Tales from Work

There has not been much to report on since our last blog update so I will share some stories from my work.  Although I should note, we ventured out for an exciting sledding trip last weekend which you can read about here.  

Also, I made it to my first European soccer match the weekend before- FC Bayern 2 : Schalke 0.  What can I say, it was absolutely incredible.  A blog would not even do it justice, but here is a photo.

Work Tale I

As is typical in R&D lab work, often times the instruments/equipment fail.  These machines have so many delicate, thoroughly integrated parts that a significant part of our jobs as “scientists” is to be “engineers” and fix broken equipment (part electrician, plumber, and architect). This is a constant battle.  Well since I arrived at Roche there has been a particularly nasty instrument-breaking-fairy roaming the lab which made 4 different instruments go temporarily kaput (remember your previous German lesson?).  Thankfully though, I work with a relatively light-hearted and fun bunch of people.  I learn to appreciate this the more I learn about other more typical German personalities. 

At the start of these problems they began to jokingly blame a French colleague; not because she is French, but because she was using most of the equipment and seemed like a common connection to the problems.  They are pretty funny about this too, one day I overheard them saying, “We opened up the instrument and found the problem was that the French colleague put a baguette inside the instrument rendering it kaput”. 

This kind of humor lasted for some time, but eventually it wore out and then was directed towards me.  They would say to me “what have you done” and “please don’t touch my instruments” etc.  Given the success of the ‘baguette’ joke, the funny guy decided to test his cleverness.  He said “we opened the instrument and found a…. (long pondering pause) uh….. a BEAN, inside that was causing the problems!” Well I found this to be really, really funny and I had to give him credit for first knowing regionally where Arizona is in the US and second for coming up with a symbolic food for our old home state.  I’m not sure I can come up with a better symbol myself- the avocado, orange, cotton, pecan, copper….I think I like a bean the best.  Thankfully now the baguettes and beans are being removed and some of the important instruments are starting to function again.

Work Tale II

I travelled to Waldkraiburg for some training last week-  oh you have never heard of it?  Well rightly so, some Germans can’t precisely place it on a map either, which gives you a sense of its size and spirit (60 miles east of Munich, population 24,000).  It was a successful trip - although there were slow moments I was able to clear up the direction and plans for my research project. 

My hotel was next to a mega-mart which was next to the company I was visiting- here is where I would sleep, eat, and work, respectively.  Although not exactly a thrilling social scene, this was a nice change from the long commutes I’ve grown accustomed to. 

Anyhow, this was a historical time in Waldkraiburg because they were currently hosting the 2012 world championships in “Eisstockschießen” where 20 countries were competing for the coveted trophy (including Brazil….who knew, right?).  We have noticed people playing this game out on the frozen canals and lakes all winter.  It is pretty much the equivalent of the kind of lawn games you would see at a tailgate party somewhere a.k.a. corn-hole.  It is kind of like curling but the discs have handles and there are no brooms.  Julie and I were prepared to buy some gear for next Eisstockschießen season until we realized it costs several hundred Euros for a set minimum….wow! 

Anyhow, so I ventured out on my last day to witness a piece of history.  I saw the Junior level long distance competition.  The scene there felt like one of those amateur tournaments shown on ESPN on Sunday morning or when the big 5 sport season is dormant- say cup stacking or world strongest man etc.  So I grabbed a beer, a bratwurst, and a front row seat as the action unfolded- quite simply who could throw the disc the furthest down a 200 m artificial ice track. I quickly observed distance thrown was proportional to mass of the thrower so the beefy German/Austrians had the advantage over the more athletic Italians/Brazilians.  Way to put yourself on the map Waldkraiburg and thanks for the good times!