Shopping!

The internet is being amazingly slow today, and of course today being the day when I have to try and order lab chemicals and stuff means that I'm doing a lot of nothing while waiting for pages to load. I'm also slightly worried about the several thousand rands worth of equipment I ordered before I left... It was supposed to arrive three weeks ago, but as far as I know it isn't anywhere to be seen. Yay, I get the admin of tracking it down!

 

Ordering chemicals and stuff is always fun for me. Being a zoology/ecology major from pretty early on (I co-majored in physiology for a year, but there was a timetable clash and so I didn't carry on with it in my third year) meant that I did a lot of practical work, but relatively little of what most people would consider lab work. I was in honours before I found out how a micro-pipette worked, have no idea what a drop-slide is (unless it involves broken glass) and saw an agar plate for the first time as a post-grad, when I was expected to use them as teaching aids to the first years in a prac on fungi. That was pretty much the definition of steep learning curve!

 

So hanging out in the microbiology or physiology labs is always awesome because I get all excited about the stuff they have. Like 2-ply paper-towel! It's soft and strong and you can blow your nose without removing a layer of skin! You can get a spring-loaded lab-stool (for short scientists) specially designed for stability during those tricky procedures.

 

And of course, the day I was looking for lizard traps or something totally unrelated, and stumbled across the website for the Hazmat suit supplier... lets just say I didn't get much work done and I really really want a Hazmat suit! The models have the least impressed facial expressions as well! It's like they're trying to convey the seriousness of working with contagious viruses while in the bright yellow or blue or whatever suits, but they just come across looking sulky, bored and oh so stylish! Check it out here. I LOVE the first guy (top left).And for Zoolander's competition check out these ones. The guy in the black pants really cracks me up! And this set, with their no-nonsense expressions, features a nun right at the bottom!

 

I'm sure if I had to wear one the novelty would wear off quickly, kind of like getting a lab coat when I was in first year, or wearing overalls and gumboots in quarantine...

 

But at least I can say that online shopping for me is slightly different. And I'm easily entertained!