I'm seriously planning to get back to my career-focused blogging before tooooo long; I even have an email from a (patient) reader that I've been meaning to address. But it's been a very overwhelming past couple of weeks, and I haven't had time to gather very meaningful thoughts into one post. In the meantime, I've experienced a bit of pregnancy-related hilarity that I thought I'd share. Let's just say I'm learning new ways to have quite a bit of fun at work, at the expense of others of course.

For one, it's evidently a bad idea for a preggo to yell "oh shit" or "ouch" in the lab. A year ago, these tantrums may have garnered a quick look-see, just in case the mishap required help cleaning up (or just some good ol' pointing and laughing). These days, a similar outburst leads to bunch of easily-excitable lab mates running to my bench to make sure I'm not on the floor having a baby.

Speaking of things you shouldn't say while pregnant... I work at a pretty huge medical campus, complete with two hospitals that both have yummy meal options in their cafeterias. It's not all that uncommon for one of us to run over there for lunch, or to pick up prescriptions (it's rather nice having a pharmacy at work). I learned this week, however, the phrase "I'm heading over to the hospital" stirs things up quite a bit among my lab mates, who instantly stop what they're doing so they can carry me to the ER.

Lastly, I've found a great way to get out of conversations with people I don't particularly like. When they say my name, I simply speed up my waddle pace, point toward the restroom, and hurriedly say "JUST A MINUTE!" I've generally found that, by the time I emerge from the ladies room, the coast is clear and I can escape back to my bench. I'm thinking of adapting this idea to my frequent snack breaks, but still working on the precise methodology.