Early mornings and final week of prep

The absolutely worst part of going back and forth between Stockholm and my hometown is the early monday mornings. I don't care much for mondays since I love my job but mornings....
Those of you who know me fairly well also know that my idea of a good start of any day of the week does NOT involve the alarm clock going off at 04.30. So painfully obvious as it is, me not being a morning person, I'm somewhat happy that most of the following morning I can spend in relative seclusion on a not so crowded train for 3 hours. Having a second breakfast is also nice!

Leaving my family for 5 days is not very comforting either on these dark and cold monday mornings. However, I thankfully think that we all have come to terms with the fact of my current reality and profession even though it's a bit painful to close that sturdy outer door when I leave. For a reason I can't describe, it always brings with it a brief moment of hesitance. As if that brief moment somewhat would grant me the insight needed to alter my reality and stay home with my family, or perhaps just wishing that so was actually the case.

Anyhow, this is the final week of preparation before leaving for Noumea (New Caledonia) and the OUTPACE research cruise and I'm positive that it will be just as stressful as the weeks preceding it.
After shipping all our research equipment (270 kg) in advance with a swedish agent they now finally arrived safely in Noumea (after 10 days). One less thing to worry about since getting ones equipment through customs in whatever country could at times prove a lengthy process.

So this week will mostly entail learning the details of the qPCR (quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction) instrument and then analyze and calculate the data from it. There will also be some time for going through our onboard workflows again just to make absolutely sure everything runs smoothly once on board the research vessel.
Oh, and did I mention I also have a deadline for a massive written assignment? Better keep my eyes on those juggling balls, dropping even one could prove disappointing indeed.