Work, drugs and cleaning

There is such a thing as Providence. And I don’t mean the pub a few minutes walking from university; I mean some higher power that looks after us. Coming back from Scotland I was faced with the unnerving proximity of a conference, a daunting mass of lab work I should have finished long ago, an elusive bloke, and a backlog of maintenance on things such as outdoor equipment. Handling all that, and maintaining an acceptable running shape, requires some dedication and tenacity.

I already mentioned my struggle with one of my water bladders which was taken over by algae. I ordered a new nozzle for it as the old one had been bitten through and was now leaking, and added a cleaning kit with brushes of which I hope they are more effective than my chamois leather solution. And on a day I was working late, trying to get ready for the conference, they arrived.

I got an email saying there was an odd-shaped package for me in the post room. Odd-shaped? What would be so odd with the items I had ordered? I opened it and found that the bulk of the package was not my order, but a promotional gift. A veritable bucket of a mug!

I’m still working long days, including weekends, in order to try to keep up with life, and this mug might very well facilitate such behaviour. What starts with a dirty water bag ends in gallons of coffee in the office! And I blogged before about my attempts to consume less caffeine, but I think that thought has now gone down the drain…