Me wanty... beer.. bleh....

Beer is good. Especially during those times of one's life of extreme stress whether that be right after / before a particularly hard climb, taking that one hard final exam as a student, or in my case this week a site visit from NIH for a 5 year resource grant to my lab. An oversimplified analogy I often give my non-science buddies is "it's like a scientific audit by the government...". Yeah - it's that painful and mind boggling that you just want to rip your brain out through your ocular cavities just so you have a good reason to stop thinking of the details on how best to present your data.

So this week, the day before the site visit I decided that I needed to come in refreshed for the big day. I figured after spending numerous 10 - 12 hour days for a couple of weeks, I should go to the oncampus pub for dinner and few beers. Mmm... how lovely - the entire length of the walk that I staggered to the front doors I thought about what to order. A nice smokey porter? A dark rich stout? Maybe a sharp red? So many to choose from.

I should have gotten the hint when I noticed obstacles in my path to my ambrosia. When I neared the pub, I noticed some construction that forced me to go off the pavement and walk through the eucalyptus trees. No matter - easily done. Then I started tripping over my own feet in the failing light as a I neared the doors. Whatever - I'm just tired.

And then, my heart sank.

The pub was dark. It was closed. IT WAS SPRING BREAK FOR THE STUDENT RUN PUB!

I tried the door a couple of times to make sure my brain hadn't failed to interpret what I was seeing correctly. It was. And I was sad. :(

So I staggered and tripped all the way back to my lab to work another hour and a half. I decided to try to make the best of the situation and let my work numb my brain instead of the expected alcoholic imbibements I just wanted before the gov't arrived. Let me just say that letting your brain soak up work instead of alcohol to relax isn't anywhere near as refreshing.