Unlike a lot of people who do scientific research for a living, I make it a point to take my lunch somewhere outside the lab. I've never been a fan of the "working lunch." When I'm working, I just want to work. When I'm eating, I just want to eat. For the most part, I don't want to dine with coworkers. And if I must dine with them, I certainly don't want to discuss work.

Today I took my half sandwich and oatmeal cookie with me and started exploring the area behind my lab. When I came out to visit the school, my now advisor and I took her dog out for a walk behind our building. There's a lot of thick, forested land back there with some trails running through it. There are a lot of blackberry bushes also, and I though I'd check on them and see how the ripening was coming along because I might end up making a small batch of blackberry wine.

Anyway, I was absentmindedly wandering around down some heavily overgrown trails...turning here, stopping there. Then I realized that I probably wouldn't be able to remember enough of my meanderings to get out the same way I got in. With thicket that dense there are no landmarks and everything looks pretty much the same. Also, the whole time out there I could hear what seemed to be rather large animals scurrying around both in the trees and under the brush. Whatever they were, they were sneaky devils. I couldn't catch a glimpse to see what type of animals they were. That's when I started to get a bit weary of my surroundings...

You see, my lab is on the same campus as a primate research center. My lab is on property that abuts that of the primate center. There are literally hundred of primates there, most of which are monkeys. They do all sorts of medical and behavioral studies on them there. I think the DOD and NASA even sponsored a few studies that are running over there and I certainly don't care to know what those involve. You can't just drive up to the center. It's pretty heavily guarded and tucked away off the road. There's barely even a sign for it. They're trying to keep a low profile. Wouldn't want some angry PETA folks storming the place and freeing the monkeys.

So anyways, there I was, lost in the woods between my lab and the primate research center. And just to get my imagination going I happened to be surrounded by mysterious noisy scurrying animals that I couldn't catch sight of. Nuf said. It was time to get out of there. I certainly didn't want some narcotic-addicted, avian flu-infected, escaped monkey with a prosthetic leg and a space suit on jumping on my back. Hell no! (And yes, that's exactly how I picture the monkeys who live at the primate center. In my mind, some of them have eye patches. Others who were involved with nicotine testing even smoke cigarettes. The monkeys are something of a legend on my campus. If you've heard what I've heard...well...you'd be picturing some pretty funky monkeys too.)