Raise your hand....

....if you're feeling overwhelmed.


I'm not sure who is more stressed out: me or my students. The key difference here is that I don't let 'em see me sweat.



Hope you're all having a fantastic start to the semester. I'm looking forward to catching up on all your posts and comments.

Fill in the blank

Orientation is ________________.


(Feel free to specify what type of orientation you are referring to-- new faculty, grad school, job, etc. etc.)


I suspect that many of you are in some type of orientation this week. Sorry. Oh, and if you are one of those senior (or junior?) faculty inflicting, I mean, informing new faculty/grad students/post-docs of various departmental policies... well.... enjoy the free food.

Overheard at the airport

I'm back after a week plus away for some science-related stuff.

I was rudely brought back to reality with this airport bathroom conversation.

An elderly woman was using the handicap stall. Her daughter (or caretaker?), who was in her mid-thirties, started talking to her from outside the stall.

Daughter: Are you doing okay?

Old Woman: Oh, yes, dear.

D: So, I have your rings here. What do you want to do with them?

O.W.: Oh, I can't just wear them?

D: No, remember that they are falling off your finger?

O.W.: Oh, yes. What can I do then?

D: Hmm... well... Oh! You could wear them on your middle fingers!

O.W.: Oh. Would people think I'm a LESBIAN then?

D: Uh, no, I don't think that's what it means.



It was a good thing I was already in a stall because I'm pretty sure I otherwise would have peed my pants from laughing so hard.

Come on, admit it...

...you know you wanna.


I know I'm not the only one out there watching summer TV (i.e., TV that some would define as "bad").


I just watched So You Think You Can Dance and Big Brother.


Judge away.


(or admit your own guilty pleasures)

How much would you pay for a microwave?

My mother has had the same microwave since 1984. It has a footprint bigger than the sinks, more than half the size of the stovetop. With counter space at a premium in her kitchen, I often asked her when she would trade it in for a more compact, modern model.

"Why would I buy a new microwave, when this one works perfectly fine?" She dismissed my wasteful attitude.

And so the black and orange monstrosity sat on our kitchen counter. I would roll my eyes at it, but I had to admit that it reheated leftovers as good as my circa 2007 microwave.

This weekend, my mother and I were going through some boxes of receipts and warranties that had piled up over the years. What did we find? The original receipt for the 1984 microwave purchase!!

The cost? $700. Seven hundred dollars! For a microwave! Can you imagine?

I know one thing: I won't be recommending a microwave trade-in any time soon!