Patrick- Lab Culture Warrior

This lab is dead silent almost all the time. Everyone is doing their own thing...no body seems friendly with each other What kind of a work environment is this? The PIs (principal investigators for you non-science folk) are around constantly and always leading everyone by the hand. Not many people here seem to think much for themselves or have much insight outside of their project. My conversation with another graduate student this morning that we will call George (mostly because his actual name I can't pronounce nor spell).

Patrick: Good morning george, mind if I ask you a question
George: Sure, go ahead
P: Do you have any DNA modifying enzymes, an essential component of any molecular biology laboratory
G: You mean restriction enzymes
P: No, I mean things that work after those, they modify ends to help you do other things, an essential task for any molecular biologist
G: Never heard of that before
P: Really? Seems strange.
G: You should ask my boss, maybe she will know what you are talking about
P: How do you clone things when their sites don't match up just right if you can't modify their ends or do anything beyond cut and paste?
G: We don't
P: I see (Hangs head in disgust and orders $200 worth of enzymes)

Gotta go down to housing and find out whats up with that. Pam (my PI for those who don't know her) hinted that she wanted to go camping with us in Ozarks this weekend...I can hear the dueling banjos now...must find excuse not to go, maybe i'll catch west nile virus before the end of the week.
Patrick Out