Company Christmas party tonight. It will just be a dinner at a restaurant. We had to hurry up and do something PDQ because our boss will be out of state for a couple of months, starting next week, to do cancer treatment. Yes, this was just a bit sudden.

The home office has decided not to sell us in the near future, instead running the part of the plant that has me and a handful of other people employed. So for right now we look like staying in sunny Florida, which we are very happy about. Short-sleeve weather, while a lot of the country is suffering from ice storms. Been there, done that, don't need to do it again.

I have to say that I enjoy being in the lab by myself. The operators come over every now and then to bring samples and so forth, but other than that it's just me. If I make a mess I'm not inconveniencing anyone else. I don't have to fret about who used the beakers I just washed. I don't have to put up with somebody else's dadgum radio. Eventually I'll get lonely, I suppose. For now it's kind of nice.