FUN- MADE UP STORY ABOUT A LAB TECHNICIAN FOR #JUSJOJAN- scroll down to start with Jan. 1

January 6, 2026 - By Heidi Dare Turner Jenkins

-January 6

I have been INTENTIONAL in my journal writing. I want to make my journal entries short and to the point. With a little twist. I tell you what I eat that day. Just for fun. Something to look ahead to. I wonder if the supervisor actually reads these entries. Tonight’s shift was frustrating. On K 6 we had a huge leak from the tubing used for our ventilator. The supply room, where the tubing was in would be scary. I didn’t like to go there. Especially alone. There was an elevator. This meant I didn’t have to use the secluded staircase to get to the supply room. This was in my favor. So, I walked in the supply room and instantly sensed danger. Maybe it was just me being paranoid. Plus, the light bulb was flickering. I’ll put this in my entry plus I will make a note for maintenance to fix it. In the meantime, I rushed to get what I needed and then ran for the elevator. Suppose something was running after me and reached the elevator door before it closed? Luckily, nothing happened out of the ordinary. Tonight, I heated a dinner of Mac n cheese. I also got a soda from the vending machine. I know that too much caffeine wasn’t good for me. I tried to limit myself to one a day. But I needed the energy. I was ready to get off my shift. I was totally alone tonight.

I fixed the tubing that was leaking. Before you know it, my shift relief was on time to relieve me. I took a shower in the break room to wash the chemicals away. Now, I was ready to start my drive home. To sleep hopefully. I wanted to forget the world and its problems.

-January 5

NATURE

Last night’s shift was intense. Already tired, the extra hour I spent on my shift was even more intense. I was hoping then that tonight’s shift would be smoother. A good thing is the NATURE of the maintenance workers is mostly fun. They like to joke and are friendly to me. We had a backup in the bathroom sink. Some clog. I’m not sure what it was but that clog caused problems in the lab. Which meant that I had to spend most of my shift recalculating all the lab reading on the digital monitors. The maintenance workers managed to fix the problem, so it was easy to continue my shift. Extra work but the shift went by fast being focused on the clog issue.

-January 4

arm

I hardly made it for my shift tonight. It was nothing new. I woke up groggy. I am here. That is all that matters, right? I didn’t feel well I don’t know if I was coming down with something. My ARMS never warmed. My whole body seemed chilled, and I do not get warm. Tonight, was eventful of course. The person scheduled to come in tomorrow day shift called in sick to our supervisor. Gee, that means I will have to stay a while over normal time. Additionally, the monitors kept off readings for our experiment. This meant that I was constantly tending to the affairs of the machines. Oh well, it’s my job, right? Before I left home tonight the only thing I had time for was to fix a peanut butter sandwich. I put some change in my pocket to get some chips or cookies in the vending machine at work. Of course, I needed a soda. Caffeine would keep me awake in this environment of solitude. Other than a truck load of materials, no one but the truck driver came tonight. Steady is how I would document the night shift.

-January 3

fast/slow #just jot it January ’26 & #stream of consciousness

The clock on the wall seemed to be SLOW. At least I thought so as I ate my supper. The spaghetti, I grabbed from my home freezer was not my favorite brand. I really liked my spaghetti with meatballs. I was hungry so anything would keep my stomach from growling so loudly. I liked how FAST a microwave would heat food. I couldn’t complain too much. The food was good. Just not my favorite. So, as for my log today, all went well. Almost. The settings on the digital monitors kept having unusual readings. I was confused but I left it to the next shift to worry about. It was time to clock out.

-January 2

magnify

As I walked in the door of the research building, I hear the sound of running water. In the distance…maybe…but yes. I heard the sound, and the sound bothered me. No one else was scheduled for today’s research. The pain or ache of fear took its presence in my chest and tightened the breath in my lungs. This feeling MAGNIFIED my readiness to flee for safety or scream from fear. That anxiety was soon relieved when I walked to the break room only to find my supervisor washing his hands. He had come by to check on all the readings from the monitors. We had a nice chat. Once he left the rest of my shift was spent in the control room. Luckily. I made it through my whole shift. P.S. I chose Swedish Meatballs for my frozen dinner.

-January 1

mindfulness

It’s day one of my documentation journal. I can’t help but ponder why I decided to start a journal. Gee, I had to, that’s why.

Still, I was told to be MINDFUL of any changes, highlights, or thoughts I had during my study. So, here I am in all my MINDFULLNEESS, self. I am paying attention and ready to document for the days ahead. How was today? Boring. I did though have Turkey Pot Pie for lunch. Lunch was my highlight. No unusual reading from the screen. All monitors seem to be right readings. I will log and call it a night. I am tired.