Rheo-who?

It occurred to me this afternoon that I can independently run all but one instrument in the TA lab. I can't troubleshoot very well, I don't know all of the procedures or even the "no-no's", but I can run everything. Today I ran the rheometer by myself. Had I not been a complete ninny, I would have gotten it right the first time. I ended up misreading some data, concluding that something went awry, and started over two times before I got it right.

Work is going much better now. I have quite a few tests left to run and re-run, and my paper is due before I can so much as blink my eyes. That, and I'm going camping at Sonshine Music Fest next week. This means I need to make up another 11 hours, so I'm going to have a great time with that. I should be able to get in early tomorrow and get at least an extra hour of work. I have to chip away at the huge burden because I commute. I believe I'll hope to get a job in the same city in which I live after college. That would be nice...

When I ran a TGA on a 40% sample this afternoon, the sample performed quite peculiarly. Normally when I ramp this stuff from RT to 500C at 25C/min, I get a vulcanized puddle of carbon in the platinum pan. This particular sample more closely resembled...a volcano...complete with the hole in the top. The data looks great, so I'm not worried about it, but it was odd to look at. I should have grabbed a camera and taken a photo.

Tomorrow marks the end of *gasp* 7 weeks! I can't believe how time is flying. How will I ever write/publish a paper?? Oy! Tis late, and early work will be a bummer if I don't get some sleep.