So I'm in finals week.
This semester has been horrible. At first, I thought that the classes were too easy - and they were, in a sense. For instance, I have covered DNA transcription in no less than four courses. But I had to cover it again here in the Biochemistry course at the University of Hell. By this point, transcription is easy. Somehow, though, I ended up with Ds on all of my exams. Ds! Me!
I've been panicking since that second D, thinking that I would have to take this class over again. There is absolutely no way on earth that I could do that. I am done emotionally. I am filled with rage at the condescending manner in which the professor speaks to me and the other students, at the level that the material is covered, but most of all because all the exams are multiple choice.
I seriously think I would have transferred had I failed. But then, I probably wouldn't have been able to transfer if I failed. Fuck me, I cannot wait to get these dumb classes over with and continue on with the real reason that I came to graduate school - to do fucking science, man!
I have three more finals left, none of which pertains to anything that I am now doing in the lab or anything in which I am remotely interested. I have no motivation. I am probably going to end up on academic probation.
But I am back in my home lab now, and much happier for it. My overall mood is improved, my experiments are working, and I'm writing my paper. I have to say, it is really strange to think that these pictures of blot membranes and graphs that I quickly put together so as not to be late for lab meeting will one day be in print. It's bizarre. My shitty little science might actually mean something.
Maybe this is all worth it after all.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Monday, November 17, 2008
Misery
Can you believe it? Things are still shitty!
I have decided to stop complaining, though. There is literally nothing that I can do to remedy this situation. I have thought about transferring to another school, but then I would have to go through another year of courses. That will not do. So I am stuck here, in Dumbshit University, for all eternity.
The medical students here are, in a word, ridiculous. I don't think they are aware that they are out of college, or maybe even high school. They are very, very loud and obnoxious. To top it off, they are also very stupid. I mean, all you do in medical school is memorize shit that other people have figured out. A monkey could do that, given enough time.
Seriously, if this is the state of medical schools across the country, then I am completely afraid for my future health. Maybe they just learn everything during residencies. I'm pinning my hopes on that. These dumbshits have less than shit for brains.
I think though, that the landscape might be different at state schools. This is a place of privilege, after all. Some medical students go here just for the name. I'm sure a significant chunk of them did so just because daddy went here too. At state schools, though, there are people who have busted their asses their entire life to get into medical school. I'm sure they take things more seriously there. They have to, right?
Anyway, I'm becoming more and more bitter. It has nothing to do with these retarded medical students talking loudly in the library while I am trying to study, or the fact that my academic adviser has yet to show up for our morning meeting and it is now approaching 1pm. It's that I am becoming less and less like anything that my friends and family can relate to. I have nothing to offer but shitty scientific dribble. My life is school and lab. And rage.
I am so fucking boring.
This weekend, I stayed in and wrote a damn term paper. I didn't even leave the house once! In fact, I can't really remember the last time I did anything fun for the sake of fun. It's really sad.
Yay grad school!
I have decided to stop complaining, though. There is literally nothing that I can do to remedy this situation. I have thought about transferring to another school, but then I would have to go through another year of courses. That will not do. So I am stuck here, in Dumbshit University, for all eternity.
The medical students here are, in a word, ridiculous. I don't think they are aware that they are out of college, or maybe even high school. They are very, very loud and obnoxious. To top it off, they are also very stupid. I mean, all you do in medical school is memorize shit that other people have figured out. A monkey could do that, given enough time.
Seriously, if this is the state of medical schools across the country, then I am completely afraid for my future health. Maybe they just learn everything during residencies. I'm pinning my hopes on that. These dumbshits have less than shit for brains.
I think though, that the landscape might be different at state schools. This is a place of privilege, after all. Some medical students go here just for the name. I'm sure a significant chunk of them did so just because daddy went here too. At state schools, though, there are people who have busted their asses their entire life to get into medical school. I'm sure they take things more seriously there. They have to, right?
Anyway, I'm becoming more and more bitter. It has nothing to do with these retarded medical students talking loudly in the library while I am trying to study, or the fact that my academic adviser has yet to show up for our morning meeting and it is now approaching 1pm. It's that I am becoming less and less like anything that my friends and family can relate to. I have nothing to offer but shitty scientific dribble. My life is school and lab. And rage.
I am so fucking boring.
This weekend, I stayed in and wrote a damn term paper. I didn't even leave the house once! In fact, I can't really remember the last time I did anything fun for the sake of fun. It's really sad.
Yay grad school!
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Things you must learn in grad school #1: Scavenging for free food
Finding free food. No matter the subject of your research, this is one of the most important (and useful) skills you will learn as a graduate student. The concept seems obvious at first, because who doesn't like free food? We are poor students, after all.
Sometimes coming upon food happens because you are in the right place at the right time. For instance, dumb luck today netted me a turkey sandwich with two types of cheese on a kaiser roll, fresh fruit (including raspberries and blackberries), cheese tortellini pasta salad, hummus with pita chips, barbecue lays, and a brownie. And a diet coke. All of this because I walked out of class a little early and right into the middle of a poster symposium for the medical students. Ah, luck.
Did I pretend to be interested in the posters? No. Did I ask who the food was for? No. I just got in line. The important skill here is that you need to look like that food is meant for you. It's sorta like why you never got carded for alcohol after you turned 21. It's all about confidence.
Another way to score free food is to get involved. I know, I know - getting involved is a time vortex. Meetings and stuff have free food and refreshments all the time, but you have to like do stuff for it. Fuck that. I add it here simply because it is another scavenging source.
Reading flyers is monumentally important. These will tell you about vendor shows - which can sometimes have some pretty good fare. Again, the goal at the vendor shows is to get in and out with your food. Don't feel bad about not talking to the people trying to sell you pointless new crap - you are on a mission. I once saw a vendor make the mistake of announcing that they were bringing pizza as their lunch treat. I have never ever seen so many people go through so much pizza so quickly. In less than five minutes, hundreds of people descended upon over fifty pizzas and cleaned out each and every cardboard box. It was astonishing. That, my friends, is how is how it's done.
Get to know the people who run the little coffee shops and snack stops on campus. Also, get to know when they close. Hang around when they close. They have to get rid of those old pastries and cookies sometime, you know. Wouldn't they be better in your stomach than in the trash? You're a grad student - use your powers of persuasion and stuff to make that shit happen.
The point I'm trying to make here is you must be bold. You must be confident. You must not be afraid of getting yelled at for taking food.
Aside from the whole instant gratification of the free food, there are other important factors to which scavenging for free food contributes greatly. You have to get to know people, so this increases your networking skills. Also, the more people you know, the more chances you will hear about someone's dissertation refreshment sessions or really undisclosed food opportunities. You have to be paying attention, so make sure to look around when you are carrying your samples down the hall or leaving a professor's office and wishing you could punch him or her right in the face.
But most importantly, finding free food means that you can spend more time in the lab. That stuff you brought for lunch can now be your dinner. You just earned some extra time working that you didn't have before. And the time that you are there will be spent in a much more pleasant mood due to the afterglow of free, delicious food.
Man, this turkey sandwich is fucking awesome.
Sometimes coming upon food happens because you are in the right place at the right time. For instance, dumb luck today netted me a turkey sandwich with two types of cheese on a kaiser roll, fresh fruit (including raspberries and blackberries), cheese tortellini pasta salad, hummus with pita chips, barbecue lays, and a brownie. And a diet coke. All of this because I walked out of class a little early and right into the middle of a poster symposium for the medical students. Ah, luck.
Did I pretend to be interested in the posters? No. Did I ask who the food was for? No. I just got in line. The important skill here is that you need to look like that food is meant for you. It's sorta like why you never got carded for alcohol after you turned 21. It's all about confidence.
Another way to score free food is to get involved. I know, I know - getting involved is a time vortex. Meetings and stuff have free food and refreshments all the time, but you have to like do stuff for it. Fuck that. I add it here simply because it is another scavenging source.
Reading flyers is monumentally important. These will tell you about vendor shows - which can sometimes have some pretty good fare. Again, the goal at the vendor shows is to get in and out with your food. Don't feel bad about not talking to the people trying to sell you pointless new crap - you are on a mission. I once saw a vendor make the mistake of announcing that they were bringing pizza as their lunch treat. I have never ever seen so many people go through so much pizza so quickly. In less than five minutes, hundreds of people descended upon over fifty pizzas and cleaned out each and every cardboard box. It was astonishing. That, my friends, is how is how it's done.
Get to know the people who run the little coffee shops and snack stops on campus. Also, get to know when they close. Hang around when they close. They have to get rid of those old pastries and cookies sometime, you know. Wouldn't they be better in your stomach than in the trash? You're a grad student - use your powers of persuasion and stuff to make that shit happen.
The point I'm trying to make here is you must be bold. You must be confident. You must not be afraid of getting yelled at for taking food.
Aside from the whole instant gratification of the free food, there are other important factors to which scavenging for free food contributes greatly. You have to get to know people, so this increases your networking skills. Also, the more people you know, the more chances you will hear about someone's dissertation refreshment sessions or really undisclosed food opportunities. You have to be paying attention, so make sure to look around when you are carrying your samples down the hall or leaving a professor's office and wishing you could punch him or her right in the face.
But most importantly, finding free food means that you can spend more time in the lab. That stuff you brought for lunch can now be your dinner. You just earned some extra time working that you didn't have before. And the time that you are there will be spent in a much more pleasant mood due to the afterglow of free, delicious food.
Man, this turkey sandwich is fucking awesome.
Monday, October 27, 2008
So I've been away...
So I haven't posted in a while because, well, I hate everything.
Work in the rotation lab is not going well. On two separate occasions, my cells have become contaminated with yeast. I have no idea how this is even possible. I have been doing tissue culture work for years, and I have never had a problem. Now suddenly this has happened twice. Twice! The PI looks at me like I'm an idiot.
I finally got enough cells growing to do a immunoprecipitation experiment. I did the IP just fine, but today when I went to run the gel all hell broke loose. Someone prepared the running buffer wrong, so although the current was steady - there were 700 volts flowing through the damn gel. The cassette got so hot that it cracked the glass and my gel dribbled out of the casing, and I lost my sample. It took me forever to get that shit ready for the experiment and a lot of time doing the experiment itself, only to be foiled by a buffer. What. The. Fuck.
I'm bringing contamination and destruction everywhere I go. It's like I'm living in bizarro world and I'm completely incompetent.
I can't wait to get back to my real lab.
Class is still horrible. I'm still doing really bad on exams for some unknown reason, even though the material isn't hard. I don't get this, either.
I went to a conference a few weeks ago. I was all prepared for people to ignore my poster, as is usually the case - but this time was different. I had quite a few people show up to talk to me during the poster session. In addition, I heard from my work colleague that he saw about four or five people taking photos of my poster when the hall was empty.
I hate people that do this kinda shit. I mean, if you aren't able to come up with your own ideas and your own experimental design, why the fuck are you in science at all? If you need to photograph the slides from someone's talk because you can't figure shit out on your own, you should turn in your degree. I absolutely can't stand these assholes.
Now I have to start writing my paper so I don't get scooped. I don't know what I will do if I get scooped. I'm pretty sure that petrol bombing would fit in there somewhere.
Man, I thought grad school was going to be great. I'm being challenged in all the wrong ways, though. Pointless memorization. Idea theft. Dickbag professors. And worst of all, the stifling of my creativity. I'm sure I can use all of these lessons eventually, but that fact is really not making things any better. This sucks.
So yeah, I hate everything.
Work in the rotation lab is not going well. On two separate occasions, my cells have become contaminated with yeast. I have no idea how this is even possible. I have been doing tissue culture work for years, and I have never had a problem. Now suddenly this has happened twice. Twice! The PI looks at me like I'm an idiot.
I finally got enough cells growing to do a immunoprecipitation experiment. I did the IP just fine, but today when I went to run the gel all hell broke loose. Someone prepared the running buffer wrong, so although the current was steady - there were 700 volts flowing through the damn gel. The cassette got so hot that it cracked the glass and my gel dribbled out of the casing, and I lost my sample. It took me forever to get that shit ready for the experiment and a lot of time doing the experiment itself, only to be foiled by a buffer. What. The. Fuck.
I'm bringing contamination and destruction everywhere I go. It's like I'm living in bizarro world and I'm completely incompetent.
I can't wait to get back to my real lab.
Class is still horrible. I'm still doing really bad on exams for some unknown reason, even though the material isn't hard. I don't get this, either.
I went to a conference a few weeks ago. I was all prepared for people to ignore my poster, as is usually the case - but this time was different. I had quite a few people show up to talk to me during the poster session. In addition, I heard from my work colleague that he saw about four or five people taking photos of my poster when the hall was empty.
I hate people that do this kinda shit. I mean, if you aren't able to come up with your own ideas and your own experimental design, why the fuck are you in science at all? If you need to photograph the slides from someone's talk because you can't figure shit out on your own, you should turn in your degree. I absolutely can't stand these assholes.
Now I have to start writing my paper so I don't get scooped. I don't know what I will do if I get scooped. I'm pretty sure that petrol bombing would fit in there somewhere.
Man, I thought grad school was going to be great. I'm being challenged in all the wrong ways, though. Pointless memorization. Idea theft. Dickbag professors. And worst of all, the stifling of my creativity. I'm sure I can use all of these lessons eventually, but that fact is really not making things any better. This sucks.
So yeah, I hate everything.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Caffeine
I did not sleep much last night. I was thinking about the lab. Unfortunately, I do this often. I can't tell you how many times I've come up with some really great ideas for experiments and such while in bed. I mean, the ideas are a good thing - I just wish I could sleep sometimes.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Fun, fun, fun
Well. The comedy is over. My statistics professor spends a great deal of time talking about her cruise of the Mediterranean. The class is so easy that I don't even know why I bother to show up anymore.
In my Molecular Biology course, there are people who don't know the difference between sense and anti-sense DNA strands. I wonder how they got in to graduate school. I wonder why the fuck I thought coming here was a good idea. I wonder if I threw my career trajectory away to keep my apartment.
A long time ago, I went to this lecture on "The Imposter Syndrome." A lot of smart people think they are imposters, that they don't measure up and are secretly really stupid. There was a grad student from MIT in front of me. I was afraid of that, so I sold myself short. I didn't want to get ass-raped by intense courses.
I thought grad school was going to be fucking brutal no matter where I went. It is not. I swear that I am not that smart - it is just that this shit is mind-numbingly easy.
It depresses me. I am depressed. Poor me, school is too easy. My rotation lab is working me like a slave. I am pretty sure that I hate everything right now.
In my Molecular Biology course, there are people who don't know the difference between sense and anti-sense DNA strands. I wonder how they got in to graduate school. I wonder why the fuck I thought coming here was a good idea. I wonder if I threw my career trajectory away to keep my apartment.
A long time ago, I went to this lecture on "The Imposter Syndrome." A lot of smart people think they are imposters, that they don't measure up and are secretly really stupid. There was a grad student from MIT in front of me. I was afraid of that, so I sold myself short. I didn't want to get ass-raped by intense courses.
I thought grad school was going to be fucking brutal no matter where I went. It is not. I swear that I am not that smart - it is just that this shit is mind-numbingly easy.
It depresses me. I am depressed. Poor me, school is too easy. My rotation lab is working me like a slave. I am pretty sure that I hate everything right now.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Day One
The first classes were today. I felt like an impostor when I put on my backpack, like I was too old or something. It seemed as though there was no possible reason on earth that a twenty-seven-year-old person should leave the house wearing one. I honestly was looking around for people staring...
But they weren't, of course. At least, not for the backpack.
Biochemistry scared the shit out of me for some reason. I don't know why, but I just hate thermodynamics. Every time I tried to do that stuff in the lab, like working with calorimeters and shit, I always fucked up. But there they were on the first slide - entropy and shit. The horror! I really, really hope this is the last fucking time I have to deal with this shit. Every time it comes up, I think it is the last time. But no, the punishment never ends.
I have a slew of other courses as well. It seems I am no longer capable of taking less than seventeen credit hours a semester. I know I am setting myself up for wrinkles and gray hair and shit, but I am willing to sacrifice that in order to get these dumb courses out of the way in the first year. I want them done. Over. Now.
Oh yeah, and I'm still not registered. Awesome.
But they weren't, of course. At least, not for the backpack.
Biochemistry scared the shit out of me for some reason. I don't know why, but I just hate thermodynamics. Every time I tried to do that stuff in the lab, like working with calorimeters and shit, I always fucked up. But there they were on the first slide - entropy and shit. The horror! I really, really hope this is the last fucking time I have to deal with this shit. Every time it comes up, I think it is the last time. But no, the punishment never ends.
I have a slew of other courses as well. It seems I am no longer capable of taking less than seventeen credit hours a semester. I know I am setting myself up for wrinkles and gray hair and shit, but I am willing to sacrifice that in order to get these dumb courses out of the way in the first year. I want them done. Over. Now.
Oh yeah, and I'm still not registered. Awesome.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
The Last Day of Freedom
So I start class tomorrow.
Unfortunately, I do not know what classes I will be starting. I had orientation on Friday, but I was told that I would not be able to meet with my program director or advisor, and that a special meeting would need to be set up. I was supposed to receive word about this later Friday afternoon, but I have not yet heard anything. Hooray, things really are starting out well. I think I'll just randomly show up to classes that I think I should be taking. Or something. I don't even have my ID yet. I am officially shitting myself.
It appears that I will have to be in my first class by 9am every day, even Friday. Ugh.
Last week I had to take radiation safety and lab safety courses. These are the same ones that I have taken at every single institution I have ever been at, so it was mind-numbingly boring. However, as I sat there, I realized that it felt good to be sitting in a classroom again. Sadly, I must admit that I really enjoy taking courses. I am such a nerd that I don't even really read fiction books. My bookshelves are lined with science-based books and texts on philosophy and stuff like that.
I can't believe people hang out with me.
Unfortunately, I do not know what classes I will be starting. I had orientation on Friday, but I was told that I would not be able to meet with my program director or advisor, and that a special meeting would need to be set up. I was supposed to receive word about this later Friday afternoon, but I have not yet heard anything. Hooray, things really are starting out well. I think I'll just randomly show up to classes that I think I should be taking. Or something. I don't even have my ID yet. I am officially shitting myself.
It appears that I will have to be in my first class by 9am every day, even Friday. Ugh.
Last week I had to take radiation safety and lab safety courses. These are the same ones that I have taken at every single institution I have ever been at, so it was mind-numbingly boring. However, as I sat there, I realized that it felt good to be sitting in a classroom again. Sadly, I must admit that I really enjoy taking courses. I am such a nerd that I don't even really read fiction books. My bookshelves are lined with science-based books and texts on philosophy and stuff like that.
I can't believe people hang out with me.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Monday
I hate those days when you absolutely cannot be bothered to do any experiments.
I'm having one of those days today. It's a Monday. I keep thinking about Office Space and shit. I've done very little actual work today. I've been pretty good about changing my screen to PubMed every time someone walks by. You know, gotta make it look like I'm doing something.
One of the post-docs here totally supports the loafing about. I mean, when it comes down to it, sometimes it is better to do nothing than to do something. For instance, there have been plenty of occasions where I just could not be arsed doing an experiment, I ended up doing it, but I fucked it up somehow. Now, if I had only waited to do it the next day, it might have been done properly. The particular experiment I am talking about takes about a week and a half to do from start to finish, so if I fuck it up I have actually wasted quite a bit of time.
So I think I'm sitting on my ass today. I'm fucking tired and shit.
I have a stack of papers about three inches tall that I should be reading. If I read them, though, I will pass the fuck out. The stuff I love can be so fucking boring sometimes.
It's like when I try to describe my research to someone outside the field - I get the glazed eye look. I try to keep it as broad as possible. "I'm in biomedical research." That is all I really want to say, but I am inevitably pushed deeper and deeper until I am talking about proteins and signaling. Then I get the glazed eye look from the person I am talking to, he or she is completely bored, and I have ruined a conversation. Fun, fun, fun.
I'm going to start saying that I am in the circus and just make shit up.
I'm having one of those days today. It's a Monday. I keep thinking about Office Space and shit. I've done very little actual work today. I've been pretty good about changing my screen to PubMed every time someone walks by. You know, gotta make it look like I'm doing something.
One of the post-docs here totally supports the loafing about. I mean, when it comes down to it, sometimes it is better to do nothing than to do something. For instance, there have been plenty of occasions where I just could not be arsed doing an experiment, I ended up doing it, but I fucked it up somehow. Now, if I had only waited to do it the next day, it might have been done properly. The particular experiment I am talking about takes about a week and a half to do from start to finish, so if I fuck it up I have actually wasted quite a bit of time.
So I think I'm sitting on my ass today. I'm fucking tired and shit.
I have a stack of papers about three inches tall that I should be reading. If I read them, though, I will pass the fuck out. The stuff I love can be so fucking boring sometimes.
It's like when I try to describe my research to someone outside the field - I get the glazed eye look. I try to keep it as broad as possible. "I'm in biomedical research." That is all I really want to say, but I am inevitably pushed deeper and deeper until I am talking about proteins and signaling. Then I get the glazed eye look from the person I am talking to, he or she is completely bored, and I have ruined a conversation. Fun, fun, fun.
I'm going to start saying that I am in the circus and just make shit up.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Fear and fear itself
Man, I start Grad School in a month.
I am starting to freak out a little bit. I mean, it's been almost two years since I have been in school, and now I have to get back in the ring again. Courses. Exams. Papers. They are all waiting for me.
Fuck.
I have been living the good life for two years. I'm salaried. I'm not expected to produce anything at this level, let alone publish. My lab is really well funded so I can do pretty much whatever I want, and it's beautiful. Beautiful! And now I'm going to have to put on a backpack? For reals? Fuck that! Fuck pencils and spiral-bound notebooks, man! I want to continue to be lazy!
One of the students who showed me around when I was interviewing at my school said that trying to grasp all the material in one particular intro course was "like drinking from a fire hose." I am jumping for fucking joy here. I can barely get my ass out of bed before 8am and now I'm going to have to digest information at that hour, after the one hour commute? I'm thinking no.
No coffee can awaken me to that extreme at such a perilously early time point.
Don't get me wrong, I am totally fucking stoked to finally be getting my ass in to grad school after all this time. It's just that I've been on summer vacation for a long ass time. The days are getting shorter and shit. I was never good at coming to terms with the end of summer vacation. On more than one instance, I spent the very last day trying to read each and every one of my summer reading books. It didn't go well.
Needless to say, I still harbor a hatred for Steinbeck.
I have a few weeks left, all of which will be spent frantically trying to get some kind of closure on my project. Amazingly, it is going very well, and I've produced some kickass data this summer. Unfortunately, there is no fucking way I'm going to get it anywhere near journal submission before I leave. This means that this fall, in addition to taking courses and doing a lab rotation, I will most likely be spending my weekends here in my lab trying to get my shit finished.
I need a life.
I am starting to freak out a little bit. I mean, it's been almost two years since I have been in school, and now I have to get back in the ring again. Courses. Exams. Papers. They are all waiting for me.
Fuck.
I have been living the good life for two years. I'm salaried. I'm not expected to produce anything at this level, let alone publish. My lab is really well funded so I can do pretty much whatever I want, and it's beautiful. Beautiful! And now I'm going to have to put on a backpack? For reals? Fuck that! Fuck pencils and spiral-bound notebooks, man! I want to continue to be lazy!
One of the students who showed me around when I was interviewing at my school said that trying to grasp all the material in one particular intro course was "like drinking from a fire hose." I am jumping for fucking joy here. I can barely get my ass out of bed before 8am and now I'm going to have to digest information at that hour, after the one hour commute? I'm thinking no.
No coffee can awaken me to that extreme at such a perilously early time point.
Don't get me wrong, I am totally fucking stoked to finally be getting my ass in to grad school after all this time. It's just that I've been on summer vacation for a long ass time. The days are getting shorter and shit. I was never good at coming to terms with the end of summer vacation. On more than one instance, I spent the very last day trying to read each and every one of my summer reading books. It didn't go well.
Needless to say, I still harbor a hatred for Steinbeck.
I have a few weeks left, all of which will be spent frantically trying to get some kind of closure on my project. Amazingly, it is going very well, and I've produced some kickass data this summer. Unfortunately, there is no fucking way I'm going to get it anywhere near journal submission before I leave. This means that this fall, in addition to taking courses and doing a lab rotation, I will most likely be spending my weekends here in my lab trying to get my shit finished.
I need a life.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
An observation
So I watched The Nutty Professor the other night. That movie makes me laugh.
To anyone with knowledge of cell biology and/or genetics, the plot is completely absurd. Amazingly, I was able to get past this - which is something that cannot be said for other such films. Something else bothers me, though...
I don't know why, but it really, really fucking annoys me that at the end of the film, in the climax scene, Professor Klump/Buddy Love keeps his potion in a tissue culture flask.
I scowl and become infuriated every time I see it.
To anyone with knowledge of cell biology and/or genetics, the plot is completely absurd. Amazingly, I was able to get past this - which is something that cannot be said for other such films. Something else bothers me, though...
I don't know why, but it really, really fucking annoys me that at the end of the film, in the climax scene, Professor Klump/Buddy Love keeps his potion in a tissue culture flask.
I scowl and become infuriated every time I see it.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Sussing the fuck out
There is this kid I know, with a similar position as mine, and he is also going off to grad school. I will be doing my research here, and he is going elsewhere. Awesome.
I like this kid. We never really became friends or anything, but we were quite friendly. We joked, shared buffers, and I taught him how to do a few things in the lab. It was pretty cool.
However, I recently discovered that he confided in one of the post-docs with whom I am close. He said that his degree was worth more than mine, since he went to a private school and I went to a state school. His GPA, therefore, was better than me graduating magna cum laude. Also, he said that he would be better off after grad school than I would. What the fuck?
You know what? Science is hard. And yes, maybe in the lower-level courses like Biology 101, I had a few multiple choice tests. But I worked hard for the other grades. I couldn't just sleep through those classes. I got a motherfucking A in Genetics - something which very few people at my university managed to do. That was a badge of honor and shit. But apparently, that is not worth the same as an A in Genetics from a tiny ass university I have never even heard of.
This was the major problem I had with choosing a grad school. No matter what I was told, I knew that if I didn't go to a school with a big name, I would be fighting an uphill battle for the rest of my scientific career. Why choose someone from State University when there's someone from Hopkins, Harvard, or MIT applying? Who would you choose? No matter the publication record, the person with a pedigree will always have a slight edge. That's just the way it is.
I wanted to stay in this lab for many reasons. I am treated like a colleague here - not a student. My opinion of techniques and papers is valued. My work is both valued and highly trusted. The people are awesome. What more could you want? But I am staying here at the expense of a big name.
I've decided to let my work speak for itself, to do this without a big name supporting me. I know that I'm good enough, damnit. I have my eyes open. He, on the other hand, is deluded enough to think that he's going to get a paper a year in grad school.
That will be funny to me until long after I graduate.
I like this kid. We never really became friends or anything, but we were quite friendly. We joked, shared buffers, and I taught him how to do a few things in the lab. It was pretty cool.
However, I recently discovered that he confided in one of the post-docs with whom I am close. He said that his degree was worth more than mine, since he went to a private school and I went to a state school. His GPA, therefore, was better than me graduating magna cum laude. Also, he said that he would be better off after grad school than I would. What the fuck?
You know what? Science is hard. And yes, maybe in the lower-level courses like Biology 101, I had a few multiple choice tests. But I worked hard for the other grades. I couldn't just sleep through those classes. I got a motherfucking A in Genetics - something which very few people at my university managed to do. That was a badge of honor and shit. But apparently, that is not worth the same as an A in Genetics from a tiny ass university I have never even heard of.
This was the major problem I had with choosing a grad school. No matter what I was told, I knew that if I didn't go to a school with a big name, I would be fighting an uphill battle for the rest of my scientific career. Why choose someone from State University when there's someone from Hopkins, Harvard, or MIT applying? Who would you choose? No matter the publication record, the person with a pedigree will always have a slight edge. That's just the way it is.
I wanted to stay in this lab for many reasons. I am treated like a colleague here - not a student. My opinion of techniques and papers is valued. My work is both valued and highly trusted. The people are awesome. What more could you want? But I am staying here at the expense of a big name.
I've decided to let my work speak for itself, to do this without a big name supporting me. I know that I'm good enough, damnit. I have my eyes open. He, on the other hand, is deluded enough to think that he's going to get a paper a year in grad school.
That will be funny to me until long after I graduate.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
The job is so glamorous I could kill myself with glee
I kinda miss working in a university lab. The vibe there is much different than in my current institution. Essentially, this comes down to value of the product (i.e., publications) rather than the how the product comes about.
The university lab was great. At the time, I was doing a lot of molecular biology shiz, which of course involved lots of cloning and such. This process doesn't involve a lot of babysitting, since it's essentially just growing bacteria, so I didn't have to be around for the whole day - and I wasn't. This was awesome. I was working on experiments while drinking beer at a bar in the afternoon. It didn't matter that I wasn't there physically. What mattered was that I was progressing toward publishing my work.
My current place of employment is not as such. I am supposed to be here, working, eight hours a day. I'm still a student, but this doesn't matter. Eight hours. Bleh. There are some days when I'm rarely at the bench but I'm stuck here anyway. It can be torturous. Whereas I would goof off sometimes at the university but then make it up on the weekends, I simply cannot do that here. If I say I'm coming in on the weekends, I get strange looks and the postdocs suggest that I just wait until Monday. Here, it's timecard over product, and it's stupid. Stupid, stupid.
What do I do with this time? When I'm being good, I check out PubMed for the latest and greatest. However, since I regularly check about thirty journals via RSS on a near daily basis, this doesn't really take a lot of time. It is then that I turn to the internet and soil my brain with stupid crap. I read lots of blogs, since they change often enough to keep me sane. I chat on Gmail. I send text messages to friends. It's such an exciting life.
I often wonder how scientists did science before computers and the internet. Seriously. Did they just get more done? I mean, there are some people who come in to the lab and spend about an hour checking email before they even get to the bench. Depending on the day, I can be one of those people. But really, were scientists in the days of yore that much more efficient, or did they eventually even up the time difference by having to walk to the library and physically search for articles? I'd like to know.
Whenever I see pictures of scientists in the 50's, they're always hanging out in the hallways smoking cigarettes and pipes. Maybe it's as simple as that. If it is, then downtime in the lab has never been good for our health or sanity.
The university lab was great. At the time, I was doing a lot of molecular biology shiz, which of course involved lots of cloning and such. This process doesn't involve a lot of babysitting, since it's essentially just growing bacteria, so I didn't have to be around for the whole day - and I wasn't. This was awesome. I was working on experiments while drinking beer at a bar in the afternoon. It didn't matter that I wasn't there physically. What mattered was that I was progressing toward publishing my work.
My current place of employment is not as such. I am supposed to be here, working, eight hours a day. I'm still a student, but this doesn't matter. Eight hours. Bleh. There are some days when I'm rarely at the bench but I'm stuck here anyway. It can be torturous. Whereas I would goof off sometimes at the university but then make it up on the weekends, I simply cannot do that here. If I say I'm coming in on the weekends, I get strange looks and the postdocs suggest that I just wait until Monday. Here, it's timecard over product, and it's stupid. Stupid, stupid.
What do I do with this time? When I'm being good, I check out PubMed for the latest and greatest. However, since I regularly check about thirty journals via RSS on a near daily basis, this doesn't really take a lot of time. It is then that I turn to the internet and soil my brain with stupid crap. I read lots of blogs, since they change often enough to keep me sane. I chat on Gmail. I send text messages to friends. It's such an exciting life.
I often wonder how scientists did science before computers and the internet. Seriously. Did they just get more done? I mean, there are some people who come in to the lab and spend about an hour checking email before they even get to the bench. Depending on the day, I can be one of those people. But really, were scientists in the days of yore that much more efficient, or did they eventually even up the time difference by having to walk to the library and physically search for articles? I'd like to know.
Whenever I see pictures of scientists in the 50's, they're always hanging out in the hallways smoking cigarettes and pipes. Maybe it's as simple as that. If it is, then downtime in the lab has never been good for our health or sanity.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Friday, March 28, 2008
A Shitty Week
Before I started working in a lab, I was convinced that the researchers never really made mistakes. I mean, they are working with dangerous stuff, so it is important to be on the ball, right?
Yeah, uh, no.
Some of us like to get together to talk about our most ridiculous fuck-ups. One of my colleagues here in the lab obtained an antibody from another lab, took their word for it that there was actually antibody in the tube, and proceeded to lose six months trying to get it to work in biological assays. Another friend of mine was trying to mutate a gene, and spent three months trying to get it to work only to discover that she had prepared her primers backward. I've also sneezed while pouring super-highly concentrated hydrochloric acid, only to have it run down my arm and burn the fuck out of me. My arm was pink and sore for days.
Ah, science.
Though it usually ends up being a relatively funny anecdote, I still hate fucking up. This week, for example, was absolutely full of these horrid little disasters. I ruined one biological assay by not preparing enough sample to treat some cells. That was dumb. Then, in another biological treatment with really expensive, precious antibodies that I've been waiting for weeks to get, I just happened to add the wrong amount of protein to the samples. They are now useless. Useless! I have to do it all over again. I've lost another week. I would have actually done myself a favor by staying home and not even bothering to show up.
I keep getting visions of that fish at the end of Faith No More's Epic video.
It would be different if my project was going somewhere, but right now it's not. I know my boss is getting anxious, too. She's not digging my project at all. No one is, really - including me. This sucks. I suck.
Seriously.
Yeah, uh, no.
Some of us like to get together to talk about our most ridiculous fuck-ups. One of my colleagues here in the lab obtained an antibody from another lab, took their word for it that there was actually antibody in the tube, and proceeded to lose six months trying to get it to work in biological assays. Another friend of mine was trying to mutate a gene, and spent three months trying to get it to work only to discover that she had prepared her primers backward. I've also sneezed while pouring super-highly concentrated hydrochloric acid, only to have it run down my arm and burn the fuck out of me. My arm was pink and sore for days.
Ah, science.
Though it usually ends up being a relatively funny anecdote, I still hate fucking up. This week, for example, was absolutely full of these horrid little disasters. I ruined one biological assay by not preparing enough sample to treat some cells. That was dumb. Then, in another biological treatment with really expensive, precious antibodies that I've been waiting for weeks to get, I just happened to add the wrong amount of protein to the samples. They are now useless. Useless! I have to do it all over again. I've lost another week. I would have actually done myself a favor by staying home and not even bothering to show up.
I keep getting visions of that fish at the end of Faith No More's Epic video.
It would be different if my project was going somewhere, but right now it's not. I know my boss is getting anxious, too. She's not digging my project at all. No one is, really - including me. This sucks. I suck.
Seriously.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Training
Somehow I got stuck training the new technician in our group. I'm fucking thrilled.
This was my first opportunity to teach someone in a lab setting. I've been schooled by some great people, and some fucking asshole douchebags, so I really wanted to pass on the tradition of a really good lab experience. Quite honestly, I almost left science because of the asshole teachers. So this was not a trivial thing that was set before me.
I've been training this person for two weeks. I had absolutely no idea how much time it was going to take. While I realize that not everyone is a genius, I did have a certain expectation of someone with a bachelor's degree in science. It is startling, to say the least. I've had to practically babysit Techie for the entire two weeks. My project is swirling around in the toilet, in shit purgatory, while I'm holding the tech's hand. Fuck.
We work with viruses in cell culture. Naturally, this means that we must be all anal about sterility. I have had to repeat this over and over and over and over. It's not getting through. The most fundamental rule of the lab is not getting through. I was amazed that I had to remind Techie, many times, about the importance of changing pipet tips after they have been used. Ok, so I've been working in labs for a handful of years now, but she watched me change tips. She's seen me do it. One reminder should be enough, people.
Imagine you're scooping up a vat of feces and hauling it around by truck. Would someone have to remind you to wash your hands before you got in the cabin? No. Do you use the same knife that you used to slice raw chicken when you go to chop your vegetables? No. This is not rocket science.
I had such high hopes, but Techie couldn't even make cell culture media. I think I'm going to lose it.
This was my first opportunity to teach someone in a lab setting. I've been schooled by some great people, and some fucking asshole douchebags, so I really wanted to pass on the tradition of a really good lab experience. Quite honestly, I almost left science because of the asshole teachers. So this was not a trivial thing that was set before me.
I've been training this person for two weeks. I had absolutely no idea how much time it was going to take. While I realize that not everyone is a genius, I did have a certain expectation of someone with a bachelor's degree in science. It is startling, to say the least. I've had to practically babysit Techie for the entire two weeks. My project is swirling around in the toilet, in shit purgatory, while I'm holding the tech's hand. Fuck.
We work with viruses in cell culture. Naturally, this means that we must be all anal about sterility. I have had to repeat this over and over and over and over. It's not getting through. The most fundamental rule of the lab is not getting through. I was amazed that I had to remind Techie, many times, about the importance of changing pipet tips after they have been used. Ok, so I've been working in labs for a handful of years now, but she watched me change tips. She's seen me do it. One reminder should be enough, people.
Imagine you're scooping up a vat of feces and hauling it around by truck. Would someone have to remind you to wash your hands before you got in the cabin? No. Do you use the same knife that you used to slice raw chicken when you go to chop your vegetables? No. This is not rocket science.
I had such high hopes, but Techie couldn't even make cell culture media. I think I'm going to lose it.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Disasters, etc.
At one point in time, I loved my project. I conceived it. I nursed it through infancy. I fought for it to be liked by the other projects in the lab. We were pals. Symbiotes.
Sometime between preparing its debut on that first poster and last Christmas, I began to get a little tired of it. My ill-conceived experiments began to show holes. I thought it was something that I could patch up.
Uh, no.
Those damn grad school interviews. As I explained my project, it became very clear to me that I am working on a pile of shit that has no relevance. Hooray! I have been and will continue wasting my fucking time!
So yeah, clearly I don't have that PhD yet.
Then again, I don't think I could have had better preparation for grad school. In nearly two years, I have been through the ups and downs. I've hated my project. I've hated myself. I've lost all motivation, then had it unexpectedly come back, then lost it again, over and over.
Essentially, I have been dating science all this time. We've had some fights, but it was still all new and fresh and unknown and sexy. We just got engaged, though. I've chosen my grad school. Now it's serious. Very soon, we will move in together.
I'm already soliciting counselors.
Sometime between preparing its debut on that first poster and last Christmas, I began to get a little tired of it. My ill-conceived experiments began to show holes. I thought it was something that I could patch up.
Uh, no.
Those damn grad school interviews. As I explained my project, it became very clear to me that I am working on a pile of shit that has no relevance. Hooray! I have been and will continue wasting my fucking time!
So yeah, clearly I don't have that PhD yet.
Then again, I don't think I could have had better preparation for grad school. In nearly two years, I have been through the ups and downs. I've hated my project. I've hated myself. I've lost all motivation, then had it unexpectedly come back, then lost it again, over and over.
Essentially, I have been dating science all this time. We've had some fights, but it was still all new and fresh and unknown and sexy. We just got engaged, though. I've chosen my grad school. Now it's serious. Very soon, we will move in together.
I'm already soliciting counselors.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Grad School Interviews
Ok. I'm all done with interviews. The horror that is grad school interview weekend is over.
Here's the deal: I fucking hate interviews. Hate! I am absolutely a jeans person. Jeans do not fit in to interviews. Whenever I have to get all dressed up for this dumb shit, I feel like I look exactly like an animal that has been dressed in human clothes. I am pissed off and uncomfortable. I want to torch my damn suit.
In order to spread this misery out over the maximum amount of time possible, the typical interview weekend went as such:
Day 1 (Th) - Arrive in the evening. Dinner with grad students. Ask lots of questions so you can appear interested.
Day 2 (F) - Wake up ass early to for interview day. Wear suit. Start at 8 or 9 am. Interview with 4-5 people and have the exact same conversation over and over. Lunch and dinner with grad students. Keep asking questions.
Day 3 (Sa) - Start a little later. Still dress nice, even though the host students and faculty are all in jeans. Tour campus. Tour student housing. Lunch and dinner with students. Try to find questions to ask so there is some conversation. Usually, some type of party where you will get drunk. Don't get too drunk.
Day 4 (Su) - Get the hell out.
By the time I get to interviews, I have exhaustively researched these schools and programs. It's hard for me to come up with stuff to ask the students, especially if the schools are in the area. The typical questions I asked the students are:
1. What are the qualification exams like?
2. Can you live on the stipend you get?
3. How did you find your housing?
4. To what other schools did you apply?
5. What made you choose this program?
6. Is there anything you would change about the program?
7. Are there any funding issues?
The faculty interviews ranged from awesome to sweat-inducing. Some were trying to recruit me. Others were clearly trying to suss me out. I tried to remember their questions, but I have only been able to recall the following:
1. Tell me about your project (the most important one, interjected with questions)
2. Why do you want to come to this school/program?
3. What are your future goals?
4. What do I need to know about you?
Some of them asked me incredibly detailed questions about my project. Others asked me how to describe the experiments that led to figuring out my background info. I thought that bit was stupid and uncalled for, because I don't have my fucking PhD yet or anything, but what the fuck ever. Gotta be prepared.
Also, one guy asked me what I did in my spare time and I completely froze. I mean, I couldn't answer the damn question. Spare time? What is that? Remember that you're a person, with feelings and stuff, so just be yourself.
After this horror, I asked my interviewers:
1. What is the typical time to graduation?
2. What types of positions do students take after graduation? Where?
3. How are projects assigned?
4. Do you have pet projects, or can a student get creative and pick their own?
5. How many students have you mentored?
6. Why did you choose to come to this institution?
7. Are there any funding issues?
8. How much time do you have to interact with your students?
9. Do you write the papers in the lab, or do the students/postdocs write them?
10. On average, how many papers do your students have by the time they graduate?
11. What characteristics would your "perfect student" have?
Things you should know before you go:
1. Stipend, fees, tuition, and all financial matters.
2. Curriculum (i.e., do you want to spend one or two years taking classes?).
3. Teaching requirements, if any.
4. Rotation scheme.
5. Where/when your interviewers have published. Have a good idea what they do.
I'm sure there is something I've left out. I've tried to block the process from my memory.
A few people that I talked to absolutely loved interviewing. They said that they had some really great times. Ok, I had one good evening at a faculty dinner. But for the most part, I wanted to kill myself nearly the entire time. It's absolutely exhausting to be on for that long. It is also horrid to curb my rampant swearing for an entire weekend.
So I have a decision to make. I must choose the place where I will be least miserable. That will be a feat in itself.
Here's the deal: I fucking hate interviews. Hate! I am absolutely a jeans person. Jeans do not fit in to interviews. Whenever I have to get all dressed up for this dumb shit, I feel like I look exactly like an animal that has been dressed in human clothes. I am pissed off and uncomfortable. I want to torch my damn suit.
In order to spread this misery out over the maximum amount of time possible, the typical interview weekend went as such:
Day 1 (Th) - Arrive in the evening. Dinner with grad students. Ask lots of questions so you can appear interested.
Day 2 (F) - Wake up ass early to for interview day. Wear suit. Start at 8 or 9 am. Interview with 4-5 people and have the exact same conversation over and over. Lunch and dinner with grad students. Keep asking questions.
Day 3 (Sa) - Start a little later. Still dress nice, even though the host students and faculty are all in jeans. Tour campus. Tour student housing. Lunch and dinner with students. Try to find questions to ask so there is some conversation. Usually, some type of party where you will get drunk. Don't get too drunk.
Day 4 (Su) - Get the hell out.
By the time I get to interviews, I have exhaustively researched these schools and programs. It's hard for me to come up with stuff to ask the students, especially if the schools are in the area. The typical questions I asked the students are:
1. What are the qualification exams like?
2. Can you live on the stipend you get?
3. How did you find your housing?
4. To what other schools did you apply?
5. What made you choose this program?
6. Is there anything you would change about the program?
7. Are there any funding issues?
The faculty interviews ranged from awesome to sweat-inducing. Some were trying to recruit me. Others were clearly trying to suss me out. I tried to remember their questions, but I have only been able to recall the following:
1. Tell me about your project (the most important one, interjected with questions)
2. Why do you want to come to this school/program?
3. What are your future goals?
4. What do I need to know about you?
Some of them asked me incredibly detailed questions about my project. Others asked me how to describe the experiments that led to figuring out my background info. I thought that bit was stupid and uncalled for, because I don't have my fucking PhD yet or anything, but what the fuck ever. Gotta be prepared.
Also, one guy asked me what I did in my spare time and I completely froze. I mean, I couldn't answer the damn question. Spare time? What is that? Remember that you're a person, with feelings and stuff, so just be yourself.
After this horror, I asked my interviewers:
1. What is the typical time to graduation?
2. What types of positions do students take after graduation? Where?
3. How are projects assigned?
4. Do you have pet projects, or can a student get creative and pick their own?
5. How many students have you mentored?
6. Why did you choose to come to this institution?
7. Are there any funding issues?
8. How much time do you have to interact with your students?
9. Do you write the papers in the lab, or do the students/postdocs write them?
10. On average, how many papers do your students have by the time they graduate?
11. What characteristics would your "perfect student" have?
Things you should know before you go:
1. Stipend, fees, tuition, and all financial matters.
2. Curriculum (i.e., do you want to spend one or two years taking classes?).
3. Teaching requirements, if any.
4. Rotation scheme.
5. Where/when your interviewers have published. Have a good idea what they do.
I'm sure there is something I've left out. I've tried to block the process from my memory.
A few people that I talked to absolutely loved interviewing. They said that they had some really great times. Ok, I had one good evening at a faculty dinner. But for the most part, I wanted to kill myself nearly the entire time. It's absolutely exhausting to be on for that long. It is also horrid to curb my rampant swearing for an entire weekend.
So I have a decision to make. I must choose the place where I will be least miserable. That will be a feat in itself.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
On schmoozing
With one interview weekend down, I am a bit discouraged by the fact that I am absolutely sick of talking about my research. Sick!
Lucky me, I get to go through interviews again. Some people with whom I have spoken told me that interview weekends were some really great times. I mean, you get a free trip, the students always take you out and get you drunk at least once, and of course you get some free food out of it as well. How could this possibly be bad, right?
Well, I am an asshole. I like to set impossible goals for myself. Therefore, I apply to really tough schools that aren't so much trying to recruit - they are, in fact, trying to weed us out one by one. Slowly. Painfully.
The interview at my number 1 choice was this weekend, which of course meant it had to be first. It was fucking cram packed full of shit to do, and most of it involved interacting with faculty in some capacity. On top of that, I had to interview with five different professors. Ugh.
This meant that, one right after another, I had five nearly identical conversations - during which time each person took extensive notes. They squinted at me, studying me carefully as I talked, picking holes in my research to date. It's a horrible dance that always proceeds in the exact same manner where you are scrutinized from the moment you walk in the door, through dinner and faculty lunches, until you are taken, drunk and tired, to your hotel room.
Somehow, at dinner, I always get stuck sitting next to the department chair. It fucking sucks. He or she is typically in charge of admissions, and by the dinner I'm usually fantasizing about going home and sobbing uncontrollably and in no mood to turn up the charm. But there I am, in another fucking interview. It is worse than the worst of my worst dates.
So I am tired of talking about my research, since everyone is boring and can only talk about what shitty little thing he or she is studying. I am tired of asking questions and clearly getting evasive answers. And I am really fucking tired of wearing a suit.
I have five more weekends like this. Then at the end of the month, I had to schedule some interviews in the middle of the fucking week. This means that for 8 days straight, I will be wearing a suit, talking about my research, and asking the same questions over and over and over and over.
There is no wine that could possibly dilute my horror. I can't wait for it all to end.
Lucky me, I get to go through interviews again. Some people with whom I have spoken told me that interview weekends were some really great times. I mean, you get a free trip, the students always take you out and get you drunk at least once, and of course you get some free food out of it as well. How could this possibly be bad, right?
Well, I am an asshole. I like to set impossible goals for myself. Therefore, I apply to really tough schools that aren't so much trying to recruit - they are, in fact, trying to weed us out one by one. Slowly. Painfully.
The interview at my number 1 choice was this weekend, which of course meant it had to be first. It was fucking cram packed full of shit to do, and most of it involved interacting with faculty in some capacity. On top of that, I had to interview with five different professors. Ugh.
This meant that, one right after another, I had five nearly identical conversations - during which time each person took extensive notes. They squinted at me, studying me carefully as I talked, picking holes in my research to date. It's a horrible dance that always proceeds in the exact same manner where you are scrutinized from the moment you walk in the door, through dinner and faculty lunches, until you are taken, drunk and tired, to your hotel room.
Somehow, at dinner, I always get stuck sitting next to the department chair. It fucking sucks. He or she is typically in charge of admissions, and by the dinner I'm usually fantasizing about going home and sobbing uncontrollably and in no mood to turn up the charm. But there I am, in another fucking interview. It is worse than the worst of my worst dates.
So I am tired of talking about my research, since everyone is boring and can only talk about what shitty little thing he or she is studying. I am tired of asking questions and clearly getting evasive answers. And I am really fucking tired of wearing a suit.
I have five more weekends like this. Then at the end of the month, I had to schedule some interviews in the middle of the fucking week. This means that for 8 days straight, I will be wearing a suit, talking about my research, and asking the same questions over and over and over and over.
There is no wine that could possibly dilute my horror. I can't wait for it all to end.
Friday, February 1, 2008
Interviewing
So, it turns out I was all freaked out for nothing. I was asked to interview at every program to which I applied. I am heading out for the first one next weekend.
I've asked people exhaustively about how I should best prepare. No one really can say for sure. So I've come up with the following:
1. Be able to talk about your project in detail. Be able to give a general overview, kinda like an abstract, but then talk individually about specific findings. I'm preparing a powerpoint presentation. It is important that I say some people will not like that, so say you have it during the interview, but only take it out if they want to see it. Being able to talk about your project without visual aids - and have them understand - is the most important.
2. Know what the people are doing. Have questions prepared.
This is really all I've been given. I hope it all works out. Otherwise, I am totally fucked.
I've asked people exhaustively about how I should best prepare. No one really can say for sure. So I've come up with the following:
1. Be able to talk about your project in detail. Be able to give a general overview, kinda like an abstract, but then talk individually about specific findings. I'm preparing a powerpoint presentation. It is important that I say some people will not like that, so say you have it during the interview, but only take it out if they want to see it. Being able to talk about your project without visual aids - and have them understand - is the most important.
2. Know what the people are doing. Have questions prepared.
This is really all I've been given. I hope it all works out. Otherwise, I am totally fucked.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
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