As you remember, I happen to live in the most retarded state with ridiculous alcohol policy: beer is sold by beer distributors in large boxes (24 bottle min) separately from the rest of booze. One day my fellow-worker (chief cytotech and really smart asshole) promised me Croatian beer. Her parents were from there; she's been to the country and loves it deeply. She knows that I'm a beer person, she liked vodka I brought her, and she is a friend of mine. One day she drugged me to the 8th floor of the parking garage and gave me beer... a box of beer... not a bottle as I thought. So I'm carrying this heavy box covered with my sweatshirt, I'm giving away half of it and I keep the rest under my desk taking it home in small portions....

Second year of residency is not a piece of cake as you might think. People around me are having nice 8-5 rotations and I'm stuck with a bunch of helpless morons. That week had been hectic... I'd been working minimum 12 hrs every day, doing mine and everybody's job (fucking first years...)...For example, that day they were not shy to pile another complex autopsy on me ("it's such a hassle - nobody wants this fucking job; sorry, Helen). But hell with them, back to the story.

About 9 pm I got pretty confused and disoriented.. I still had 6 trays of slides to go but I couldn't think at all. So I'm packing some beer in my backpack and thinking about drinking one bottle on my way home (and I don't give a damn about "open container policy"). I'm thinking that cryostat is the best place to keep a bottle... and then I'll put it into the "cold bath" (liquid nitrogen) for 30 sec... I remember clearly taking beer out of the cold bath... Next morning I had to come before 7 am... I got everything done by 7.30 and I’m wondering around with a cap of coffee. Dennis (my man and chief path. assistant) is doing his morning routine... "Shit!! Helen, come here, girl!" - What's up? - "Did you put a beer in the cryostat?" - Ye, how do you know? - "Cause it's still here, you bloody retard!!" And here it is, sitting in the middle of the machine... Thanks whoever, it was a slow morning, and my enemies were not around... "If Dr. S sees it, you are fired. If P.T. sees it..." - I'm fired. - "Now you are thinking! Get this bloody bottle out of here!" - Thank you very many! - "you are like my fucking kid - I have to watch you every minute.." - Sorry for that:). Apparently, the night before I totally forgot about a bottle in cryostat and put another one in liquid nitrogen:)).

The guys were laughing madly:).

Moral: Sleep deprivation is a horrible thing that can cost you a job:).