2008 in Review

As seen over at What a recently tenured college professor shouldn't be doing... (which has one of the best urls ever...check it out!)

Addy did this with the year 2006, but since UR didn't exist then, I'm going to use this year. I think it's pretty neat!


Rules: take first sentence of first post of each month.

January 2008: People find my site through a wide range of google terms (some on google and some on google blogsearch). (The month I tried to find any activity that would distract me from looming job interviews.)

February 2008: Yeah, that's me. (Hmmm...this could be referring to so many things.)

March 2008: I absolutely do not believe in love at first sight. (At this point, N.A. and I were already in love. I never would have thought I'd find someone like him, if you had asked me this time last year.)

April 2008: Well, N.A. and I made it through our first trip. (And we're still going strong!)

May 2008: In my department there is an unwritten code of conduct among graduate students. (I'm much happier now that I'm in a relatively politics-free department. Switching to a new school in the fall-- I hope!-- is going to be a big adjustment.)

June 2008: Yesterday, at a thesis defense, I had difficulty seeing the whole screen. (Oh.....how many strange faculty members there are at LargeU. Now I'm in a department with colleagues that are (mostly) quirk free.)

July 2008: Now you know I'm not one to criticize others' child-rearing skills (ha, ha), but I feel like the following warrants (at least a little) judgement: (Worst places to encounter ill-behaved rugrats: planes, trains, and churches.)

August 2008: ...well, at least for this moment. (Hmmm...)

September 2008: I hate hate hated group work when I was a student. (And I still do, although I use it in almost every lecture.)

October 2008: Last week, I gave my students their first exam. (They liked that one. Not so much on the later exams.)

November 2008: I've been gone all week at my first conference as a (semi) Real Professor. (I'm completely comfortable with the Dr title now. I still bristle whenever someone calls me "Mrs" or "Ms." I'm not sure that will go away, at least when I'm in the classroom.)

December 2008: Driving a huge, gas-guzzling SUV with expensive, tricked out snow tires is super safe. (I. Hate. SUVs in the winder.)



Hope you are all having a wonderful, alcohol-drenched start to 2009!

Movie Mania Meme

As seen at juniorprof and junction potential (go check 'em out!)...and probably loads others of you as well. I tag all of you that want to play, just comment so that we can all click over to see your totals. Also, if you have any links to other fun / semifun / time wasting memes, please comment below. The semester is only a few weeks away, so I need to start compiling a list of procrastination possibilities.


I'm not really that much into movies. (My netflix account is almost exclusively used for TV shows.) I haven't seen many of the "classic" ones (define that as you will), so this should be interesting.

(x) Rocky Horror Picture Show
(x) Grease
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean
( ) Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest
( ) Boondock Saints
(x) Fight Club
( ) Starsky and Hutch
( ) Neverending Story
( ) Blazing Saddles
( ) Universal Soldier
(x) Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events
(x) Along Came Polly
( ) Joe Dirt
( ) KING KONG
Total so far: 6

( ) A Cinderella Story
( ) The Terminal
( ) The Lizzie McGuire Movie
( ) Passport to Paris
(x) Dumb & Dumber
( ) Dumber & Dumberer
( ) Final Destination
( ) Final Destination 2
( ) Final Destination 3
( ) Halloween
(x) The Ring
( ) The Ring 2
( ) Surviving -MAS
( ) Flubber (orignal only)
Total so far: 8

( ) Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
(x) Practical Magic
(x) Chicago
( ) Ghost Ship
( ) From Hell
( ) Hellboy
( ) Secret Window
(x) I Am Sam
( ) The Whole Nine Yards
( ) The Whole Ten Yards
Total so far: 11

(x) The Day After Tomorrow
( ) Child's Play
( ) Seed of Chucky
( ) Bride of Chucky
(x) Ten Things I Hate About You
( ) Just Married
( ) Gothika
( ) Nightmare on Elm Street
( ) Sixteen Candles
( ) Remember the Titans
( ) Coach Carter
(x) The Grudge
( ) The Grudge 2
(x) The Mask
( ) Son Of The Mask
Total so far: 15

( ) Bad Boys
( ) Bad Boys 2
( ) Joy Ride
( ) Lucky Number Sleven
(x) Ocean's Eleven
(x) Ocean's Twelve
(x) Bourne Identity
(x) Bourne Supremacy
( ) Lone Star
( ) Bedazzled (original only)
(x) Predator I
( ) Predator II
( ) The Fog
(x) Ice Age
( ) Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
( ) Curious George
Total so far: 21

(x) Independence Day
( ) Cujo
( ) A Bronx Tale
( ) Darkness Falls
( ) Christine
(x) ET
(x) Children of the Corn
( ) My Bosses Daughter
(x) Maid in Manhattan
( ) War of the Worlds
( ) Rush Hour
( ) Rush Hour 2
Total so far: 25

( ) Best Bet
(x) How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
( ) She's All That
(x) Calendar Girls
(x) Sideways
(x) Mars Attacks
( ) Event Horizon
(x) Ever After
(x) Wizard of Oz
(x) Forrest Gump
( ) Big Trouble in Little China
( ) The Terminator
( ) The Terminator 2
( ) The Terminator 3
Total so far: 32

( ) X-Men
( ) X2
( ) X-3
(x) Spider-Man
( ) Spider-Man 2
( ) Sky High
( ) Jeepers Creepers
( ) Jeepers Creepers 2
(x) Catch Me If You Can
(x) The Little Mermaid
( ) Freaky Friday (original only)
( ) Reign of Fire
( ) The Skulls
(x) Cruel Intentions
(x) Cruel Intentions 2
( ) The Hot Chick
(x) Shrek
(x) Shrek 2
Total so far: 39 (I think?)

(x) Swimfan
( ) Miracle on 34th street
(x) Old School
(x) The Notebook
( ) K-Pax
( ) Kippendorf's Tribe
(x) A Walk to Remember
( ) Ice Castles
( ) Boogeyman
(x) The 40-year-old-virgin
Total so far: 44

(x) Lord of the Rings Fellowship of the Ring (I will say it: THIS IS SUCH A BORING MOVIE! Pretty, yes.)
( ) Lord of the Rings The Two Towers
( ) Lord of the Rings Return Of the King
(x) Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
(x) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
(x) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Total so far: 48

( ) Baseketball
( ) Hostel
( ) Waiting for Guffman
( ) House of 1000 Corpses
( ) Devils Rejects
(x) Elf
( ) Highlander
( ) Mothman Prophecies
(X) American History (Is this American History X??)
( ) Three
Total so Far: 50

( ) The Jacket
( ) Kung Fu Hustle
( ) Shaolin Soccer
( ) Night Watch
(x) Monsters Inc.
(x) Titanic
( ) Monty Python and the Holy Grail
(x) Shaun Of the Dead
( ) Willard
Total so far: 53

( ) High Tension
( ) Club Dread
( ) Hulk
( ) Dawn of the Dead
(x) Hook
( ) Chronicle Of Narnia The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
( ) 28 days later
(x) Orgazmo
( ) Phantasm
( ) Waterworld
Total so far: 55

( ) Kill Bill vol 1
( ) Kill Bill vol 2
( ) Mortal Kombat
( ) Wolf Creek
( ) Kingdom of Heaven
( ) the Hills Have Eyes
( ) I Spit on Your Grave aka the Day of the Woman
( ) The Last House on the Left
( ) Re-Animator
(x) Army of Darkness
Total so far: 56

(x) Star Wars Ep. I The Phantom Menace
(x) Star Wars Ep. II Attack of the Clones
( ) Star Wars Ep. III Revenge of the Sith
(x) Star Wars Ep. IV A New Hope
(x) Star Wars Ep. V The Empire Strikes Back [I agree with Dante, this is the best]
(x) Star Wars Ep. VI Return of the Jedi
( ) Ewoks Caravan Of Courage
( ) Ewoks The Battle For Endor
Total so far: 61

(x) The Matrix
(x) The Matrix Reloaded
( ) The Matrix Revolutions
( ) Animatrix
( ) Evil Dead
( ) Evil Dead 2
(x) Team America: World Police
( ) Red Dragon
(x) Silence of the Lambs
( ) Hannibal
Total so far: 65

( ) Battle Royale
( ) Battle Royale 2
( ) Brazil
(x) Contact
( ) Cube
( ) Dr. Strangelove
( ) Enlightenment Guaranteed
(x) Four Rooms
(x) Memento
(x) Pi
( ) Requiem for a Dream
(x) Pulp Fiction
(x) Reservoir Dogs
(x) Run Lola Run
( ) Russian Ark
( ) Serenity
( ) Sin City
( ) Snatch
( ) Spider
(x) The Sixth Sense
( ) The Village
( ) Waking Life
( ) Zatoichi
( ) Ikiru
( ) The Seven Samurai
( ) Brick
( ) Akira
Total so far: 73

Hmmm...seems that I have a lot of movie watching to do!

A note to parents everywhere

If you are going to buy your kid a Nintendo DS / iPhone / weird techie game thing I've never seen before, then please buy them the matching headphones. I don't need to spend my bonus time at the airport (read: flight delayed 2.5 hours...and counting) listening to their game plink, boing, or clang.

Thank you.


(although with this delay, there should be no chance of my bags being delayed, right? For those of you keeping count at home, I was reunited with my bags 4 days, 23 hours, and 8 minutes after the baggage carousel stopped turning.)

Should I stay or should I go?

Historically, my big life decisions have not required me to select from just one of two choices; I have not met many proverbial forks in the road... more like sporks. For example, when I decided to go to graduate school, I knew I had the option of many disciplines. I also knew that I could easily change my mind at any point and leave. If LargeU ended up not being a good fit, I could (with minimal pain), pull up roots and switch to another program or school.

Likewise, when I decided to accept the Visiting Ass faculty position at TempColleg, I knew that I wasn't risking much: visiting positions are becoming more and more common (woohoo! Teaching postdoc, anyone?), so I wasn't worried about the job becoming a black mark on my CV. If I hated it, it was only nine months. If I liked it, bonus points.

So in recent months, I've been exploring new territory. I had to decide whether to go back on the active job market or continue on for another year at TempCollege. I chose to not put out any applications. The Boss was terribly disappointed that I was closing the door on all potential opportunities. The argument was made that I could leverage any tenure-track offers to try to gain a position at N.A.'s institution.

Now, a door has opened at N.A.'s institution. Would I still have this option if I had put out applications in September? No. In November? Maybe, but it would have been very interesting when it came time to do interviews.

So I guess in my case, it appear that by closing the door to other tenure-track possibilities, I have opened a (teeny, tiny) door to a potential position that would put me in the same city as N.A. Stay tuned for updates on my two-body situation!

scientiae-carnival

100 Things I've Done

I first saw this over at The Happy Scientist, and I've since seen it all over the blogosphere.

1. Started my own blog
2. Slept under the stars We camped... a *lot* as a family.
3. Played in a band Marching counts, right?
4. Visited Hawaii Probably one day, although neither N.A. nor I are particularly beach-oriented people.
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than I can afford to charity It was a little touchy in grad school, but I always stayed in the black.
7. Been to Disneyland/world Went with band. I was not impressed.
8. Climbed a mountain Just some really tall hills. Oh, I did a 2000 ft hike in Central America....does that count?
9. Held a praying mantis Whywhywhywhywhy?
10. Sung a solo I have a *terrible* voice. No one would want me to do that.
11. Bungee jumped Again....whywhywhywhywhy?
12. Visited Paris Looooooved it!
13. Watched lightning at sea
14. Taught myself an art from scratch I'm not really that artsy.
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning Mmmm.... projectile vomiting...good times.
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty Can you even walk to the top anymore?
18. Grown my own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train I found the back-and-forth motion quite soothing!
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitchhiked Ummmmm.....no!
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill Muhahahaha.... actually, I haven't done that since high school!
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb I'm not really down with barn animals.
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse I don't think I've lived anywhere where a total solar eclipse has been viewable in my lifetime...I've seen partial ones....I remember making a viewing box back in school!
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset I usually miss sunset, and actually more frequently see the sunrise. So sad.
31. Hit a home run I was the kid that caused all the parents to groan when I came up to bat. Yes, I sucked THAT much at softball.
32. Been on a cruise While an Alaskan cruise is tempting, I think I've seen too many 20/20 episodes with blacklights to truly relax and enjoy a cruise.
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of my ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught myself a new language (another thing I've daydreamed doing.)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied I think that is where I am now. Being truly satisfied means that I'm paying all my bills and still socking away money for the down payment for the house.
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David Is that in Florence? I would loooove to go there!
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had my portrait painted What do I look like, a princess?
48. Gone deep sea fishing I only caught a tiny one. It was sad.
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China Not *yet*
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving Whywhywhywhywhy?
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check oops!
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy It's a pillow. I'll save that store for another post.
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten caviar Salty!
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone Just a toe!
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book Binding my thesis was a truly awesome experience!
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car Hahahahahahaha! No.
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had my picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous I'm counting famous scientists (hahahaha!)
92. Joined a book club HAHAHAHA....should we all count journal club???
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee Turns out, I'm quite allergic!
100. Ridden an elephant (at the zoo)

Couple (Christmas) compatibility

There are many questions that one needs to ask a significant other before making the Big Commitment. We all know the standard ones:

- Does s/he want kids?

- How does s/he handle finances?

- Does s/he have The Herp? (while that might not be a dealbreaker for some...um...more dedicated types, it is certainly a relationship ender for me)

- Can I tolerate (at least in small doses) the in-laws?


But perhaps the most important test of compatibility this time of year is the following:

REAL or ARTIFICIAL?


I'm talking about the tree.

Some people truly don't care what their Christmas tree is. (In my experience, they are usually either Jehovah's Witnesses or Jews) But I find that many, many people feel very strongly about which type of Christmas tree should be displayed.

Personally, I think it is really wasteful to keep a real tree for (maybe) three weeks, just to toss it out. The smell makes me sneeze, and I have an irrational fear of it catching on fire.

Looking back on previous relationships, I can remember how insistent that each were that one day we would have a live Christmas tree. I should have cut my losses then and there and dumped the losers. If you can't agree (or at least compromise) on what kind of tree to purchase, the relationship is doomed to fail. Why doesn't Oprah ever talk about the all-important Christmas tree compatibility test??



(and for those of you wondering.... yes, N.A. is a steadfast supporter of artificial trees).

New look for Christmas?

I am home, but my bags (containing shoes, interview clothes, textbooks, and presents) are not. I have all the important stuff with me like my stash of chocolate, medications, laptop power cord, cell phone. As of now, my mother has provided me with a toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, razor, sleeping shirt, sweatshirt, hairbrush, face wash, and moisturizer. She has offered socks and interview clothes. We both draw the line at underwear.

Unfortunately, our shoe sizes are quite different. If my bags don't arrive today, I'm going to be rocking the snow boots look at Christmas mass. My interview isn't until January, so I won't have to wear them to an interview....but I think that would really make me stand out, don't you think?



ETA (at 10:30 pm): Still no bags. According to the airline, one bag is completely missing still, and the other is "in transit." So tough to decide: wait it out, or brave the mall tomorrow??

What *really* matters in student evaluations

I take course evaluations very seriously. I try not to let the bad comments get me down. If they are the outliers, then I know that it's just one slighted student (likely one not happy with their D), and that I should take it all with a grain of salt.

Likewise, ratemyprofessor.com has to be taken with a HUGE grain of salt. (Oh come on. You know you've looked yourself up on there!). RMP.com is widely used at plenty of schools, but it's not such a hit at others. The latter is the case for TempCollege. The reviews that do make it on there are from either very pissed off or very happy students. In my department, there are several profs that have no reviews at all... despite being here for more than four years.

In light of this, I know I'll have to be sure not to take any reviews too seriously.

Besides, we all want one thing from ratemyprofessor.com.


Don't deny it. You know you want it: a hot pepper!


(A hot pepper is given when a student feels that the professor is hot....or when they want to joke about their "hotness". We'll just stick with the first explanation.)


So all I really want for Christmas (now that my grading is done!!!) is a hot pepper. (and not that it's a competition or anything, but time will tell if I get a hot pepper before N.A.!!)

Teaching timeout

I've been very bad.

I've been catching up on literature, pursuing new research ideas, and working on syllabi for the spring.


This should be fantastic. Look at me, getting ahead!


I should be grading. I've got three sets of exams to mark and grades to compute.

Nanny911 puts kids in timeout for every minute of their age. I'm taking that parenting rule of thumb and multiplying it by the number of exams I have to grade. At this rate, I might not be done until after Boxing Day!

A conversation with my mother

My mother: Do you think you'll be done with work before you come home?

Me: Mom. We have this conversation every year.

(It's true. Each year, she asks the same question. Each year, I give the same answer: my holiday vacation time is 5 days, of which at least three days will be at least partially devoted to work.)

My mother: I know. But I reeeeeally want you to be done with work before you come home. Do you think you can get done? Please?

Me: (sighing) Yeah, I think all the grading will be done. I'll have do a bit of reading, but nothing major.

My mother: Oh, yay!!! You can do it! You can get your work done!

Me: Aw, Mom. That's really great!

My mother: Yeah, you can do it! Then, since we both don't have work, we can drink! Yay! We can get-- what do you call it?--drunky-drunk!*



I love my mom!


*I don't call it that.

What the world needs now...

is not more "love, sweet love."

What the world needs now is a Final Exam Question Generator.

Dirty little secret

My secret behavior that I wouldn't want my coworkers to know? I'm a closet bridal registry lurker. When acquaintances of mine get engaged (Facebook is a gold mine for such news), I click on over to theknot.com and look up their registries. And then I judge them. (By "them" I mean both the selections themselves and the happy couple for making such ridiculous selections.)

Brown towels? Bleah.

Only 200-count sheets? Why even bother?

Do newlyweds really need a creme brulee torch?

Does the average couple need a $1200 set of pots and pans?

What the hell is a butter warmer?


I just don't get it.

Why is it that wedding gifts are now viewed as an opportunity to upgrade?

Starting to feel like a "real" grown-up

I've already written on the surrealness of being called "Dr". Although I felt pretty darn grown up when I was first called Dr. Reaction (and not just in jest by The Boss or Coworker), I've topped that "omigod, I'm an adult" moment.

I'm making my first payment on my college loans this month. Now that is a true "I'm an adult" moment! (a feeling I can enjoy every month until 2016 apparently!)




When was your first real "crap, I'm a grown-up" moment? Defense? First house? First pet?

baby (buggy!) steps

Today my biggest accomplishment was getting a very large, hairy insect off my 12 ft ceiling.*


Is it the end of the semester yet?






*I finally got the little bugger (hahaha!) to crawl onto a broom. I then squealed like a little girl as I ran it out of my apartment to the front porch. For all you bug lovers out there: I then let it go free. For all the rest of you: I squished the hell out of it. It was the only humane thing to do; it would have died in the 20 degree weather.

Another reason to hate SUVs

Driving a huge, gas-guzzling SUV with expensive, tricked out snow tires is super safe.

Safe for the freakin' SUV driver! Are they even aware that their fancy-pants tires are displacing all that snow and sleet into my freakin' lane and windshield? Yeah, they have enough traction to go 70 when the rest of us are navigating the wintry roads at 35 mph...but what if one of us accidently swerves into their lane thanks to being temporarily blinded when an SUV zips by.

If I thought my tiny, environmentally friendly compact would even make a dent into their bumper, I'd ram it into them.


I used to be consoled by how much it cost to fill the gas tank on one of those monstrosities. "Ha, ha! Suck my 35 mph gas mileage," I shouted at their shiny exteriors, knowing that their luxurious interiors buffered them from my proclamations. But now, with gas prices tumbling (although not here in TempCollege Village--WHY??), I can't even cling to that. I guess I'm stuck sucking their slush.

Independence?

For the first time since I was 15, I came home for a holiday and did NOT do laundry. (I don't think this is actually reflective of some new-found independence. This is a direct result of a purchase of a new washer and dryer.)



What did you do for the first time this holiday?

5 things Meme

Overwhelmed by a food coma, this seems to be the perfect time for a meme.
Tagged by EcoGeoFemme

5 Things I was doing 10 years ago

1. Trying to decide if I would apply to additional colleges.
2. Off school for my trimester break. (I *loved* being on trimesters in high school)
3. Fighting a wicked case of mono.
4. Listening to a lot of Tool.
5. Dreaming of having a car of my own (I finally bought one, more than 5 years later.)

5 Things on my to do list today

1. Be nicer to N.A.
2. Map out the shopping route for tomorrow. (no, Mom and I will *not* be shopping at 5 am)
3. Figure out this whole college loan repayment thing. (I've been deferring up until now, so I've completely ignored the whole situation.)
4. Eat pie.
5. Watch Survivor!

5 snacks I love

1. Chocolate crossiants
2. Gouda on french bread
3. Cheerios and soymilk
4. Chocolate-covered coffee beans
5. Oatmeal

5 things I would do if I were a millionaire

1. Buy a Prius
2. Buy a house
3. More travel (some trips off the top of my head: Japan, Australia, and Argentina)
4. Travel to meet my sponsor child (the organization I go through actually helps facilitate trips like this)
5. Pay off my mom's house

5 places I've lived

1. A very, very hot city
2. A very, very cold city
3. LargeUtown
4. California
5. TempCollege Village

5 jobs I've had

1. Plant pot washer at a nursery
2. Day care worker
3. High school teacher
4. Grad student
5. College prof!

I tag.....anyone too full to think of a non-meme post. If you do this meme, be sure to comment so that we can all go read your answers!

Breaking bad habits

Old habits die hard. As a grad student, I never took Thanksgiving off. No classes meant more time for lab, not turkey. At Christmas, I took between five and eight days off, but only because travel was at least 12 hours one way. Throw in a few long weekends and a summer nine day, and you've got about three or four weeks of sporadic vacation time a year.

Not bad, right? Well, the problem was that I never truly unplugged. Even out of cell phone range, I would still locate an internet cafe, plug in a few Euros, and answer work emails. Christmas at home meant I could catch up on literature or do preliminary research for a grant.

Yet even though I made vacation time semi-productive, I always felt guilty for taking time off. I knew that it was important to take a break, to recharge; indeed, I frequently found myself pleading with younger students to take some well-deserved time off. Still, from the moment I wheeled by bags to my car to the second my plane returned to LargeUtown, I was guilty for leaving the lab. We had a saying in the group: "Every day you take off is a day added on to your time in grad school."

So this week is a milestone of sorts for me. All of my colleagues took this week off. We mostly follow the academic schedule. Sure, the little breaks from class are great opportunities to get caught up on grading or research, but Thanksgiving, Christmas, spring break? You are considered odd NOT to take the chance to travel. So the milestone? I'm sitting here, typing, far away from TempCollege Village, and I have no guilt for being away from the office. My pile of grading will be finished by next week. I'll finish my lectures in the next couple of days. Today, I will do some Christmas shopping, pick up some coffee, and maybe even read a book.

Although it had become second nature for me to feel guilty away from work, perhaps this is one bad habit I can actually break this year!

Sick Students

It seems like my students are always sick. Last month, it was the flu. Two weeks ago, a stomach virus was going around. Last week, three students informed me that they had a very personal kind of infection. (Remember? I get all the gory details.) And this week? They all sound like they have whooping cough.

But do my ailing students ever go to the doctor? Do they take advantage of the health center and get as much free cold medicine as possible to balance out their insane tuition and fees? Heck, no.

I don't understand it. They act surprised that the health center will actually do them some good. Sure, back in my undergrad days, all I ever got from the health center was some gatorade and a pat on a head. But the health center here at TempCollege is staffed by a team of actual doctors, and the facilities are awesome.

What will it take to get them to the doctor? I perpetually smell like Purell and orange juice as I try to keep their germs away from me. All I want for Christmas is a germ-free classroom

Dance your Ph.D?

(How about FINISH your Ph.D.) Yes, folks, tomorrow is the deadline for submissions for the 2009 AAAS Science Dance Contest. I must say, I'm impressed. Not by the choreography or stunning technique. Okay, there is one that is about lobsters (which I love to EAT), which has impressive (although pointless?) effects (FIRE!!!) and a Cirque de Soleil shark:



No, I'm impressed that these grad students, postdocs, and professors have the time to choreograph the "moves", design costumes, AND perform the pieces. What. The. Hell. This is truly impressive. When I was a grad student, I barely had time to eat (let's not talk about grad student hygiene, okay?) let alone create a dance about my thesis.

If I had though, mine would DEFINITELY have looked something like this (as this was what I was doing most nights around 10 pm, just to stay awake long enough to continue my underwater basketweaving):




So. (yeah, you lose all words after watching that, right? I wonder what Mia Michaels would say??)

What would YOUR dance interpretation of your dissertation be?

An open letter to my students

When you miss (skip?) class, I do appreciate your emails letting me know that you are, in fact, alive and (mostly) well. I'm glad to hear that you've gone to the health center to get checked out. I'm more than happy to go over missed material with you once you are back on your feet.

However, it would be GREAT if you would hold back a FEW details. For example, I don't need to know that you missed class because of

- a case of persistent diarrhea

- a horrible breakup with your boyfriend

- a failure to recharge your cell phone

- a hangover

- a need to finish a paper for your history class

- an infection "down there"



Mmmmkay?? Thanks.


Sincerely,

Dr. Reaction

happy birthday to me

Somewhere along the way, I completely missed my blog's birthday! So happy birthday to unbalanced reaction.

I started this blog during the start of my job application process. Although I never expected (or wanted) to end up in a visiting position, here I am. It couldn't be a better fit for me, both professionally and personally. My collegues are wonderfully supportive, my students are (mostly) open-minded and hardworking, and the whole environment is very intellectually stimulating for me. Although it sucks being so far away from N.A., if I hadn't taken this job, I would have accepted a tenure-track (or instructor--yikes) position even further away from N.A. Then we'd have the ultimate two-body problem: who gives up their TT position for the other?

Right now, we're trying to figure out the best job situation for me. Slowly, things seem to be falling into place. I haven't put any official applications out yet, and it's hard to get motivated to put out job applications for places far away from N.A. I know that it is important to cast a wide net as well as get leverage from offers (therefore putting pressure on institutions in N.A.'s area). I just hate wasting my own time (and that of letter writers) if I just end up staying here at TempCollege for another year or obtaining a job in N.A.'s area.

At any rate, stay posted! Who knows what unbalanced reaction's second year will bring?

Separation of Politics and Classroom?

Today I had to fight against every fiber of my being not to hop up and down with glee during my lectures. I had to keep my hands in my pockets to keep from spontaneously hugging random students, colleagues, or cafeteria staff.

When it come to politics, I like to keep it out of my classroom. I don't think it's professional for me to discuss my political beliefs with my impressionable students. After all, balancing reactions is keeping them busy enough!

Here at TempCollege, it's very acceptable to post political signs on office doors, etc. I refrained, although I must admit I came very close to posting a celebratory "SUCK IT, BUSH-LOVERS" up today....although I suppose that phrasing wouldn't have been so kosher, either.

So what about you? Do you think it's okay to talk about your personal beliefs with students? Did you campaign at your school?

Instant productivity: just add tiny airplane seat

I've been gone all week at my first conference as a (semi) Real Professor. I'm happy to report that I've suddenly found my happy place: my tiny, tiny airplane seat.

I'm queen of small talk. I like chatting with strangers (yes, I realize that that puts me into that category of Americans That Most People Hate). But since I've gotten my Ph.D, my airplane conversations go something like this:

Seat 3D: So, is XXX your final destination?

Me: Yeah, but I have to drive to TempCollege Village.

Seat 3D: Oh, so what is your major at TempCollege?

Me: Oh, I'm not a student; thanks. I teach there.

Seat 3D: Oh.


I guess my life is (1) super boring, (2) no one wants to talk to a professor, or (3) see number 1.

At any rate, I now avoid the small talk trap altogether by keep my laptop out upon takeoff, poised to turn it on the instant the seat belt light flicks off. With typically three hours of gloriously uninterrupted work time, it is just sick how much work I get done.

It's no wonder. I have no email access, no open office door, no faculty meetings, no cell phone going off....ahh....complete technological isolation (well, except for Powerpoint).


Oops, there's my flight. Time to go finish my lectures for the week!

sick and tired of being....

It's feeling like my germy students have struck again: I've come down with one of their (many, many) plagues.... AGAIN.

Today in class I (semi) jokingly said that I wanted to install a decontamination zone for them to scrub down in before entering the lecture hall.


This was met with silence.


Then someone in the front row piped up: "Maybe you could bring a big bottle of Purell so all of us could use that right when we get in?"



I love my students.

Tales from the classroom

Today a student sent me a frantic email request for an extension on her paper. She explained that she couldn't get to the paper this past weekend. She cited her poor performance on the last paper as a reason for needing to get feedback on a complete draft... but there was no draft, hence the request for an extension. She then went on for a paragraph or two about some other personal issues.

Okay.

The problem is, there is not an assignment due tomorrow in my class. In fact, I haven't assigned ANY papers for my classes this semester.

Yeah. My student sent the email to me by accident.

She was already going to come by and meet with me on Friday to discuss some homework questions. Should I even acknowledge her problems with this other class? Based on her email, she is NOT doing well in her other class.....and I'm a little concerned that it might be because she is focusing all of her studying on my class.

Hmmmm..... what would YOU do?

Breaking up is hard to do

Some might say that nothing lasts forever. Breaking up is inevitable. You drift apart. Even if you were helped through the roughest times.

In my case:

Seven-figure grant submissions.
Tedious bus rides.
Calming down after horrible encounters with Awful Coworker.
The Thesis.
Job interview preparation.
Long delays at Sucky International Airport.

(to name a few)

So why would I ever turn my back on what got me through such dreadful times?

Oh, dear iPod, I am so sorry. Your iTunes are expensive, and I'm too chicken to plug you into my work PC (what if you self-erase!!??). You have been replaced. pandora.com gives me fantastic playlists. Old stuff, new stuff.

So I'm sorry. Perhaps we will slowly build back up to our previous relationship. After all, at one time I thought we were soulmates.

Where do you keep it?

Every once and awhile Instyle magazine asks Academy Award winners where they keep their Oscar. Answers range from the typical (on a shelf, in the office, on the nightstand) to the unexpected (chicken coop, bathroom, storage).

The other night, I was digging through a cabinet trying to locate the top to one of my coffee travel mugs. Underneath a pile of books I noticed some (vaguely) familiar gold lettering. There, wedged between my fireproof safe and Paris travel guide was my thesis.

I remember, back at the start of graduate school, thinking that I would always keep my thesis on my bookshelf in my office. I figured it would be inspiring to the undergrads that came to my office hours.

Ha.

So. I gotta find out if I'm the only one. Where do you keep your thesis (or where do you plan to store it)?

Sit your over-scheduled [you-know-what] down!

It drives me absolutely batty when people leave seminars early. If you can't stay the full hour, don't attend. If you are that interested in the first 20 minutes of a 60 minute talk, email the speaker for some slides, schedule a fucking meeting, and read some papers. You are rude. You are distracting those of us actually interested in the *whole* seminar.

Even worse than the seminar attendees that leave after 20 or 30 minutes are those that get up in the middle of Q&A to leave. Like those extra 5 minutes are going to truly affect your day. There are other buses. Your husband can wait 5 more minutes. If day care requires pick up right at 5 pm, then DON'T FREAKIN' ATTEND SEMINAR.


[end rant]

The Trailing Spouse

Trailing Spouse: n. The person in a relationship that gives up their job to follow their better half to a new place (often many states away) where their better half already has a job.


10 years ago, I was applying to colleges.

5 years ago, I was selecting a research group.

3 years ago, I was finally an official Ph.D. candidate.

A year ago, I was sending off my first academic job applications.


None of these decisions were made for anyone else but me. I didn't consider geographic location or someone else's feelings. The people that I dated at the time I knew (deep down) were temporary missteps.

So flashforward to today. Today I'm in the enviable position of being in love. Aw. How sweet. I'm not finished.

As a result of this sweet, sweet love, I'm in the unenviable position of trying to find a tenure-track job close to N.A....who already has a tenure-track job.

Although I do tend to put others' needs ahead of my own, I'm not used to taking others into consideration when it comes to major life decisions. Sure, I could just cast a super-wide net, snag a job in another state, and force N.A. to choose between his awesome job and me.

Yeah. Not going to do that.

Hopefully, a year from now, I'll be blogging with NA by my side. We both have tenure-track jobs, and I don't have a commute.


Isn't it great how love brings out buckets of blind optimism?

Teaching personal responsibility

In class, I stress that students must be self-motivators. It is up to them to get the work done. I don't grade homework problems, so it is completely their decision to do the problem sets each week. About 70% of my students routinely do the homework. (It doesn't hurt that there is a direct correlation between homework completion and high quiz grades.)

At LargeU, when students did poorly on a quiz or exam, they tended to blame the examiner (ME). Here at TempCollege, such students are the exception. Students mostly just get angry with themselves. They recognize that they can only blame themselves for a poor performance. They come to my office hours to go back over botched problems or ask for a list of tutors.

This weekend I even had emails from students APOLOGIZING to me for their most recent quiz performances. If I can get them to move from apologizing for a bad quiz to performing well on the next quiz, I think that I will be able to mark this as a very successful week!

Tit Talker

One of my colleagues is a tit talker. Now I fully understand that many people are shy. I will be the first to acknowledge that shy people may tend to look down when they speak in order to avoid eye contact. I also am taller than average and usually wear heels... so that puts my boobs approximately at eye level for several of my colleagues.

But.

I still get vaguely uncomfortable when a coworker constantly talks to my (smaller than average) chest. How do YOU handle a tit talker (and I'm talking to both females and males here)?



Oh, did I mention that this coworker is female?

Early bird gets the worm? Please.

I am *not* a morning person. Without an alarm or obligations, I am happiest if I sleep from 2 am until 11 am.

This morning I had to be in my office by 7 am. I haven't been to work that early since grad school. Now that I'm a (not-so)big time professor, I just try to be in by 8:45 am.

Even as a grad student, by the time I was past my preliminary exam, I rarely was in to work before 8 am. Back when I was still in classes, I was *always* at work by 7:30 am, but that was purely out of necessity. How else was I going to get a new research project going, teach two classes, AND get my homework done?? Looking back, I think it is nothing short of a miracle that I didn't have a nervous breakdown after three months of that, let alone 1.5 years. I suppose I was fresh enough out of undergrad that 4 hours of sleep a night was still doable.

Now I need at least 5.5 hours in order to be effective in the classroom. Seven feels heavenly. Nine hours of sleep makes me feel blissful enough to cook for N.A. (okay, not really... but it does make me feel pretty damn good).


If N.A. happens to read this, I suspect he will be pushing the tylenol pm or ambien on me in order to have a chance at a proper meal. Ha. I've been here in TempVillage for almost three months. In that time, I've used the stove twice (both times when N.A. was in town) but have yet to open the oven.

To get me cooking is going to require a LOT more than nine hours of sleep!

Sign of things to come?

Last week, I gave my students their first exam. Some time towards the end of the exam time, the door knob in the classroom broke off. We couldn't get the door open. For the last minutes of the exam, none of us could leave.

I eventually got the doorknob back on, releasing my students to their weekend.

But I couldn't help but think: is this a sign of things to come?

A conversation with N.A.

N.A. and I talk each night, either by cell or video iChat (and sometimes both...although not at the same time). I was just about to go to bed, when N.A. called.

He sounded frantic. Before he could get to the point, several worst-case scenarios went through my head:

1. A parent, sibling or pet was sick.

2. Students were protesting their recent grades by camping out on his lawn.

3. The election was included in some sort of government buyout plan, and Palin had been appointed Queen of the World!


Imagine my relief when he finally spilled it: "You wrote something bad on your blog! Go open it up!"

Intrigued, I fired up my laptop. I assumed I had mistyped a pseudonym, either revealing his name or my place of work. I scanned my most recent entries but found nothing amiss.

N.A.: Look at the top! In your tagline!

Me: I don't see anything wrong, NA.

N.A.: Your job? "Navigating a Visiting ass position"...?

Me: Um...yeah, I meant for it to say "ass".

N.A.: Oh. You did??? Why? It gives an image of-- of---

Me: Butt sex? It's an abbreviation for "assistant professor." It also pretty well sums up what most of the LargeU faculty thought I was doing: being a dumbass for taking a visiting position at a SLAC rather than a high-profile research postdoc position. You know, it's tongue in cheek.



N.A. paused. I thought he had accepted my answer. Then he very quietly said, "Please don't say tongue-in-cheek when we're talking about butts."

drawing a blank

Nothing pisses me off more than when a student leaves a question blank and then walks out of the exam room early.

Okay. So I'm exaggerating. There are many things that piss me off more than students giving up on test questions. Things like:

* War

* People that bite their nails in front of me

* Palin being accepted by (at least half of) the general public as a viable VP candidate

* Not being able to set recordings on my DVR more than a week in advance

* Pete Carroll

You get the idea.

Still. I find it very frustrating that a student would completely give up. I give very generous partial credit. It's not like this is an English test where they are sparing me a page of BS. Why turn in blank questions?? (and why do I care so much??)

Do I look like a priest to you?

I've survived my first month! My students (mostly) like me, but more importantly, they (mostly) respect me.

I like to maintain a certain line between the students and me. For example, they need to email me if they miss class due to an illness, but I don't need to hear about their 2 am vomit session. I will acknowledge that they are constantly juggling classes with extracurriculars/sports, but I don't want them to tell me about their awesome hookups/booze/hangovers.

My students (mostly) understand this, and so they refrain from dropping little overshare nuggets on me. But in the last week or so, students have been popping into my office and confessing their little academic transgressions.

It started with one student confessing that they overslept another class. Then another let me know that they put their homework off until the last minute. Another told me about how they blew off a class last semester for no reason. The next day a student told me they weren't returning their parents phone calls. (I told them to pick up their cells, pronto.) And most recently, an athlete confessed how they broke some team rules during team study hall.

Now I get that sometimes my lectures might veer into preachy territory. Don't we all preach the commandment "Thou shalt not bear electronic devices into my classroom"? What about the oft-quoted "Thou shalt complete all problem sets in a timely, legible fashion"?

But I don't wear a freakin' collar. I'm not their damn priest.

Yes, I recognize that these little confessions most likely indicate that my students are comfortable with me. At least that is what I'm hoping. Hmm....should I be giving out penance duties? Let's see... Five extra problems and thirty flashcards? One chapter of reading and three derivations? Hmmm...... oh, the possibilities are endless.

Open mouth, insert soap?

I have a filthy mouth. My current coworkers would never guess; thanks to years of practice watching my words because of little siblings, I have fantastic language filters.

My mom helped enforce the language in the house. "Crap" was off-limits. No way in hell could we say "dick." Any of the "real" four-letter words? Not if you valued your life. Even a "shut up" got us in trouble.

So I won't cuss in front of my students. But I find myself pausing when I say "crap" or "you're really screwed now." I always backtrack and insert another word.

But maybe I'm being overly cautious? I wonder if my students even blink at "crap" any more? Somehow I think not.

In case you were wondering....

...running a microwave, night light, small heater, AND coffee pot off one wall of outlets is not a good idea. (Sometimes I'm surprised I have a Ph.D., although I will fully blame this circuit overload on my flu.)

On the plus side, (after bundling up and wandering into several cobwebs in the basement) I now know where my house's circuit breaker is located.

The upside to a cold

I'm lying on the couch, watching Rachel Zoe (I *know*! I am so sick!!), waiting for the sweet, sweet nectar that is cherry Nyquil to course through my veins.

The only upside to picking up the Freshmen Plague (with NA many states away and not here to listen to my whining...although video iChat is surprisingly effective) is that I get to chase tonight's Nyquil shooter with a little Dayquil in the a.m.

Mmmmmm.....Day... Quil...

Group work: good AND germy

As you might have seen, I recently blogged about group work. My students continue to love it. The only problem, I've realized, is that my group work exercises require quite a bit of touching.

I'm not talking about forcing my students to poke one another. I just mean that they are constantly passing papers to one another or manipulating molecular modeling kit parts. I even caught one student using their teeth to pull apart some bonds-- and it wasn't their own model kit!

As I go around to the various groups, I often have to manipulate their models, point to something on their papers, or, worst of all, have to use their pen/pencil to demonstrate something on paper.

Now I can't very well Lysol down my students when they enter my classroom (but oh, wouldn't that be wonderful?), but it's quite challenging to avoid touching my eyes/mouth/nose (without washing my hands first) since I teach for several hours in a row.

Should I resign myself to their germs?

Doctor, Doctor

I'm well aware that there are undergrad institutions where it is the norm to call professors by their first names. In graduate school, I rarely called the professors I worked with Dr. Collaborator.

However, here at TempCollege, students only call professors Dr. Whatever or Prof. Whatever. My students call me Dr. Reaction or Prof. Reaction. I'll even respond to Dr. R.

Occasionally, a student will slip up and call me Mrs. Reaction. It makes me bristle. I don't show it on my face, but I do always make sure I pointedly correct the student.

My reaction surprises me. When I was in college, I always thought it a bit over-sensitive when my professors corrected a student when they misspoke the title. Who cares, I thought. The rest of us knew the prof was a PhD.

So why do I insist that they call me Dr.? It's not because I need daily reminders that I suffered through almost five years of school for it. I guess I feel like students can convey their respect for me by using my proper title. It helps maintain a certain line.

Think I'm overreacting? Perhaps. But then again, what would you do if a student started an email with a Howdy Unbalanced?

Toto, I don't think we're in grad school anymore!

Each day I get called "Dr" or "Prof" at least 40 times, either in person or by email. I'm in charge of 65 students for six hours of lecture a week and another 25 students for four-hour, weekly labs. I vote in faculty meetings. I attend faculty happy hours.

Still, once I'm finally alone in my office (this happens for maybe 20 minutes a day during "working" hours), I pause, look out the window, and silently sigh, "I can't believe I'm actually a professor!"

It's not that I feel like I'm not capable. Or that I'm not doing a good job. Or that I'm not 100% deserving of my job. I just feel completely bewildered (for those 20 minutes) that I actually did it: I finally got the degree and am someone else's professor.

It's gettin' hot in here...

When I teach, I've barely opened my mouth, and I can already feel the flush on my cheeks. Thirty-five pairs of eyes follow my lips-- no doubt seeing the sweat start to glisten on my upper lip and forehead. My armpits are sticky.


No, I'm not nervous.


My classroom is 84 degrees. I know this because someone nailed a thermometer next to the thermostat. The thermostat which is, obviously, not connected to an air conditioner.*

84 fucking degrees, with the windows open AND a box fan. Never thought I'd say this, but I can't wait for winter.



*Please note that the thermometer is right next to the door to the hall. The hall that is at least 10 degrees cooler. Therefore, I'm going to conservatively estimate that the classroom is another five degrees warmer. If I wanted to teach in the upper 80s, I'd head back to LargeUtown and teach my class outside.

Group work: good, bad, or just ugly?

I hate hate hated group work when I was a student. I would have rather had a solid hour of chalk-talk than have to clink desks with three of my classmates in order to work through some worksheet. However, in my own teaching, I like to pepper my chalk-talking with powerpoints, group discussion, and group work.

At LargeU, I was encouraged to incorporate group work as part of the four lectures a week. My students were wary of how effective groupwork would be, and a handful were openly hostile about having to give up valuable rote-memorization time in order to engage in thoughtful discussion with their fellow classmates. I was able to incorporate some group work into most class meetings, and I was surprised to see that students (mostly) responded favorably to it. On the end of the semester evaluation, dozens of students cited the in-class group work as the most helpful part of the class-- second to my brilliant lectures, I'm sure.

So starting here at TempCollege, I knew that the students would benefit greatly from my group work activities. I anticipated their hesitation. I called them out on their eye rolls before they even blinked. I passed out the pre-semester surveys (including my standard question: "how do you feel about group work?") with a disclaimer that I fully expected some apprehension about group work.

Imagine my surprise when 60ish surveys were returned to me, their pages brimming with positive statements about the value of working with others, as well as a few cautionary tales about how sometimes one person ends up doing the work for everyone else. Nearly all of my students have not only done (and loved group work) but have done group work in every single class in high school.

So is this just a regional thing, or has group work suddenly become the go-to teaching mechanism at high schools (and colleges)?

dangling the carrot?

One point that came up over and over during my faculty orientation was the fact that TempCollege students need incentives in order to complete work. Assign problem sets without potential for collection? Don't expect the work to get done. Have 100 pages of reading without a graded quiz? Don't expect the work to get done. Put it another way: there needs to be consequences if work is not completed.

Some of my fellow new faculty initially were taken aback by this. "TempCollege students are top students! They are smart! They will do the work on their own!"

That got me thinking. In the "real world", most people only rise to the expectations set for them. When people go beyond their job requirements, others are surprised (and occasionally perplexed!). Job descriptions, policies, and deadlines are employed for a reason.


If many so-called adults need consequences to get the job done, should we really find it that surprising that our students need similar motivation?

Another meme

I've seen this several times already, and I'm not sure what it's supposed to indicate? Maybe how academic your childhood was? Privilege? I dunno. What I do know: 1. I'm the product of academic parents. 2. I truly believed that we were super poor up until I was about 13 (we were quite securely in middle to upper middle class, and my mom swears that she didn't intentionally give us kids this impression...more on THAT later). 3. It's six days before I teach, and I'm sitting at home, drinking coffee, and blogging (did I mention that post-graduate school is WONDERFUL???).

So the plan is to bold the statements that apply. I'll of course add my wonderful little comments to each.

1. Father went to college
2. Father finished college
3. Mother went to college
4. Mother finished college Actually, now that I think of it, all of my living relatives either have graduated or are currently in college (or are too young!). What an over-educated bunch!
5. Have any relative who is an attorney, physician, or professor All three!
6. Were the same or higher class than your high school teachers. What an odd question. I'm assuming that this means economic class...but how tacky. I refuse to answer!!
7. Had more than 50 books in your childhood home.
8. Had more than 500 books in your childhood home. Um, no. We had libraries for that!
9. Were read children's books by a parent
10. Had lessons of any kind before you turned 18. Hmm...let's see: swimming, piano...yeah I think that's it.
11. Had more than two kinds of lessons before you turned 18
12. The people in the media who dress and talk like me are portrayed I'm not sure what that means. I wear jeans and T-shirts...?
13. Had a credit card with your name on it before you turned 18. Yes, but only for emergencies, and I had to pay for it. I think my parents did a really good job of teaching us kids how to manage money (and especially credit cards!!)
14. Your parents (or a trust) paid for the majority of your college costs. Um, hell no. We all knew from a very young age (I can remember being told this in second grade??) that we would have to cover our own college tuition.
15. Your parents (or a trust) paid for all of your college costs. Nope, again.
16. Went to a private high school. For half of it. Switched to public for my jr/sr years.
17. Went to summer camp. No, we spent our summers with some good, ole, family bonding via road trips!!
18. Had a private tutor before you turned 18
19. Family vacations involved staying at hotels. Actually, no! We used to pray and wish for rain so that we could stay in a hotel (instead of camping for the night).... my mom know claims that our roadtrips (often 2+ weeks on the road) involved plenty of hotel stays, but I think her memory might be going....
20. Your clothing was all bought new before you turned 18. My mom made all of my clothes until I was 13. At the time, I didn't mind, but I think this was another reason I really though we were super-poor. Looking back, I was the scrawniest of scrawny children, so she probably did this because I was so hard to fit into store-bought clothes!
21. Your parents bought you a car that was not a hand-me-down from them. I didn't have a car until senior year of college-- and I bought it myself.
22. There was original art in your house when you were a child. Other than our own??
23. You and your family lived in a single-family house
24. Your parent(s) owned their own house or apartment before you left home.
25. You had your own room as a child
27. Participated in a SAT/ACT prep course. I was always pretty good at standardized tests, which today I find funny since I'm terrible at multiple choice tests usually.
28. Had your own TV in your room in high school. Hell no. We weren't allowed to watch TV on weekdays, and on weekends we had to stick to Nickelodeon for the sake of the younguns.
29. Owned a mutual fund or IRA in high school or college. Hahahahahahaha
30. Flew anywhere on a commercial airline before you turned 16. Yes, but we only few twice as a whole family up until I was 20.
31. Went on a cruise with your family. I've seen too many 20/20s with black lights to ever want to go on one!!
32. Went on more than one cruise with your family
33. Your parents took you to museums and art galleries as you grew up. We went to lots of museums, but mostly we stuck to national parks.
34. You were unaware of how much heating bills were for your family. I never knew the cost, but my parents always kept the heating really, really low.

Fashion crisis

I need your help.

I live in the middle of nowhere. The only places to buy clothes are the feed store and a walmart, but I can't go to work naked.

I need some online shopping suggestions. Ann Taylor / Ann Taylor Loft 's tops and pants fit me well.

The problem is, I need some more teaching clothes. I also have to go to a wedding in the coming weeks, so I need a dress. Any suggestions of online places to buy business casual clothes and/or dresses suitable for a wedding (HELP!!), would be appreciated. Must have good return policies.


THANKS!!

The two-body problem

Although I would like to believe that if I just don't think about something, it doesn't exist, I can only avoid the two-body problem for so long. As I've mentioned before, N.A. has a tenure track position at a school many, many states away. It is a state I would love to live in. So while this makes our two-body problem somewhat easier--at least in the sense that I wouldn't be giving up anything location wise-- there is a catch. I have to freakin get a job offer in the state!

Something that both N.A. and I have been trying to sort out is how best to leverage his current position. I don't think I want to work at his school, but there are several other colleges near his. Should we advertise that we're attached in order to try to procure a job for me? Should I not mention our connection at all?

I really don't know what is best. We're not married, so I'm not sure if our relationship would even HAVE leverage. I also have some reservations about not getting a job completely on my own merits-- but then I also realize that I should use whatever I can to get the job I want.

Sigh. What to do? Any insight is appreciated.

In happier news, N.A. and I finally settled on travel plans! 11 days and counting!!

What a difference a location makes...

It's so refreshing to return to my liberal arts roots. LargeU served its purpose: I got my degree from a top institution. But what a difference the change in location is.

My position at TempCollege is a temporary, one year position. In the coming months, I will be applying (again) for jobs. I want a tenure-track position at a small, liberal arts school. Preferably near N.A. (The two-body problem is so stressful, that I'll have to post about it at a later time.) We'll see what happens.

At LargeU, professors were stopping me in the hall to tell me what a tragic mistake I was making. They recognized (as I did) that by choosing to go the SLAC route, I would be removing myself from my current research field. "You're too good! Why would you not do a post-doc and apply for better jobs?" I heard this several times a week. However, I knew what I was doing. The product of academic parents, I grew up in the shadow of a huge R1 institution. I do not want that lifestyle. Although there is a lot of discussion in the blogosphere on how things should change, etc. etc., I know that they won't in my lifetime...or at least tenuretime.

Even though classes haven't started, I already feel at home at TempCollege. My colleagues are amazing, and I've met numerous faculty from other disciplines. Everyone is exceptionally warm, helpful, and supportive. Here I am actually encouraged to go the SLAC route (of course), and phone calls have already been made on my behalf.

By this time next year, I'll either be starting my dream job or be scrambling for work. Let's hope it's the former!

Life after grad school...

...is good. Really, really good. Like, much better than I ever would have thought. When I last left LargeU, it was nearly 11 pm, and I was exhausted from hours of packing up my apartment followed by a frantic 2 hours of packing up the office. I cried the whole way to the hotel, had a restless sleep, and then got the hell out of LargeUtown with the sunrise.

Although much of my life is still in boxes, I've gotten settled in to TempCollege Village. I've figured out where to buy most of the essentials. The rest I've added to my amazon.com shopping cart. I've gotten most of my books in my office.

Oh, yeah. My office? Huge. Well lit. Biggest. Desk. Ever. I've drafted my syllabus, finished my prep for the first day of classes, and written up a pre-semester survey for my students. I've been going home at 5 pm each day. I haven't been working at night. At all.

I've watched countless hours of Olympics. My ironing is done. My laundry is caught up, and my apartment is clean. I've been blowdrying my hair and wearing mascara.

Life could not be more different than grad school.

I know that things will get crazy once the students arrive. My fellow faculty give me this knowing look when the subject of free time comes up. "Just you wait," they say. "You won't have any time once the semester starts."

While I'm sure they're right, I can't help but think: I'm used to cramming classes and teaching AND research into my week. Here, I'm just teaching. N.A. is many states away. I have no family here. No distractions (although N.A. would be a WELCOME distraction).

It's going to be a good semester.

Wedded Bliss...?

N.A. and I have only been dating about half a year, but we are both old enough (and..um...mature enough?) to know that what we've got is a good thing. The M word has come up because neither of us believed that it would be worth the emotional (and financial, for that matter) strain to put us through a long distance relationship if we didn't think that we might one day make the ultimate commitment (and I don't mean sharing a cell phone plan).

Still, I'm a practical person. I've never been one of those girly-girls who day dream about their wedding day. I don't know if it's all the nesting I've been doing as I get settled or just the TempCollege Village water, but the other night, all I could see was Wedding!

It started innocently enough. The book I'm reading has illustrations each chapter. Since it's about a wedding dress designer, the pictures have to do with dress designs. Curious about the neckline pictures, I googled one of them (portrait). 20 minutes of dress browsing later, I was startled by my cell ringing.

"What're you up to, sweetheart?" (yes, N.A. calls me that).

"Uh...uh..." I reluctantly admitted my embarrassing googlings, but insisted that it didn't mean anything. Needy wedding-crazed woman I am not.

My explanation was met with silence. After a minute or so of that, N.A. finally spoke. "Well, I wasn't going to say anything, but today, during my driving tour, we stopped at this great reception hall and I got a brochure. I know it's silly, but I wanted to look through it."

From there, he directed me to the hall's website. That quickly led to us searching together (via cell phone on our respective MacBook Pros) for caterers which of course led to the discussion of appropriate flower decorations for the church. We were just starting to discuss the guest list when we both abruptly stopped. We were laughing too hard to continue. What were we thinking? We weren't even engaged, so what the hell were we talking about?!?


Okay, so we got wrapped up in the moment. But how refreshing to be dating someone that isn't afraid of commitment!

Now if we could only commit to dates for a weekend meet-up....

Age = just a number?

During my move across half the country and then my first few days here in TempCollege Village, I've had the following conversation no less than fifty times (and yes, I fully acknowledge that I'm prone to exaggeration, but that is an underestimation, promise):


Random person: So are you here for school?

Me: Um, no. I moved here for work. A job at TempCollege.

Random person: Oh yeah? What are you doing?

Me: Teaching. I'm a one-year faculty hire.

Random person: But-- but you're too young to teach!


A few comments about the above broken record.

First, I'm extremely uncomfortable with identifying my overeducation to nonacademics. I'm the product of an academic family from a very academic town, so I was brought up surrounded by white collar types. So I'm very hesitant to outright tell people I am faculty (and therefore Dr. Unreaction). If I would just tell them from the start, maybe I could nip such conversation in the bud?

Second, I've recently been actively TRYING to dress older (I haven't worn one t-shirt outside of my house, promise!) yet even today I was given the student tour of the gym facilities (including a semi-sketchy run-through of some underground tunnels for 20 minutes until I finally interrupted the poor kid and said "yeah, I think you should show me the location of the faculty locker room instead since that's what I'll be using." ...yes, I don't know why there are separate student/faculty locker rooms either, but I like it!)

Yes, I realize that my youthful appearance will serve me well in 20 years or so, but for now, I'm just ready for some 18 year olds to get back on campus so I can at least (by comparison) appear older!

I can has internets?

...well, at least for this moment. Although I'm in primarily faculty housing, apparently one of my neighbors hasn't password protected his/her wireless internet. With my cable/internet hookup appointment still four days away, I am very excited for this fact (which I just discovered this morning, lying in bed-- only place I can get a signal).

So much to post about my big move, but I am overwhelmed with unpacking and the newness of it all. I'm also insanely behind in reading all of your blogs. I'll catch up soon; I'm going to take the next couple of days to figure out the area (it is COUNTRY) and what all TempCollege Village has to offer (not much).


Quickie: my apartment is gorgeous-- part of a Victorian house, so I have 12 ft ceilings and wood floors. TempCollege Village seems to be full of mostly helpful people, and here is the best news of all for this super-isolated area: a Walmart is opening 10 miles away later this month!! (yes, I do know that Walmart is evil, but the only shopping options here are the grocery store, farm equipment shops, and Dollar General).

Finishing up

Part of my family is in town to help me move to TempCollege Village. It's a little strange; I haven't had their moving assistance since my boarding school days. Of course, the added manpower is more than welcome.

Today I conscripted my little brother into Unbalanced Reaction's Laboratory Forces. We invaded the lab and tag-teamed glassware cleaning. We were undeterred by the fact that former Coworker snuck quite a lot of his dirty glassware onto my bench. Whatever.

"Wow, Coworker sure has posted a lot of passive aggressive notes around the lab," my brother noted. "They'd be great for that website. Ohhh...that's my favorite: 'Put things in the bleach bath or I will SCREAM!!!!' "

Too bad I couldn't have had more coworkers (or Coworkers) like my brother!!

Let the games begin!

And by games I mean the start of our long distance relationship / two-body problem.

N.A. leaves in the morning (and by morning I mean 4 am).

Given how not in sync our respective faculty training schedules / start of classes are, we won't be able to see each other until at least Labor Day, if not later.


:(

planning it out

I've been referring to my new job location as TempCollege Village because that is what it is: a freakin' village. A "city" of approximately 8,000. There are some traffic lights, but there is no target within a two hour radius. There is a McDonald's but no Walmart closer than 30 minutes. I know this thanks to google maps but also warnings from the Unofficially Faculty Handbook, which details all the retail and cultural offerings in TempCollege Village (hint: it's shorter than some of my undergrad papers).

So as a result, I've had to get very organized about what I will need when I move. I'm used to being able to pop over to the store whenever I need a trash can, wine, or a light bulb. Sure, the TempCollege Village grocery store will carry some of those items, at a price. I've begun compiling my (rather extensive) list of items I will need for the bathroom and kitchen once I move. I've also already bought the bare essentials like a shower curtain, a roll of toilet paper, etc.

But my favorite purchase so far is my day planner. I used to put everything in my planner. I vividly remember one spring break where I thought it had been left behind at a hotel. It wasn't pretty (lucky, it had been accidently stashed in my brother's luggage). My first year of grad school, I heavily used the standard LargeU day planner. After I got done with classes, I moved away from the planners, mostly using iCal. But no matter how many hours I'm in front of a computer, I still like to write things out. I can see them better, and I can take my day planner out at meetings while my laptop is a little more obtrusive. So I went to Target and picked out a plain, 8.5 x 11" spiral-bound day planner.

I'm a control freak. Now that I have some semblance of control over my move, I'm much calmer about the whole event. N.A. is pleased with the result, although a little bemused at my joy at possessing such a basic day planner.

growing pains

I have less than two weeks remaining at LargeU. I feel behind on everything. Although N.A. took a lot of my stuff to Tenure Track state, I still have lots of odd 'n' ends, books, and clothes that need to get packed. I haven't touched my desk at work (at which I spend at least 10 hours a day as my wet lab work has been nonexistent for the last nine months or so). And don't even get me started on how much stuff I have to clean in the wet lab, including at least 50 buffer bottles left behind by Undergrad (which is a story in and of itself).

Coworker (actually, all of them) are in total freakout mode due to a combination of several of us leaving as well as The Boss being out of town for several weeks. This means that I had to go in all day Saturday and Sunday (not that uncommon though) in order to get caught up. Forget getting a paper written this summer; I'll be lucky just to get through the data.

And to top it all off, N.A. and I can't seem to get back to Normal Communication. Instead, we both overreact to everything the other says. I can hear myself getting shrill, and it even annoys me, but I can't seem to stop. I know that part of it is due to complete exhaustion from sleep deprivation and the other is reacting to his sudden announcement that he is leaving this weekend (THIS weekend!). I'm freaking out because I don't want him to leave while we're having all these spats.

In reality, I shouldn't be freaking out about packing, my work, or N.A. I should be enjoying my last time as a grad student / post doc. I should be getting ready for my first faculty position. I should be playing around with my new camera (Nikon D80! Woot, woot, as my students would say).

Instead, I feel myself slipping. Sure, The Boss is happy with my results, and N.A. and I will get through this. But come three weeks from now, when I'm at TempCollege all by myself, I know I'm going to regret how we're leaving things.

desperately seeking sleep

During my boarding school and college days, I routinely slept four hours a night on weeknights, crashing for 10 or 12 on the weekends. Once I came to grad school (not so much the real world as maybe the "realer" world), I quickly found that I needed to bump my sleep up to 6 hours. A full nine hours left me in a euphoric state. (no, really. I've had many a Coworker comment on my extremely good mood after a good night's sleep.)

My bed has been moved to N.A.'s state. This past week I slept on the floor. (okay, I few nights I slept on an air mattress but always ended up with my ass on the floor due to overnight deflation.) Last night N.A. and I decided to treat ourselves to a hotel room.... but my planned night of sleep ended up in the bathroom due to a massive case of food poisoning.

I'm exhausted. During the day I chug coffee to get through the day. By the end of the day, I'm near tears from exhaustion. I should be crashing at night, despite my bed(less) situation, but my brain churns while my joints ache. I'm crabby, woozy, and worst of all, whiny.

Poor N.A. Not only is he sleeping on the floor, too, but he also has to put up with me!

A conversation with N.A.

I didn't have any corrections for my thesis. This can be attributed less to my brilliant writing and more to the fact that I send The Boss chapters as I finished them....and likely the indifference of the rest of my committee (although to be fair, four of the chapters were previously published so they didn't really need to look at those).

One of N.A.'s committee members is notorious for his attention to detail. N.A. came back from his defense with a copy dripping in red ink. Today he came by my office to make use of our extra large monitors (multiple windows of the same Word doc is my favorite. feature. ever.)

"There's corrections on every page!" He complained to Coworker.

I thumbed through his copy, interested to see if that was true.

"There!" Here's a clean page!" I triumphantly jabbed the unmarred page with my pointer finger.

N.A. blinked and calmly replied, "Yes, but that's because it's my references."

Poor N.A. I hope he can get through the corrections soon! Then there will be two doctors in this house!

empty house

N.A. packed up most of my stuff and his and drove it to his new state yesterday. 25 hours of driving in two days (round trip...he'll be back in a few hours).

As a result, I'm sleeping on the floor. My apartment in TempCollege village is furnished, so we decided to be optimistic about our two-body problem and go ahead and take most of my stuff to his state (where he will start his tenure-track position Aug 1).

By "optimistic about our two-body problem" I mean the following:

- that our six-ish month relationship can survive nine months living in separate states
- that I can be okay with possibly making compromises in my career for a man
- that I can find jobs in N.A.'s new state to apply to in the fall
- that I can get interviews and get a job in N.A.'s new state next spring

To say that I'm nervous would be a gross understatement.

sense of entitlement?

During my time here at LargeU, I've had the...ummm...opportunity to meet all kinds of graduate students. None irritate me more than those that feel that they are entitled to a Ph.D. And I'm not going to go off on a "a Ph.D. is a privilege" or any crap like that.

I just think that a Ph.D. requires a lot of hard work. For the sciences, this hard work roughly translates into slave labor as you balance 70+ hours a week in the lab and often coursework and often TAing. Grad school is not for the feint of heart. Grad school is not for everyone.

So I get really irritated when I hear / talk to / see Facebook references (yeah, yeah, I know) to fellow graduate students (that openly do NOT spend even 40 hours a week in lab OR have to take classes anymore OR TA) bitching about how they can't wait to get past this horrible thing called graduate school and out into the real world where they have no BS to deal with or hoops to jump through. These types of people are not working hard and merely using up grant money for their RAs (now at least they are conserving money by not spending it on lab supplies!!)

People like that have gotten kicked out of my research group. For a variety of reasons, other PIs in my department have been more tolerant.

To be clear, I don't begrudge those who can come in, do their 8-5 M-F, and get results. I simply can't do that. What I don't like to see are slackers that barely get by their classes, do a crappy job teaching, get virtually no research accomplished and then still get a Ph.D. from LargeU.

You know the type of grad student I'm talking about. I'm sure you can elaborate.

high class anxiety?

Over the past few months, I have had a recurring dream. I don't often recall my dreams, so when I do, I especially take note.

In my dream, I'm in a very large lecture class. One of those huge bowl-shaped lecture halls that can seat hundreds of students. The problem is, I've been skipping class. I've missed the midterm, not turned in papers, and I heard a rumor that the final was this morning. By the time I showed up, grades were already turned in, and there is no recovering my failing grade.

I'm done with my Ph.D. I haven't taken a class since 2004.

Anyone good with dream analysis??

"Don't worry that children never listen to you; worry that they are always watching you." ~Robert Fulghum

Now you know I'm not one to criticize others' child-rearing skills (ha, ha), but I feel like the following warrants (at least a little) judgement:

At the laundromat last night, I watched (with the occasional eye roll) a woman play pinball through three loads of laundry all while her toddler ran about, dodging open dryer doors, bumping into strangers, and, my favorite, alternately smacking his hands on the floor and then licking them. Did I mention that he punctuated all of these activities with piercing shrieks?

None of this behavior warranted a glance from the (not-so)attentive mother (who admirably played on, even despite the very distracting plead from her seven-year-old, "Mommy, can I play?).

Not until the toddler ran into the single person bathroom and promptly fell into the toilet.

did I mention I hate moving?

As I've previously mentioned, N.A. will be going to a tenure-track position many, many states away from my temporary faculty job. Because I'm moving into a furnished apartment, the plan has been for my furniture as well as as much of my stuff as possible, to go down with N.A. to his state. This move was slated to occur mid to late July, leaving me bedless for at most two weeks. This also would give me several weeks to sort through all my crap in an organized manner.

Today, N.A. casually said (on the phone), "I think I'm going to move next Sunday. Do you think that your stuff will be packed by then?"



Commence freakout.

Is ignorance bliss?

Many of my fellow graduate students here at LargeU are married. I know a few of the spouses, but more often then not, I don't. I always watch their reactions at their counterpart's thesis defense with interest. Were they supportive over the years? Did they understand that some nights their Ph.D-bound partner wouldn't be home? Did they nag their spouse not to work weekends, even though the experiments don't (usually) run themselves? Are they on the level of SuperWife?

These are the questions I ask myself when I see the non-student's beaming faces and slightly glassed over eyes, which can only mean one thing: "thank god s/he is done; what the fnck is s/he talking about?"

On Friday *I* got to play the supportive partner role when I attended N.A.'s thesis defense. It made me very, very glad that we're both finishing up at the same time. Although I might have been a little glassed-over at some of his slides, I knew exactly what he was going through. I knew he'd be exhausted afterwards, and I also knew he'd be feeling a little let down by how anticlimactic it all ends up being.

On the flip side, I was terribly nervous for him because I knew the kinds of questions his committee members are known for asking. I knew that his PI was prone to sitting on his students' theses, refusing to sign off on them.

So I wonder, is ignorance, when it comes to the graduate school process, bliss? I'm not talking about the first-year student's wide-eyed, overly enthusiastic ignorance at the whole system; I'm referring to the boyfriends/girlfriends/spouses of graduate students. Are you with a fellow grad student/ academic? Or do you think it's better to date outside the bubble??

"Television has proved that people will look at anything rather than each other." ~A. Landers

Growing up, we weren't allowed to watch much TV. During the school year, there was no TV permitted on school nights. On weekends, we were allowed Nickelodeon or Sesame Street.

In college, I didn't have a TV until my senior year, and even then we only got whatever our foil-covered antenna could pick up. I didn't get cable until well after my preliminary exam, so well into my 3rd year of graduate school. And I got my new boyfriend at the same time-- my DVR. Oh, how I love my DVR. During college football season, I now routinely watch 5 games per Saturday-- after coming back from lab!

The other awesome thing about the DVR is that I can easily record crappy TV without rearranging my schedule. I *love* crappy TV. N.A. loves TV that "makes him think." Bleah. I have to think all day long about really hard stuff. When I watch crappy TV it's the only time that I can do a complete brain dump and just not. have. to think. It's awesome.

My latest favorite crappy TV? WIPEOUT and I Survived a Japanese Game Show. New summer shows just in time for a nice thesis brain dump!

Does size matter?

In my department, the average thesis weighs in somewhere around 150 pages, with acceptable theses anywhere from 120 and up. A thesis that is 100 pages will raise eyebrows. One that tips the scales at 300 makes committees groan. I don't know of anyone in my generation that has graduated from my department with a two-volume thesis (once you go over 500 pages you have to bind it into two volumes). According to the deposit office, the largest in recent years at LargeU checked in at 1200 pages. It was a Communication major's.

The size of the thesis causes many grad students angst. I kept a page count as I went, but I wasn't terribly concerned with length (but that might have been because after I compiled my published first-authors, I was already over 80 pages).


And for the record, mine clocked in just at 200 pages.


I think worrying about thesis length is silly, particularly in the grand scheme of graduate school. But you would be amazed at how often I've been asked, "how long was yours?"

Does size matter in your department?

Movin' on up

As you may have guessed from previous posts, I don't like change. I like to be in control. Consequently, moving is one of my least favorite things to do.

Of course, this likely stems from the fact that I moved around a bit as a kid (four places before I was 10), followed by boarding school, and then moving each year in college (and then to a new research locale for each summer). Moving sucks.

Obviously, I am eagerly anticipating moving to TempCollegetown in 5 weeks. Not.

In order to minimize the suckiness of the move, I'm trying to get my packing done gradually, in a very calm and organized manner. To facilitate this, I participated in Coworker's neighborhood's very large, bazillion-family yard sale. I spent 8 hours broiling outside, but it was worth it: got rid of a few furniture items and three boxes of random crap. Well worth the slight sunburn.

So. Any moving tips that might help ease my pain? And does *anyone* actually like moving?

Visiting Assistant Prof, explained

Today I got another rejection letter. This surprised me somewhat, seeing as I applied for it back in October, but I was not bothered by it because

1. The search was cancelled so State School wasn't rejecting ME they were rejecting everyone (at least that's what I told myself).

2. I already have a job.


In case you didn't get the news release, I'll be taking a visiting assistant professor position at a small, liberal arts college.

I realize that probably about half of you just collectively nodded your heads knowingly, thinking "oh no, there she goes down the sabbatical rabbithole."


If you had told me in October 2007 (when I started my applications) that I would ultimately end up in a temporary teaching position, I would have laughed in your face. So why my change of heart?

I applied to a dozen or places, a mix of tenure-track, visiting, and instructor positions. Half contacted me for an interview, three sent rejections, and three cancelled their searches. This visiting position is at a really good school (that I had never heard of naturally), in the middle of nowhere, in a location of the country that I have never lived before. I don't know anyone in a 300 mile radius. I will be 2 hours from a Target.

Why the hell would I subject myself to such a remote location for just a one-year position?

It was the perfect fit. The faculty are amazing. Half are female and six out of eight are under 35. I will be mentored within the department, my teaching assignments rock, and my colleagues are committed to helping me move on to my next (tenure-track) position. The students are amazing. The facilities are insane.

In terms of my personal life, N.A. had accepted his faculty position (a tenure-track position at a top-notch school more than 900 miles away) just before we started dating (a mere four months ago, although it feels much longer...is that a good thing?). This year will give me a chance to sort out what exactly I want to do, as well as hopefully get closer (geographically) to N.A.


Am I damning myself to a string of visiting positions? Will I survive a long-distance relationship and overcome a two-body problem without compromising my career? We'll just have to see how things work out!

I'm convinced that the longer I was in grad school, the dumber I got. This is probably in large part to the very little pleasure reading (and the quality of what I *did* read) I got accomplished.

Or perhaps it has more to do with the fact that I had to spend something like >75% of my waking hours thinking about very specialized areas of science (with the occasional connection to...uh...other areas of science).

As you will see below, I am in sore need of some summer reading.


As seen at ProfessingMama:

What we have here is the top 106 books most often marked as “unread” by LibraryThing’s users. As in, they sit on the shelf to make you look smart or well-rounded [or were bookclub choices that you never read that month]. Bold the ones you’ve read, italicize the ones you read for school.


Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
Anna Karenina
Crime and Punishment
Catch-22
One Hundred Years of Solitude
Wuthering Heights
The Silmarillion
Life of Pi: A novel
The Name of the Rose
Don Quixote
Moby Dick
Ulysses
Madame Bovary
The Odyssey
Pride and Prejudice
Jane Eyre
The Tale of Two Cities
The Brothers Karamazov
Guns, Germs, and Steel
War and Peace
Vanity Fair
The Time Traveler’s Wife
The Iliad
Emma
The Blind Assassin
The Kite Runner
Mrs. Dalloway
Great Expectations
American Gods
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
Atlas Shrugged
Reading Lolita in Tehran: A memoir in books
Memoirs of a Geisha
Middlesex
Quicksilver
Wicked: The life and times of the wicked witch of the West
The Canterbury Tales
The Historian : a novel
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Love in the Time of Cholera
Brave New World
The Fountainhead
Foucault’s Pendulum
Middlemarch
Frankenstein
The Count of Monte Cristo
Dracula
A Clockwork Orange
Anansi Boys
The Once and Future King
The Grapes of Wrath
The Poisonwood Bible
1984
Angels & Demons
Inferno
The Satanic Verses
Sense and Sensibility
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Mansfield Park
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
To the Lighthouse
Tess of the D’Urbervilles
Oliver Twist
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Dune
The Prince
The Sound and the Fury
Angela’s Ashes: A memoir
The God of Small Things
A People’s History of the United States : 1492-present
Cryptonomicon
Neverwhere
A Confederacy of Dunces
A Short History of Nearly Everything
Dubliners
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Beloved
Slaughterhouse-Five
The Scarlet Letter
Eats, Shoots & Leaves
The Mists of Avalon
Oryx and Crake
Collapse: How societies choose to fail or succeed
Cloud
Atlas
The Confusion
Lolita
Persuasion
Northanger Abbey
The Catcher in the Rye
On the Road
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Freakonomics: A rogue economist explores the hidden side of everything
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An inquiry into values
The Aeneid
Watership Down
Gravity’s Rainbow
The Hobbit (and I freakin hated it)
In Cold Blood: A true account of a multiple murder and its consequences
White Teeth
Treasure Island
David Copperfield