This Flame is Too Hot.

Yesterday was "lab clean up day"....a day when every member of the ginormous lab group stops what they are doing for an hour and helps clean the entire lab complex, floor to ceiling. Next week is "cancer camp" and we will be hosting people from universities all around the country to help teach our "novel" imaging methods.

I shouldn't put quotes on that. We are the only people who image the way we do.

Anyway, to promote participation and a balance of speed and good cleaning, the lab provided beer and pizza and snacks in a hidden room upstairs for those who finished their area.

I had the lovely benefit of having scanner time during the cleaning hours....which basically means I had to clean the area I was working in when I was done. Which is fair, and also useful. My experiment takes an hour to run after I set it up so I wandered upstairs to the snack room where PI's, graduate and summer students alike all gathered and shared stories of how alcohol had gotten them in trouble over the years. (While sipping on the cans of Bud, I might add)

Now, I am not against alcohol. I do drink on occasion and enjoy laughing at people who are manageably drunk around me. However, I am so incredibly glad that I don't have any embarrassing alcohol stories. This is not an "anti drinking" post. Its a "this-is-why-Nicole-chooses-not-to" post. I don't hold anyone to my standard because I believe in choice and the fact its not my job to govern your life.

But I rarely drink. Why? Because while yes it does for a bit produce a euphoric feeling, it is at its heart a depressant and a dehydrant. I dont want to put my body through the stress of imbalanced hormones and lack of water simultaneously. Also, I don't like the feeling of lack of self control. Only once in my life have I had the moment where I couldnt get my body to do what I wanted (concussion-caused, not alcohol caused) and the idea of getting anywhere near that again is...distressing. I also resent the lack of inhibitions...I tend to be more confortable with my body when drinking, and luckily have never pushed that too far. Mostly I like to distract people during drinking games or tease guy-friends. I fear the moment where I don't see the line that can not be crossed. Thus, I dont get drunk.

I have tried. Just so I know where that "point" is. Apparently I am too Irish and too unwilling to slide into a coma to actually get super drunk. So now, whats the point of drinking if I cant get drunk? too many calories and too much sugar for a healthy day? Hmm. I still drink on occasion for social and cultural reasons. And becuase I like the taste....but never again will I try to get drunk.

There was one story that shocked me the most. My mentor is young but has been with her now husband for eight years. They are adorable together and have learned to put up with eachother's quirks. One of her husband's quirks? He likes to pee on things when drunk. Anything. He did this recently and he cant remember where he peed and its smelling up their house.

This is just gross to me. Maybe if I loved a guy that did that I would put up with it. But I would have to love him....a lot. I find it amusing as an outsider, but it was my house, my bed, my carpet, etc that was getting violated? Not sure I would be amused.

Another story features someone catching their lab on fire! Ah! I can't image the damage done, not only to the facility but to people's careers and research.

I like to play with fire. Alcohol, however, seems more dangerous than the beautiful flames. At least to me.