The Very First Day
Today, I started my first day as a Summer Research Undergraduate Student Assistant Worker. The adventure begins…So, I’m not really sure what the official title of my position is so I made it up. The longer the title the better it sounds. I like to call myself a Summer Research Undergraduate Student Assistant Worker. And today was my first day. I am working at the Vanderbilt Medical Center in the Human Genetics Department under Dr. Kearney, a sweet lady, who I am super excited to work for.
Anyways, my first day was a lot of learning people’s names and learning about what is around in the lab. I would give you pictures but… I can’t afford an iPhone and take photos and upload and stuff. So, you’ll have to use your imagination for the next 2 months.
Ok, enough of getting off track. Today, I learned how to properly take care of lab animals, specifically mice. I literally sat in front of the computer for 4 hours and learned everything there is to know about mice. Did you know there’s a special machine that decapitates mice for euthanizing purposes? Like WHAT? Who spends their life inventing that kind of stuff? Also, if you need to check if a mouse is properly under anesthesia, you just have to pinch its toes to see if it reacts. But if you pinch too hard, you’ll CRUSH ITS FOOT. So, there’s your “How to take care of a mouse” tip for the day. Also, random thought of the day, but while I was learning to take care of lab animals, I had a great desire to own pet rabbits. Think about it. How cute would they be to have in your dorm room? Not that I’m supporting said suggestion or anything because I don’t think Vanderbilt allows you to keep pets in your rooms. But just imagine…
Pretty much, that was my first day. Just learning about taking care of mice. More excitement is soon to come on my second day on Wednesday.