The (non-existent) life of a researcher

It's Sunday and I'm sitting at my desk in the lab (the one I am doing my lab rotation in), waiting for my boss to send me the keys to the nearby building where the animal facility is so I can do my work.

I have just started last week on a small part-time job, doing animal work for a Chinese girl I met in one of my classes. She's doing her PhD here and is a really nice person (I was rather surprised, to be honest. People who know me will know that I don't like Chinese - from China, much). Actually it's quite funny that so far, the Chinese people I've met here are nice. I've also met some Taiwanese friends who're cool. These were the people I had my Chinese New Year dinner with.

So, I've started the life (or rather, the lack of) of a 'scientist'. Have been working in both the lab and the animal facility every evening for the past week and will be for the next 2 weeks. Also was here yesterday for the whole afternoon. What a great way to spend your Sat eh? Got home to tired to cook but as usual one of my dear friends, Muki fed me with some stuff she had left from her and her boyfriend's dinner. Today will be quite the same, but at least it's only the animal facility and at least I get paid for that.

Guess what sort of animal work I am doing for my Hiwi job? (That's what they call the part-time lab jobs here.)
(My ex-colleagues, Chiu and FK, who sometimes follow this blog will recognise what I will mention next.)
Rotarod! How fun! ha. She's investigating how the motor functions of her transgenic rats (Huntington's disease) are affected. And boy the few-month old rats I just started on yesterday are sooooo FAT they can barely fit in between the rods! And a lot of them are so lazy they refuse to get on or stay on! I have to do this for this week and next week I start with her on social interaction. Then there'll be also other behavioural tests that I've had some experience with, for example, something similar to our Laboras system.

My work in my lab rotation is pretty cool. I started with primary cell cultures of spiral ganglion cells (in the cochlea). Learnt how to get the cells out (micro-dissection). SO difficult to cut things out under the microscope! Very intricate! (Even more so for surgery! I observed my supervisor operate on a mouse middle ear to insert an electrode in the tiny round window.)

Ok, my boss is here with the key. Gotta go put some rats on the wheel...