Refugee

Yesterday I was a refugee from my own lab. I spent the day moving from office to office seeking out free desk space, warmth, quiet and the illusive wireless internet.

My office and the lab was shut down because they needed to change the catalyst on the old glove box. Because the catalyst is a whole lotta fine powder, my labmates, Itzik (the bunny guy on the right), Itai (bunny on the left) and Gabi (holding the camera), had to suit up in bunny suits and face masks. Itai said it reminded him of his childhood and the first gulf war- but without the scuds.

Changing the catalyst only took them a few hours. Every time I peeked in the window it looked like something out of a B-grade end-of-world movie but with a bright yellow vacuum cleaner purchased the day before for -well I am not sure exactly what the vacuum was for, but I could hear it working so they must have needed it. After wards we could go back in the lab but then they had to regenerate the new catalyst right away which is an extraordinarily stinky process. So after three minutes in my office I was kicked out again.

But it was all worth it because now the glove box is sitting at a wonderful 1 ppm of oxygen, the blower softly whirring away, keeping my nanoparticles happy and oxygen fee.