Back to back OR experiments

I’ve had one other instance where we had two OR experiments in a single day and that was exhausting. Thankfully we had a break in the middle so that I could get everything cleaned and prepped for the next time. Unfortunately I’ve just been made aware that next week we get to try things on hard mode next week.

I enjoy the OR experiments and it’s a good reminder of why I love research so much, but they are so fucking exhausting. I’m normally tired, like need to see a doctor because it literally affects my life, but they don’t seem to care tired (story for another time for sure). However, all the work and stress of being in the OR is just exhausting to the bone. Since I just finished in the OR recently I can say that with a high degree of certainty because I’m ready for bed.

But seriously, next week will be interesting because we will be going from one experiment to the next with no time to clean or prep the equipment so we’ll have to find time between teardown from the first experiment and setup of the other to clean as we go and we won’t have any time for prep for sure. Some things can be prepped for both surgeries, but the bulk of stuff (organizing cables for example) cannot be done because there just won’t be enough time.

Typically speaking after surgery it takes me anywhere from an hour to an hour and a half to clean and prep the equipment for the next time. If I have help and we go fast maybe, maybe I can do it in half an hour, but that would be pushing it. So there won’t be enough time. Instead we’re going to have to wing it and hope for the best. With an experiment as complicated as the one were trying to do (i.e., multi-part) a hope for the best strategy isn’t a good one.

We’ll do it, but it won’t be pretty. I’m sure we’ll get some data, just not great data. Then again even if we only get data for a single goal (there are ~5 parts or goals), then we’re making progress, so that’s something I guess. I’m still not looking forward to it, or how I’ll feel afterwards, but progress is progress. In the meantime I have a lot of other stuff I’m prepping for, nothing I can really talk about at the moment, but sooooon (which is a running theme with my blog, but hey I delivered on two of my papers!). I’ve also got news on the PhD front… maybe, but that will be another topic for a different day when I have a firm answer.

So for now, I’ve got some equipment to clean and new data to look at. With any luck, we got something worth using for some of the more difficult parts of the experiment, which as of right now are sorely lacking in successful data collection.