Week 74 - Postage

I registered for the Pelotonia this week. This will be my fifth year riding in the cancer research fundraiser and the ride has become more meaningful every year that I participate. Last year, we were connected with cancer patients at the OSU James Cancer Research Hospital and the stories that I learned from current and former patients at the hospital were very moving. This disease debilitates and causes agony in families, and our ride helps find treatments and preventative measures to improve the prognoses of the future. My bike ride may be short and my suffering on those hill climbs is brief; it is a small bit that I can do for those people in my local and global communities. If you read this blog post I don't ask for much, but please go to my profile (click here!)and donate $1. Every dollar makes a difference for the families and patients that are praying for hope and a cure.

I ride so that this little girl can grow up without fear of cancer.

This week we started the final experimental period of trial C035. Our visiting researcher is not coming until next week, and I regretfully started up the trial even though I need to be preparing my proposal and gathering materials for my candidacy exams. We are currently in the process of getting my committee approved by the graduate school which requires a petition to have a committee member not from here, a petition to have the committee member video conference rather than fly across the international date line for the exam, and a standard form to have the committee approved. I like all the resources at this huge institution but the bureaucracy that comes with it is a royal pain in the - well, you get the idea. And my proposal also needs to be completed this week and sent out to my committee so that they can approve it and start preparing my written exams. So yes, I was a little hesitant to start this other trial up but I really need it to be done and a few people in our lab said that they could help out as needed. My advisor says that I'm good at juggling. What he doesn't know is that I'm just good at making things work under pressure.

Part of the trial we are running right now involves the use of IV pumps to infuse isotope-labeled VFAs in a saline solution. As such, I've become a recent pro at hooking up IV pumps and fixing flow issues (when in doubt hit the power button and force it to start over). But I want no part in loading up the isotopes so they had to be mailed to us from Virginia. Well, early this week we received a box with a record number of forever stamps I have ever seen on one package. Fedex would probably have been cheaper. You can count for yourself but I think it was something like $18 in mother Mary stamps. Our lab manager said it best, "He must've really wanted it to get here because that's a hell of a lot of 'Hail Mary's'".

The only good news at work this week was that I got my desk cleaned last week. So as I get knee deep in this proposal I at least have some space to toss stuff around and organize my train of thought. That, and I have been making good on the coffee mug from Starbucks that my wife gave to me. The deal that came with the "January" mug is that I get a free cup of coffee from Starbucks every day in the month of January. And I haven't missed a day. I may not be able to sleep much but the coffee is fueling the madness and at least getting me through the work day. I received a lot of great gifts for Christmas, but this mug was very thoughtful and I think of her every day when I get my coffee before work. Just wishing to be done with this proposal and candidacy so I can be back at home with my family.