Tediousness...if that's a word.

So, I worked with the big scary machine today. And guess what? It actually wasn't that scary! (it was, however, still pretty big.) The main problem of the day: a loooooooot of prep work, a small amount of useful work, and a looooooooot of clean-up. Much tedious work had to be done. Allow me to explain some of the work, using this diagram I have previously prepared. (as in, 5 minutes ago....in Paint.)

Figure 1: Big fat scary machine

So, first of all, the great big purple circle indicates the main area where the work goes on. In that area (which is pretty much air-tight, I think), there can be absolutely no air bubbles. Not one. If one shows it's impudent little vaguely circular self, the experiment is done for. So, I had to spend a lot of time getting all the air bubbles out. When I tell you that this machine comes with its very own rubber mallet, that should tell you something about the pain it can be to get all the air bubbles out. Seriously, an instrument worth about a half-million dollars comes with a tool that you pretty much have to use to beat it. Yeeeeeeah.
So, once all the air bubbles have been "taken care of", the next order of business is to get the collection part running smoothly (see red circle in Figure 1). That is almost more of a pain than the air bubble removal. There are 96 teeny tiny little tubes in that area, each of which drips liquid into small wells in special collection plates. So basically all you have to do is get all those tubes dripping smoothly. Easy, right?
Wrong.
Each non-drippy tube has to have another slightly larger (emphasis on slightly) tube slid on it. The "larger" tube is attached to a large syringe, which I then use to pull liquid through the tube. All this has to be done while the tubes are dripping. I was covered in water by the time all was said and done.
So, if it sounds like I was complaining up til now, I understand how you got there, but you should know: I loved it. Maybe I just had a better attitude today or something, but I loved messing with that machine. However, I also didn't have to deal with cleaning it or with every air bubble, since this was my first time working with it. :)
So, that about sums up my day. Some tedious work following a very long seminar. Everyone beware, I had harassment training, and am now fully trained in how to harass. ;) I am also convinced that I will never get a job after I graduate, since apparently I need to have tons of higher education and more qualifications than I can even list...thanks for the encouragement, hiring managers/researchers! Tomorrow, I begin the probe! Eek. Oh, and this weekend we're going to Seattle! Any input as to where I absolutely need to visit (besides Pikes Place and the Space Needle) would be very much appreciated!