C'est la barbe

Things are finally starting to heat up some in the lab, which is, I think, a good thing for me. Lots of experiments (or "manips" in French, short for "manipulations") over the next few weeks...

Expression for the day is one that I've known for awhile now, because it's so easy and useful: "C'est la barbe." Literally it means, "it's the beard", but in everyday use is to express extreme boredom. The funny part is that when you speak the expression it is nearly always associated with a particular movement which involves running your knuckles just under one of your cheeks. It's supposedly evocative of the action of shaving, which I guess I agree is not generally an exciting activity.