Most everyone in science has been through this at one point or another, and particularly the bloggers and readers here. You must clear out your desk, put order in your freezer boxes and the refrigerator, dispose of your lovingly prepared buffers (or not – cf comments, not that Anna didn’t clear out her bench), and say farewell to your colleagues.
Today, I feel like I have moved labs more often than many, but less often than some – I’m trying to keep perspective! Today, I finished putting papers in a big box, scrounged from the tissue culture storeroom, wondering at first if I should sort them and in the end just throwing them in. There was a beautiful specimen that arrived in lab to be dissected for our tissue bank, and I couldn’t resist one last time. Pretending that the day would go on forever. Wondering where the boundary was between the jejunum and the duodenum at 9.5 weeks’ development and why the colon was still straight. Why the adrenal gland is so big so early on. Why we got three donations in the last three working days when most are on vacation and my former master’s student/doctor colleague will be the only one around the rest of August, and not even all of that.
I have crevices in my hands from using caustic cleaners to wipe all traces of my presence, essentially the dust that had collected around or under my machinery, but also a couple of coffee cup rings on the area of the bench labelled, “Heather’s desk” (on the far side of the plexiglass sterile hood for PCRs). There are plenty of traces of my earlier presence but I know these will slowly fade. I’ve seen it happen so many times. I have a bruise on my forearm from transporting heavy objects.
At lunchtime, which I had skipped, a couple members of my group came by. I had been setting aside my canteen card (rarely used) and the card the vending machine company makes you load up with your euros so as to have a candy bar or a cup of cocoa at 10 cents less than if you hadn’t, putting labels on my keys and preparing an envelope for my magnetic security badge to the building. When they came in, I manically pressed these talismans into their hands and explained the use of each. But the Ph.D. student came bearing gifts. And a large envelope. The two of them explained that these were from the whole floor, but they weren’t sure if I had tried to slip away en douce.
So I went over to the lunchroom, where much of the floor was chatting away, and opened three lovely objects:
- a pair of earrings – dangly things with pretty stones in them
- a matching bracelet
- a brand-new lab timer. We are ALWAYS scrounging to have one, and this one has a neck leash to keep it from running away. This is the necklace.
With tears in my eyes (I couldn’t read the card, I opened it and saw all the lovely comments, closed it and hid it in the bag), I went around and kissed everyone’s cheeks, as one can do here to say thank you when you feel close to someone. Thank you all, gene-cptp. You know who you are.
Twelve labs, I think. Two returns to former labs, among which this one. That’s enough, for the time being.
It’s so hard to say goodbye to lovely colleagues, anyway – and then they go and make it harder with presents and lovely things scribbled in cards!
I came over here with only 2 bags, and had to leave many beloved items behind… but my leaving card from my PhD lab* was one of my most treasured possessions, and was securely stashed in the bottom of my suitcase. I hope you find a safe place for yours – I look back at mine (plus the two I’ve accumulated since then) quite often!
Featuring the sage advice “remember to leave those Mounties ALONE! They have JOBS to do!”
sniff
Bonne courage! As the memories fade with time, these cards always help to refresh them.
Thanks, everyone. Did you take the advice, Cath?
I also came over here with only two suitcases originally. The rest just accrued, like annual rings on a tree.
Most of the time ;)
I was actually horribly disappointed to discover that Vancouver has its own police department and doesn’t use Mounties, except for ceremonial purposes. I think there’s one detachment in Stanley Park. There weren’t even any Mounties at my citizenship ceremony, which was disappointing!