Housing Woes

When someone says that they “live at their lab,” what does that mean? Generally they are attempting to convey the amount of excessive time they spend surrounded by falcon tubes, pipettes, dangerous chemicals and empty champagne bottles. When I say it, I actually mean it. About three days ago I wheeled my suitcase into lab and was greeted by the questioning looks of my peers. I was homeless…
… But don’t fret, this is a happy story! How did this all come about?
Originally when planning accommodations for the summer, my PI told me that under no circumstances should subject myself to the misery of zone 4 London. (Note: London is broken into different public transportation zones, with each zone radiating from central London (zone 1).) The NIMR happens to be in an affluent suburban-esque area of London called Mill Hill. It would be a fantastic place to settle down with a family etc etc, but for any young person hoping to have some semblance of a life, zone 4 is not the place to be. So, taking my PI’s advice, I found accommodations in a University College of London (UCL) dormitory. The only thing is that in my infinite wisdom, I did not book my entire summer stay there, thinking that after a little while I would be able to find another, cheaper place to move into or I could just extend my stay. At first, that is just what I did – I extended my stay once, but when I tried to do it another time around, I found out, to my horror, that the dorm was fully booked! I had no place to live. For some odd reason this just didn’t bother me all that much; things always have a tendency to fall into place. So, four days before I had to vacate my room, I began to search for accommodations…
The NIMR, besides for being a creepy building used as the exterior of Arkham Asylum, is really a mini-science campus. Beyond the imposing fences and walls, beyond the 24 hour security shack lays a vast property known as the NIMR. I only recently discovered that the incineration bags are incinerated on site on what seems to be a 24 hour incinerator. The billowing smoke always leaves me slightly unnerved, but anyways… In between the incinerator building and the main building, down a hill with big open fields on both sides lays the cottages. I just moved into the Springfield Cottage… Don’t be fooled by the quaint name. It’s a real hole. The house reminded me of a stereotypical off-campus frat house, minus empty alcohol containers everywhere. My room was formerly occupied by a female; I know this not because I met her, but by the layer of hair covering the floor as well as the few belongings she decided to leave and not take back to China with her (I found out her nationality from random newspaper clippings, and old package and other things left lying around). I am so glad I am only here for two weeks… Did I mention the shower doesn’t work? They are supposed to fix it tomorrow… On the upside, my commute to lab has been drastically reduced; it now only takes me 2.5 minutes opposed to 60 minutes… No reading the Metro on the tube anymore…
Did I mention I stayed in a hostel for my first week in lab because the UCL dorm wasn’t open yet? That was also a blast…