Waiting for the Drops

Patience.

That is one word I lack a lot of. I guess it is typical flaw for people our age, considering we live in such a fast-paced, instant-gratifying, work-obsessed crazy society like America. But still. Maybe we all need a reminder of what it's like to wait for a pen pal's snail mail or how much better real food tastes than fast food. Not trying to pump the stereotype, but I think being an only child makes this flaw worse. I'm not used to waiting for the bathroom since I have my own, and it's just weird having to wait on other people for a turn at my house.

The past two weeks have been a challenge for my short temper. In orgo lab, for example, we must figure out the identities of two unknown solutions in a binary mixture via fractional distillation. Let me just set the record straight: I've done the stupid distillation FIVE (count them), FIVE times. Basically, what you do is spend 2 hours boiling this solution in a flask and then condensing it in 20mL fragments split between 25 vials. Sounds boring? YES. And the drops take FOREVER to come out. The first week, my boiling point was way too high for what the instructions told us to do, so I basically sat in lab wasting time for 2 hours. The next 3 tries resulted in dirty products, so I had to recombine all of the little vials and repeat the distillation process. Despite all this, I still enjoy going to lab, which must speak very loudly to nerdy-science part of my brain.

The second thing that's driving me crazy: my cousin is visiting us, at least until school starts, and I have to babysit. I'm not used to having a little sibling running around the house, prying into my life. And now, here he is. Looking after someone else is a big responsibility. Sometimes, the kid may not even be doing anything wrong, yet they just are really annoying some how. Taking care of kids takes patience. Our volunteer coordinator at camp is so good at this. She is amazingly patient with the kids and spends a lot of time talking to them and explaining things to them. I struggle to follow her example, but sometimes it's very difficult. It's not so bad having a little sibling like person in the house, but it takes a lot of patience and getting used to.

I meant to write/reflect a lot more on this post, but it is 12:15am, and I am falling asleep. So, here's to bed. I hope everyone thinks about increasing their patience.