Dropped (Again)

I showed up for the Cycling Spoken Here group ride last night. This time, there were 18 men... and me. Where are all the ladies? (I knew I was in trouble when I noticed their legs were shaved more recently than mine :) Once again, I was really pushing hard from the very beginning to hang on. (Note: It was very WINDY here yesterday.) I was doing really well.... feeling pretty good... cruising along in a hauling ass pace line. At the 17 mile mark somebody commented "we lost 2 :)" I think there was a subtle celebration (i KNOW there was a celebration ... if we were taking time to drink water ... I'm sure they would have toasted each other "to dropping riders! To DROPPING RIDERS!")... then a third guy fell off ... I'm still hanging on for dear life. Then, we made a turn off of hwy 751 onto Martha Chapel's Rd ... (this is the place where we **we girls** always get something to drink... chit chat... catch our breath.... WELL not on this ride). On THIS ride, everybody is up and out of their saddle sprinting (of course). I do the same ... thinking/knowing I can't do this much longer... but I somehow manage to close the gap... I'm ON! Whew. I'm going to make it. We start a short climb... climbing... climbing... I'm doing ok... THEN tragically the person in front of me stood up to pedal... and that's all it took. The gap between my tire and his went from 4 inches to 2 feet... DROPPED. There wasn't anything I could do. The Wind put a big 'ol hand on my chest and said "That's it Honey! You're done." Evil. Pure evil. This time... I made it to the 19 mile mark... we were averaging 20.5 mph when I fell off. Once again... I was okay with being left behind. Really... The Ego doesn't have a say-so. The next 10 miles were mighty lonesome... but at least I could breathe, drink some well-needed water and watch the sunset.

Dropped

I'm back
I'm back in the saddle again
I'm back
I'm back in the saddle again

Ridin' into town alone
By the light of the moon
I'm looking for ol Sukie Jones
She crazy horse saloon
Barkeep gimme a drink
That's when she caught my eye
She turned to give me a wink
That make a grown man cry

(Chorus)

Come easy, go easy
All right until the rising sun
I'm calling all the shots tonight
I'm like a loaded gun
Peelin' off my boots and chaps
I'm saddle sore
Four bits gets you time in the racks
I scream for more
Fools' gold out of their mines
The girls are soaking wet
Not tounge's drier than mine
I'll come when I get back

I'm back in the saddle again
I'm back
I'm back in the saddle again
I'm riding, I'm loading up my pistol
I'm riding, I really got a fistful
I'm riding, I'm shining up my saddle
I'm riding, this snake is gonna rattle

(Chorus)

Ridin' high
Ridin' high
Ridin' high already


I'm back on my bike. I rode 4 out of 7 days last week. Rode today. Starting to feel better on my bike.

I showed up for the Cycling Spoken Here group ride last week. Usually "group" means 20+ riders for a shop ride... I thought I could nestle down in the middle of the pack and cruise. Oh no. Only me and 5 dudes showed up. It never occurred to me that they would TRY to drop me. They TRIED to drop me at the 3 mile mark. WTF? I hung on for dear life... wishing like hell I had my July-legs... however, I have March-legs and they suck ass. We were averaging 22 mph (20 miles into the ride) when we hit Tody Goodwin Rd (I HATE that road) and I finally fell off at the 24 mile mark (along with 2 of the 5 dudes). Dropped. That was the first time I got dropped on a road ride. I was prepared to be left behind. Some people fear being dropped. It wasn't bad.

The work situation is really stressing me out. They started laying off upper-management people last week. Working their way down to the little people. Morale at work is terrible. These next few months are going to drag by... I spend a lot of time thinking about Plan B. I'm taking suggestions :)

"Small Is Beautiful"

"Small is beautiful". We heard that stated at least 10 times today.

Here's the deal...

GSK is attempting to operate like small biotech. Small groups... small studies... make decisions on compounds after 2-3 years. Metabolic and Cardiovascular ARE merging under one umbrella. They are creating DPUs (Discovery Performance Units) at each site (Upper Merion & RTP) that are going to be extremely specialized. The number of sites at each location has yet to be determined (will probably be one or MAYBE two)... approximately 60 people/site (60 people... includes biologists/chemists/DMPK/clinical ... everything. I have no idea if my small group will even be considered for these positions or if we could perhaps support ALL of the DPUs. It's really not clear. They are supposed to announce number of sites/employees by May... fill the positions June/July and be fully operational by August.

The Calm Before The Storm

Today's meetings were just to mentally prepare us for tomorrow's announcements. No lie. Basically... the Big Dudes said that the changes are monumental and there will be job losses. They said that they weren't permitted to tell us what they know... but didn't want us to "flip our shit" when it all rolls out in the morning. Rumor has it that GSK is reducing R&D Metabolic & CV by 40%. Everybody will be forced to re-apply/re-interview for their positions. It's still not clear if my lab will be impacted by this decision.

STRESS. STRESS. STRESS.

I've been having anxiety attacks all day today :(

I left work early ... managed to get in a short road ride with Stephanie this evening... that seemed to settle me a little bit.

I'll post up the MONUMENTAL ANNOUNCEMENTS tomorrow.

"At GSK we shave everyday" - GSK R&D VP

GlaxoSmithKline is announcing major structural changes tomorrow. I have 7 meetings in the next 3 days!

Wednesday
11:00 - Discussing New Titles for Clinical Pharmacology and Discovery Medicine (CPDM)
12:00 - Department Meeting (to discuss new titles)

Thursday
10:00 - Announcing the New GSK Organization
11:00 - Q & A Regarding the New Organization
12:30 - Metabolic Vice President Addresses R & D Scientists

Friday
10:45 - Town Hall Meeting with Senior Vice President Drug Discovery
12:00 - Q & A Meeting with CPDM SVP



WHAT THIS MEANS...

GSK is currently taking it in the ass over one of our diabetes drugs (Avandia... publication in 2007 linked this drug to increased risk of heart attack ). SO... GSK is taking money/FTEs away from obesity/diabetes therapeutic areas and focusing all effort into oncology/neurosciences. Rumor has it that Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases are merging under one umbrella... and Metabolic is being transferred to Philadelphia. My lab provides scientific support for the Metabolic CEDD.

WHAT THAT MEANS...

I'm probably either going to
a. Be offered a position in the Metabolic Biomarker Lab in Philadelphia
b. Be offered a severance package due to overlap (there's a CV biomarker lab in Philly)

WHAT THAT MEANS...

I'm probably losing my job tomorrow.

How many times have you heard me make that statement verbatim? I should set up a poll :) It drives me F'n crazy! Whose idea was it for me to go to Big Pharma?

ANYWAY ...
think about me the next couple of days.

I'll keep you posted.

That's A Good Thing To Like

1. Raspberry Martini (Bonefish Grill)
2. Belgium Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies (An)
3. Popcorn (Target)
4. BBQ Pork Nachos (Raleigh Times Bar)
5. Meat Ball/Spinach Pizza (Lily's Pizza)
6. Combo #7 (Chick Fil-A)
7. Lasagna (Cafe Luna)
8. Hard Rock Roll (Mura)
9. Shrimp Burger (Raleigh Times Bar)
10. Beef Yaki Niku (Shaba Shabu)
11. Caramel Tea Latte (Borders)

Since I got back from vacation... I haven't had much going on. It's not that I haven't WANTED to write ... because I have WANTED to write.

It' almost 11:00PM... and I'm starving. I ran approximately 2 miles today (for the 1st time in 2 years!) and I remembered why I stopped jogging. I hate it. It hurts. It's boring. It makes me hungry.

Some of my Food Hit List you may question... but trust me... it's a good thing to like.