When last I reported to you, I mentioned that Tyler was really getting into squealing. Well he's moved past that and onto the 'raspberry' or 'zerbert', if you're a Preecs. The funny thing now is that he's doing it very deliberately now. He'll be sitting there and you'll see him get his concentrating face on, take in a deep breath, and then zerbert for a good 5 or 10 seconds, a whole sentence made out of rapidly vibrating lips. It's very impressive, and he seems to really get a kick out of it. It's definitely less haphazard than previous audio attempts. Vocals level up!
He might be teething? It's hard to say until we see a first tooth and can, therefore, attribute whatever fussiness happened over the past few days to that. He's certainly not too fussy and hasn't been losing any sleep, though he does drool a lot and likes munching on inanimate objects, especially the cloth diapers we have reserved for burp cloths. We might be seeing the early signs of something coming through the lower jaw, but as much as we are learning about Tyler, we still don't know what teething gums look like yet, and he's squirmy enough that he doesn't often let us really get a good look at his mouth. He's usually too busy trying to get it clamped around something. Oh, and yesterday when he was fussing before being put down for bed, I walked up and put my finger in his mouth for him to munch on. It fills up his mouth, so he just makes a 'mmm-mmm' sound while he's doing it, but I've discovered that if I open up his mouth with my finger a bit, he goes from 'mmm' to 'aaah'. So I've given Jessie a preview of what it's going to sound like when Tyler starts saying 'Mama.' She was quite enchanted.
In sports news, He's definitely gotten stronger. He gets a lot of tummy time and can push his head up and his chest clear off the ground. Tiny baby pushups! So cute. He's clearly trying to figure out how this whole 'crawling' thing is supposed to work, but at the moment, all he can do is push himself up, and then lift his arms and head and legs off the ground and balance on his tummy. It looks like hard work even to me! He doesn't get too far, but it lets him turn a little bit, and it's gotta be fantastic exercise. It's much more deliberate, too. It's not the random flailing of a newborn anymore, he's trying things out and attempting to get things done. Movement level up!
I know proper crawling doesn't happen for a while yet (month 9, reportedly), but any excuse to get things done. This past weekend we had a massive to-do list that Jess and I tackled as a team. We went to Ikea to get some doors for the entertainment center to keep inquisitive hands off the flashing lights, then went to Costco and got a bunch of food and the baby store and got some baby-proofing gear. So far I've just put baby locks on the area below the sink and the liquor cabinet (mostly due to glass, not alcoholism). We also put some foam on the stone trim of the fireplace (low, hard, and jaggy, a rough combination) and also on the coffee table by his play place. I also fixed a broken cabinet drawer (that was a pain), did the laundry and the dishes, vacuumed, mopped, moved the changing station downstairs, and any number of other odds and ends. Jess cooked several frozen dinners, cooked up cookies, refilled the hummingbird feeder, and took care of Tyler. We destroyed that to-do list, let me tell you.
And even with all of that, we managed to go out to a party on Saturday, and we even brought Tyler along. Some of Jessie's hockey team was meeting up for food and fun times. We brought Tyler along to show him off. He was a perfect gentleman the whole time, being cute and quiet and letting strangers hold him and even flashing several of his winning smiles for the ladies. We let him stay up past his bedtime, which meant it was a little harder getting him to sleep that night, but on the plus side, his morning nap was three hours long the next morning, so he caught up.
We see Tyler in the morning before we leave, getting him ready for the morning wake-up he'll have to do when he goes off to day care, and it lets Jessie see him in the morning which puts her in a much better mood for the day. Grandma has been doing a fine job taking care of him, and she's even been writing down his schedule so we can better train the Preecs Family Day Care Squad when they come to visit. I'm planning to take off Mondays when new people are in town just to help people get used to Tyler and help Tyler get used to people. We know all the tricks, but that's mostly because we where there when the tricks got invented.
We read to Tyler a lot, and we have A-B-C flash cards we show to him, even though it's way to early for him to worry about learning most of that stuff. I kind of like the idea that we teach him stuff too early. It gives us more to do with him and who knows, maybe he'll be the earliest-reading baby of all time. It can't hurt to try.
-N
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Monday, July 25, 2011
New Computer- Thanks Parents!
My NEW computer arrived today, to work, there the friendly UPS guy brought it up to the lab. The new computer has several advantages. It hasn't yet threatened to overheat, none of the edges are sharp or broken, and it runs a modern enough browser I can use G+. Actually, the other computer WOULD have run a modern browser, if it weren't FULL. So yes, several upgrades right out of the box. And it is quite pretty to boot.
I did, in the end, opt to switch back to a PC- it's cheaper, and my experience with the Macbook wasn't so outstanding (remember that time my hard drive died?) that I have an Apple allegiance. Just the iPod! All this does mean I am making some adjustments. Right clicks, for example, are hard to get used to. And the software on the mac was about half a decade behind what the PC is running. But, the PC runs it faster! Let's all thank the parents for the end of Mackbook whines, as a birth-uation present to us all.
Matt is helping me stage the transition of files and settings to the new computer, and also install the fistfull of software I picked up from Pitt this afternoon (still at student prices until I both to pay the $85 graduation fee). Matt seems to think you'll want to know it is a Lenovo Ideapad, Core i5. I thought you might like to know that the inside is a pretty brushed metal. Oh, and it has way better minigames than solitaire and minesweeper. Hooray! Thanks Mom and Dad!
I did, in the end, opt to switch back to a PC- it's cheaper, and my experience with the Macbook wasn't so outstanding (remember that time my hard drive died?) that I have an Apple allegiance. Just the iPod! All this does mean I am making some adjustments. Right clicks, for example, are hard to get used to. And the software on the mac was about half a decade behind what the PC is running. But, the PC runs it faster! Let's all thank the parents for the end of Mackbook whines, as a birth-uation present to us all.
Matt is helping me stage the transition of files and settings to the new computer, and also install the fistfull of software I picked up from Pitt this afternoon (still at student prices until I both to pay the $85 graduation fee). Matt seems to think you'll want to know it is a Lenovo Ideapad, Core i5. I thought you might like to know that the inside is a pretty brushed metal. Oh, and it has way better minigames than solitaire and minesweeper. Hooray! Thanks Mom and Dad!
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Something new
If I am to be honest, there are not many aspects of the job hunt that are fun, and there isn't a good way to me to enjoy the parts that I do enjoy. I like telling people what I am learning while I am poking around- it helps me organize my thoughts, and I like to imagine it might benefit some of my peers. But let's be serious, my angst over graduating and worries over where to go while I sit at home and let Matt make bank are not really problems, in the scale of problems. It is hard not to dissolve into whining when I am talking with my friends or husband, and I don't really want to wear them out.
All of this combined to a pretty hysterical job hunt last week prompted me to start writing about it elsewhere. I think that this will perhaps benefit me by serving as a writing sample that does not include a lot of personal information, and perhaps preserve some of these details for when my peers/ colleagues might want to be reminded of them. I am collecting my resources and experiences on a blog at careerscientist.blogspot.com
You are welcome to check it out, please let me know if you run across typos or you think I am writing things that might be negatively tied to my online presence (I am thinking about that quite a lot these days). If you know anyone else who might be interested, please share it! Or you can ignore it- it is probably boring content for non-job-hunting-biologists, and I will still be writing here. I wanted to share since I am kind of excited to have a positive outlet for my experience.
All of this combined to a pretty hysterical job hunt last week prompted me to start writing about it elsewhere. I think that this will perhaps benefit me by serving as a writing sample that does not include a lot of personal information, and perhaps preserve some of these details for when my peers/ colleagues might want to be reminded of them. I am collecting my resources and experiences on a blog at careerscientist.blogspot.com
You are welcome to check it out, please let me know if you run across typos or you think I am writing things that might be negatively tied to my online presence (I am thinking about that quite a lot these days). If you know anyone else who might be interested, please share it! Or you can ignore it- it is probably boring content for non-job-hunting-biologists, and I will still be writing here. I wanted to share since I am kind of excited to have a positive outlet for my experience.
Friday, July 22, 2011
The new me!
One of the things I am finding particularly challenging about job hunting is the need to constantly reinvent myself. I am trying to be flexible about what type of work I can do or accept. This means every time I look at a job, I am assessing if I could do it, if I could succeed, does that get me on track to something else, could I live there? Case in point, this week I applied to be a diary fermentation technician in the Netherlands (cheesemaking might be my calling!), a microbiologist at a diagnostic lab in Fairbanks, and a biological modeler at a biotech across the river. How different would my life be? Somehow, it's a little easier to take rejection of these new versions of myself (yeah, my future might not be in cheese making), but it is hard to keep a sense of what I am really looking for and who I really am in the face of constant redefinition.
However, my friends here are keeping me occupied and upbeat. I had a great birthday- thanks for all the birthday wishes! We had a indulgent trip to a tapas restaurant and plan to host a cocktail party at the house tomorrow. Sounds like a great way to beat the heat- we've had Severe Weather Warnings with combination swampy air and heat for the last couple days, and no sign of a break.
However, my friends here are keeping me occupied and upbeat. I had a great birthday- thanks for all the birthday wishes! We had a indulgent trip to a tapas restaurant and plan to host a cocktail party at the house tomorrow. Sounds like a great way to beat the heat- we've had Severe Weather Warnings with combination swampy air and heat for the last couple days, and no sign of a break.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Tyler: Week Something
We've gotten a lot better at getting Tyler to laugh. One of his favorite jokes is for us to make silly noises. It's pretty much the only joke we've been able to tell him so far, but he hasn't gotten tired of it yet. He's also getting much stronger, though still in tiny increments. He's briefly been able to pull himself up into crawling position, which means I need to get on this whole 'babyproof the house' thing without too much delay. This may require significant changes to the entertainment center and cable management in general. We have a lot of power cords around here. (Power Chords?)
He gets really excited when he wants to stand up, too. He arches his back and flexes his tiny little ab muscles. Then I give him both my thumbs and tell him to pull and he pulls himself up. So two thumbs up is currently baby sign language for 'go ahead and stand up'. He is a world champion sleeper, too. He's gotten so good that as soon as he recognizes that he's in his room, he doesn't even want to be rocked anymore. He just wants to get put in his crib so he can get down to the important job of sleeping all night. What a great baby.
This weekend we took him out to his first time at the swimming pool. It was the smallest “time spent at pool” to “required effort before and after” in the history of mankind. We had to assemble all the stuff, and there was rather a lot of it, and then eat some food because we were hungry, and then we walked to the pool. Once there we got Tyler in his cute little swimming gear and just tooled around in the wading pool. He didn't play too much, but he enjoyed the scenery if nothing else. And we got some really cute pictures. Jess said he was done after only about half an hour or an hour at the pool, and I thought she was being silly until I saw his little farmers tan later in the afternoon. Too much more sun and he would have been pushing sunburn territory, so I'm glad Jess insisted on heading home when we did. Though afterwords we had to hang up all the towels and swimsuits, so there was definitely a lot of effort all around.
I've gone into the last two weekends with the intent of trying to write some music, but so far nothing has come of it. I'm trying to think of a way to concoct an entire idea for a song before I get too deep into the writing and burn myself out on any one particular sound. I've tried visualizing some ideas, but so far nothing has stuck. If I figured out a better method and manage to create something, you all will be the first to know.
-N
He gets really excited when he wants to stand up, too. He arches his back and flexes his tiny little ab muscles. Then I give him both my thumbs and tell him to pull and he pulls himself up. So two thumbs up is currently baby sign language for 'go ahead and stand up'. He is a world champion sleeper, too. He's gotten so good that as soon as he recognizes that he's in his room, he doesn't even want to be rocked anymore. He just wants to get put in his crib so he can get down to the important job of sleeping all night. What a great baby.
This weekend we took him out to his first time at the swimming pool. It was the smallest “time spent at pool” to “required effort before and after” in the history of mankind. We had to assemble all the stuff, and there was rather a lot of it, and then eat some food because we were hungry, and then we walked to the pool. Once there we got Tyler in his cute little swimming gear and just tooled around in the wading pool. He didn't play too much, but he enjoyed the scenery if nothing else. And we got some really cute pictures. Jess said he was done after only about half an hour or an hour at the pool, and I thought she was being silly until I saw his little farmers tan later in the afternoon. Too much more sun and he would have been pushing sunburn territory, so I'm glad Jess insisted on heading home when we did. Though afterwords we had to hang up all the towels and swimsuits, so there was definitely a lot of effort all around.
I've gone into the last two weekends with the intent of trying to write some music, but so far nothing has come of it. I'm trying to think of a way to concoct an entire idea for a song before I get too deep into the writing and burn myself out on any one particular sound. I've tried visualizing some ideas, but so far nothing has stuck. If I figured out a better method and manage to create something, you all will be the first to know.
-N
Sunday, July 17, 2011
It's hard not to worry
This job market blows. That's what the news says, the unemployment numbers and everything. It's not really surprising, but it means some things for me personally. It means I can't pursue my dream job (science policy) right now- that is, I pursued, but it didn't go anywhere. It means I am already on Plan B and starting to toy with Plan C. Plan B has always been Get A Regular Job in Science. Plan C is Get a Post-doc job. A regular job would be great, but the market is too impacted with people who have more experience or connections or whatever than me. I can't just not work and expect this to change much, so I am going to look for the one job I know I can get. I'm not thrilled about post-docing (which is a training position, meant to provide the additional experience required for a serious Professor Job, an for other jobs is just a rubber stamp to confirm other people think you are hire-able, from what I can tell). But market forces are suggesting that's my best bet. And by market forces, I mean I apply for half a dozen jobs every week, and haven't heard back from an employer in months.
Being patient lasted until I defended. Now I am just ticking off time until my current position expires, and I need to get a lot more aggressive about getting a plan in place. Esp because a post-doc usually takes 6 months to put together- after you've identified a person who is willing to hire you. So, now I am trying to start two kinds of job searches- 1 for jobs I can get as a scientist (geographically anywhere), and 1 for post-docs that will help me get the jobs I want (geographically limited to places I actually want to live). Jobs I want I don't seem to qualify for (and yes, I apply anyway).
The funny thing is, it's really not important to me to Be a Scientist at this point- I'd like to find some satisying work that helps people and where I can be valued and may get to learn some new things. But the only jobs I have any competency for are in science. So I guess I'm stuck on the treadmill, becoming a scientist because that's what I've been good at so far. I'm making plans for places I'd like to volunteer to stay professionally relevant during my "sabbatical," and I'm having nearly weekly meetings with various contacts who might be able to provide me with useful information for my job search. So far, all I'm coming up with is to stay the course, find a post-doc and accept the federal wage and wait to get benefits and hope that in a couple years I'll have the training or contacts needed to succeed in a better job market. Plan D is of course, find any kind of professional opportunity, but since this is the track I know least about, I am most hesitant to pursue it. The whole process is frusterating and draining, and I'm hoping won't take much longer- but I am bracing to have much more free time on my hands.
Anyway- if you know anyone looking to hire someone smart and interested in trying something new.... give me a heads up!
Being patient lasted until I defended. Now I am just ticking off time until my current position expires, and I need to get a lot more aggressive about getting a plan in place. Esp because a post-doc usually takes 6 months to put together- after you've identified a person who is willing to hire you. So, now I am trying to start two kinds of job searches- 1 for jobs I can get as a scientist (geographically anywhere), and 1 for post-docs that will help me get the jobs I want (geographically limited to places I actually want to live). Jobs I want I don't seem to qualify for (and yes, I apply anyway).
The funny thing is, it's really not important to me to Be a Scientist at this point- I'd like to find some satisying work that helps people and where I can be valued and may get to learn some new things. But the only jobs I have any competency for are in science. So I guess I'm stuck on the treadmill, becoming a scientist because that's what I've been good at so far. I'm making plans for places I'd like to volunteer to stay professionally relevant during my "sabbatical," and I'm having nearly weekly meetings with various contacts who might be able to provide me with useful information for my job search. So far, all I'm coming up with is to stay the course, find a post-doc and accept the federal wage and wait to get benefits and hope that in a couple years I'll have the training or contacts needed to succeed in a better job market. Plan D is of course, find any kind of professional opportunity, but since this is the track I know least about, I am most hesitant to pursue it. The whole process is frusterating and draining, and I'm hoping won't take much longer- but I am bracing to have much more free time on my hands.
Anyway- if you know anyone looking to hire someone smart and interested in trying something new.... give me a heads up!
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Week 2 post-defense
I'm trying to let my personal life take charge for a little while. Work is still challenging and confusing, but the point of all this madness is that I've paid my dues now, so I'm try to enjoy it a little. Manuscript #2 came back with requests for MAJOR revisions almost immediately, but I'm not going to let that get to me- I imagine the reviewer as some old curmudgeon with nothing to do but act as gatekeeper to the archives of science. We'll sort him soon enough. I've finished making changes to my dissertation and sent a draft of the 220page PDF to the formatting bureaucrats for their approval. In the mean time, ...
Beer club is having regular meetings again, I've been to the farmer's market and watched the the last Harry Potter movie. This is a good idea, because I am going to watch the next one at midnight tomorrow! Matt and I have been playing Little Big Planet like it's 2007, which is both fun, and sign of the fact we actually get to hang out now. I really like that, Matt is pretty cool.
The need to find a job is starting to feel pressing again. I'm trying to be open to opportunity, flexible about my requirements and proactive. So far, no interviews since June- and that job didn't get funded. Hearing the latest economic reports about the state of the economy is not encouraging, so keep and ear out for me people!
Beer club is having regular meetings again, I've been to the farmer's market and watched the the last Harry Potter movie. This is a good idea, because I am going to watch the next one at midnight tomorrow! Matt and I have been playing Little Big Planet like it's 2007, which is both fun, and sign of the fact we actually get to hang out now. I really like that, Matt is pretty cool.
The need to find a job is starting to feel pressing again. I'm trying to be open to opportunity, flexible about my requirements and proactive. So far, no interviews since June- and that job didn't get funded. Hearing the latest economic reports about the state of the economy is not encouraging, so keep and ear out for me people!
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Tyler Growing Up, still
The benchmarks keep coming. Tyler has started rolling from his back onto his stomach, though it's pretty rare. The most common place to see this phenomenon is actually when he is in bed. We put him down in some random position and he kicks and squirms and shakes so much that when we come by to pick him up he's usually facing a completely different way and is occasionally on his stomach. We got him from a nap this afternoon and watched him scrabble and grab all over the bed. I wonder what he was dreaming of. He was in a bad mood afterwards, though, so it might have been a bad dream. We picked him up and calmed him down, though, which always makes you feel like something of a superhero.
We've also started to get a lot more sounds out of him. I've had entire conversations with him that consist of nothing but squeals. I'm not sure what information he thinks he's conveying, but hey definitely enjoys the interaction. There's often a subtle but critical transitions between squeals of delight and the early signs of crying, though, so it pays to pay attention.
Tyler is starting to interact with the cats, too. We mostly just supervise and let Tyler feel their soft fur, which he really seems to enjoy, even if it is clear that what he really wants to do it grab them and stuff them in his mouth. Anyway, the cats are starting to like it too. When they're nice to Tyler, they get treats; an arrangement they're quite happy to support.
We had a gaggle of family visiting this weekend. Still do, actually. Jessie's grandmother is here with us for most of a week. She's been as entranced as anyone by his charms and cuteness, even though he is great grandson number 10. And she also has number 11 already. Clearly he is the cutest one, though. So since she was here, some near-ish-by family dropped by and spent the night last night. Good thing we have a big house. I'd have to bust out the family tree to be absolutely sure how they are related, but let's just call them an Aunt, a Cousin, and a Second-Cousin and just call it done. The second-cousin was 10, and it was nice to see her interacting with Tyler. She and he got along really well, and she even went out running with us, which was really nice. Made me feel like a nice, supporting influence. Getting ready for when I get to do stuff like that with Tyler. Anyway, we went out to dinner with everyone, chatted a lot, and generally had a really nice time.
Then I've been playing video games all day today. And if you haven't noticed, and you care about video games, today is the final day of the steam summer sale. You can pick up a bevy of games for very, very low prices. Jump on that if you like. And then add me to your friend list. Considering all the people I know, I have a surprisingly small number of actual friends to play video games with. Come on, Nana, let's go play some Grand Theft Auto!
July 4 came and went with little fanfare, not the least of which because we've been seriously drought-cursed for a while and everything is far to dry for amateurs to be setting off fireworks. Probably not a bad call. It's looking like a short but intense bout of rain might be on the horizon, which would be great for checking to make sure our roof is fixed. Last time we got a burst of rain we discovered a leak over our breakfast nook. We had someone come by earlier this week to try and repair it, and they re-did the layout of some of the tiles and got rid of some rusty nails and improved the sealant. I would like some good rain just to see if it worked. It's been dry enough, though, that whatever water got in there has almost certainly dried out completely.
Man, pictures. I need to sort through some, but we had the four-generations come through on Jessie's side of the family and so we had a photographer drop by last Saturday and get some great photos. We'll share them soon, I hope. Our new, sexy camera has been getting an occasional workout as well. It takes a whole lot of pictures, though, and I don't always sort through them. Good way to use up a hard drive.
-N
We've also started to get a lot more sounds out of him. I've had entire conversations with him that consist of nothing but squeals. I'm not sure what information he thinks he's conveying, but hey definitely enjoys the interaction. There's often a subtle but critical transitions between squeals of delight and the early signs of crying, though, so it pays to pay attention.
Tyler is starting to interact with the cats, too. We mostly just supervise and let Tyler feel their soft fur, which he really seems to enjoy, even if it is clear that what he really wants to do it grab them and stuff them in his mouth. Anyway, the cats are starting to like it too. When they're nice to Tyler, they get treats; an arrangement they're quite happy to support.
We had a gaggle of family visiting this weekend. Still do, actually. Jessie's grandmother is here with us for most of a week. She's been as entranced as anyone by his charms and cuteness, even though he is great grandson number 10. And she also has number 11 already. Clearly he is the cutest one, though. So since she was here, some near-ish-by family dropped by and spent the night last night. Good thing we have a big house. I'd have to bust out the family tree to be absolutely sure how they are related, but let's just call them an Aunt, a Cousin, and a Second-Cousin and just call it done. The second-cousin was 10, and it was nice to see her interacting with Tyler. She and he got along really well, and she even went out running with us, which was really nice. Made me feel like a nice, supporting influence. Getting ready for when I get to do stuff like that with Tyler. Anyway, we went out to dinner with everyone, chatted a lot, and generally had a really nice time.
Then I've been playing video games all day today. And if you haven't noticed, and you care about video games, today is the final day of the steam summer sale. You can pick up a bevy of games for very, very low prices. Jump on that if you like. And then add me to your friend list. Considering all the people I know, I have a surprisingly small number of actual friends to play video games with. Come on, Nana, let's go play some Grand Theft Auto!
July 4 came and went with little fanfare, not the least of which because we've been seriously drought-cursed for a while and everything is far to dry for amateurs to be setting off fireworks. Probably not a bad call. It's looking like a short but intense bout of rain might be on the horizon, which would be great for checking to make sure our roof is fixed. Last time we got a burst of rain we discovered a leak over our breakfast nook. We had someone come by earlier this week to try and repair it, and they re-did the layout of some of the tiles and got rid of some rusty nails and improved the sealant. I would like some good rain just to see if it worked. It's been dry enough, though, that whatever water got in there has almost certainly dried out completely.
Man, pictures. I need to sort through some, but we had the four-generations come through on Jessie's side of the family and so we had a photographer drop by last Saturday and get some great photos. We'll share them soon, I hope. Our new, sexy camera has been getting an occasional workout as well. It takes a whole lot of pictures, though, and I don't always sort through them. Good way to use up a hard drive.
-N
Being done with school is WAY more fun
In the last week, I've been to the amusement park, had tacos for happy hour, got to hang around with my husband on TWO consecutive nights with nothing to do but watch TV and play videogames. I've started reading a new book that is FUN (The Geography of Bliss- thanks Nana!), and I've cooked dinner. It's so nice to think about the weekend in terms of "What fun can I have?" and not "What work do I need to catch up on?"
Matt did really well in his race on Saturday, coming in 7th in a field of 50 is pretty impressive for his first ever road race, on a route he'd never seen. I'll take credit for the carbo loading, finally, an athletic event I can excel at. That's pretty much what's going on here.
Matt did really well in his race on Saturday, coming in 7th in a field of 50 is pretty impressive for his first ever road race, on a route he'd never seen. I'll take credit for the carbo loading, finally, an athletic event I can excel at. That's pretty much what's going on here.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Getting done and getting back to normal
As Dad pointed out, I defended my Ph.D.! This is a big milestone for me, and it was really fantastic to have my family around to help celebrate what has felt like a very personal struggle culminating in such success! Much fun (and food!) was had by all over the weekend, and served as a well needed break.
Because when I got back to work on Tuesday... there were literally 1,000 pages of comments waiting on my desk- that is 2 full reams of paper, dog eared and with post-it notes sticking out. That actually has been fairly managable to tackle, and I expect I'll be done with the worst by the end of the week. But I'm not sure yet, since I am doing some experiments this week too- I feel like I'm getting right back to normal. Well, not normal, precisely. Absolutely better. I don't feel anxiety about coming in to work, mostly because the one most important thing I've had to worry about (getting my degree), I got, and they can't take it back. My papers may never get published and it may take a long time to get a job, but I've got the degree.
And otherwise things are moving along. I'm covering some experiments for my undergrad while he crams for the MCATs, hoping we can all get a manuscript 3 or 5 or whatever out of this deal... Oh, and good news, Manuscript #2 was resubmitted today. I'm fairly confident it will be accepted, and hoping that can move forward quickly, since a publication would greatly improve my scientist credibility. This paper has been a lot of back and forth with the collaborators in many timezones, and although I am the first author, I've had very little influence on the actual written document (for better or for worse). For me it has been easy to participate in, although if I had any more pull on the project, I'd have written it up differently- but it probably wouldn't have been as interesting to the people we want reading it that way. I'll happily overlook all that if it gets published, so keep your fingers crossed!
Because when I got back to work on Tuesday... there were literally 1,000 pages of comments waiting on my desk- that is 2 full reams of paper, dog eared and with post-it notes sticking out. That actually has been fairly managable to tackle, and I expect I'll be done with the worst by the end of the week. But I'm not sure yet, since I am doing some experiments this week too- I feel like I'm getting right back to normal. Well, not normal, precisely. Absolutely better. I don't feel anxiety about coming in to work, mostly because the one most important thing I've had to worry about (getting my degree), I got, and they can't take it back. My papers may never get published and it may take a long time to get a job, but I've got the degree.
And otherwise things are moving along. I'm covering some experiments for my undergrad while he crams for the MCATs, hoping we can all get a manuscript 3 or 5 or whatever out of this deal... Oh, and good news, Manuscript #2 was resubmitted today. I'm fairly confident it will be accepted, and hoping that can move forward quickly, since a publication would greatly improve my scientist credibility. This paper has been a lot of back and forth with the collaborators in many timezones, and although I am the first author, I've had very little influence on the actual written document (for better or for worse). For me it has been easy to participate in, although if I had any more pull on the project, I'd have written it up differently- but it probably wouldn't have been as interesting to the people we want reading it that way. I'll happily overlook all that if it gets published, so keep your fingers crossed!
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