I work with (Cocaine and Maternal Behavior Study edition) ...

two huge scientist nerds and a lesbian boss, among others.

The dynamics of the lab are quite amusing. Well, amusing isn't the right word since all I do is pound the number pad into submission while trying not to fall asleep as I stare at an Excel spreadsheet with close to a million data points (OMG, I even sound like the stuck-up, holier-than-thou scientist now). I'm even considering listening to exclusively country on the iPod in order to stay awake (for those of you who don't know the same strategy was employed on the EPIC Gus drive out to CH in order to combat the hell that is Kansas).

But yes, back to the intriguing makeup of my fellow labbers. Apparantly, talking is very frowned upon. Somebody is always doing something life-changingly important, so bothering them is akin to murder, and the look of horror I frequently receive is meant to deter future inquiries. Actually, I'm exagerrating this a little -- the people I work with really are nice -- but they do tend to get overly annoyed when I need their opinion (since I wasn't part of the study, I don't know ANYTHING about what I'm putting into the computer, so questions inevitably arise, and they don't like an ignoramus non-scientist and therefore stupid person like myself much).

I sit next to a girl who is writing/summarizing abstracts and articles, then there's the dude in the corner from a different department (aka outcast). He isn't a part of "our" lab, so he's an outsider. But he gets to use a computer in Dr. J's lab, and although no words are spoken between him or anyone during the course of the day, he feels it completely necessary to say a genuine goodbye upon leaving everyday. Which I respect a lot. I guess sitting for 5 hours a day in the same room as others establishes some sort of human bond, even if no communication actually occurs.

Then there's Tom with the weird, unplaceable accent, energetic Matt with the outdoors love (he wears fleece jackets in the lab at all times -- and it's SUMMER), and Dr. Joey Johns (who I called Mr. in an email, before she rebuked me). Those are the ones who get to play with the animals and do scientific things. But they screw up the data, so I get to fix it.

Lastly, pretty sure Dr. Johns is (a) lesbian (what's the right way to say that? Adjective or noun?). Don't mean to make a big deal out of that point as I have no problem with it and realize it's prevalent in society, but for some reason I had just never gone far enough to project it's relevance to my professional life. But now that it's here, it's a pretty cool reality.

And that's the lab....stop by Taylor Hall and smell the chemicals.