A Rather Longish Week

So, this has been a long week. I think working 40 hours a week and waking up early is finally catching up with me. :) Being tired hasn't helped with my work this week either. I've tried every which way possible (or so it seems) to get this one product to form, and I've been working on it since I started my job at the lab. It. still. won't. work. I'm just going to let this out here once and only once.
AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!
This is the mystery won't-dissolve-in-anything-stuff (which I FINALLY got to dissolve after much effort). The stuff that I have tried time and time again to make it, following procedures to the letter (yes, this is all published info, so it should work!!), with no success. And this is only one of the starting materials! It's not even the final tag yet. And I can't start on the tag until I get this made. Gah.
But, on the bright side, I did get the other starting material made! This one was a pain yesterday, when I ran a column on it (purification technique...I can explain it another time if anyone wants :) ) because it decided to tease me. It looked like it came out nicely, but actually didn't. Today, however, I got it to work without having to purify it on a column, which was a huge relief. Thankfully I just have to deal with this other starting material now, and it's only a matter of time until I get it right (right?).
I've also been working on different reagents for other experiments that Aaron is doing, with various levels of success. Purifying one is on my list for tomorrow, along with possibly redoing the other reaction for the 25000th time. :) But then it's the weekend! Yay!
Oh, and I should mention that my week got a lot better Tuesday night. Aunt Carol and I went to a pet store (we were killing time before going to see Up in 3D), and there was a Corgi puppy there! He was soooo cute, and I just wanted to take him home. (Dad or Mom, would you please pat Snicks for me? Thanks.) There were several other cute dogs there too, and some extremely energetic hamsters (I swear, these things had to be on speed or something). After the fuzzy-animal pick-me-up, we saw Up again, which was amazing in 3D too. The movie wasn't all about the 3D effects or shocks, but instead used it to enhance what was going on. Plus, the dog Dug (isn't that the best spelling ever?!) is funnier in 3D. :)
Hooray for Fridays and weekends! And for dads too! More updates to come...especially if something finally works. :)