Infertility Irony

I worked 18 hours in the last 25 hours. I'm pretty epic like that.

While covering a shift this afternoon I got one of my least favorite tests: Semen Analysis for Infertility. We never receive these during graveyard shift but I unfortunately got stuck running 2 today. Ironically, the first didn't come in a sterile cup like semen tests usually do.

Specimen Processing places a small glass jar on the urinalysis counter. I pick it up and notice a "Gerber" label. Can someone please tell me an infertility test is being sent to me in a baby food jar? Usually people getting a test for infertility don't have to feed their baby. Maybe I'm missing something....

Moment to Mope

They have 3 PAGES of Med Tech Positions for the Company Banner Health yet they only have 1 Med Tech position open at the Mayo Clinic in Microbiology... Yeah, I'll probably apply but I would MUCH rather be in Hematology and Chemistry....

Food snobbery and the Lost Skeleton of Cadavra

Food is one of those things that makes my life beautiful. I could never be anorexic or support creating a magic pill that would make it so you'd never need to eat again. The pill would save time, to be sure, but my time spent eating is time well spent.

I've realized that during the last three years since I've been done with school I've developed a bit of food snobbery. I'm concerned it might develop into a problem. Its exhibits itself in little ways. I've previously mentioned my "I'll eat what I want when I want it" syndrome but I've realized another dimension of food snobbery is starting to get out of hand.

How you eat something has a huge impact on how much you enjoy what your food. Doesn't milk straight from the gallon container tastes better than it does from a glass? A peanut butter and honey sandwich tastes fine but when its been warmed in the microwave and everything is melty in your mouth it reaches perfection. Do you ever catch yourself digging through the dishwasher to get a particular spoon to eat your cereal? Actually, I often want to discard the silverware altogether. I think food tastes better when you've felt its warmth in your hands and let its juices dribble onto your fingers.

So many people rave about eating "natural foods" but I think they ought to consider eating things the natural way. I think if I continue to go down hill with my eating habits dinner at my future home could end up like this (about second 0:50 on).



BTW, I highly recommend the film "The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra". Its a cinematic masterpiece that must have cost millions and the acting is phenomenal. Here is another clip for your viewing pleasure.

Odd trains of thought

Brace yourself. I've been working on my cover letter today since I finally heard back from my boss and this will be a very "Jill" sort of tangent.

I don't know what I'll do when I'm pregnant because sometimes I have bizarre food cravings. I usually have recurring food cravings too, foods that I go back to for a month or so until I start craving other food. Most of the time I crave things like mangoes, cheese, chocolate, yogurt, etc., things that aren't that out of the ordinary. However, once in a while I hit a phase that definitely strays from the norm, such as this latest "I must eat this NOW" fix: Flax Seeds.

I bought a bag of flax seeds to go in my latest bread recipe (which is delicious btw) and at one point I decided to try a pinch full straight. The consistency made me thing "oh dear, I've just eaten bird seeds" until I started chewing and realized it had a delicious, almost nutty after taste. It started with me just picking at the bag as I'd pass through the kitchen but has gotten to the point where its the only thing at the table and I'm eating them without any reservations or shame.

I am trying to decide what I should gather from this odd food craving... Am I turning into a bird (flying would be pretty sweet)? Is this how people get "flaxen" hair (Flaxen hair is actually supposed to be a pale blond but these seeds are pretty dark and my hair is almost the same color)? Am I anemic (explaining a craving for a seed high in Iron according to the bag as well as a beef craving I had a few days ago)? Am I just crazy?!?!?

All I can conclude for sure is that I'm rather fond of flax. It will probably become a more prevalent part of my future diet.

Inexplicable

Last night I went dancing. I very much needed it. There are few things that boost my morale more than a good dance. A dance where the smooth music sways around the room, where the men make me feel beautiful as they skillfully spin me about, where there are enough partners so I'm not having to sit around and wait for the next dance, where I receive simple complements on my blouse, my being a good follow, etc. Its on Jill's list "A Thirteen Keys to Total Happiness" (the others are 2. Good food, 3. Frisbee, 4. Running under the stars, 5. The laughter of small children, 6. Science, 7. Martial Arts, 8. Sleep, 9. Reading, 10. Being outdoors, 11. Snowboarding, 12. People I love, and 13. The Gospel of Jesus Christ)

Well, I was in a splendid mood when a boy I was dancing with very much confused me. I really don't know how I was supposed to respond.

BoyA: Jill, you're inexplicable.
Jill: Whats that supposed to mean? I'm not sure I'm able to really explain myself. I'm an enigma.
BoyA: Well there is something attractive about you and its easy to explain about other girls but for you I just can't explain it.

I really didn't know what to say after that. First off because I wasn't really that interested in him in THAT sort of way. Second because it made me think of Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice, the pink one where Mr. Darcy calls Lizzie "Strangely Attractive." He could have TRIED to then clarify, something about maybe my personality, me being nerdy, my aloofness, my taste in fashion, etc. but he just left it at that and now I'm not sure which part of me is so "inexplicably attractive"...

Maybe I just need to spout out some colors and flowers. Maren said those sorts of things mystify men and then he can at least say that my vocabulary is inexplicable.

Jill: I planted some fuchsia petunias this week along with some periwinkle forget-me-nots.
BoyB: Oh Jill, you're so mysterious and inexplicable.

All is Well

According to the laws of dystrophy, what starts out organized will inevitably become more and more chaotic as time progresses. This seems to be true with life. Basically my life is vague and unorganized as far as exactly where I'll be working, when I should quit my job, my plans for Germany, my dating life, etc...

In spite of this I feel very much at peace right now. My life is beautiful and happy and I've decided that it can continue to be this way even if so much of it is vague and unclear. I just need to do what I can and pray about things and Eventually things will straighten themselves out and work out for the best. Heavenly Father has looked out for me in the past and He will continue to look out for me. I just have to trust in Him. Hopefully my boss can straighten stuff out with HR and I can get a move on with the job applications by the end of this week.

MacGyver Moments

Have I mentioned recently that I love my job? I do. I think I'd probably come to work even if I didn't get paid just because I love being in the lab so much (I won't turn down the money though...)

Well, things were breaking last night and I realized we pull a lot of MacGyver type moments in the lab. People don't realize how often things break in the lab and when technical service, engineering, and Dexter aren't racing to the lab in the middle of the night (because we apparently don't need a functional laboratory at night in a 24 hour facility...), we have to do what we can. Here are scenarios from this last year for your enjoyment.

-There was a pipette sampling jam in the Vitros analyzer last night. It would jam, I'd have to undo the jam, reinitialize the analyzer, and then I could hit run again and get a single sample loaded. Then it would jam again. This meant it took about... 5 minutes to run what would take 10 seconds. So I used a pipette bulb and wedged it into the front of the pipette loader so that it would still sense the pipettes waiting to be loaded and then I loaded them manually in the back of the analyzer. Cut things down to about a minute a sample. Not up to par still but considering the 20+ samples I HAD to run on that analyzer.... I felt pretty good.



-Earlier this winter the heating system broke and the was cold air from outside blasting into Microbiology. Apparently, the Bactecs didn't like this because the alarms started going off. Well, I didn't like this so I used cardboard and taped up the vents. My coworker also came up with the idea of using space heaters to try to warm the analyzers back up so the alarms would stop going off.

-There was a power outage a few months ago. The analyzers went crazy and needed to be rebooted but that was nothing compared to the cytology alarm. The cytology alarm went CRAZY! Imagine a fire alarm a few feet away going on and on for a few hours. Well, it would have if we hadn't been creative. Chase and i pulled out a pink micro tub and a bunch of towels and taped it over the alarm. Later we learned we were supposed to call histology.... Well, next time theres a power outage at work we'll be prepared.

Home

A few from my visit home.



We went bowling. These are our names.



These are the scores. Obviously we are pretty pro at this.




Mom didn't know what to do with us.



We were all really into the game. Jessica and I had placed bets about who really was the worst bowler in the family.




My siblings.



I went paint balling with Deseret. I made a friend and FleetFarm while we picked up some CO2.



GUNS!!



Modeling some of the fine hunting attire.



These hats make me think cowboy Michael Jackson



The gang ready to shoot stuff at each other.

Okay.... Cliff Hanger!! I need a nap... and to do my laundry... and to bake some bread... I'll finish this another day.

Awkward Kiss

Hah! I got you all excited. False alarm. I haven't been kissing anybody.

Have you guys seen Persuasion the new BBC version (I know Maren and Amanda have)? My mom got it for me for Christmas and apologized since there apparently is a better version. She said the other Persuasion has better plot flow. Also, the other one doesn't have an awkward kiss scene that my sister and Deseret have been making fun of for over a month.

For those of you who haven't seen the film, take a look. She kind of quivers her lips and looks around before they sort of bump faces. It kind of makes me think of a fish.



It reminded me of a conversation I had with Mailee. When we were still roommates she professed that one of the best parts of a kiss is the "face cuddle" or the anticipation before a kiss. I feel that a disclaimer must be made. Although this may be true, it makes kissing infinitely more uncomfortable to watch. If you are planning on locking lips don't make everyone stand around for twenty seconds before making contact.

Invilid

I'm generally a very happy person but like everyone, there are things that make me quite "Melonk-choly" as Megamind would say. The major categories are:

-People I care about aren't happy.
-There are things I want to do and I really CAN'T do them.

Unfortunately, I'm dealing with a combo of both. I caught the stomach flu from my nephews... well, at least I think thats what it is. I ache all over and my intestines feel like they're trying to squirm out of a square knot. As a result I'm missing my little sister's choral concert which I know would make her sad.

Do you ever wish you could open up your body and turn off certain nerves or squeeze out the grossness in your gut so you could be a little more comfortable when ill? I'm pretty sure they won't ever come up with a way for us to do this but it would be kind of nice for my system to respond "I'm feeling a little down, its time to take a break" rather than to scream "AAAAARRGGH!!! Your insides are going to try to implode for the next few hours!!!!" It would be nice if I could fix my system like a stubborn analyzer, make a few modifications, and have it run smoothly again.

: P