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The chemical is here. I'm onsite for long enough to make a credible start on the 3-months of work which is already 4-6 months overdue. I get down to the wet-lab. The hot-water has packed up.
Call a priest, this project is cursed.
My inability to complete or even get on with this job through no fault of my own is the direct cause of a serious lack of motivation across all of my other work activities and my personal projects. I'm afflicted by a severe lethargy every time I try to start something. There's actually a clinical description for it. A form of depression.
Normally feeling this way at work is the cue for a holiday. However at the moment the reverse is actually the case - I need to be able to get on with this. The recent spate of activities notwithstanding, my work is pretty much like a paid holiday a lot of the time simply because of tasks I want to get completed but can't get on with for one reason or another.
Of course sometimes I agree they don't pay me enough. For example, this afternoon after lunch I got to go out and take the virginities of ewe lambs with a test tube, looking for any with deep enough vaginas to cope with the internal data-loggers we're using. Adult ewes can be fitted with them fine, but the boss wants to include lambs (born about Sept '03) in the trial as well...
The flock is scouring quite significantly to boot. This didn't make the task any more pleasant.
Call a priest, this project is cursed.
My inability to complete or even get on with this job through no fault of my own is the direct cause of a serious lack of motivation across all of my other work activities and my personal projects. I'm afflicted by a severe lethargy every time I try to start something. There's actually a clinical description for it. A form of depression.
Normally feeling this way at work is the cue for a holiday. However at the moment the reverse is actually the case - I need to be able to get on with this. The recent spate of activities notwithstanding, my work is pretty much like a paid holiday a lot of the time simply because of tasks I want to get completed but can't get on with for one reason or another.
Of course sometimes I agree they don't pay me enough. For example, this afternoon after lunch I got to go out and take the virginities of ewe lambs with a test tube, looking for any with deep enough vaginas to cope with the internal data-loggers we're using. Adult ewes can be fitted with them fine, but the boss wants to include lambs (born about Sept '03) in the trial as well...
The flock is scouring quite significantly to boot. This didn't make the task any more pleasant.
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no subject
Date: 2004-02-22 07:00 pm (UTC)From:Now... what's this about a vaginal data logger?
Re:
Date: 2004-02-22 08:11 pm (UTC)From:You want somewhere to put a probe which a) doesn't require surgery to implant or remove and b) won't be naturally expelled.
The female of the species has an ideal location.
(Incidently this is not really the worst, or even literally the shittiest job I have had to do in my current employment).
Re:
Date: 2004-02-22 10:20 pm (UTC)From:You've had shittier jobs? (How can it get any shittier than manually masturbating sheep?)
Re:
Date: 2004-02-22 11:33 pm (UTC)From:Re:
Date: 2004-02-22 11:32 pm (UTC)From:To answer your first question, there isn't a probe which will independently stay in the ear for any length of time under normal conditions. And it's not really "internal" enough.
It doesn't bother the sheep significantly, the probe is one of these (http://www.vemco.com/mini8.htm - the TX) modified based on "seeders" used to enhance ovulation prior to mating for retention purposes.
To answer your second question:
AAS analysis of sheep faeces which had been "maturing" in the fridge for a couple of months. That was one of my early jobs.
Much of the work associated with the artifical rumen we had set up for a while was very unpleasant. Rumen fluid has a stomach turning odour which is impossible to wash away. And you can't avoid getting it on your hands. Feed went in one end of the unit and the expected byproducts came out the other end. My responsibilities also included looking after the cannulated sheep from which we harvested our stock fluids. They leaked constantly, frequently lost their bungs and attracted flies like nobodies business.
Both of those were literally shittier jobs.
Even the recent (and less recent and upcoming) lice counting was less pleasant work in many ways. There are other examples.
no subject
Date: 2004-02-22 07:10 pm (UTC)From:Re:
Date: 2004-02-22 07:15 pm (UTC)From:Re:
Date: 2004-02-22 08:08 pm (UTC)From:Re:
Date: 2004-02-22 08:19 pm (UTC)From:That mob also has a problem with flyblow ... fortunately I'm not responsible for cleaning that up and they're being checked on a daily basis. However there are some ... ugly sights.
no subject
Date: 2004-02-22 09:37 pm (UTC)From:Used to get great stories from my geography teacher who used to work on a farm, about cows, erm, scouring their tails and whacking him round the face with them.