On Thursday, the 23rd (ante-bisperas ng pasko), we’re gonna harvest the rice plants in the green house. Plants will be processed, separate the roots from the shoots…quickly freeze them in liquid nitrogen and then will be kept in a minus 80 degree freezer for further RNA extraction. But that’s not the end of it…we have new seedlings ready for planting, so right after the harvest…yep, we’re gonna plant new ones.
Darn this scientific eklabu! I’ve lost my muse and more so I can’t feel the Christmas spirit. While others are busy planning and preparing for their menus on Christmas Eve; I’m busy in the lab, slicing roots and shoots of the most important cereal in the world: Rice. Instead of cheerily toasting glasses of wine and beer with my friends; I’ve almost drowned with tons of liters of this freaking nutrient solution which seems like I can’t make the compositions right because the plants haven’t reacted like it supposed to. We’re supposed to stress them plants that should eventually die. But guess what?! They’ve grown as beautiful like they’ve never grown before. I’m no plant scientist, but I guess the plants were able to come up with a good mechanism to resist all the stress that we’ve put in.
Now that’s one BIG thought that should keep my Boss’ pipe burning over the Holidays. (Di nya alam, nahawa na sa akin yung mga halaman, sanay sa stress, ha ha!) So while my boss has to think about the mystery that is science while in Cebu, at the end of our big day, I will totally forget about rice plants and nutrient solutions: I will be in Bicolandia gorging in ginataan whathaveyous and seafoods galore. Yum! I cant wait to get HOME.