I like where I work

I hear from a lot of my peers that they don't like their engineering jobs.  The hours are long, there is little reward for doing a good job, their co-workers and bosses are cutthroat, etc.  Everyday I go to work I feel lucky.  Lucky because first of all I have a job, but also because I work at such an awesome place.  I work someplace that values their employees, makes them feel special, and does a good job of balancing the negative reviews with positive ones.

Today I received an email from one of the directors of another group at work responding to an email I'd sent.  It read:

You rock.  Good thinking!  Thanks!

Little things like that completely brighten my day.

Poor Plants

I have several houseplants at work.  Most made their way there when I moved apartments this past fall and realized that I don't have the amount of light necessary to keep houseplants thriving.  A few other plants made the trek when my cat showed an increased fondness for knocking the plants off the windowsill and dumping dirt (and plant remains) everywhere.

Most of my work plants are doing quite well.  They're no longer full of brown/yellow spots, one is flowering, and all are much happier in their new home.

Except one.

It's dead!

This one was the victim of Improper Glassware Cleaning.  The fear of every person who works in a research facility.  Improper Glassware Cleaning occurs when people don't wash their beakers as well as they should.  Residual chemicals lurk inside the glassware, waiting to contaminate your next sample or *gasp* kill the plant you were nursing back to health.

You think ivy grows like a weed, that it's hard to kill, that it's hard to stop from climbing all over your garage.  I'm here to tell you that's a lie.  A misconception!  All you need is some improperly cleaned glassware and you too will have dead plants on your hands.

RIP ivy.

PS.  It's probably best to keep a dedicated watering can for any plants you keep at work rather than relying on containers already in close proximity to the plants.  Just in case. 

Frigid North

Today I broke down and bought a space heater for my cubicle at work.  I even paid extra to get it by tomorrow (Tuesday).  I'm hoping the space heater will make me more comfortable which will increase my productivity.  Sounds good, yes?