Today, Research Advisor was telling me about her service on a committee for one of the professional societies to which we belong. The committee is charged with selecting future locations for the society's annual national meeting. We were discussing the attributes of several cities, like accessibility, costs, hotel room availability, etc. One important factor is availability of particular dates. This meeting is usually in the beginning of November, but can be as early as mid-October or late as mid-November. Advisor said that many on the committee favor the last week in October. I frowned and she said, "yeah I know. right at Halloween. When my kids were little I always hated being away at Halloween, so I wouldn't go to this meeting in those years." I asked if the other members of the committee are men.
They are.
Monday, January 7, 2008
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Juno
We just saw the movie Juno. It was super good. It was cool and funny and sweet in the same way as Napolean Dynamite or Little Miss Sunshine. Our friends took us to this fancy pants cinema where you can have beer and sit in loveseats and pay $15 for your ticket but it includes popcorn and valet parking. I think I still prefer our local $5 place with the sticky floor.
Saturday, January 5, 2008
List!
Here's what I'm going to do this weekend in lieu of surfing the world wide web for two days straight.
do something about the chipping read nail polish from New Years Eveplan next week's dinner menuand thengo to the grocery store. Maybe Trader Joe's.- open IRA account
go for at least one big long walklaundry- some cleaning --
bathroom,dusting floors go to movie or some other fun activity tonight
Because you wanted to know, right?
Friday, January 4, 2008
It all sounds American to me
I have an American accent. When I read, I hear the text in an American accent.
I read all these wonderful blogs and I'm usually a teensy surprised when I learn the author is not American. Even after I know the writer is a native English speaker with a non-American accent or has a different first language, still I hear her blog in American. Not just American, but Midland American.
Here's how I know what accent I have, as if it weren't obvious (to those who have heard me speak).
I read all these wonderful blogs and I'm usually a teensy surprised when I learn the author is not American. Even after I know the writer is a native English speaker with a non-American accent or has a different first language, still I hear her blog in American. Not just American, but Midland American.
Here's how I know what accent I have, as if it weren't obvious (to those who have heard me speak).
| What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Midland "You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio. | |
| The West | |
| Boston | |
| North Central | |
| The Inland North | |
| The South | |
| Philadelphia | |
| The Northeast | |
| What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz | |
Thursday, January 3, 2008
A pretty good day
Little things can a good day make.
First off, the new Scientiae carnival is up at hdreioplus.de. The very clever Jokerine did a fantastic job putting it together.
Secondly, I had a good interaction with my academic advisor today. This is the man who is faculty at my university, where I infrequently go. He advises my research too, but my topic is on the outskirts of his interest. Since I have a co-advisor whose interests are nearly identical to mine (the woman I usually refer to as my research advisor) and who occupies the office next door to mine, I interact much more with Research Advisor than Academic Advisor. I guess it was time to bust out the capital letters to establish official pseudonyms.
Anyway, my relationship with Academic Advisor has had its ups and downs. He has been rather overcommitted at times and since I have another advisor available to me, I have occasionally decided to not bother him so that his time could be spent with students who need him more. That probably wasn't the best choice in the long run. He was offended that I ignored him, which I learned in a roundabout way. There have been other times when I really tried to work with him, but he blew me off. Only fair, I guess. But currently, we're on the same page. I got him interested in my data and then he saw my talk at the conference in December and loved it (at least that's what he told me). So he's all excited for me to get the paper written and has provided meaningful mentorship to guide me through the process. I love hand holding, so this is good.
Academic Advisor advocates writing the conclusions of a paper first to flesh out the main messages. He suggested I write a draft of the conclusions before the holiday break, leave it, then revise it and give it to him right after the break. Feeling pleased that someone was offering advice, I took it. Today I sent him a first draft of the conclusions and he responded with excited and helpful comments in less than 30 min. yay! I have already addressed some of comments and will deal with the biggest one tomorrow. I have to admit that I have cheated a bit by working on the discussion section simultaneously, but I think that's because I really need to work out my ideas in writing.
Which brings me to the other good thing today. I have gotten in a good place with writing the last two days. I have worked on the paper pretty consistently all day and forced myself to just do it. What’s more, I have been enjoying it. I think maybe my writing muscles have been lubed by this blog.
I know I probably sound really immature with this post, but whatever. I remember that when I was learning to drive, my mom told me to not feel self conscious because everybody on the road had had to learn sometime. I feel that way now.
First off, the new Scientiae carnival is up at hdreioplus.de. The very clever Jokerine did a fantastic job putting it together.
Secondly, I had a good interaction with my academic advisor today. This is the man who is faculty at my university, where I infrequently go. He advises my research too, but my topic is on the outskirts of his interest. Since I have a co-advisor whose interests are nearly identical to mine (the woman I usually refer to as my research advisor) and who occupies the office next door to mine, I interact much more with Research Advisor than Academic Advisor. I guess it was time to bust out the capital letters to establish official pseudonyms.
Anyway, my relationship with Academic Advisor has had its ups and downs. He has been rather overcommitted at times and since I have another advisor available to me, I have occasionally decided to not bother him so that his time could be spent with students who need him more. That probably wasn't the best choice in the long run. He was offended that I ignored him, which I learned in a roundabout way. There have been other times when I really tried to work with him, but he blew me off. Only fair, I guess. But currently, we're on the same page. I got him interested in my data and then he saw my talk at the conference in December and loved it (at least that's what he told me). So he's all excited for me to get the paper written and has provided meaningful mentorship to guide me through the process. I love hand holding, so this is good.
Academic Advisor advocates writing the conclusions of a paper first to flesh out the main messages. He suggested I write a draft of the conclusions before the holiday break, leave it, then revise it and give it to him right after the break. Feeling pleased that someone was offering advice, I took it. Today I sent him a first draft of the conclusions and he responded with excited and helpful comments in less than 30 min. yay! I have already addressed some of comments and will deal with the biggest one tomorrow. I have to admit that I have cheated a bit by working on the discussion section simultaneously, but I think that's because I really need to work out my ideas in writing.
Which brings me to the other good thing today. I have gotten in a good place with writing the last two days. I have worked on the paper pretty consistently all day and forced myself to just do it. What’s more, I have been enjoying it. I think maybe my writing muscles have been lubed by this blog.
I know I probably sound really immature with this post, but whatever. I remember that when I was learning to drive, my mom told me to not feel self conscious because everybody on the road had had to learn sometime. I feel that way now.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Let's talk about procrastination
I'm positive that there are lots of books out there all about procrastination, why we engage in it, and how to beat it. I haven't read them. I bet that many people in this corner of the blogosphere have read some of these books, or thought extensively on the subject, or definitively blogged about it. Since this is a record of my personal journey, I will now blog about my own recent thoughts on procrastination. But I'd love links to your insightful posts or recommendations for helpful but not boring books.
Procrastination doesn't get you ahead. It puts you in the hole. It causes oppressive anxiety. And it creates more work for youto put off.
Think about when you get an email with an attached form you have to fill out. It’s probably tedious and has a distant deadline, so you ignore it for later. But then the deadline approaches and then passes and you get several reminder emails to return the completed form. So you do it, but now you’ve had to think about the stupid thing all those extra times, search for the buried email, and feel guilty. In a sense, you’ve had to do the work more than once. Or think about when you blow something off and then have to do it again because it’s ruined, or it takes extra paperwork to get an extension, or there’s a late fee. Why do we do this to ourselves? Usually, the thing I do instead is not worth the heartache of dealing with the consequences of procrastination. So much guilt and anxiety for what? A Seinfeld rerun? The headlines on MSN?
This recent realization of how much I suffer at the devious hand of procrastination is why one of my NYRs was to reduce it and is what I will try to keep in my thoughts so as to avoid it. It feels so good to get things done when they need to be done and then not think about them again. And to know that no one can bitch at you for not doing your bit.
I recently read in a magazine something like “you never say ‘gee, I wish I hadn’t done that’ after you exercise.” I think the same is true for doing things on your list. You never regret being productive. Productive, here, means not only getting work done, but doing the fun activities that we want to do. I noticed that an awful lot of bloggers wrote how they don’t want to waste time mindlessly surfing the Internet or watching tv this year. Me too.
Procrastination doesn't get you ahead. It puts you in the hole. It causes oppressive anxiety. And it creates more work for you
Think about when you get an email with an attached form you have to fill out. It’s probably tedious and has a distant deadline, so you ignore it for later. But then the deadline approaches and then passes and you get several reminder emails to return the completed form. So you do it, but now you’ve had to think about the stupid thing all those extra times, search for the buried email, and feel guilty. In a sense, you’ve had to do the work more than once. Or think about when you blow something off and then have to do it again because it’s ruined, or it takes extra paperwork to get an extension, or there’s a late fee. Why do we do this to ourselves? Usually, the thing I do instead is not worth the heartache of dealing with the consequences of procrastination. So much guilt and anxiety for what? A Seinfeld rerun? The headlines on MSN?
This recent realization of how much I suffer at the devious hand of procrastination is why one of my NYRs was to reduce it and is what I will try to keep in my thoughts so as to avoid it. It feels so good to get things done when they need to be done and then not think about them again. And to know that no one can bitch at you for not doing your bit.
I recently read in a magazine something like “you never say ‘gee, I wish I hadn’t done that’ after you exercise.” I think the same is true for doing things on your list. You never regret being productive. Productive, here, means not only getting work done, but doing the fun activities that we want to do. I noticed that an awful lot of bloggers wrote how they don’t want to waste time mindlessly surfing the Internet or watching tv this year. Me too.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
New Year's Resolutions
I love New Year’s resolutions. Last year I made three, one that I kept (paid off my debt), one that I kept for part of the year (Pilates video workout every day), and one that failed miserably (submit a manuscript). I think NYRs can even affect my mood. I blogged about feeling the blahs in December, which I attributed to winter blues. However, I think it might actually have been end-of-the-year blues. In December, I always reflect on all the things I didn’t accomplish and all the goals I left unmet. January brings a fresh start.
Like many others, I will announce a theme for 2008: Gettin’ It Done (I wonder if Profgrrrl knows how influential she is?). 2008 needs to be about finishing some work so I can a. not go crazy from frustration and b. graduate someday. I like the theme idea, but I think the best resolutions involve very specific goals which can be assessed and, more importantly, are manageable size. It's fine to say you're going to lose weight, but it's also important to say how you will go about losing the weight. So, here are mine:
- Project Efficiency. The idea here is that I will be really focused and work really hard when I’m at work and then not feel guilty for not working when I get home. Any extra work beyond five 8-hour days will be bonus. It has several parts:
1. No doing work that isn’t really work. Like searching for a semi-necessary image for a presentation 3 hours. I know when I’m giving myself excuses.
2. At the end of each day, setting goals for the next day. These should be reasonable, not lofty, because I don’t want to feel like crap every day when I don’t finish my to-do list. I want to feel good because my daily accomplishments are transparent.
3. Reduced procrastination. I've finally realized what grief procratination causes me and I resolve to keep that in mind whenver I want to put something off.
4. And the hardest part: NO BLOGGING AT WORK. No checking bloglines, or my counter, or my blog email, none of it. - Money
1. Build my savings to 3 months’ expenses. This will be very challenging because of the two overseas trips we have planned. If I can at least not be in debt due to those, I guess I’ll be satisfied
2. Start an IRA. I have no goals for the amount, I just want to have something started for retirement. There’s still lots of time for it to build, so anything I save now is great. - Heath
1. Cook full meals for dinner at least three times per week. This will contribute to the savings goals (synergy!). Ecogeoman will be onboard with this one too, since he wants to get very serious about Weight Watchers this year. He has be doing it for a few months, but not really taking it all to heart. He wants to lose weight for the tux he’ll have to wear in July’s wedding. See, it’s not only women who have this kind of goal!
2. Start eating chicken again. I’ve been mostly vegetarian since 2002 but I’m finding it increasingly annoying. We often have dinner at friends’ houses and it’s really hard to ask people to make something special for me or to bring my own food, which feels rude. Beef and pork are completely unappealing, but chicken is alright and I think it will help me with part 1. I stopped eating meat in the first place because I felt it was ecologically unsustainable and that the meat production system was filthy. I’m (mostly) okay with free range, organic meat and it is becoming more widely available. I think chicken on the order of once per week would be good. Ecogeoman would certainly appreciate it.
3. I’d love to make an exercise resolution, but I know I won’t keep it because it doesn’t feel like a hard and fast priority right now. I don’t want to make goals that I don’t think I can keep because I don’t want to set myself up to fail. - Work
1. Project Efficiency
2. Submit 2 papers for publication
i. The one I resolved to submit last year but didn’t
ii. Another one
3. Finish lab work for Chapter 2
4. Finish lab work for Chapter 3
5. Have lab work for Chapter 4 solidly started, or have decided to ditch Chapter 4. I’d like to resolve to finish lab work for Chapter 4 too, but I’m not sure it’s possible.
I will report my progress here every month for the rest of the year. I’m serious about these resolutions!
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