Since this is the boring exposition portion of my time here
at The Lab on The Hill (TLoTH), I will take this opportunity to introduce the
characters that will likely be important in the coming year. I could be
grievously wrong about their importance so we’ll see what happens together!
The following is partially inspired by this brief gem of
television history:
Cast List:
Chinese MomBoss
Y’know when you’ve read about a concept and you think you’ve
seen it in action but then you see someone who COMPLETELY embodies the concept
and you realize how wrong everyone else has been? Chinese MomBoss is like that.
She exemplifies what the word “mentor” really means. She is interested in
helping all of her students further their careers while taking in feedback
about what can be done to help her science. Although she is an infrequent
presence in the lab, she is a powerful one and I look forward to learning from
her this year.
Midwest MomBoss
Midwest MomBoss is who my aunt would be if she were a
scientist. She has adorably quaint sayings and anthropomorphizes everything.
She is fastidiously organized and doesn’t believe that time should ever be
wasted. Hyacinth (see below) and me spend most of our days with Midwest MomBoss
so we get to know her pretty well. She started cross-fit this month, so we’ll
see if she hulks up soon.
Africa’s #1 Badass Geologist
As far as badasses go, this dude is tops. I recently told
him that he should lecture at universities just so he could verbally whoop those
little entitled Freshmen into shape. Africa’s #1 Badass Geologist went through
some pretty intense stuff to get where he is, but damn does he deserve the
prestige. The thing I like most about him though is that he is completely
un-self-involved and wants to know about my life and my research. He’s quick to
correct me on mineralogy and make jokes. His office has these vinyl hangings of
Nature magazines his work’s been featured in. Dude’s a badass.
Lunch/Office Buddy
My L/O Buddy is pretty swell. She’s super smart in
microbiology and chemistry. I feel she has a very healthy work/life balance and
I really admire her for that. She shows us videos of her little baby eating
solid food for the first time and laughing maniacally at a bottle of ketchup
being flipped repeatedly. She thinks I’m well read and I think she’s well
travelled.
The Patron Saint of Rock Climbing
I’m going to assume this dude is a saint because I have
literally never seen him get mad. He sits in my office-area when he’s not
science-ing on microbial masses that we collectively call “bugs”. The bugs
smell bad and he mostly sits in noisy rooms measuring out micrograms of stuff.
He’s also got a four-year-old daughter who’s super cute and put their cat on
time-out while we visited to pick up some gently used dishware. He gives good
insight on what it’s like to be a tech in a world filled with prima donna
scientists.
Hyacinth
Hyacinth is my day-in-day-out work buddy. She’s pretty damn
cool and I appreciate that her personality is so opposite mine. She is reserved
and listens well. She’s got a kickass taste in music so I’m including a song
she showed me recently. We do a lot of jobs that require astonishing amounts of
cooperation so I appreciate that she puts up with a lot of my bullshit and
works with me anyway. We’re identical as far as the higher-ups are concerned so
we often get mistaken for each other. She likes hiking and climbing so we eat
wraps together and watch the clouds roll in over the Rift Valley when we have
training.
______________________________________________________________
Outside of work, I have been trying really hard to have a
different set of friends. I feel like I work best in living situations where my
weekend folks aren’t the same as my workday folks. So here’s some of the
weekend crew!
The Enforcer
This lady is the one in charge. She is wonderful because she
organizes events and ensures consistency. She is merciless at the game
Resistance. She is the kind who comes in and cleans your house till it sparkles
if you give her permission. She’s a woman of convictions and enormous amounts
of love mixed in with the spices of some healthy sarcasm. The Enforcer is going
to be the one who makes us all into family, I’m sure of that.
Excitable Business Engineer
There is a time-bomb of when this man will move to the Bay
Area. He currently runs the only operational startup in town. He is chill and
tries to appease as many people as he can. But he is a practical man and most
of his criticisms are about people sitting on their asses and complaining that
they have not hiked to the top of a mountain. He lets us use his office as a
kind of nerd-community center.
Dori
Like the fish. Only slightly more human-ish. We have the
same exact car as her so obviously we invited her into our social group and are
now bosom friends. Because that’s how we roll here, a month and a half in.
Needs a Shave and a Haircut
Designed a pretty interesting and involved
deck-building-but-also-fighting game. I simultaneously understood it (not a
small feat) and was a little bored with how slow it moved. Hopefully the pace
picks up as the rules codify. Then I’d be happy to try it again.
The Unselfish Physicist
In an inwardly spiraling circle-jerk of people doing
ground-breaking whatnots and whozie-whatsits, it is hard to find real people to
talk to. This man, The Unselfish Physicist, is one of those real people. I have
been so grateful to talk for drunken hours about silicon tetrahedra because he
was generally interested in mineralogy. He stays home with the kids so his wife
and sister-in-law can have a night out. He’s just one of those people who has
made this place a little better since I got here.
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