#LabManagerProblems

Today is one of those days when I start really thinking about changing careers. I like my job, but it has its frustrations, and they’re all piled up today. This will be a short post because of it.

I have customers in need of data, and employees capable of preparing the samples. But just when I think everything is ready: Oh hey! Look! None of the standards were weighed!

Goody! Just what I want to do. Spend a half-hour weighing out standards.

OK, crisis averted.

Oh, Damn! Look! We’re running low on helium. Change the tank. Crisis averted.

Crap. No one told me we were running of of weigh boats. Go order more. OK. Good. Crisis averted.

Well, dang. So-and-so needs water data. Need to have a chat with the water analyzer. Let’s see how it’s doing. Probably just need to change the septum. Oh. Look. Water. In the lines. It doesn’t belong there. Oh. Goody. The vacuum pump is caput. Crisis – still crisis. Dang.

</headdesk>

All right. I gotta salvage this day somehow. At the very least I should be able to get a set of carbonates run, right? We’ll see. When I came in this morning, the mass spectrometer was not in its ready state as it should have been. See, a student ran some analyses yesterday and didn’t leave the instrument as it should have been. Not that I’ve told them this… but, sigh. We’ll hope. It should be OK.