I'm a Complicated Cleaner

Work has been going well the past few months. been covering much and i'm kinda happy with my progress though there's so much more within purification to cover, particulary in areas that support GMP activities. sometimes i really think paperwork and administrative procedures are a real pain simply because so much time and effort has to be put in to ensure that all the paperwork is completed correctly - to the point that u become totally paranoid about the simplest details u record/transcribe. the most trivial mistake or detail u overlook could cost u your job and the company hundred-thousands of pounds (that's like a loss of a million SGD per batch of product if it fails). My take is that GMP is a complete waste of time but absolutely necessary in this business (our products are entirely worthless and unreliable without GMP) [omgoodness, what a useless sentence...]. one of the reasons why i would prefer to work in development instead since GMP activities are few and far between.

The practical aspect of my work is fine though it could do with more practice. troubleshooting activities are rare and are things that i do not get a chance to be involved in frequently - again because of the costs involved. Most of the troubleshooting is done by senior operators.

My manager approached me a few days ago and broached the subject of departmental rotation. he mentioned that purification pilot scale-up require personnel as they are shorthanded and it would be a good opportunity to do a rotation now (instead of leaving it till near the end of our TAP program) because new and more interesting and difficult cell lines are coming through our doors (so its actually a win-win situation for both parties). i was hesitant at first because i'm not completely confident in DSP operations yet. however, i now believe that its a question of opportunity and being flexible. opportunities don't always come when u want them to and sometimes u just have to work around your original plans and be flexible... change them if u have to or come up with alternative solutions even if it means working more. look at the long-term benefits man... i've given him a list of my thoughts and doubts so i'll see what he comes back with after his meeting with the pilot manager tomorrow before i make my final decision.
[Pilot scale-up is the bridge between development and manufacturing and quite a bit of experimentation goes on there. its of high interest to me to see how certain parameters and specifications are derived instead of just adhering to them in manufacturing.]

And... my manager is leaving!! omgosh... that's terrible!! argh! i can't stand it... having to build a relationship with another person as the new manager, having to go through all my intended plans till the end of this TAP program and not knowing whether he/she will be supportive of them. o that's just disgusting... the new "overlord" (as we call dave now) might not even be bothered about us Tappies since he/she wasn't the one who recruited us anyway... o, i'm just thinking the worst... i always do, i can't help it. i think it's an innate trait, a bad one at that.

Proverbs 3 :5-6
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

Things are going great socially.. i've found my group of girlies and oh! they're a fantastic and sweet bunch! it's just nice when you've got girlfriends to confide and talk to at work. makes work more bearable when the going gets tough. we're planning some outings at the moment so hope it all turns out well. and i love both the shifts (there are 2 shifts in purification)! they're so different and yet i love them all the same. =P aww.. i should end here if not i could keep going and not be finished.

one final thing.. to explain the title of this post.

A complicated cleaner : one who does irritating daily, weekly, monthly, campaign, campaign with disinfectant changeover cleans (not forgetting equipment cleans as well) and purifies APIs (active pharmaceutical ingredients) at the same time.