Wednesday, September 29, 2010

The Wee Hours


It's 12:20 am on a school night and I am sitting on my red antique couch wondering, "Should I turn on the TV, read my book, or make the rice for the luncheon tomorrow?"

This begs the question: But, Lauren, why not just go to bed?

I'd love to go to bed right now, but I have a presentation tomorrow that requires a lab material that is quite easy to make and therefore was left to the last minute (10:00 pm the night before). As is always the case with dental school lab projects that are left to the last minute, catastrophes both minor and major are sure to occur.

And occur they did.

My lab project requires me to mix a special powder and special liquid together which then hardens into a guide that may be used for an implant surgery. It usually takes a few minutes to harden.

Problem #1: When I got home tonight, I realized that the bottle the liquid has been kept in for the last few days was leaking, so I only had enough for one try--no room for error.

Problem #2: For some reason that surpasses all understanding, my mixture is still not dry. It's been 2.5 hours, and it still feels like play-dough instead of rock solid plastic. I've worked on several other projects over the last couple of hours until I found myself literally watching the material dry at midnight.

That's just pathetic. (And anyway, a watched project never boils.)

So I can't get it to set, can't start over, and can't get any more materials until tomorrow morning at 8 am...exactly 1 hour before my presentation is due.

*Sigh. Whose idea was it for me to become a dentist? Was it the same person who thought it was a good idea to save this project until the night before it was due?

I think I'm going to go make the rice for the party tomorrow. Nothing says slumber party for one like a batch of Mexican rice, right?

No comments:

Post a Comment