Ory-gone, I Came
I flew home on Monday - Pittsburgh to Atlanta to Portland. The trip was mildly eventful. Hurricane Dennis altered the weather in Atlanta, so the flight from Pittsburgh was delayed about an hour. It didn't really matter to me - I didn't have any deadlines to meet in Oregon, and wasn't too worried about making my connecting flight (figured if I missed it things would still be fine).
So I was sitting there in Pittsburgh, next to an elderly lady, and we got to talking. She was worried about flying - her son-in-law had told her that the reason we were delayed was because airline workers were on strike, and she was worried that the workers the airlines had in place of the striking ones would be incompetent and increase the likelihood of a plane crash. She was really taking it pretty bad - couldn't eat, couldn't sleep, and said she was breaking out in sores. She went off for a bit, and came back. I was hoping I could get her thinking about something nice... but she ended up telling me how daughter 1 wouldn't talk to her and daughter 2 had health problems. She thought the situation with daughter 1 would remain bad for a long time... I told her I would pray for the relationship, and encouraged her that prayer can do some pretty amazing things. She agreed, said daughter 1 had quit going to church - but also mentioned that she had quit as well and was therefore just as bad.
I think she appreciated the conversation... I hope she'll think twice about her life decisions and make a turn for the better. Lift a prayer for her if you think about it.
Yesterday I messed around at home - should have tackled my bedroom but found the dining room more appealing (that's really pretty bad of me). I returned to the bacteria and DNA today. This morning I went to a seminar - I got there late, and therefore missed the preliminary information. So this guy was up there talking about "quorum sensing" and RhlR and LasR (or some such) genes, and I was sitting there wondering what in the world quorum sensing was. Now, the thing about some jargon is that I tend to get a mental block when I can't remember having seen it before. But that isn't fair to the jargon - some of it can be sort of figured out if one will just give it some thought. Eg, for quorum sensing. First, the reaction is "Aaah! who knows?" Next, organize brain. Then, "Hmm, a quorum has to do with there being enough of something. Sensing means, well, to sense the presence of. The guy's talking about biofilms (which are bacterial communities that form on medical implants and c.), so maybe quorum sensing has something to do with determining if there's enough bacteria to form a biofilm." Not exactly the definition of quorum sensing, but such thinking can help decrease the "lost" feeling.
Indeed, it's good to be home. One of the great things about the trip was meeting new people - one of the difficult things about the trip was meeting so many new people, forgetting most of their names, and then running into them again. If I was around certain people enough, or if they were outstanding enough, I eventually got a feeling for their life, name, and place of origin. For other people, I would sometimes try to interact without letting on that I had forgotten their name and importance at FB. There were just too many of them to keep 'em all straight.
It'll be nice to return to Hopewell, the dwelling by the Big Muddy, my golden friends (here referencing a song I learned way back in Brownies, in 1990 or sometime: "Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other gold."). Now, all you silver friends, don't feel bad, PLEASE. Silver friends can undergo some sort of time- and interaction-based alchemy and become golden friends whom one can feel very comfortable around. The reaction has already begun.
So I was sitting there in Pittsburgh, next to an elderly lady, and we got to talking. She was worried about flying - her son-in-law had told her that the reason we were delayed was because airline workers were on strike, and she was worried that the workers the airlines had in place of the striking ones would be incompetent and increase the likelihood of a plane crash. She was really taking it pretty bad - couldn't eat, couldn't sleep, and said she was breaking out in sores. She went off for a bit, and came back. I was hoping I could get her thinking about something nice... but she ended up telling me how daughter 1 wouldn't talk to her and daughter 2 had health problems. She thought the situation with daughter 1 would remain bad for a long time... I told her I would pray for the relationship, and encouraged her that prayer can do some pretty amazing things. She agreed, said daughter 1 had quit going to church - but also mentioned that she had quit as well and was therefore just as bad.
I think she appreciated the conversation... I hope she'll think twice about her life decisions and make a turn for the better. Lift a prayer for her if you think about it.
Yesterday I messed around at home - should have tackled my bedroom but found the dining room more appealing (that's really pretty bad of me). I returned to the bacteria and DNA today. This morning I went to a seminar - I got there late, and therefore missed the preliminary information. So this guy was up there talking about "quorum sensing" and RhlR and LasR (or some such) genes, and I was sitting there wondering what in the world quorum sensing was. Now, the thing about some jargon is that I tend to get a mental block when I can't remember having seen it before. But that isn't fair to the jargon - some of it can be sort of figured out if one will just give it some thought. Eg, for quorum sensing. First, the reaction is "Aaah! who knows?" Next, organize brain. Then, "Hmm, a quorum has to do with there being enough of something. Sensing means, well, to sense the presence of. The guy's talking about biofilms (which are bacterial communities that form on medical implants and c.), so maybe quorum sensing has something to do with determining if there's enough bacteria to form a biofilm." Not exactly the definition of quorum sensing, but such thinking can help decrease the "lost" feeling.
Indeed, it's good to be home. One of the great things about the trip was meeting new people - one of the difficult things about the trip was meeting so many new people, forgetting most of their names, and then running into them again. If I was around certain people enough, or if they were outstanding enough, I eventually got a feeling for their life, name, and place of origin. For other people, I would sometimes try to interact without letting on that I had forgotten their name and importance at FB. There were just too many of them to keep 'em all straight.
It'll be nice to return to Hopewell, the dwelling by the Big Muddy, my golden friends (here referencing a song I learned way back in Brownies, in 1990 or sometime: "Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other gold."). Now, all you silver friends, don't feel bad, PLEASE. Silver friends can undergo some sort of time- and interaction-based alchemy and become golden friends whom one can feel very comfortable around. The reaction has already begun.
posted by Claire at 16:34
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