A while back, I mentioned something about starting a blog all about money issues academics face. Well, Psycgirl and I have finally done it!
Psycgirl and I had both been noticing how frequently money issues crop up in blogs, especially ones written by grad students. We also noticed, however, that money issues aren't restricted to grad students; most academics get a late start on their financial lives after racking up student loans then deferring them while living on peanuts. That includes people who rely on unsteady adjunct gigs, have exorbitant child care costs, or spend tons of money commuting for a long distance relationship.
We modeled the new blog after the Active Academic, which is a multi-author blog for academics about health and fitness. We'd like to have lots of contributors so people can get an array of ideas for improving their financial health or just have a safe and friendly space to talk about their problems. Email Psycgirl or me if you'd like to be an author.
Go check out The Economical Academic!
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
History of Science
Today the department seminar was given by a historian about one of the pillars, nay, founders of (one of) my field(s). I've never listened to a history seminar before. I'm pretty sure this is the first one of its kind in my department since I've been there.
It was mildly interesting to learn about this Founding Father of my -ology and I've no doubt that the information will be useful to me someday at some level. But this kind of history is just not my cup of tea, so while a talk about something so different was refreshing, I hope seminars like this don't become too frequent. Also, the speaker handed out hard copies of his PowerPoint presentation so we could take notes. It disgusted me a little to see all that paper just destined for the trash being passed around the room.
I did find one thing really interesting in the talk: there were many women in the photos documenting field research from the 1890's - 1930's. Apparently, these women were Founding Father's students. I wonder what they did after they earned their degrees, since it doesn't seem like they went on to establish notable research careers (or maybe they did but didn't get credit for it). The speaker hypothesized that the women chose to major in -ology and to participate in Founding Father's field trips because it was one of the few opportunities for them to get outdoors and get dirty. Interesting thought.
It was mildly interesting to learn about this Founding Father of my -ology and I've no doubt that the information will be useful to me someday at some level. But this kind of history is just not my cup of tea, so while a talk about something so different was refreshing, I hope seminars like this don't become too frequent. Also, the speaker handed out hard copies of his PowerPoint presentation so we could take notes. It disgusted me a little to see all that paper just destined for the trash being passed around the room.
I did find one thing really interesting in the talk: there were many women in the photos documenting field research from the 1890's - 1930's. Apparently, these women were Founding Father's students. I wonder what they did after they earned their degrees, since it doesn't seem like they went on to establish notable research careers (or maybe they did but didn't get credit for it). The speaker hypothesized that the women chose to major in -ology and to participate in Founding Father's field trips because it was one of the few opportunities for them to get outdoors and get dirty. Interesting thought.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Six Word meme
ScienceGirl tagged me for this cool meme:
Here are the instructions:1. Write your own six word memoir 2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like 3. Link to the person that tagged you in your post and to this original post if possible so we can track it as it travels across the blogosphere 4. Tag five more blogs with links 5. And don’t forget to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play
My path is guided by opportunity.
I tag Alice, Stepwise Girl, AcmeGirl, Karina, and Janus Professor.
Here are the instructions:1. Write your own six word memoir 2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like 3. Link to the person that tagged you in your post and to this original post if possible so we can track it as it travels across the blogosphere 4. Tag five more blogs with links 5. And don’t forget to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play
My path is guided by opportunity.
I tag Alice, Stepwise Girl, AcmeGirl, Karina, and Janus Professor.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Earth Hour was underwhelming
My city made a pretty big deal about Earth Hour, saying the whole place would be dark and it would make such a statement and as bonus we'd get to see the stars for once. I was driving home at the time and didn't notice a big difference. A few buildings were darker than usual but still had plenty of nonessential lights burning. Ironically, one of those electronic, back-lit billboards was advertising Earth Hour in bright lights -- during Earth Hour.
Once, I was a fool
Well, I still can be a fool sometimes. But this story is about a time when I was biased against a woman doing science, which I thought would be appropriate for Peggy's Scientiae Canival theme. I can’t believe I ever felt this way. I won’t do it again.
When I was in college, I worked in the lab of a brand new assistant professor. I went to a smallish school with no PhD program and a limited number of master’s student in the department, so undergrads had great access to research opportunities. Because this professor was new, she was still setting up her lab when I joined it. And because the department was small, she was doing most of it by herself. I recall one day I was there during the installation of a fancy piece of equipment that I now know is pretty standard fare for labs in our subfield. There were problems with the installation that required much troubleshooting during the first weeks she had the instrument. As this bright, capable women was buried up to the elbows in tubing and electronics, performing major surgery on the new instrument, I thought, Can she really fix this? She needs to get a man to deal with this. She’s going to break it! Of course, she didn’t break it. She fixed it. And when I moved on to the next lab, I met several very smart and technically savvy women who did similar work and expected me to be able to use and troubleshoot just such an instrument. Which I did, thank you very much.
I shudder now to admit those thoughts even crossed my mind! I would never think such a thing now. There’s no job a woman can’t do with the right tools. But knowing that someone like me could have had those thoughts once upon a time makes me realize that lots of people still have them. I think that’s why I’m drawn to women-in-science issues even though I rarely feel bias myself. Hopefully, women doing great work and speaking out about these issues will shown the remaining fools just how foolish they are.
scientiae-carnival
When I was in college, I worked in the lab of a brand new assistant professor. I went to a smallish school with no PhD program and a limited number of master’s student in the department, so undergrads had great access to research opportunities. Because this professor was new, she was still setting up her lab when I joined it. And because the department was small, she was doing most of it by herself. I recall one day I was there during the installation of a fancy piece of equipment that I now know is pretty standard fare for labs in our subfield. There were problems with the installation that required much troubleshooting during the first weeks she had the instrument. As this bright, capable women was buried up to the elbows in tubing and electronics, performing major surgery on the new instrument, I thought, Can she really fix this? She needs to get a man to deal with this. She’s going to break it! Of course, she didn’t break it. She fixed it. And when I moved on to the next lab, I met several very smart and technically savvy women who did similar work and expected me to be able to use and troubleshoot just such an instrument. Which I did, thank you very much.
I shudder now to admit those thoughts even crossed my mind! I would never think such a thing now. There’s no job a woman can’t do with the right tools. But knowing that someone like me could have had those thoughts once upon a time makes me realize that lots of people still have them. I think that’s why I’m drawn to women-in-science issues even though I rarely feel bias myself. Hopefully, women doing great work and speaking out about these issues will shown the remaining fools just how foolish they are.
scientiae-carnival
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Is your inner monologue cool?
I am neurotic about my efficiency in the lab. I don’t like for anything to take longer than it needs to take, so I figure out ways to shave time off of every procedure. I pride myself in being fast at particular tasks and have been known to toot my own horn about it.
One of the technicians is learning a procedure that Awesome Technician and I mostly do. I mentioned a short cut for one step and they marveled at my anal retentiveness -- “you have a protocol for that?”. Yes, I do. Just as I have a preferred sequence for every series of steps, a seamless choreography that lets me get just one more sample done.
AT and I considered why I am like this. I suggested it’s because I have a boring inner monologue, so I have to think about how to get done faster, while she can luxuriate in her interesting and creative thoughts. But it probably has more to do with my overwhelming desire to finish my damn thesis.
One of the technicians is learning a procedure that Awesome Technician and I mostly do. I mentioned a short cut for one step and they marveled at my anal retentiveness -- “you have a protocol for that?”. Yes, I do. Just as I have a preferred sequence for every series of steps, a seamless choreography that lets me get just one more sample done.
AT and I considered why I am like this. I suggested it’s because I have a boring inner monologue, so I have to think about how to get done faster, while she can luxuriate in her interesting and creative thoughts. But it probably has more to do with my overwhelming desire to finish my damn thesis.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Mmmm, w(h)ine.
Ecogeoman took me out to dinner tonight to celebrate my birthday. We had a coupon (coo-pon, q-pon?) for one of our favorite restuarants, which included a bottle of wine. That wine will explain any misspellings or irrational thoughts in this post (ha-ha, EGF wrote a drunk post!). Here's what's on my mind:
EGM and I went on a big long walk before dinner and I dominated our conversation with my anxiety over paper revisions. I'm feeling a little depressed about work, mainly because rethinking everything I wrote seems hard. Here's an insight into me: I tell horrible, long boring stories with anticlimactic endings. Every group of friends I have ever made has come to the same conclusion. So while EGM tells me every details of his work, I end up not talking about work stuff so much because I'm worried about being boring. But tonight I let loose and it helped me work out some ideas. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day for rewriting. Also, I hate admitting that the revisions feel hard because I feel annoyed when other people whine (too much) about this sort of thing.
Why, oh why, do I feel like I'm getting bigger yet I continue to wear the same size pants? I've gained a few pounds, probably less than 10, since college. Yet, I periodically feel like my jeans get too tight and I phase them out. I buy new pairs, but they are the same size in the same brands! WTF? Do they shrink over time with multiple washings? Do the sizes vary pair-to-pair? Does the fashionable cut change over time such that what seems tight is actually just a little out of style? It's possible that the sizes are increasing (i.e, today's 6 is tomorrow's 8), but it seems unlikely over the 2-3 year period that I'm making observations. On the other hand, I don't think I used to have this muffin top. :(
It feels like spring is never going to arrive. There is still snow on the ground and more is forecast for Thursday. Jenny F., maybe you should reconsider the Midwest, because it really sucks this year, even though I was one of those people who said it was just great and winter is no big deal and you get to wear fun hats.
We learned this weekend that S4 is pregnant with her third kid. yay! But it means that my parent's house is going to be even more jam packed with people at holidays. I love our fun and chaotic gatherings, but boy are there a lot of people.
EGM and I went on a big long walk before dinner and I dominated our conversation with my anxiety over paper revisions. I'm feeling a little depressed about work, mainly because rethinking everything I wrote seems hard. Here's an insight into me: I tell horrible, long boring stories with anticlimactic endings. Every group of friends I have ever made has come to the same conclusion. So while EGM tells me every details of his work, I end up not talking about work stuff so much because I'm worried about being boring. But tonight I let loose and it helped me work out some ideas. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day for rewriting. Also, I hate admitting that the revisions feel hard because I feel annoyed when other people whine (too much) about this sort of thing.
Why, oh why, do I feel like I'm getting bigger yet I continue to wear the same size pants? I've gained a few pounds, probably less than 10, since college. Yet, I periodically feel like my jeans get too tight and I phase them out. I buy new pairs, but they are the same size in the same brands! WTF? Do they shrink over time with multiple washings? Do the sizes vary pair-to-pair? Does the fashionable cut change over time such that what seems tight is actually just a little out of style? It's possible that the sizes are increasing (i.e, today's 6 is tomorrow's 8), but it seems unlikely over the 2-3 year period that I'm making observations. On the other hand, I don't think I used to have this muffin top. :(
It feels like spring is never going to arrive. There is still snow on the ground and more is forecast for Thursday. Jenny F., maybe you should reconsider the Midwest, because it really sucks this year, even though I was one of those people who said it was just great and winter is no big deal and you get to wear fun hats.
We learned this weekend that S4 is pregnant with her third kid. yay! But it means that my parent's house is going to be even more jam packed with people at holidays. I love our fun and chaotic gatherings, but boy are there a lot of people.
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