Pain Lab

This afternoon we had the pharmacology analgesia prac.

The aim of the experiment was to evaluate the efficacy of two types of analgesics - paracetamol and paracetamol with codeine - in reducing ischaemic and temperature-moderated pain.

An unfortunate sacrifice on the class' behalf was deliberate and repeated activation of ascending pathways. We immersed our arms into bucketfuls of slushy ice; and constricted our biceps to painfully exercise them in the absence of oxygen.

By unbelievable luck, not only did Jenny, Mylinh and me end up in the same lab, we were also in the same group, along with three other girls (one of them very, very talkative and beginning to border annoying, but more on that later).

Now, you might scoff at the ice-bucket exercise (especially if you have a penis and believe you are immune to sub-zero temperatures and pretty much everything else) but it's hella cold. I couldn't keep my arm in there for more than a minute. The ischaemic pain, however, didn't exist. Everyone around me were rating their level of pain "moderate" and "severe" but I wasn't bothered by much else than the fact that my hand was becoming increasingly tired from squeezing the rubber bulb as instructed.

There's something about Mylinh and me and labs. We're always the first to finish. Today was no exception. We left the lab 1.5 hours early.

Jenny and I bummed around Market City for a short while before meeting Victor and Jez, who was supposed to finish work at 5 pm in order to catch his 6 pm lecture but came out 20 minutes late. I wasn't happy.

So here I am. We just had a dinner of sushi and he's run off to the shower, probably meticulously cleaning his penis.