Terror Fabulous
Holy shitty-balls, it's damn near been a full month since I last wrote in this thing. Alas, I've spent most of the time being a MySpace whore, and checking it twenty-thousand-and-one times a day instead of writing anything more than an amusing bulletin. Oh man, I'm listening to the dopest song by Themselves right now, which happens to be the title of this entry. There are so many CD's that I've bought in the last year which I can't seem to find. My arcade fire, themselves, postal service, grouch, and cursive are currently lost somewhere in the black hole that is Gonzales, CA. In addition, my record player is still sitting in my room gathering dust. I'm planning on kidnapping it back to San Jose the next time I go home for something. The room that I'm in now is small, and there's no room to do anything except sleep and place my loose change. It definetely doesn't have an inkling of my personal flavor, but that will soon change once I move from this one into a bigger one down the hall. I already took a peek at it, and it kicks way more ass than the one I'm in right now. For one, it has a TV and VCR-- plus room to walk around and do my swiss ball routines. Argghhh, argghhh, squeeze those abs!! (note to self: buy replacement swiss ball, inquire to FedEx why my abs haven't come in the mail yet).
So my job at Impax is going really well so far, as I wait for the next two days to pass so I can get PAID!! My official title is Analytical Chemist 1--a change from what I thought I was doing. I interviewed for the QC Chemist position, but I guess I got bumped up to the Analytical department. From what I've heard so far, QC doesn't get to do as much chemistry as us, and they get swamped with much more paperwork. Screw that, it looks like I already have enough paperwork to deal with as it is. My lab notebook entries have to be meticulous, and all according to cGMP's and FDA requirements. I have to get signatures for many things that I do, and get them approved and signed by my supervisor or another co-worker before my project can be considered "done". It's all to make sure that things run smoothly-- which is a far cry from how research was done in college. Now that I look back, there were so many things that were done at UCSC that would've gotten a gang of fines from the FDA if they ever got caught. It's just different in industry, and we're also not doing research, it's pharmaceutical chemistry. The tight structure is going to do me well, as it won't give me much time to screw around at my desk and get into trouble. Every project has many steps to keep you busy for the entire day, easily. You have to streamline your methods to be able to get out of the door by 5pm, or else you have to stay late and work with NO overtime pay--shitty!!
My co-workers are cool so far. The first thing I noticed was....there are NO white people in my department! The majority of people are of Chinese descent, and speak either Mandarin or Cantonese as their main conversational language. All the supervisors are Asian women, too. The only Latinos are myself, Jose, Belem, my desk neighbor Arturo, and this girl Ramona. It's all good, though, because I can get back to practicing my spanish every day. I hang out mostly with Belem and Jose, but I'm going to start to sit with the others in the building during lunch. This lunch group is made up of Bernard (big Chinese kid), Stephanie (Chinese girl), Ramona, and Liz (Indian girl, I think). Liz was the first person to rub me the wrong way, because she didn't and hasn't bothered to introduce herself or at least say 'Hi' when passing me. I know, I couldn've introduced myself, but she gives off this vibe like she doesn't want anyone to talk to her, and walks with this tight busy jerk in her step. I guess I'll figure more about her later. I'm getting along the best so far with Jose, mostly because we have the same sense of off-beat, goofy humor. He gets my random simpsons references, and knows what I'm talking about when I sing some obscure dance song. I'm learning more spanish slang, so I'll be able to get around in the Nicaraguan streets (whenever that is). None of these kids seem like they hang out after work, except for maybe Stephanie and Ramona. Maybe I'll get to change that once I get a good foot in the Impax way of life. A cool thing is that every wednesday, some of the guys try to play a basketball game during our lunch break. Last week, it was me, Wai Hin, Bernard, and Arturo. All these dudes can ball, so I'm the weak link. It just gives me more motivation to get better, and it will add another cardio level to my exercise regimen. I can't believe how tiring basketball can be--but then again, I haven't played a real game since early high school. I suck right now, there's not doubt, but I can see myself improving quickly (it's not that hard to go from terrible to decent, I figure). First thing, I can't dribble that well. Second, the footwork is really important. I found myself getting juked out by Bernard, who's about the same build as me. With his experience, he was able to throw some crazy pivot moves and ball handling that left me in the dust. Of course, my shot needs to be worked on. I think I'll hit up the court this saturday at Independence High. When I was in Gonzales, I was able to steal a basketball from Cruz, and it'll be my baby for the next few months.
All in all, living in San Jose has been alright. I haven't gone much outside since I've gotten here, unless it was to look for a Costco or Washington Mutual. I have a couple friends that live in town, and it would be cool to get back in touch with them and see where it goes. I don't want to waste any more time that I could have to experience the Silicon Valley scene. It should be good, and I'm looking forward to the time I'll get to spend here before I move to San Francisco.
Peace out, ya'll...
So my job at Impax is going really well so far, as I wait for the next two days to pass so I can get PAID!! My official title is Analytical Chemist 1--a change from what I thought I was doing. I interviewed for the QC Chemist position, but I guess I got bumped up to the Analytical department. From what I've heard so far, QC doesn't get to do as much chemistry as us, and they get swamped with much more paperwork. Screw that, it looks like I already have enough paperwork to deal with as it is. My lab notebook entries have to be meticulous, and all according to cGMP's and FDA requirements. I have to get signatures for many things that I do, and get them approved and signed by my supervisor or another co-worker before my project can be considered "done". It's all to make sure that things run smoothly-- which is a far cry from how research was done in college. Now that I look back, there were so many things that were done at UCSC that would've gotten a gang of fines from the FDA if they ever got caught. It's just different in industry, and we're also not doing research, it's pharmaceutical chemistry. The tight structure is going to do me well, as it won't give me much time to screw around at my desk and get into trouble. Every project has many steps to keep you busy for the entire day, easily. You have to streamline your methods to be able to get out of the door by 5pm, or else you have to stay late and work with NO overtime pay--shitty!!
My co-workers are cool so far. The first thing I noticed was....there are NO white people in my department! The majority of people are of Chinese descent, and speak either Mandarin or Cantonese as their main conversational language. All the supervisors are Asian women, too. The only Latinos are myself, Jose, Belem, my desk neighbor Arturo, and this girl Ramona. It's all good, though, because I can get back to practicing my spanish every day. I hang out mostly with Belem and Jose, but I'm going to start to sit with the others in the building during lunch. This lunch group is made up of Bernard (big Chinese kid), Stephanie (Chinese girl), Ramona, and Liz (Indian girl, I think). Liz was the first person to rub me the wrong way, because she didn't and hasn't bothered to introduce herself or at least say 'Hi' when passing me. I know, I couldn've introduced myself, but she gives off this vibe like she doesn't want anyone to talk to her, and walks with this tight busy jerk in her step. I guess I'll figure more about her later. I'm getting along the best so far with Jose, mostly because we have the same sense of off-beat, goofy humor. He gets my random simpsons references, and knows what I'm talking about when I sing some obscure dance song. I'm learning more spanish slang, so I'll be able to get around in the Nicaraguan streets (whenever that is). None of these kids seem like they hang out after work, except for maybe Stephanie and Ramona. Maybe I'll get to change that once I get a good foot in the Impax way of life. A cool thing is that every wednesday, some of the guys try to play a basketball game during our lunch break. Last week, it was me, Wai Hin, Bernard, and Arturo. All these dudes can ball, so I'm the weak link. It just gives me more motivation to get better, and it will add another cardio level to my exercise regimen. I can't believe how tiring basketball can be--but then again, I haven't played a real game since early high school. I suck right now, there's not doubt, but I can see myself improving quickly (it's not that hard to go from terrible to decent, I figure). First thing, I can't dribble that well. Second, the footwork is really important. I found myself getting juked out by Bernard, who's about the same build as me. With his experience, he was able to throw some crazy pivot moves and ball handling that left me in the dust. Of course, my shot needs to be worked on. I think I'll hit up the court this saturday at Independence High. When I was in Gonzales, I was able to steal a basketball from Cruz, and it'll be my baby for the next few months.
All in all, living in San Jose has been alright. I haven't gone much outside since I've gotten here, unless it was to look for a Costco or Washington Mutual. I have a couple friends that live in town, and it would be cool to get back in touch with them and see where it goes. I don't want to waste any more time that I could have to experience the Silicon Valley scene. It should be good, and I'm looking forward to the time I'll get to spend here before I move to San Francisco.
Peace out, ya'll...