....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.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
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.
(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.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
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.
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.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
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)
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)
Sunday, August 2, 2009
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!
"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!
Friday, July 31, 2009
A question for the masses: how much vacation is too much?
Semi-recently (man, am I behind!) FemaleScienceProfessor gave her interpretation of a anonymous commenter's assertion that "if the average scientist took three months off nobody would know."
Some commenters agreed, and some disagreed.
With only one brief exception, if I (back in my grad school days) had disappeared for three months (hell, even three hours!!), no one would have known because The Boss would have tracked me down, yelled at me, made me write a grant or four, kicked me out of the group, and erased all traces of me from LargeU.
Of course, I never, ever thought about taking off without telling The Boss. The longest vacation I ever took was nine days...and that was only because the flight was 10 hours. I couldn't even take a weekend off without letting the group know.
If I disappear for three hours, weeks, or even months now, no one would care. Or perhaps notice. But we can come back to that in another post.
So how about it, grad students? Does your advisor care or notice if you aren't around? PIs, what is an appropriate amount of vacation time for your students? How about yourself?
Some commenters agreed, and some disagreed.
With only one brief exception, if I (back in my grad school days) had disappeared for three months (hell, even three hours!!), no one would have known because The Boss would have tracked me down, yelled at me, made me write a grant or four, kicked me out of the group, and erased all traces of me from LargeU.
Of course, I never, ever thought about taking off without telling The Boss. The longest vacation I ever took was nine days...and that was only because the flight was 10 hours. I couldn't even take a weekend off without letting the group know.
If I disappear for three hours, weeks, or even months now, no one would care. Or perhaps notice. But we can come back to that in another post.
So how about it, grad students? Does your advisor care or notice if you aren't around? PIs, what is an appropriate amount of vacation time for your students? How about yourself?
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Moving never sounded so good
My apartment complex is having a pool party right now, and someone decided that it would be a good idea to have a sound system.
With a microphone.
And turn it over to preteens.
For the last hour, I have been treated to (through the rather thick walls of my apartment building) "shout outs" to their BFFs. I have also been asked, rhetorically I think, "Wad up?" They each also find it necessary to perform sound checks every time the mic is passed off.
Need.
More.
Beer.
With a microphone.
And turn it over to preteens.
For the last hour, I have been treated to (through the rather thick walls of my apartment building) "shout outs" to their BFFs. I have also been asked, rhetorically I think, "Wad up?" They each also find it necessary to perform sound checks every time the mic is passed off.
Need.
More.
Beer.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)