defensive

Coming out for just a bit to rival the unfair (and often untrue) labeling of lab researchers as quiet-loving, antisocial recluses. During my short stays in various labs I've come across all sorts of people, and my current workplace is full of the most diverse, opinionated and gregarious people. Hey, my lab even plays mambo music =)

So, just cos we're *thinkers* doesn't mean we don't love a good drink and chat any less than the suavely-dressed banker (another stereotype, but I'll leave that for another day). And anyone who knows me would be challenged to claim I'm not sociable! While I have been wondering, nay, agonising, if research is the right career path for me, it hasn't really been because of a lack of interactions (but rather the nature of them). Scientific discoveries are seldom made alone, and scientists depend hugely on bouncing their ideas off each other so that we don't go barking up wrong trees (and wasting oodles of money and effort) all the time. Research is communication-INTENSIVE, and dare I say, maybe even more so than some desk-bound jobs. Just correcting a misconception that has been going on long enough!

In other news, work is a dark hole of energy, I am still praying for career direction and for some way out of housing woes, and some things are still good the second day in a row (e.g. live jazz, sambal stingray).