Today is my first day in the new lab, in my new position (technical title: lab bench monkey/logistical queen). It appears this room is used mostly as a glorified closet, as I'm by myself (once this morning, an undergrad swept in, took an aliquot of some liqiud, nodded courteously, and then swept out) and the place is littered with bugs bits. I swept about a gajillion bug carcasses from the floor/window sills this morning. That is about a gajillion more than should be in an area used for RNA prep. A live one actually flew down my shirt! That was fun. Anyway, since my bosses are technically on vacation until Thursday, I'm amusing myself by scrubbing the floors/desks/windows/lab benches and reading up on the protocol I know nothing about but that I'm responsible for ordering reagents for.
The second look at the Hovel House didn't go so well this morning. Our agent, who had never seen the place, was appalled at the condition and fairly convinced we could never sell it for much. Apparently its in a flood plain, and could be the reason the "musty basement" smell is so, ummm...predominant. She said we could certainly rent it out after fixing it up (which could potentially involving hiking it up three more feet), but not really sell it for much. So now we must decide whether we are in for the long term or not. It makes me sad that the place was so uncared for, for so damn long, it is practically a tear-down now. She firmly declared it wasn't worth half of the asking price though, which was encouraging. We'll see.
AND the local festival line-up is up.
It's nearly as good as it gets around here. Ohbijou!!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Saturday, June 27, 2009
The band my babysitter liked in 1988
Feckin eh, if I hear one more song for the heavily promoted, "oh-my-good-guess-who's-playing-next summer?!?", terrible eighties hair band on the radio I'm going to get stabby.
Hovel lovah
So, the more I think about this little house in the new town where I'll be working (hurmm..."town" is an awfully strong word. More like "village"), the angrier I get at the person who is selling it. Check out the pictures:
You would think, from the above pictures, that major renovations are underway. But in reality, other than the recently ripped up linoleum flooring piled up in the entry, this house is untouched from the last student renter. I know because when I was an undergrad, a friend WAS renting this place four years ago and it was a mess then. No fireplace on the livingroom hearth - just an exposed flue with insulation stuffed inside. Etc, etc... It makes me angry when landlords would rent a place they would NEVER live in themselves. Its exploitative and repulsive behaviour. And as a result, I don't want to pay her anywhere near what she is asking for the house. She just "happened to" drop by last night when I was checking out the house, to check up on her landscaper. Picture a blond cougar driving a big black SUV, who has hired a Mexican man (in an area of ridiculous caucasian homogeneity) to landscape (ie raze the waist-high grasslands) and rip up the linoleum. It took all I had not to hiss at her. Gross.
Too much bitching will blacken my heart. I hope she knows when to fold 'em, and take our offer at 88% asking price.
You would think, from the above pictures, that major renovations are underway. But in reality, other than the recently ripped up linoleum flooring piled up in the entry, this house is untouched from the last student renter. I know because when I was an undergrad, a friend WAS renting this place four years ago and it was a mess then. No fireplace on the livingroom hearth - just an exposed flue with insulation stuffed inside. Etc, etc... It makes me angry when landlords would rent a place they would NEVER live in themselves. Its exploitative and repulsive behaviour. And as a result, I don't want to pay her anywhere near what she is asking for the house. She just "happened to" drop by last night when I was checking out the house, to check up on her landscaper. Picture a blond cougar driving a big black SUV, who has hired a Mexican man (in an area of ridiculous caucasian homogeneity) to landscape (ie raze the waist-high grasslands) and rip up the linoleum. It took all I had not to hiss at her. Gross.
Too much bitching will blacken my heart. I hope she knows when to fold 'em, and take our offer at 88% asking price.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Huntin'
The two week anniversary of our European return is tomorrow. Currently my husband is away on the Magdalene Islands, exploring via bicycle the islands connected to the continent by a five hour ferry. While he was away, I had one formal interview and an informal meeting at two potential employers. The interview went really well, and I started to get excited about the prospect of working there. The informal discussion, with the head of the Molecular Biology unit at the local governmental office, was friendly and sympathetic, but told me her hands were tied at the moment due to physical constraints on the lab (ie she has money and projects but no more room. I guess). So that left one job in my field, which is at a small start-up company in a small town with a small university. Same university where I did my undergrad, actually. So they offered me the position (at a higher pay rate than the government job) and I accepted. Part two of this week's adventures involved figuring out where to LIVE. The small town is 40 minutes from Hometown, but lots of people commute. The two housing options break down thusly:
1. Bank re-po within a five minute walk to an excellent middle school in Hometown. Potential resale very high, the area was once one of the sketchiest streets in the city (my FIL was once a furniture delivery man. He had standing orders to not enter any houses on this one street by himself) but has since seen revitalization. Big time. But the paperwork is slow, as the listing actually expired last time, so it isn't even technically on the market (I just found it snooping by chance) and is in rough shape, apparently. New windows, metal roof, but black mold everywhere and just getting worse. It would be a gut job, but potentially limited to items we can do (replacing roof, stairwell, insulation, drywall, siding) and not items we can't do (electrical, plumbing, foundation work). Would still need to commute though, which means two cars I think. Two NEW cars, since ours is dying (the mechanic delivered the news earlier this week)
2. Small place in University Town, was rented for students for years as it is so close to downtown. But man, I was just inside, and it is a wreck. No insulation, thermal pane windows, creaky EVERYTHING. Also a gut job. But, I could walk to my new place of employment, and we could rent it to pay off the mortgage if we ever decided to move on. It a good long term investment. I'll try to upload some pictures to give an idea of the gross condition, though. Big job.
Anyway, the cafe where I've spent the dusk is closing. Time to head back into Hometown for a solo Friday at my moms place. Good times :)
1. Bank re-po within a five minute walk to an excellent middle school in Hometown. Potential resale very high, the area was once one of the sketchiest streets in the city (my FIL was once a furniture delivery man. He had standing orders to not enter any houses on this one street by himself) but has since seen revitalization. Big time. But the paperwork is slow, as the listing actually expired last time, so it isn't even technically on the market (I just found it snooping by chance) and is in rough shape, apparently. New windows, metal roof, but black mold everywhere and just getting worse. It would be a gut job, but potentially limited to items we can do (replacing roof, stairwell, insulation, drywall, siding) and not items we can't do (electrical, plumbing, foundation work). Would still need to commute though, which means two cars I think. Two NEW cars, since ours is dying (the mechanic delivered the news earlier this week)
2. Small place in University Town, was rented for students for years as it is so close to downtown. But man, I was just inside, and it is a wreck. No insulation, thermal pane windows, creaky EVERYTHING. Also a gut job. But, I could walk to my new place of employment, and we could rent it to pay off the mortgage if we ever decided to move on. It a good long term investment. I'll try to upload some pictures to give an idea of the gross condition, though. Big job.
Anyway, the cafe where I've spent the dusk is closing. Time to head back into Hometown for a solo Friday at my moms place. Good times :)
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Sigh. I hate London. I had to pay 5 pounds per hour for internet access at the budget hotel. Boo!!
But we got here, and other than the price of internet, the hotel is clean and worth the 50 pounds per night for a great soft bed and full washroom. We bought groceries before leaving Prague (and a czech garnet ring! SOO beautiful!!) so we've just camped out here, and will continue to do so before noon check out tomorrow. Then catch the free bus to the terminal, check-in, and fly home. Almost time for reality to set in. I keep getting emails from the realtor at home sending new listings, and I tallied up our total cost of our trip (somewhere around - cough- $5000 for two for three weeks) that doesn't even include the $2000 gadget we bought right before taking off, so I really ought to find a job. The manuscript writing is continuing after a false alarm, and I'm due to present my work next week at a conference in Hometown. I'll probably work on the presentation on the plane tomorrow.
Ha! Yeah right. Just kidding :) I'll probably spend the whole time worrying about money. Or reading The Cloud Atlas. I can't decide.
Cheers to everyone back home!
(Oh, and just in time I hear. The budget hotel news program tells me the WHO are suggesting borders be closed due to the swine flu. Not before I get home, bitches. I'll jump into the Thames if I get stuck in London...)
But we got here, and other than the price of internet, the hotel is clean and worth the 50 pounds per night for a great soft bed and full washroom. We bought groceries before leaving Prague (and a czech garnet ring! SOO beautiful!!) so we've just camped out here, and will continue to do so before noon check out tomorrow. Then catch the free bus to the terminal, check-in, and fly home. Almost time for reality to set in. I keep getting emails from the realtor at home sending new listings, and I tallied up our total cost of our trip (somewhere around - cough- $5000 for two for three weeks) that doesn't even include the $2000 gadget we bought right before taking off, so I really ought to find a job. The manuscript writing is continuing after a false alarm, and I'm due to present my work next week at a conference in Hometown. I'll probably work on the presentation on the plane tomorrow.
Ha! Yeah right. Just kidding :) I'll probably spend the whole time worrying about money. Or reading The Cloud Atlas. I can't decide.
Cheers to everyone back home!
(Oh, and just in time I hear. The budget hotel news program tells me the WHO are suggesting borders be closed due to the swine flu. Not before I get home, bitches. I'll jump into the Thames if I get stuck in London...)
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
The end is nigh
He is snoring. Loudly. :)
Hubby is down for the count today...some sort of head cold. It pairs nicely with the fact that we will be leaving Prague a day ahead of schedule because of my incompetence. I meant to book a early morning flight from Prague back to London so that we had only half a day in that city. Imagine my surprise when I open the confirmation check-in email from British Airways that had Thursday as date of departure, not Friday as I had meant it to be. Whoops. The means a bunch of things:
1. We paid $16/day for luggage storage at Heathrow for our heavy bag full of camping gear. Rates were (much) cheaper in the city but we didn't want the hassle of dealing with public transport on a tight time budget between international flights (I have yet to point out in this blog that we were oddly delayed during routine train travel twice so far. The last time was arriving into London, where ALL TRAINS arriving or departing from Euston station were immobilised for several hours due to complete failure of the signal system. Talk about Chaotic). Now we need to go into the city for accomadation anyway, 'cause there's no way I'm spending another night at a London airport.
2. Need to pay for accomadation in London, which I needn't point out is much more expensive than Prague.
3. I have to spend time in London again. It didn't go so well last time.
Maybe booking things during the "all-night organization-a-thon" the day before departing wasn't such a good idea.
Update: ohhhhh goody, the fucking tube workers are on strike. On the Heathrow website:
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Thing I didn't know before visiting Ireland:
1. Trains make me sleepy
2. Juice is sometimes sold as a concentrate in 1.5 L containers. 4X blackcurrant "squash" is not very good unless you dilute it first.
3. You can drink at least .25 L of 4X blackcurrant squash juice without vomiting first.
4. Bananas are cheap at home. Here, bananas are > $3 CDN/pound*. Peanut butter and banana sandwiches are therefore not a cheap meal option.
5. Ha. And I thought Cape Breton was beautiful.
*vs 57 cents per pound home.
2. Juice is sometimes sold as a concentrate in 1.5 L containers. 4X blackcurrant "squash" is not very good unless you dilute it first.
3. You can drink at least .25 L of 4X blackcurrant squash juice without vomiting first.
4. Bananas are cheap at home. Here, bananas are > $3 CDN/pound*. Peanut butter and banana sandwiches are therefore not a cheap meal option.
5. Ha. And I thought Cape Breton was beautiful.
*vs 57 cents per pound home.
Monday, June 8, 2009
The low of the trip so far
This happened the end of last week, getting from London to Berlin. It is a story about me, a knife, Stansted airport and mugshots.
The camping lock knife which my husband has had for ten years in Canada is legal to have it in countries like Ireland, Canada, Spain, France, etc. It was in my carry-on going through Stansted airport in London (we had used it earlier in the day to cut BAGUETTE and CHEESE on the train) but forgot to remove it from my carry-on bag. I realized before going through security so, I had two options. 1) throwing it in the garbage suspiciously and dangerously and 2) handing it in upon arriving in check-out.
Being the responsible person I am, I approached the security officer, handed the thing to him, and said "I forgot I had this item in my bag but I am aware you will have to confiscate it before flying. Here you go." The problem is that the particular type of knife we own locks open, and this is apparently illegal to have in the UK. I had to go over to the security desk with a chaperone, where I had to wait for police officers to come and take my statement. And mugshot. And fingerprints. And palm prints. And DNA samples.
Apparently it happens every day (because in all other countries they are legal to carry) and the caution will only be a problem if I ever get caught in the UK with a weapon (it could be brought up in court) but all in all it was a horrible experience.
I asked at the desk what would have happened had I just thrown the thing out before security. The answer? "nothing, you would have gone through no problem." You're kidding me, right? Fucking English. I tried not to cry.
The camping lock knife which my husband has had for ten years in Canada is legal to have it in countries like Ireland, Canada, Spain, France, etc. It was in my carry-on going through Stansted airport in London (we had used it earlier in the day to cut BAGUETTE and CHEESE on the train) but forgot to remove it from my carry-on bag. I realized before going through security so, I had two options. 1) throwing it in the garbage suspiciously and dangerously and 2) handing it in upon arriving in check-out.
Being the responsible person I am, I approached the security officer, handed the thing to him, and said "I forgot I had this item in my bag but I am aware you will have to confiscate it before flying. Here you go." The problem is that the particular type of knife we own locks open, and this is apparently illegal to have in the UK. I had to go over to the security desk with a chaperone, where I had to wait for police officers to come and take my statement. And mugshot. And fingerprints. And palm prints. And DNA samples.
Apparently it happens every day (because in all other countries they are legal to carry) and the caution will only be a problem if I ever get caught in the UK with a weapon (it could be brought up in court) but all in all it was a horrible experience.
I asked at the desk what would have happened had I just thrown the thing out before security. The answer? "nothing, you would have gone through no problem." You're kidding me, right? Fucking English. I tried not to cry.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Of Potsdam and Prague
We spent the weekend in Potsdam, part of the former East German section of Berlin eating asparagus (in season!) and buying super great pottery. We stayed a friends new apartment, and got salmon at the market to make for dinner. Very lovely. The weather was not as sunny as Ireland, but we still managed to get in a day trip to Sansousi castle in the city centre (amid a very large park). We toured the inside with the aid of audio guides, gawking at the flourishly decorated Rococo design. Then onto a five hour, very pleasant train ride to Prague. I'll have to check a map to verify our route, but I believe we were in bavarian country, and it was incredible. Arriving in Prague, we have checked into the self-accomadation style, 2-bedroom apartment (with free laundry, kitchen, TV, breakfast AND wi-fi) which we only paid about $35 Canadian dollars a night for. GREAT deal. We have acquired a map, about 1 kilogram of fresh cherries, and are now headed out to find a restaurant.
I <3 Praha. :)
I <3 Praha. :)
Thursday, June 4, 2009
We are on the Stena Ferry running from Belfast right now and they have free wi-fi, so I am going to post the video I made a few days ago on the hill-top camp site, a moderate hike up from a winding road on Dingle Peninsula. The weather has continued to hold, we returned our car without a hitch, we stayed overnight in Belfast and are on our way to London. We will be staying overnight at the airport again, and catching a flight out to Berlin early tomorrow morning. We've had to repack our luggage so that we can store some items at Heathrow airport (mostly camping/rain gear) for pick-up on the way back to Canada, which was a gigantic chore. I've got a mild sunburn, which I am enjoying immensely and I'm happy to report I've had no more run-ins with ticks :) As I mention in the following video, my camera fell out of my pocket into loads of beautiful, fine white sand a few days ago, rendering it completely useless (I was in the process of running after some beer, which I had put in the water to cool down while we cooked our pork chops on the sand. When I next looked up, my two cans of Bulmers were serenely floating out to see, so I jumped up to wade in after them. Rest in Peace camera.)
(PS I didn't bathe IN the lake, but I did bathe in the waterfall down the hill from it. It was so cold it hurt my scalp, but I was hard up for a shower after swimming in the aqua blue Atlantic waters off Dingle Peninsula. Yes, my life is hard.)
PPS Oooo sorry for the crummy quality. The original movie wasn't that bad (ie you could actually make out our bright yellow tent... but the switch from .mov to .avi file with the crummy free online patch I used obviously was worth the money I paid for it. You'll just have to trust me that it was stunning enough to record the movie with the built-in laptop camera )
(PS I didn't bathe IN the lake, but I did bathe in the waterfall down the hill from it. It was so cold it hurt my scalp, but I was hard up for a shower after swimming in the aqua blue Atlantic waters off Dingle Peninsula. Yes, my life is hard.)
PPS Oooo sorry for the crummy quality. The original movie wasn't that bad (ie you could actually make out our bright yellow tent... but the switch from .mov to .avi file with the crummy free online patch I used obviously was worth the money I paid for it. You'll just have to trust me that it was stunning enough to record the movie with the built-in laptop camera )
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