An inch forward is still forward movement

When I first came to OU to work and study I thought I had an idea of how a journal publication worthy project might work, but I was wrong.  As an undergraduate we are given experiments and procedures in the lab which have been done thousands of times and troubleshooted for years and years and we are surprised when a result that we do not understand is reached.  That is how I my naive undergraduate mind imagined research in a graduate lab, point and shoot, get an anwer, write a paper and move on.  The reality is much more convoluted and time consuming than anything that will be undertaken by a laboratory class.  This introduction leads into the update for fabricating nanoscale features.  On the "terraces" side, my contact at OU and I have had scheduling difficulties and I am hopeful that next week we will again try and etch using the clean sample.  On the "channels" side, progress has been made with using the e-beam!!  After hours of reading the manual and testing connections, computer settings and  SEM parameters I was able to get an image with the e-beam software which allowed me to calibrate the beam.  Before I had to return from Tulsa I was able to run a couple of sample patterns, develop them and sputter coat the sample.  However, I was not able to locate them on the SEM before leaving and therefore I was not able to ascertain the resolution of the  lines made or if the calibration was successful.  I did learn ways of marking the sample for next time, so that when I am looking for the location to use the beam, and find them again afterwards I will be able to with much greater precision and use less time to find them.  All in all, everything is moving forward, although much much slower than I my undergraduate self would have thought.  I will not be able to return to Tulsa for another 2 weeks as the technician in charge of the their SEM is out and I am not allowed to use the machine without her present, but once she gets back I think that one or two more trips and I will have channels!!