor. Gabe later printed out an email I cited and showed me my advisor had suggested the right gauge--which by implications means I'd remembered incorrectly. I went to put back my animal. I couldn't because Cold War had the entire upper floor cordoned off to do two things. I went to the building manager and Gabe to figure a solution. My monkey had to wait for 90 minutes in the HIP cage while she completed her stuff. I nearly cried while putting my monkey back for the second time based on a combination of shame, anger at her hogging the entire goddamn floor and not allowing me to do my job and not telling me she was going to hog the entire goddamn floor, and empathy on the part of the monkey. I put the monkey back. I processed blood for proliferations in wells, at which time Cold War fished out my note and with an underlying rather nasty tone noted that I'd written her room number. It would make no sense for me to do monkey observations in that room, but she was a bitch about it because she could be; I apologized and went back to what I was doing. I did paper work. I scored animal behavior for an hour.

And then I went home.

Any wonder why I felt like shit for the rest of the evening and part of today. Not the mild ennui deal that comes and goes, but a solid mini-bout of mild depression. It was bad but transient, which is why none of you heard about it.

*I move on monday at 4pm. The tenant in my and Brian's place moves out at noon. I'm thinking moving all my shit there with Brian's van after he and I unload it should be easy.

*Did I mention the inspection went great and I don't have to clean anymore? Well here it is again because it's awesome.

*I lost my mail key on friday. This did not help my mood at all and the general feeling that I was incompetent. I then found my key today. On top of my comforter. Which I'd put on my bed at 7am this morning because I woke up and was cold. It was right on top.

I do not question these things, I merely accept and move on.

So in summary:

Cleaning to move kinda sucked, but it's over. Friday was a nightmare, but it's over. The electronic festival was a good mental sorbee, but it's over.

And now it's time for the Inferno, so this entry is over.

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