Where do I look?

There is this really long hallway where I work, ~175 ft long. The offices are along one side and the labs are on the other. There are 15-20 people who work in this area and frequently walk the length of the hallway throughout the day, going between labs and offices, etc. It can be sort of awkward though: after you've passed the same person 6 times in an afternoon, do you still say hi? smile? nod? look away? I find it difficult to ignore someone I know who is passing within 3 feet of me. However, I do sometimes concentrate on the floor in an OCD kind of way as I walk; I like to step on the floor tiles where the pattern is parallel to my feet.


Perhaps I should suggest that we give each other high fives every time we pass. That would liven up the day.

Making lucky

You know that dictum that luck is the intersection of preparation and opportunity? Well, today I experienced a small example of that.

We have all these interns this summer. In the past, our interns have frequently had chunks of time with nothing to do, like if they are waiting for samples to dry/get wet/incubate/die. Since their projects have to be very small and discreet so they can finish in 10-12 weeks, they don't have side work on hand to fill up these gaps. I have learned to capitalize on these windows by having easy but boring work available for them at a moment's notice, stuff that that someone can do with very little additional training and that sucks to do for days on end but isn't so bad for a few hours. In fact, I save up this kind of work for just these occasions. I figure I can always do it myself eventually, but I don't want to miss the opportunity for help because I didn't have something easy for a helper to do.

Today, not one but two interns had 2-3 hours with nothing to do, so Awesome Technician put them to work on my stuff. I was thrilled. We both knew there was a more important and time sensitive task that they should probably have been assigned to, but everyone else was out of the lab today and none of them had given AT instructions for it, so my stuff was all she could think of. Lucky.

Getting bigger

Summer has finally arrived 'round these parts, so I dug out some summer clothes stored from last year. It's not pretty, folks. I have to face an undeniable reality that my loose and stretchy winter sweaters let me ignore: I have gained weight.

I have been about the same weight my whole adult life. I might edge up a little over winter and then slim down a smidge in summer, but I until recently I could still fit some clothes from high school. Lately, however, I've been feeling like my good jeans are uncomfortable and my loose jeans have become good jeans. Ugh.

Last January, I had this idea that I would do video Pilates workouts every day. I wanted to observe if it impacted my physique, so like a good scientist I took my measurements as a baseline (the Pilates didn't produce measurable changes in four months' time). The other day I found the paper where I recorded those measurements, so I busted out the measuring tape to do a comparison. Whoa. I increased more than 2 inches everywhere but my bust (why isn't it ever in the bust first?).

I don't own a scale, so I have no idea how much I've gained. But the extra needs to go. I have had enough warning from observing the weight gain and subsequent dieting of a mom and four sisters to know what can happen if I blow it off. Not healthy.

I feel conflicted writing this post on this blog. It feels very anti-feminist to be fretting about a little weight gain. I don't think women need to be super slim to be successful or worthwhile. Also, I kinda feel like an ass for complaining about a few pounds after years of stable weight when so many people I know, probably including some readers, have fought their weight forever. So why do I care about a few extra pounds? Partly, I don't want to have to buy new clothes in a bigger size. Partly, I feel uncomfortable in a body that somehow feels less limber and lithe. Partly, I don't want my weight to get out of control so I develop knee problems like my mom. Partly, I feel like if my body was the same weight for so long, it was probably a healthy weight. And partly, I'm a little vain.

So, I'm going to start getting more exercise each day. The weather is good now so I can walk or jog outside. And I'll be more observant of WW points. EGM has been doing Weight Watchers for almost a year now but doesn't really count points. I think we should get back into that habit. I think what I'm noticing is the decreasing metabolism with age, because I don't feel like there has been a big change in my habits. Although clever readers may note that it is odd that this is coincident with adding chicken back into my diet in January.

Back

I'm back! Actually, I've been back for a few days but I haven't gotten around to posting because I had so many posts to read. You people are just far too interesting.

So, the meeting was fine. It was an annual workshop that I've attended before, so I didn't get as much out of it this time. The participants were all students, at all levels, in a range of disciplines. Personally, I think the workshop program needs major overhauling in order to meet the very difficult task of providing something valuable to all members of such a wide audience. They ask us to come for an entire week in June, the time when people are finally freed from the classroom to focus on research or need to be working outdoors in the field, so I think we should be able expect to really benefit from the program that takes us away at such a crucial time. The worst part for me was listening to several of the same talks, positively steeped in opinion, that I heard last year. The best part was interacting with the many undergrads who were eager to learn all about grad school, what it's like to do research, and the science everyone is doing. The even better part was that more than 50% of the people there were women, some from very male-dominated fields.

My talk was okay, but not as seamless and interesting as I would have liked. As I was working on it, I realized that I don't have a super good grasp of how the work fits with some of the recent literature. One lab group has published several very nice papers in the last 6 months or so that put forth a new concept substantiated with several lines of observational evidence. I need to study those papers to figure out how my research adds to that body of work rather than simply confirming it. So, that's why my talk last week was so unsatisfying. However, I think I know what I need to do next (before my presentation at the big August meeting).

Since I've been back, I learned that Research Advisor finally started to do a Lab Thing that has been holding me up. She didn't finish it, but we decided I could move on with part of it in the meantime. I'm glad because waiting for her had me suck on two different projects and I was starting to resent it. But before I do any work in that lab space, I have to clean it because someone did Something Bad in it and now I don't trust the integrity of samples processed in it. Poo. On the personal side, yesterday we met a bunch of friends at a festival where I saw 1. a man wearing a black cowboy hat, cowboy boots, and tiny briefs that had "evil" written in glitter across the ass, and nothing else. and 2. a man wearing tiny denim briefs and nothing else. There was also a marching band band that was awesome and seriously, the most openly-affectionate same-sex couples I've ever seen. That was really cool. Today I had grand plans for doing all sorts of housework, work reading, etc., but ALL I've done is read blog posts. Maybe I'll get my ass into gear and at least go to the grocery store.

Travel anxiety and procrastination

I'm going on a trip tomorrow. I have to attend a workshop for my fellowship program during which I will give a 30-45 min talk (nice that they were so clear with the time expectations, eh?). The talk isn't finished yet, but it shouldn't take me too long to polish it off. Too bad I'm blogging instead.

I always get a lot of anxiety before I travel, especially when it's for work. I get nervous about making my flight, how I'm going to get to the airport, how I'm going to find the hotel, etc. I mentally list what I'm going to wear so I don't end up short a shirt or something. I also worry about my talk/poster. I'll have visions of forgetting the poster tube or bringing the wrong memory stick. I'm usually fine with actually giving the presentation, but I get anxious about everything up until the session starts.

I best get back to work on the talk so I can go to bed early tonight and enjoy the afternoon in conference city tomorrow with some of the fellows with whom I have become friends at past workshops. Also, I'm not sure if I'll be blogging while I'm away, but with the infrequency of my posts lately, that should be nothing new.

Summer students swarm serene science space, create chaos

There are six extra people in our lab this summer, plus a temp who is finishing up a 5-month gig. There will also be a visiting post doc for a few weeks in July (staying at my place) and a post doc who has a joint appointment with another lab who will be with us more than usual. For reference, there are only eight of us there full-time year-round.

I enjoy having interns and visiting faculty around. The work that has become hum-drum to us is fresh to new people; their enthusiasm can enliven the mostly repetitive and often boring work we do. Also, it is exciting to see so much get done so quickly.

It takes good organization and communication to train and manage all those people, many of whom do not have much lab experience. Even the ones who have spent some time in labs don’t know how our lab operates (obviously), so they need a lot of help. If we don’t keep up with their needs, things can get royally f’d up. Regular readers may recall that our lab has occasional organizational shortcomings; I always get tense at the start of the summer before we know what the interns are like. Good ones make the summers rock out, but so-so ones can wreak havoc without even knowing it (if we were more organized or better mentors, we could probably circumvent problems).

Today was good though. I knew others would be working in the same area as me, so I got started in the lab straight away to could claim some space and supplies. One by one, people joined me and managed to squeeze in so everybody could work. An interesting if tedious highlight was sitting quietly while three different interns got trained by three different people at different points in the day to do almost the same thing. But the best part was with the temp: housekeeping is a perennial problem for us so yesterday I had asked her to clean up a big mess she had neglected for days and days and today she did it! I was the first to leave this afternoon, so we’ll see how the space looks tomorrow morning.

I hope today signals the start of a fun and productive summer.

RBOC

• I have been having a hard time putting myself to bed lately. I just stay up doing stupid shit like doing crossword puzzles online, which are a new mini-obsession. This means that I am a) grouchy and b) not productive sitting at my desk. I've been doing more in the lab lately to avoid staring into space when I'm supposed to be writing a talk for a workshop next week.
• The summer students have arrived. I like the feeling of intense productivity during the busy, well staffed summers. On the other hand, the lab gets crowded and messy and that drives me fucking nuts. There may be more on this later.
• I had an awesome time meeting some other bloggers this weekend. They were remarkably similar to how I'd imagined them. There may be more on this later, too.
• I watched the Ricky Bobby movie tonight. The extras were better than the movie.
• EGM recently learned that he has to skip a paycheck, so we are trying to be frugal and go easy at the grocery store. While annoying, I'm glad to be more mindful of how we shop and eat. I feel like Arduous. There will probably be more on this at The Economical Academic soon.
• I gotta go to bed now before my face falls in my keyboard or I pick a fight with EGM for no good reason. G'night.