Be Excellent To Each Other

So, in a few minutes, I'm going to head to work, where I'll make up so auto-induction media, aliquot it into a deep well block, and then spike it with a little bit of my overnight culture. Slap it in the incubator and leave it for 4 hours until I drop the temperature and leave them for 24 hours, producing protein from the DNA instructions I gave the cells the day before yesterday.

Then, I'm coming back home sitting in the sun looking for jobs. My new t-shirts look aceness, by the way.

I'm going to be sitting here slowly sticking content into a new site from one filled to the brim with mess accumulated over the past 10 years. Not fun.

The ride into work was nice today though. It wasn't raining, at least, and all the crap seems to have been washed off the roads.

Also, I hate Thursdays. They feel like the end of the week, but you've got that one day looming over you before the weekend. Gah.

Today I'm taking part in a psychological study that is investigating the causes of depression. They appealed for two types of people, those with a history of depression, and those without. I am in the latter group. I passed a pre-screening interview on the phone and at about 2pm today will be subjected to two hours of questioning and testing with my reactions being observed.

If I 'pass' these (in other words, if I can prove I wasn't lying on the phone about not being depressed) I'll undergo an MRI at a later date which will scan my brain in response to questions about particular situations.

Personally I'm fascinated to see what they make of me. I think my brain is funny, heeee.

How do you prove you're not depressed? I'm fascinated. Do please report back in full - however I hope it's something a bit more in depth than "Are you depressed?" "No" "Okay, you're in".

"I'm really sorry Mr Gnomes, but it appears you have a hyper enlarged Rage centre".

The interview on the phone asked all kinds of things, a couple of questions I had to have repeated to me because I couldn't comprehend them the first time. One of them was something like 'Have you had more than 3 alcoholic drinks within the space of 3 hours on more than 3 occasions in the last year?'.

Also other kinds of questions, such as: do I have any dental implants or metal in my body. Have I ever suffered any trauma, have I ever had a prolongued period of feeling down for a sustained period of two weeks, and so on.

Personally I hope the lady asking the questions today is hot, as that'll make it doubly interesting for me.

Couldn't that be replaced with "Are you an average British male?"

Before going in the MRI tube, DO NOT EAT IRON FILINGS. This would be dangerous.

Amusingly I answered 'No' to this question. I rarely drink, and I really don't think I've had more than 3 drinks within 3 hours on more than 3 occasions in the last year. Perhaps 2 occasions, but not 3

Blimey - good for you. Replace "last year" with "last month", even, and I suspect 80% of the adult male population would answer yes.

I think I've only drank a handful of times in the past 2 years, and only one of them ended in drunkness.

Although god damn, a single spirit on an empty stomach while flying really goes to your head.

Are tooth-fillings a no-no with MRIs then? Saying that, though, I have a metal plate in my arm so I'd probably be fucked anyway.

Not sure, I do have a couple of fillings, I guess they'll tell me whether or not that disqualifies me.

How's that blog coming along?

Fillings are fine - there's nothing magnetisable about them, AFAIK.

Filings are of course a different matter entirely.

We have an MRI scanner in the other building.

I've got two days.

Today I'll be finishing off processing some scores, I've also decided to listen to loads of Vaughan Williams, as he is ace. I'm finishing at 7:00 tonight though, which is bad, but some friends might be coming round tonight for food, which is good. But they might still be feeling too ill to come, which is bad. But in that case I'll go see a couple of bands at the Welsh Club, which is good. etc.

Hope you have a cheery result on the depresso test CG.

See, if I had access to an MRI scanner, I'd spend each and every day slowly passing my clackers through it. I'd like to know what's really going on in there. I don't trust them.

Why you little...

Today I shall be mostly fretting.

Might go to the ever-wonderful 'Shunt' in the evening though, which might make things better... but then again, that's one of the myriad things I am fretting about.

I'm off work tomorrow, which means I'm doing pretty much sod all today. Go Thursday!

Try it again.

Help needed:

There's a website which basically boils down the premse of laods of books and films into a couple of sentences and it's funny. Where is it?

What are you fretting about, fretboy? Also: set a date for your wedding so we can book our honeymoon, you git.

http://www.rinkworks.com/bookaminute/

Found it.

It's ace.

Sister's health (she called me a little while ago, on the way to the hospital). The delicate balance to wanting to get drunk tonight vs Maria's wrath at doing that since she's said she'll be cranky if I come home drunk as she can't drink as she is ill at home with an inner ear infection that is making her miserable. Budgeting for the wedding. Booking things for the wedding. Sorting out things for being the Best Man next weekend. Posting things (Father's Day card, wedding acceptance response, Get Well Soon card to Maria's Dad etc)I should have posted earlier this week. Persistent throat malaise that I should have gone to the doctor about months ago. Work that I dislike. Mounting piles of work that I should ahve done but haven't for no reason other than I don't want to do it. Miserableness around wanting to do writing and never getting around to it as I'm always too tired or distracted. And others.

Meh... a few things. Just in a fretty kinda mood.

But other than that?

Today I will be buying a drill.

Then I will be (attempting to) put up some blinds in the bedroom.

Anyone want to run a book on whether I fall out of the window during this process?

Yeah, not too bad.

Well... the sister has been let out of hospital and the baby is still okay, so strike one from the fret list.

Now get some writing done so you can play CoD guilt free.

No, they are not the rolly up ones - they have that pully system that sometimes works, sometimes doesn't

I have decided against buying a drill and decided instead on putting them up with <mumble mumble> string.

Mimi logic:

String (<£) > drill.

String for the win!

I have just put the first up and it looks aceness. I am going to have lunch and then put teh second up. They are blackout blinds, too - so no waking up at 3:30 am for me, tomorrow!

EDIT:

Oh, big hugs, curiosity! Less fretfullness is definitely better than string.

healthy sister > string > drill.

I skim-read that as Dimrill then. That would have been a bit nasty.

Twisted Sister > Sting > Dimrill

Still waiting for the phone to ring.

Good to hear that your day is turning out to be more violin than guitar, though.

I need to add oil to bike soon.

We're not gonna take it any more!



Malc

Just a few mins left! Good riddance, Thursday!

Darryl has been for his interview and should know in the next week if he has it or not. I do have some BOGOF tickets if anyone wants them?

Don't 16yr olds look funny and awkward/miserable in suits?!

Oh, and Devilman can't get the day off work for my graduation Anybody want to be my driver for the day?

All I've done today is exactly the same as I've done since I finished uni the other week: Sat around feeling sorry for myself and my impending doom and playing computer games.

Actually, today I left the house and went to the shop and bought some chocolate (along with some other, proper-er food) and EVERYTHING.

I've already eaten one 250g bar of Dairy Milk Crunchie. I just started this other (pure Dairy Milk though) one. I really shouldn't. It'll spoil the excellent food (Chilliiiii) I will be making later.

I'd drive you if I had a car/could drive Jazzy G.

Unofrtunately I have neither. How about I ride a pushbike and pull you along on some roller skates behind? If you tuck your robe into your knickers we should be just fine. I even have left-over string to make a makeshift tow-rope

I heartily endorse this event or product.

So do nerds and geeks. Trust me on this.

Now, I mean no disrespect here Mimi, so please don't get insulted. But... well... you don't really, umm, seem like much of a drill person, you know?

Well I'm back from my psychological study thingy.

They asked a lot of questions, a lot. Mostly stuff you'd expect. Do I hear voices, do I feel like I've ever been possessed, have I ever cut myself, and so on.

For pretty much every single question I answered no, which they were pleased with as by the end they declared me hyper-normal non-depressed which is good for the study apparently. I qualify for the MRI which will be in August, so I'm going to have my brain scanned, very exciting.

This has made me grin the most so far this week.

Highly skilled psychiatrists in "non-depressed people less likely to cut themselves" breakthrough!