(Un)glamorous

Sometimes I laugh at how unglamorous benchwork often is. I think when non-scientists imagine what scientists do all day, I think they imagine the way we look when we work with radioactivity. Lab coat, goggles, dangerous materials, slow deliberate movements, geiger counter beaping, an inch of shielding, etc. I don't think they imagine me sitting with my cup of coffee on my bench as I drip fractionate gradients... counting off 10 drops into each well on a 96-well plate. Trying hard not to blink.