A couple of weeks ago Boyfriend and I went hiking at Susquehannock State Park. I've spouted a bunch of resolutions off, and one more that I made for the both of us is to get out for a hike at least once each month. Here are a few photos...
I used to be a grad student. And now I'm not (thank goodness). I spent a year as a post doc in industry in Baltimore before starting a "real" job with the same company. These are my tales of science, food, travel, and life.
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Not cool.
Hey, guys - can we talk about something? Namely, how NOT cool it is to lose your cool at work. I don't mind swearing in some circumstances, and I certainly understand that you're frustrated that things aren't working, but really, it's not cool to throw a hissy fit at work. It is so incredibly uncomfortable to sit there awkwardly while a grown man loses it in the lab. There's a second coworker who swears like a sailor under his breath at the other end of the lab on a regular basis. This happens so often I have to wonder if he has Tourette's or thinks I'm deaf and can't hear him. Other, more level-headed coworkers have assured me neither is the case. Anyways, just a friendly word of advice, if you can't keep your cool at work, step out until you've pulled it together. Your coworkers will be so very grateful.
Monday, January 14, 2013
Good Riddance
A few weeks ago Tiff (of dissertation date fame) asked if I missed Tucson at all, and while I do miss somethings about Tucson, I DO NOT AT ALL miss grad school. She was pretty surprised that I felt that way. Another friend from grad school has said the traumatic grad school memories faded really quickly, and while I don't completely cringe when I recall grad school at this point (not quite 6 months out), I still don't miss being a grad student. Not even the tiniest bit.
Friends who finished a few year ahead of me said I'd miss the flexible schedule and the ability to do work of my choosing. Honestly I haven't had this problem. This probably depends upon one's actual job, but I have enough flexibility that things like getting to the post office or the doctor's isn't a problem. As far as being able to do whatever work interests you, I think this may only be an issue if you actually enjoy research in the first place. By the end of grad school, I HATED research. So much of it is so obscure that its only significance is in the mind of the researcher, and I absolutely despised the never-ending nature of research. I hate that a project is never actually done, even after years - there is always something else to do, some other direction in which to take the research. I am so glad to have work with a much shorter time frame for completion, and the ability to work on something different often! If I don't actually like that project, it really doesn't matter, because it's short-lived. I've written plenty about the crappy aspects of grad school, and frankly the perks (flexibility, ability to work on what you like - which is actually not entirely true) don't come close to making up for them.
The biggest thing I miss about Tucson and grad school are the people. I miss cooking with E, hiking with Dallas, procrastinating/chit chatting with people in the group downstairs. I was very lucky to already know a couple of people in/near Baltimore when I moved here, so there are a few people to go explore and hang out and celebrate stuff with, but I still miss my friends from Tucson. There are a few other, relatively trivial things I miss, but the biggest thing is the people I spent the past 5 years with. My co-workers at my actual employer are great, I like almost all of them a lot, and the people at BFU are mostly nice though totally insane. (Seriously, getting out of academia = good decision.) Anyways, I mostly like the people I work with, but they're not friends the way my grad school classmates were/are, and probably won't be even with time.
Aside from missing friends, the short-term nature of my job (both the actual work and the fact that it's only a 2 year position), the normal hours, and significantly improved salary all contribute to my not missing grad school in the slightest.
Making even harder to miss grad school is actually being able to see Boyfriend more than every 6-8 weeks. I see him almost every weekend now, and it doesn't involve hundreds of dollars or spending all day on a plane! It's wonderful. It (and he) makes me incredibly happy. That alone makes it hard to miss grad school.
Friends who finished a few year ahead of me said I'd miss the flexible schedule and the ability to do work of my choosing. Honestly I haven't had this problem. This probably depends upon one's actual job, but I have enough flexibility that things like getting to the post office or the doctor's isn't a problem. As far as being able to do whatever work interests you, I think this may only be an issue if you actually enjoy research in the first place. By the end of grad school, I HATED research. So much of it is so obscure that its only significance is in the mind of the researcher, and I absolutely despised the never-ending nature of research. I hate that a project is never actually done, even after years - there is always something else to do, some other direction in which to take the research. I am so glad to have work with a much shorter time frame for completion, and the ability to work on something different often! If I don't actually like that project, it really doesn't matter, because it's short-lived. I've written plenty about the crappy aspects of grad school, and frankly the perks (flexibility, ability to work on what you like - which is actually not entirely true) don't come close to making up for them.
The biggest thing I miss about Tucson and grad school are the people. I miss cooking with E, hiking with Dallas, procrastinating/chit chatting with people in the group downstairs. I was very lucky to already know a couple of people in/near Baltimore when I moved here, so there are a few people to go explore and hang out and celebrate stuff with, but I still miss my friends from Tucson. There are a few other, relatively trivial things I miss, but the biggest thing is the people I spent the past 5 years with. My co-workers at my actual employer are great, I like almost all of them a lot, and the people at BFU are mostly nice though totally insane. (Seriously, getting out of academia = good decision.) Anyways, I mostly like the people I work with, but they're not friends the way my grad school classmates were/are, and probably won't be even with time.
Aside from missing friends, the short-term nature of my job (both the actual work and the fact that it's only a 2 year position), the normal hours, and significantly improved salary all contribute to my not missing grad school in the slightest.
Making even harder to miss grad school is actually being able to see Boyfriend more than every 6-8 weeks. I see him almost every weekend now, and it doesn't involve hundreds of dollars or spending all day on a plane! It's wonderful. It (and he) makes me incredibly happy. That alone makes it hard to miss grad school.
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Seven
Make that seven jury duty summons in 10 years. I got another jury duty summons in the mail yesterday, for the same week as Friday's summons! This one was for federal court in Tucson. (Friday's was for Baltimore City County court.) Obviously I'll be excused from the latest summons as I've moved out of state, but what I don't understand, is how they mailed the summons directly to my Baltimore address, but still think I'm a resident of Pima County in Arizona. We're not talking mail forwarding by the postal service, this was actually directly addressed to me in Baltimore. The logic amazes me. What also amazes (and irritates) me is that even after filling out the juror questionnaire online and responding in about 4 places that I've moved out of state, the system still told me to call in on my assigned date to see if I'm needed. Totally absurd.
Friday, January 11, 2013
Random my ass.
I got summoned for jury duty. AGAIN. For the 6th time in the 10 years I've been registered to vote, when I know many people my age who have never been summoned. That statement on every summons claiming that potential jurors are selected at random ("from a fair cross section of citizens" according to Maryland) is a load of bullshit. I first got summoned 4 months after I registered to vote after my 18th birthday in Massachusetts. Despite being summoned a second time in Massachusetts, thanks to a combination of being in college out-of-state, studying abroad, and luck, I never actually had to show up. I was summoned three times while I lived in Arizona, once each for state, federal, and county jury duty. I had to actually go twice, and the last time I was actually put on the jury (a poor decision on the DUI defense attorney's part). I registered in Maryland 4 1/2 months ago and I've already been summoned. Of course I was summoned for a date when I'll be traveling for work. Let the postponement/reassignment/will-I-or-won't-I-have-to-go games begin.
Thursday, January 10, 2013
She's still got it.
In an effort to post a bit more, I was looking in my drafts folder to see if there was anything still interesting or useful, and found this Facebook chat that I had with Little Sister shortly after my defense, when I posted a couple photos of me (in doctoral robes) and Boyfriend on Facebook.
Little Sister: damn
that is one sexy dress [yes, this is in reference to my cap and gown]
i really like it
lookin fly
thats a really cute pic of you two
Me: thanks...
Little Sister: those robes
the color [navy]
and the black accents
really working for you
Me: don't look too closely. it's totally obvious that i got zero sleep the night before thanks to the f***ing construction [True story, I lived next to a construction zone and woke up to construction at 4:30 or 5 am every day for the last 4 months I lived in Tucson. They of course selected the night before commencement to shut down water and work overnight with the use of giant lights.]
Little Sister: oh
no i couldn't tell
no for real though
Me: the dreadful under eye bags are really a shame given the pictures are otherwise really nice
Little Sister: this doctor thing might work out. i decided i'm pretty proud of you and im gonna frae the pic of you in your gown and itll come to college with me. [aw]
Nice, huh? I thought you could use some classic Little Sister since it's been a while.
Little Sister: damn
that is one sexy dress [yes, this is in reference to my cap and gown]
i really like it
lookin fly
thats a really cute pic of you two
Me: thanks...
Little Sister: those robes
the color [navy]
and the black accents
really working for you
Me: don't look too closely. it's totally obvious that i got zero sleep the night before thanks to the f***ing construction [True story, I lived next to a construction zone and woke up to construction at 4:30 or 5 am every day for the last 4 months I lived in Tucson. They of course selected the night before commencement to shut down water and work overnight with the use of giant lights.]
Little Sister: oh
no i couldn't tell
no for real though
Me: the dreadful under eye bags are really a shame given the pictures are otherwise really nice
Little Sister: this doctor thing might work out. i decided i'm pretty proud of you and im gonna frae the pic of you in your gown and itll come to college with me. [aw]
Nice, huh? I thought you could use some classic Little Sister since it's been a while.
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
It's Wednesday
I just got back from a quick work trip to Chicago this afternoon. A few of the other people in my group and my boss were going to give a couple presentations to another division at work and at the last minute last week my boss said I was welcome to come if I wanted. Essentially my lab at Big Fancy University (BFU) has been taking longer to get going than anticipated, so I've found myself scrounging for things to do to keep busy (due to things out of my control, like construction not really being done when they say it is and instruments taking forever to ship and then nobody actually telling me that they've shipped/arrived). I'm actually going back to Chicago again next week, though as much for my own training as to have something to do.
Last night in my hotel room I caught the end of Miracle on TV. Seriously it's got to be the best sports movie ever. It's about the US hockey team at the 1980 Olympics at Lake Placid, and unless you've been living under a rock, you know what happened. You know the US beat the "unbeatable" Russian team and went on to win gold. But the movie is SO GOOD. It leaves you hanging on the edge of your seat in total anxious suspense and excitement even though you know they're going to win. I grew up in a baseball household, I love baseball, and there are loads of great baseball movies (A League of Their Own and 61* are my two favorite baseball movies, but there are loads more really good ones!), but Miracle still takes the prize as the best sports movie ever in my book.
I've got one more resolution to add to last week's list - I'm going to use my cookbooks more. The vast majority of my cookbooks have only 1-2 recipes that I've made (although some of those I make regularly and/or they're my go-to recipe for a certain thing), which is a shame. I was lucky enough to receive a copy of Smitten Kitchen's new book for Christmas, and while the book is beautiful enough to own for the pictures alone, it seems ridiculous and kinda tragic (in a shallow, first-world problem sort of way of course) that it should join the pile of rarely used cookbooks. I've added ingredients for plum & poppy seed muffins to my grocery list. I'm still browsing possibilities for dinner this weekend...
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Resolutions
Last year my resolutions were mostly related to escaping from gradual school. This year they're a little more stereotypical health and financial stuff. But I'm telling you, the internet, about them so hopefully I'll feel more accountable.
My first goal is to pay off my student loans this year. I'm down to about 1/4 of what I had when I graduated from college, and I make more than a grad student stipend now, so this shouldn't be too hard. But the sooner it gets done the better.
My next goal is to accumulate 6 months worth of living expenses in my savings. I'm not particularly worried about losing my job - well, post-doc...and in fact it seems my boss/co-workers would be happy to keep me around if a position exists/can be created when this post-doc is up...so that's good :) - but moving across the country and furnishing an apartment (even with a moving allowance from work) wiped me out, and it makes me anxious not to have much savings. This might take more than a year, but that's the ultimate goal.
Now my most stereotypical resolution is to lose some weight. I have a particular number in mind, one I won't share here, but I'm about 7 lbs away. I lost a fair amount of weight during the first half of last year, most of which I've maintained, but once I hit my first goal last year I set a second that I never quite reached.
There are a couple of corollaries to the previous goal. The first is that I will try not to complain about my current weight/size. This does not include complaining about the way every single pair of pants gaps in the back at the waist. It's incredibly irritating. The second is to approach weight loss more slowly this year. I used an app called MyFitnessPal with a lot of success last year, with a fairly aggressive approach, but I think I need to take it slower this time. I've tried resuming the same approach I used last year about 4 times over the past couple of months, but after about 4 days all I want to do is sit and eat cheetos and ice cream. Even with the app it's a lot harder to stay motivated when I don't have E to cook with and motivate me.
I've decided to do a photo-a-day again this year. I did it in 2011, and while it was a lot of work, it was also a lot of fun and I loved the random and funny conversation it frequently generated on Facebook. I still flip through those photos occasionally. There were a lot of days when I realized it was quarter to midnight and I didn't have a photo yet, but I miss using my camera that much. I carried it just about everywhere that year. I'm just afraid that the album is going to be incredibly boring this year or will take a enormous amount of work to make it not boring. My social circle is much smaller in Baltimore (and none of my friends here have cute kids/babies) and I can't really take my camera into work like I could in grad school. I suppose I have until it seems time to publish the first batch of photos to bail. If nothing else it should get me taking more pictures.
My first goal is to pay off my student loans this year. I'm down to about 1/4 of what I had when I graduated from college, and I make more than a grad student stipend now, so this shouldn't be too hard. But the sooner it gets done the better.
My next goal is to accumulate 6 months worth of living expenses in my savings. I'm not particularly worried about losing my job - well, post-doc...and in fact it seems my boss/co-workers would be happy to keep me around if a position exists/can be created when this post-doc is up...so that's good :) - but moving across the country and furnishing an apartment (even with a moving allowance from work) wiped me out, and it makes me anxious not to have much savings. This might take more than a year, but that's the ultimate goal.
Now my most stereotypical resolution is to lose some weight. I have a particular number in mind, one I won't share here, but I'm about 7 lbs away. I lost a fair amount of weight during the first half of last year, most of which I've maintained, but once I hit my first goal last year I set a second that I never quite reached.
There are a couple of corollaries to the previous goal. The first is that I will try not to complain about my current weight/size. This does not include complaining about the way every single pair of pants gaps in the back at the waist. It's incredibly irritating. The second is to approach weight loss more slowly this year. I used an app called MyFitnessPal with a lot of success last year, with a fairly aggressive approach, but I think I need to take it slower this time. I've tried resuming the same approach I used last year about 4 times over the past couple of months, but after about 4 days all I want to do is sit and eat cheetos and ice cream. Even with the app it's a lot harder to stay motivated when I don't have E to cook with and motivate me.
I've decided to do a photo-a-day again this year. I did it in 2011, and while it was a lot of work, it was also a lot of fun and I loved the random and funny conversation it frequently generated on Facebook. I still flip through those photos occasionally. There were a lot of days when I realized it was quarter to midnight and I didn't have a photo yet, but I miss using my camera that much. I carried it just about everywhere that year. I'm just afraid that the album is going to be incredibly boring this year or will take a enormous amount of work to make it not boring. My social circle is much smaller in Baltimore (and none of my friends here have cute kids/babies) and I can't really take my camera into work like I could in grad school. I suppose I have until it seems time to publish the first batch of photos to bail. If nothing else it should get me taking more pictures.
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