Fun with Purchase Orders: Part Deux

yesterday i shopped on my day off. today i shopped while i was working. but today's shopping was done largely online at the websites of scientific supply companies. and i spent way more money today, when i was using someone else's money, than i did yesterday, when i was using my own short supply of cash. i must say, i'm becoming quite the pro at this purchase order thing. dr. v. gives me an account number, and i buy whatever i need, even if what i need is a bottle of 90% phenol that costs over $130. i spent about $800 today. who knew that cryogenic sample vials could be so expensive? and i had to order 1,000 of them, which really isn't that many, considering the number of samples i'll be collecting in the near future... and i have to replace the 200 i "borrowed" from anne's lab. anyway, between the cost of various size microcentrifuge tubes, sample tubes, cryopens, and various chemicals (including some concentrated sulfuric acid) and the haz-mat charge added for shipping some of my chemicals, i spent quite a bit of money. $800 is a small fortune in latina-land.

perusing the websites of vwr and fisher scientific and placing the orders was the most interesting thing i did all day. the rest of the time was spent weighing dried epiphytes and making arrangements for the marine biology class. oh, and i made copies of directions to every place we have to go tomorrow and friday for o'brien because he's afraid our convoy will get broken up and he'll get lost. yep, it's off to port st. joe with me again tomorrow. this time, it's just for a night. here's hoping that t.s. arlene didn't mess with our cages.

i have determined that gretchen and i need to head back to st. joe on july 2 to retrieve our cages and take seagrass samples. good luck to us, going to a state park at the beach on the 4th of july weekend. i have already been informed that all of their cabins are booked that weekend. damn. maybe they have a campsite open, and we can borrow a tent from someone (even though i generally have an aversion to not sleeping in a bed). ahh, the things i do in the name of science.

all righty. i need to go and pack and take care of some other preparations for tomorrow's butt crack of dawn departure.