In the Lab

So... Another resting place, is the same place I do lots of work too. Oh sweet irony... Haha!!

At the moment, I'm in the Nipissing University Neuroscience Research Unit. This is where I work, and sometimes play. Hehehe... Story time anyone?

Throughout high school, I was a fairly clever kid. Weaseled good enough marks that I could take a couple of different paths in Life. Oddly enough though, I NEVER took a biology class. Hahaha!! I believe when I was asked why I didn't take those kinds of classes my answer was that "I don't like blood." or "I don't care how our body works." Haha!! The naivety of youth. Although, I guess I'm still pretty young. Anyways, moving on.

No, I had two academic passions. Mathematics, and the mind. Now, I Love maths (that's for you Mr. Daniels, and now I'm never saying mathS again unless I'm referring to you). But it is hard. Like, bust your head against the wall practicing and manipulating an equation only to have to erase the whole thing over to try again hard. That's right. You can't use pen. So, as good of a high school math teacher I was (I tutored people a bit), I knew there was NO way I would be able to do the more extreme brands of math in order to come back to a teaching position.

So the mind. That, Lovely duality... Maybe it was all the Yoga I was doing, or my flirting with spirituality and the possibility that it's my soul thinking and not my head; but it pushed me towards psychology.

So, I graduate high school, decide to stay in the comfort and financial security of my own home, because, well "What's in an undergraduate degree? No one cares where you get THAT from.", and go to Nipissing. My sister went here too. She did some research in the biology lab (biology, eww...). Anyhow, she tells me that I should do the same thing. I might get to make some extra cash, and who knows, I could learn a thing or two.

I asked my first year lab instructor, Stephanie, if she knew a way I could get involved in research. She told me my best bet was to just outright ask a prof, and she gave me the name "Matti Saari". And she changed my Life. Or he did. Or someone did... I'M not taking responsibility for it. Haha!!

Like all doe eyed psychology students, I wanted to become a Clinical Psychologist. Not one to hide his opinion, Matti shared stories about the difficulties and challenges that faced clinicians. Implicitly, he suggested I try Neuroscience. He gave me a brief tour of the facility downstairs, and introduced me to a few people who were working at the time. Suggested I come in on the weekend when they were going to be doing some "harvesting." I didn't know what that was, but I figured anything is worth a first try, right?

Harvesting is when you take the brain out of a rat skull in order to slice it and do chemical assays later on. The fella who "doesn't like blood" was cleaning the blood off trays used to serve heads to eager students. Hahaha!! Eww... It, isn't the most enjoyable aspect of work in here... But unfortunately, a very necessary part.

If you drop by to see us working in here, it could be rather hit or miss. Like I said, this is also a place of rest. Some days, we take four hour lunch breaks, go jogging, or have a "meeting" at the bar or restaurant. Other times, we'll be here running tests, mixing chemicals, doing observations, or staining tissue in the wee hours of the night. A couple of us have had to sleep here. Hahaha!! Oddly enough, those aren't the most restful of times.

When I told our lab tech, Amy, about my blog, she suggested I write about the lab. Actually, we've always thought about having a reality show about Life in the lab. It can be, well, interesting, at times. Nevertheless, Life in the lab will definitely come up in the future. It's a huge part of my Life, both good and bad. I guess I should give you a link... http://www.nipissingu.ca/neuroscience/

This post... Lacks direction. I mean, I guess, it is just a background story. This is where I am. I think, I'll start working on another post that gives more insight on what being here has done to me. Hahaha!! Again, both good and bad. Something to do in between enrichment trials... Haha!! Also keeps me from reading or writing papers or anything else fairly productive. So, until the next trial starts... Take care.