Day 56 to 57

Day 56

Let’s interrupt the recent spate of postings about my home life and talk about work. As you’ll recall, I’ve had my reservations before even taking this job. Upon showing up, these concerns proved to be very real.

Let’s talk about what a biotech start-up really is: A guy gets an idea. He goes to someone with money (either a professional venture capitalist or just a rich guy) and tries to get them to invest in the idea in exchange for a piece of the company. If the idea pans out, more investors come to the table; the more sure-thing the idea/new product is perceived to be, the less of the company the owner has to give away for each dollar. Hot start-ups have little problem raising money in good times. In bad times (read: right now), it can be hard to get enough money to establish a proper company. Sometimes the head of a start-up will take the absolute minimum amount of money he has to, in order to hold onto as much of the company as possible. These are called “ramen start-ups.”

Looking around on my first day, it was clear that we either were a company with a crappy idea, or we were the cheapest of ramen start-ups. I am working in the ghetto of science. Seven of us are crammed into a lab the size of a large bedroom. The scientific equipment is old, crusty, but mostly functional. Today, I was briefed on the current projects. I think it may be possible to move some of the critical projects forward, but only if we have money. Science runs on money the way capitalism runs on the blood of the workers (according to Mussolini, anyway). Based on our digs, we don’t have any.

Like I mentioned earlier, the question is: was the boss just a greedy cheapskate, or was his idea just really crappy? In many ways, it doesn’t matter. I’ve been in California for about ten minutes, and I don’t have the emotional or physical energy to change jobs. The boss (more on him later) says that we need to hit some milestones in the projects in order to get more money from our mysterious backers. We shall see.

Day 57

While Rose and Jan suffer few identical afflictions, both are significantly affected by the occasional heat of the San Jose Valley area. The first day I arrived, it was a dry 95, perhaps 80 degrees in the house. Most homes in the area aren't air-conditioned, as the heat is something of an aberration. The first day, though, was pretty hot. I was OK with a cool glass of ice water; Rose, however, was dying, obviously on the brink of a heat-induced panic attack. I have seen this woman beg - BEG - for her husband to install the window-unit air-conditioner that cools their bedroom to a frosty 55F.

"Jan, get me something cold to drink," she crooned, forcing Jan to lumber into the kitchen. "Do you want water," he asked, "or juice?"

"Juice," announced Rose, looking at me. "Cranberry juice. Good for a urinary tract infection, right doctor?"

Shudder.

 Jan brought her a glass of cranberry-flavored high fructose corn syrup.

Next Time: Dr. Noah’s place of business turns out to be located in the ghetto of science, and the family’s son’s advance their agendas.