First Day!!!

I did it! Walking into the lab on my first day on my dream job, I have to admit I kind of expected a relationship with my co-workers like Abby has with her team on NCIS.

  

 

Trust me, I have binged on this show enough on Netflix to know what to expect.  However, my hopes were quickly squashed as soon as I met my boss, who looked nothing like Mark Harmon. My boss had the same focused look but was female and greeted me with a warm opening. Unfortunately, the lab was not like Abby’s gothic basement either, but it was my own heaven. Clean, sterile, organized, and full of mystery, this space represented all of the opportunities that were going to come my way. My boss, Mary Hanson, is very no nonsense, down to earth woman who appears ready to mentor me, yet I know her expectations are high.  Mary started with a tour of the lab.  She showed me the non-refrigerated storage cabinets first. They were on the right wall. It was perfect, everything was labeled! Beakers of all shapes and sizes, test tube holders, loop and needle transfer tools, (loops are my favorite). She showed me where they kept the test tube labeling tape and markers as well the labeling supplies for organizing the lab itself. Then we moved on to the refrigerated storage on the back wall. There were two big, tall metal fridges on the left side and two metal fridges on the right side, and a fume hood station in-between. The fridges were chrome with a see through doors just like Abby’s! The left fridge contained both multiple kinds of test tubes some with agar. 

       Agar is the substance used in many plates and tubes to encourage growth of many microorganisms or to weed out unwanted organisms. On the right, are the pair of fridges that hold the tubes that are in stasis or need to be incubated.The incubator is a machine where test tubes or dishes are locked into it and the environment changes to encourage the growth of the microorganisms. The incubator was located on the left, perpendicular to the refrigerators, along with the autoclave. The autoclave is this big, metal rectangle, similar in size to a refrigerator. This machine is used to kill organisms that were grown for experiments as well as completely sanitizing and cleaning tubes and dishes. It is a very important machine but it is very loud and annoying. As exciting as finally being in an actual forensic lab is, I know all these beautiful machines and supplies will be my responsibility to keep clean and functioning. No matter what lab, whether educational or career, there are beginning and end processes that have to been done. It is tedious but so important in sustaining the lab. At my new lab we do toxicology, DNA, biology and chemistry testing. The agency is part of the state government and connected with police department.  I will get to work on criminal cases. I cannot wait for what was next. This dream, my dream, has come true!