Today Ecogeoman learned that his very first paper has been accepted! There are revisions, of course, but the reviews border on glowing.
The manuscript was 120 pages (1.5 spaced) including figures and references.
In other news, our symposium proposal is nearly finished. All we have to do is hash out the speaker list, which has become quite a task. We're happy with the proposal text, having recieved positive feedback from colleagues. However, we're struggling to ensure that each talk addresses the questions/problems we raised in the text. This is easier said than done.
Showing posts with label delayed gratification. Show all posts
Showing posts with label delayed gratification. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Gratification!
I'm sure everyone is totally over these blogging awards, but it took me quite a while to get though the hundreds of blog posts I missed while I was away so I didn't know I got them . I really appreciate the honors and will pass them on even though this seems to have been round and round. Thanks so much to the bloggers who nominated me, and sorry for my belated acceptance.
And the sparkly pyramid from ScientistMother and DancingFish (who has since moved).
Your blogs are awesomely awesome too!
Many of these bloggers have probably already had this memey prize but I've lost track.
I pass the angel to
And although there seems to be some unspoken (uh, unwritten) rule not to tag Sciblings, I still nominateSciencewomen and
Friday, August 15, 2008
Summer is flying by!
It's already time for our France trip! I can't believe it. This trip seemed like something in the distant future until like, yesterday.
For those of you who haven't been hanging on my every word for months, we're going to France for EGM's sister's wedding. She lives there and is marrying a French man. She made our lodging arrangements so I'm a little fuzzy on the details, but I'm pretty sure we're staying near here. Looks splendid to me! Also, I got this dress on sale (but still expensive to me) to wear at the wedding. They had it in petite and it actually fits which is rare so I'm happy.
I'm also pleased with myself because I feel like I left things in pretty good shape at work. I sent another draft of my paper to my advisors and another colleague. I also sent a draft of our symposium proposal to Academic Advisor, who is particularly good at seeing the big picture to make things sound sexy and he makes good general comments on early drafts of text. We let the Society people we're working with know where we are in the process and told them we're pausing work for the next week (Cauliflower will be traveling as well, although probably with better Internet access than I'll have). I feel like I accomplished a lot this week.
I think I'll write a post sometime soon about the symposium stuff. I've had a few observations I'd like to share and a few people seemed interested in the process.
For those of you who haven't been hanging on my every word for months, we're going to France for EGM's sister's wedding. She lives there and is marrying a French man. She made our lodging arrangements so I'm a little fuzzy on the details, but I'm pretty sure we're staying near here. Looks splendid to me! Also, I got this dress on sale (but still expensive to me) to wear at the wedding. They had it in petite and it actually fits which is rare so I'm happy.
I'm also pleased with myself because I feel like I left things in pretty good shape at work. I sent another draft of my paper to my advisors and another colleague. I also sent a draft of our symposium proposal to Academic Advisor, who is particularly good at seeing the big picture to make things sound sexy and he makes good general comments on early drafts of text. We let the Society people we're working with know where we are in the process and told them we're pausing work for the next week (Cauliflower will be traveling as well, although probably with better Internet access than I'll have). I feel like I accomplished a lot this week.
I think I'll write a post sometime soon about the symposium stuff. I've had a few observations I'd like to share and a few people seemed interested in the process.
Friday, July 4, 2008
I'm off!
I'm going on vacation tomorrow! I'm going to Florida for a week with my BFF and her parents and her gram. Aside from a half-day fishing trip, we'll spend pretty much the whole time laying on the beach. I worked my tail off the last couple of weeks to get lab work wrapped up on one of my projects so that I could vege for a week without guilt*. I came really close, so I feel pretty good about leaving.
I had planned to not even bring my laptop, but now I'm going to. We still don't have tickets to France for EGM's sister's wedding in late August. They are super expensive, so I'm going to wait for EGM to give me the name of the travel agent they sometimes use for work trips who seems to be able to find good deals. Even if that fails, our next credit card billing cycling starts Tuesday, so by waiting four days to buy the tickets, we'll have an extra month to pay for them. Another reason to bring the 'top is so I can email EGM. :)
In other news, once again I dragged my heels writing a post for Scientiae and missed it. It was a great topic too, so check it out. Also, Karina has an interesting post that you should comment on.
Have a great week, everyone!
*Remember this post when I said how Academic Advisor "joked" that I should have my paper submitted before this trip? Well, I've given him two drafts since then. He hasn't looked at them.
I had planned to not even bring my laptop, but now I'm going to. We still don't have tickets to France for EGM's sister's wedding in late August. They are super expensive, so I'm going to wait for EGM to give me the name of the travel agent they sometimes use for work trips who seems to be able to find good deals. Even if that fails, our next credit card billing cycling starts Tuesday, so by waiting four days to buy the tickets, we'll have an extra month to pay for them. Another reason to bring the 'top is so I can email EGM. :)
In other news, once again I dragged my heels writing a post for Scientiae and missed it. It was a great topic too, so check it out. Also, Karina has an interesting post that you should comment on.
Have a great week, everyone!
*Remember this post when I said how Academic Advisor "joked" that I should have my paper submitted before this trip? Well, I've given him two drafts since then. He hasn't looked at them.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Committee meeting: done
I had a committee meeting yesterday. My department didn't require annual committee meetings until this year. In the past, the committee would only meet together twice: once at the student's prelim exam and once at her defense. I guess a few "uncomfortable" defenses made the department decide it needed to be like other decent programs and require annual progress meetings.
I guess because the annual meeting was an unknown entity, I got super anxious about it. I knew it wasn't supposed to be a big deal so I'm not sure why I was so worried. I guess I thought they would tear apart the work I had done so far or not approve the changes I wanted to make to one of the chapters. Also, I felt very disorganized and irresponsible because I hadn't fully checked out the room arrangements. I was right to be worried about that because the room had a speaker phone with no speaker* and an expired calling card (one of my committee members had to participate by phone).
The phone stuff eventually worked out and the meeting went fine. Thank goodness for Research Advisor, who just the day before had passed a paper to me that covered exactly what I needed to substantiate the revisions I wanted. After two hours (!) of discussion, we agreed on a much reduced version of a chapter I proposed two years ago at my prelims and they nodded approval at the data I have so far for the other chapters. I even received some very positive feedback from my outside committee member (delivered in restrained and measured verbiage) that made me feel really good. He told Research Advisor he thinks I am "a winner". Can't beat that.
*Me to Academic Advisor in a most shrill voice, "I don't deserve a Ph.D. if I can't even set up a meeting room with a phone that works!" How melodramatic of me.
I guess because the annual meeting was an unknown entity, I got super anxious about it. I knew it wasn't supposed to be a big deal so I'm not sure why I was so worried. I guess I thought they would tear apart the work I had done so far or not approve the changes I wanted to make to one of the chapters. Also, I felt very disorganized and irresponsible because I hadn't fully checked out the room arrangements. I was right to be worried about that because the room had a speaker phone with no speaker* and an expired calling card (one of my committee members had to participate by phone).
The phone stuff eventually worked out and the meeting went fine. Thank goodness for Research Advisor, who just the day before had passed a paper to me that covered exactly what I needed to substantiate the revisions I wanted. After two hours (!) of discussion, we agreed on a much reduced version of a chapter I proposed two years ago at my prelims and they nodded approval at the data I have so far for the other chapters. I even received some very positive feedback from my outside committee member (delivered in restrained and measured verbiage) that made me feel really good. He told Research Advisor he thinks I am "a winner". Can't beat that.
*Me to Academic Advisor in a most shrill voice, "I don't deserve a Ph.D. if I can't even set up a meeting room with a phone that works!" How melodramatic of me.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Research is like a slot machine
Ecogeoman recently compared working as a scientist to a gambling addiction. He has a point.
Funding rates are crappy. He applied for 10-12 small grants in the last several months hoping but never expecting to be successful. Lo and behold, he actually won two of them and he is on cloud nine. He mused that this taste of success is enough to keep him going...for a while.
It’s like gambling at a casino. The slot machine has to pay out just frequently enough to keep your interest so you’ll continue to put the money in. In science, you have to get enough grants funded to keep you wanting to try for the next one.
We hypothesized that people who make it in research are ones who can sustain longest on intermittent success. Alternatively, the most successful people probably enjoy more frequent success. We think maybe that’s not so much the case. Instead, we think that there’s selection for people who can coast on glory for longer, thereby getting more done before they are overcome with the depression of failure. There's clearly a positive feedback.
Funding rates are crappy. He applied for 10-12 small grants in the last several months hoping but never expecting to be successful. Lo and behold, he actually won two of them and he is on cloud nine. He mused that this taste of success is enough to keep him going...for a while.
It’s like gambling at a casino. The slot machine has to pay out just frequently enough to keep your interest so you’ll continue to put the money in. In science, you have to get enough grants funded to keep you wanting to try for the next one.
We hypothesized that people who make it in research are ones who can sustain longest on intermittent success. Alternatively, the most successful people probably enjoy more frequent success. We think maybe that’s not so much the case. Instead, we think that there’s selection for people who can coast on glory for longer, thereby getting more done before they are overcome with the depression of failure. There's clearly a positive feedback.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
I can't believe it!
Today I found out that I received an award. I was totally surpised and very, very pleased. The award is related to a fellowship I have from an external organization that's part of a program designed for students researching a particular problem. Each year, they give a special honor to one fellow who best utilizes the opportunities offered by the program and does good work. In addition to the honor (and the line on the CV), the honored fellow gets a little extra money. Woo-hoo!
Monday, March 17, 2008
Another kind of balance
We talk a whole lot about work-life balance, but lately I've been thinking about how challenging project balance is to learn. Knowing when to devote time to different projects is tricky. Currently, I'm working on the manuscript for project 1, lab work for project 2 when bench space is available, totally different lab work for project 3, and helping Awesome Technician with lab work for one of Research Advisor's projects when both of us have time. Ecogeoman is juggling two manuscripts, TAing, and writing one small grant proposal after another. This is nothing compared to all the balls our advisors keep in the air all the time. It's like playing Tetris with projects across time.
I like having several things going on at once. Any of it gets tiresome after a while, so it's nice to mix up computer work with different kinds of bench work. If space or equipment is unavailable I can always do something else, so my efficiency is not at the mercy of other people. Also, I like making progress on several things concurrently. But sometimes, I just want to buckle down and get something done. It takes so long to finish things.
I like having several things going on at once. Any of it gets tiresome after a while, so it's nice to mix up computer work with different kinds of bench work. If space or equipment is unavailable I can always do something else, so my efficiency is not at the mercy of other people. Also, I like making progress on several things concurrently. But sometimes, I just want to buckle down and get something done. It takes so long to finish things.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
RBof Good Day
- My carpool buddy has been on vacation for 2.5 weeks, which means my rigid commuting schedule has been more relaxed. This is the last day of it, so EGM and I went out to breakfast with friends. I never do things like go out to breakfast on a weekday. Unexpected bonus: our friends picked up the check.
- I still managed to work a full day, so I don't feel guilty about going to said breakfast.
- I gave the first draft of my manuscript to my lab group yesterday, which felt good. We're going to discuss it at lab meeting next week. The How to Write a Lot book told me that only a fool celebrates achieving a writing goal by skipping her scheduled writing time, so I spent 1.5 hours doing writing stuff for other projects.
- I then spent the rest of the day in the lab, which I love. One of my projects involves doing a crummy, tedious, boring, dirty task on a LOT of samples. It's never ending. I spent big chunks of the past two summers working on this with intern helpers, but there's still about 1/3 of the samples left to do. Today was the first time I've worked on it since August and it went pretty quickly. I figure if I bust my ass on it, I could have it done in 6 weeks. It'll probably take 12. Anyone want to place bets?
- EGM and I still managed to make a dinner that didn't involve pizza.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
New attitude (for now)
I'm sick of The Race. I'm both irritated and bored by the rush to finish projects and write papers and not get scooped (which almost never happens in my field anyway) and all the rest of it. I want to just relax and enjoy what I'm doing. If I do it right, then presentations and papers should come naturally as part of the process.
I want to do science because it’s interesting and fun and valuable. There are lots of other jobs I could be doing that would get me more money with less education. If science isn't fun or interesting, then there's little point in doing it for me. Sure, there's the benefit scientists provides society. But I feel like I could do as much or more good in another profession. It would just be a very different sort of good.
The other day, my carpool buddy was fretting about some deadline that he didn't think he could meet. Ecogeoman and I are constantly doing the same, both for external deadlines and the ones we set ourselves for motivation. But I suddenly realized how arbitrary our deadlines are. No one is going to die on an operating table or starve in the immediate future if we don't meet our deadlines.* My research is very important, but not it’s just not that urgent.
That thought brought on a welcome sense of relaxation. I have been thinking about how all this worrying about meeting goals takes mental energy away from actually doing the work. I want to focus on the parts of my job that are fun and interesting. I'm tired of spinning my wheels, planning and replanning my future, both immediate and distant. I need a break from all the fuss to just do my work and enjoy it for what it is rather than doing to meet an arbitrary deadline or because it's good for my career. I want to do it because it's good for science. My career will follow.
I hope that this change of attitude will provide some renewal of my motivation. But rather than renewing my fortitude to meet an arbitrary goal, I hope to renew my excitement about my research, and that’s all.
*I know some of you work in fields where this might be the case.
scientiae-carnival
I want to do science because it’s interesting and fun and valuable. There are lots of other jobs I could be doing that would get me more money with less education. If science isn't fun or interesting, then there's little point in doing it for me. Sure, there's the benefit scientists provides society. But I feel like I could do as much or more good in another profession. It would just be a very different sort of good.
The other day, my carpool buddy was fretting about some deadline that he didn't think he could meet. Ecogeoman and I are constantly doing the same, both for external deadlines and the ones we set ourselves for motivation. But I suddenly realized how arbitrary our deadlines are. No one is going to die on an operating table or starve in the immediate future if we don't meet our deadlines.* My research is very important, but not it’s just not that urgent.
That thought brought on a welcome sense of relaxation. I have been thinking about how all this worrying about meeting goals takes mental energy away from actually doing the work. I want to focus on the parts of my job that are fun and interesting. I'm tired of spinning my wheels, planning and replanning my future, both immediate and distant. I need a break from all the fuss to just do my work and enjoy it for what it is rather than doing to meet an arbitrary deadline or because it's good for my career. I want to do it because it's good for science. My career will follow.
I hope that this change of attitude will provide some renewal of my motivation. But rather than renewing my fortitude to meet an arbitrary goal, I hope to renew my excitement about my research, and that’s all.
*I know some of you work in fields where this might be the case.
scientiae-carnival
Saturday, December 1, 2007
I finished something!
I made the final payment on my credit card yesterday. Yay! In January, I made a new year’s resolution to pay it off. It was really hard but I had a plan, stuck with it, and now it’s over. I think it’s the only new year’s resolution I’ve ever kept.
I would describe myself as a saver, not a spender, so suddenly having credit card debt was both shocking and highly uncomfortable to me. I didn’t build the balance by buying a bunch of stuff. First, there was the big first trip to Far Off Land that I couldn’t quite cover up front. Then there were several instances of car maintenance and the deductible for body work after my car was hit while parked. Then an expensive last minute plane ticket for a funeral. All the while, I was still making car payments, so I quickly blew through my paltry emergency fund. That’s how I came to have credit card debt.
I paid off the car last year and now the credit card is paid off too. Finally, I can bask in the joy of completion. Ahhhhhhh.
Too bad my research projects still have months of work left to do.
I would describe myself as a saver, not a spender, so suddenly having credit card debt was both shocking and highly uncomfortable to me. I didn’t build the balance by buying a bunch of stuff. First, there was the big first trip to Far Off Land that I couldn’t quite cover up front. Then there were several instances of car maintenance and the deductible for body work after my car was hit while parked. Then an expensive last minute plane ticket for a funeral. All the while, I was still making car payments, so I quickly blew through my paltry emergency fund. That’s how I came to have credit card debt.
I paid off the car last year and now the credit card is paid off too. Finally, I can bask in the joy of completion. Ahhhhhhh.
Too bad my research projects still have months of work left to do.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Frustration!
The first chapter of my dissertation involves this very cool dataset that is comprised of data from archived samples going back twenty years. I have been working with these data for the last four years and still have not finalized the story. There is always one more thing to check, one more group of samples that turn up and need to be analyzed, or more way to look at the results. It’s so frustrating. I thought I finally had it all sorted out, but there was a glaring ambiguity that was somewhat disquieting. However, I thought there was nothing I could do about it so I was ready to start working on the manuscript. Then another set of samples were discovered, so I analyzed them and got the data back today. Guess what. The f’ing ambiguity still exists. The new numbers didn’t help much at all. I wouldn’t care so much (the data are the data), but there is one really important conclusion that I can either make or not make. I need to be convinced that the data support one story over the other before I can persuade anyone else. This dataset eventually will be included in a meta-analysis or synthesis of some kind (hopefully) which will then influence policy (hopefully). I really want to feel confident in my conclusion because I think this is an important study.
I will talk to my advisor about it on Monday. That will help me feel secure about however we decide to discuss the results, but she’s not going to offer some new idea to solve the problem. We’re out of options.
Phooey.
I will talk to my advisor about it on Monday. That will help me feel secure about however we decide to discuss the results, but she’s not going to offer some new idea to solve the problem. We’re out of options.
Phooey.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Working on the weekend
I'm working on a Saturday. I dislike working on weekends because I believe I shouldn't have to. I try really hard to shake the guilt that comes with working banker hours, but it still creeps up sometimes. Currently, I'm desperate to finish something (anything!) so I've been working every weekend. At least today I won't be here for so long and I'm working on my very favorite task. It involves doing the same little tiny movements again and again, but I get to sit in a comfortable seat, listen to streaming broadcast of my favorite NPR shows, and it has an obvious end. Plus I get to race myself which is a surefire way to boost my efficiency and make me feel like I got something done.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
