The Fly Pusher
Oh, what an exciting week this past one has been. It all started off with a wonderful workday on Monday. I finished all of my lab work around lunch time (12 pm) which is REALLY early. I went back to my room and took a much needed nap. Naomi woke me up and I encouraged her to eat out with me. We went to the Chimes which is a nice restaurant on the LSU campus. It’s been an LSU game-day favorite of mine for a few years and I really wanted their vegetarian sandwich. It was so good. Stuffed, we headed back to the apartments and met up with Chase. He and Naomi needed to go to Wal-Mart and Naomi and I needed a therapeutic trip to Hobby Lobby. Off we went! Naomi and I spent entirely too much money on scrap booking materials… but that’s an entirely different story.
Tuesday brought forth another normal workday in the lab with Raphael and Dr. DiMario. I pushed some more flies around (Dr. DiMario calls me “The Fly Pusher”). After work, Rita, Naomi and I made our first excursion to the LSU Recreational Facility, aka, the Rec. We all headed to the only available cardio machines. The Rec was PACKED! Granted, their fitness center is much larger than Centenary’s, I just do not feel that it’s big enough for LSU’s population. During its peak hours, there is entirely not enough equipment for everyone. During Centenary’s peak fitness center hours, there’s still equipment available. Rita and I became discouraged after thirty minutes and decided to leave. But, an added bonus to LSU’s Rec Center is that there is a Smoothie King located near the entrance. Oh yes, Smoothie King.
After working in the lab on Wednesday, Naomi and I went to the Rec again. We spent a lot of time on the weight machines. While I was lifting free weights I looked out of the window and saw Emma Rayburn, a Centenary student. I got her attention and she told me she was taking a summer class at LSU. It was really cool to see the former Sexton Hall Council president outside of the residence halls. She told Naomi and I that she was headed to the rock wall. During this past week they had free trials on all of the classes and extra facilities you have to pay an additional fee to use. We all made a B-line straight to the rock-wall. We saddled up and waited our turns to climb the wall. I was last in line, so one of the workers let me climb another section of the wall. Apparently, this was a more difficult section of the gym to climb. I almost gave up three times, but finally made it to the top. When I descended from the wall, another worker let me climb another section of the wall. I climbed it in no time at all. That first worker must have tried to set me up for failure…
Friday was really exciting. Dr. DiMario and I dissected the larvae that I had bred the week before. It was exciting to finally see my hard work paying off. We took some of the imaginal disc tissue from the larvae grown at three different temperatures and made microscope slides by literally squishing the tissue into the slides and freezing them in liquid nitrogen. I went back to the apartment with the intention to sleep all afternoon, but Naomi burst into my room and made me go to the gym. I was still feeling my workout from Wednesday! But, I went and worked out really hard because Naomi made me. I guess in the end it was better than taking a nap. Naomi and I showered and grouped up with all of our LBRN buddies.
I really wanted the tomato basil soup and grilled cheese from my favorite restaurant in Baton Rouge, Chelsea’s. I convinced everyone to have dinner there. When we arrived, there were no seats available and the waitresses told us that we had to seat ourselves. Finally, after about twenty minutes of waiting, a couple left and we dove for their booth. I am proud to say that EVERYONE enjoyed their food tremendously. Afterwards, everyone headed to the RAVE theater near the Mall of Louisiana to watch Knocked Up. I really enjoy hanging out with my new LBRN friends. We are all so different and have nothing in common, but somehow it works!
Saturday morning I left Baton Rouge bright and early to go home for a family-filled weekend. It was great to see my parents and to celebrate Father’s Day at home. I am looking forward to another great week in Baton Rouge filled with fly pushing, Rec center battles, and great LBRN friends.
These are my lovely research friends: Naomi, Rita, Chase, and Tranole at the Welcome Dinner.
Here is my spacious room. Nice?
Ah, nothing like a huge buffet dinner with your research buddies from around the country!
