And when they were only halfway up they were neither up nor down

IT is Saturday evening, some four weeks since much went wrong. I can announce, at last, that I have gotten on top of the chaos that ensued at work. The problem remains, but the back up plan (which didn't exist four weeks ago) is now in action, my experiments safely tucked up in the incubator, under control.

It has meant that much of this week has been spent simply sorting and counting fruit flies. With 150 crosses to count, separate progeny by gender and phenotype and then cross to form a stable line, it has certainly kept me busy. I've broken all sorts of personal records, in many cases by a factor of ten, going in early and coming home late most days this week. Rachel was very supportive but it must have been difficult for her. Now, I am exhausted. After a quick visit to the lab this morning I came home and had a little lie down. Rachel, too, was tired after a very busy and responsible week at work, so also had a lie down after coming home early from volunteering at the Pavilion cafe. Suddenly, three hours had gone by, and we had slept through much of Saturday. I had missed a Join Me event in Birmingham, so key to me in the past that I came up with its official name, but happy that I might be able to relax properly for the first time in a month. I might even be good for conversation soon.

While performing said emergency genetics, I filled the fly room with hundreds of vials, arranged by gene and gender. With so many, it seemed as though I had my very own empire, clustered by continent. As the days went by the artillery became cavalry, then mere infantry, the strongholds of Australia and South America slowly retreating from the frontlines of progress. First to go was Kamchatka and Yakutsk, the roll of the dice reducing the number of crosses remaining quickly and efficiently. A few sickly troops remain at the linchpin territory of Iceland, but I need only males to complete my set. These should be easy to collect (and I won't need to revisit over the weekend) and my genetics game of Risk will be over, allowing me to concentrate on all of the other experiments fallen by the wayside. I'm not too far behind as a result of endeavours to keep several experiments afloat, but I will need to take stock on Monday, have a cup of tea and a sit down, then carry on as normal once more.

Seeds of other, non-work-related projects are slowly being sown. I have felt that it is important for me to become more involved at the Pavilion, without taking on too much, and on Thursday I pitched some ideas for activities that may take place throughout the year. Exciting times, but much to plan.