Was I Born In The Wrong Century? Maybe Not...

So, it turns out, I am much more suited to life in the eighteenth century... or possibly post-peak oil.

I was speaking with the bf over the Easter holiday and this topic came up. I don't remember the specifics of the conversation now. However, he blogged about end-of-the-world, apocalypse-type situation and how he would cope. It was made clear that he thought he would probably struggle as most of his skills are suited to today’s technologically focused society. Well, I suffer from the opposite problem… technologically not-so-inclined.

I think I am a bit more ready for an apocalypse. In today’s world, my skills are very antiquated. I sew. I can cook edible food if pressed. I can do woodworking at a basic level. And I can clean. So, there we have it. I can chop down and split up a tree for the fire pit, darn socks, knit some mittens (although I am much more proficient at crochet), boil a stew, and make a stool for you to sit in while you eat. And while you eat, I can go ahead and sew a quilt for you to sleep under and clean up the pit. Greeeeaaaat. These skills are just oh so handy.

In any case, I think I would have been more appropriately born about two centuries ago. I don’t care to wear makeup, I have long hair very well suited to a bun hairstyle, I am not committed to wearing the latest fashions, and I can read a book by candlelight just as well as by electric light. Oh, and I like to use my free time to hike in the woods and cross stitch. Mmmm. Not exactly the modern-age woman.

Then, last night, my bf called and said that he read something that was rather disturbing. It was about the phenomenon of "peak oil" and what it would mean to us, society, and humanity. I have to admit, I am just a little tense thinking about the information presented in this article (I would take the material with a grain of salt as other sites do offer different evidence/conclusions).

I've known about the peak oil thing for some time but I never thought to consider how the banking system/community tie into everything. I had only considered the materials relating to oil (and that is a big enough picture on it's own!). Makes me wonder if western canada is the best bet... It get's soooo cold - how do you deal with that without heat? I never pictured myself as an Inuit, more like an Iroquian or Huron.

Quizzes - Harry Potter Extravaganza

In honor of my family members who just saw the movie... A Harry Potter Quiz Friday Post!



Which HP Kid Are You?

Congrats! You're Hufflepuff fourth-year Ernie Macmillan!
Maybe you don't mean to gossip. Maybe you do. Either way, it's been known to happen with you around. You're so fiercely loyal to your friends that you'll talk about anyone who stands against them, regardless of who they are. But you seem to realize this - that's why you always make a point of apologizing when you're wrong.
(Your moment of glory came in Chamber of Secrets when you accused Harry Potter of being Slytherin's heir, then relented when Hermione Granger was attacked.)

...and which lesser Harry Potter character are you?

Remus Lupin, Defence Against the Dark Arts.
I have to admit - I am a little surprised. I thought I would be Prof. McGonagle.
Harry Potter Quiz: Which Hogwarts Professor Are You?



Which Harry Potter Pet Are You?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sorry any readers in Canada - this special Thursday post is US specific today.

The correct use of a "Preemptive Strike" - You Go Bird!

I found this picture via a google search of images. It was unceremoniously copied from Spontaneous Arising because it is just really, really funny. I particularly like how the other two are smiling and/or laughing. Yes, president bush (purposely uncapitalized), we are laughing AT you, not with you.

Undergrads

Quotes from a student at the table next to me regarding teacher evaluations online:

1) I hoped my professor would choke on his turtleneck during lunch (in order to not show up for her 1pm class).

2) The TA is one sexy motherf**ker.

3) A jean jacket with jeans - what are you thinking?

Mmm, so maybe she missed the point that these evaluations are suppose to allow future students to read good and bad things about the prof and additionally is (in theory) a way for profs to improve his or her teaching.

On the upside, after a few of these quotes, it became clear that the other eleven (loud) students thought she was an idiot. One even asked, "How old are you?". However, they quickly regressed to talking about the acting level in Grey's Anatomy and people on the Facebook. Oh, and now they have moved on to Christmas gifts (they think they will be receiving).

Oooh, I am further impressed (and surprised) by one member of the group. A girl at the table did not bus her tray to the trash when she left. One of the last two students at the table picked it up and bussed it while complaining that he "hates people that do that"! Wow.

I am feeling a little old. Aside from never, never having a conversation about Facebook with my friends, I would also have guessed these kids to be seniors in high school or maybe college freshmen. It is apparent through the convo that they are, in fact, at least juniors.

I think I am going to have to plan a small ceremony in February to mourn the passing of my twenties when it happens.

Question of Etiquette?

I just got back from visiting the bf in the great white north. Mostly, I love our neighbors in the great white north.

However, boohiss on the parka wearin', car plugging, celsius scale usin' people when they beat my team! The Wings fell to the Oilers and then, as if that wasn't enough, the bf's friends and relatives ragged on me about it. Ooooh, I am holding out for the playoffs - then lets see who has bragging rights.

We went to the game referred to in the above paragraph. Yes, I was there to witness the Wings piss it away in the third period. It was a good game (I will admit that like a mature person) but I was still a little peeved my guys didn't bring it home at the end. Particularly since the other team has a sieve in goal!

While I was there, we also went to dinner a few times, hung with his fam (which didn't suck - always a good thing), and went to see Harry Potter 4.

So, about HP... they should have just sucked it up, put an intermission in it and made it 4 hours long. I know the theaters would hate it and some children couldn't manage but TOO BAD! I was disappointed in the rather choppy final product. It was clear that there was more story filmed that subsequently ended up on the cutting room floor. I guess I am entertaining the hope that the DVD will be HUGELY extended. I enjoyed the film but it is clear that there is just no way to pack the later novels into 2+ hours (each) anymore. Oh well. Still, the HP movies are a guilty pleasure that I am sure to enjoy again.

About the fam, and here I tread on dangerous ground, I enjoyed my time there but one person makes me particularly irritated. Let's call her old sister-in-law (osil). Osil is compulsive. She is compulsive about her kids and about cleaning. I find both fairly annoying. One, the kids are allowed no freedoms. Now, don't misunderstand me, I think kids need to have rules and boundries. However, robotic actions are not a quality I seek to cultivate in any offspring I might someday rear. Apparently, her priorities are different. But, that is not the focus of my rant this evening.

My focus is on post-dining host/guest etiquette. Let's set the scene... a family group of approximately a dozen (mostly adults) are gathered to eat a meal. The hosts are young brother and young sister-in-law (yb&ysil). After eating, I help osil and ysil clear the plates from the meal (this only entails stacking of plates/serving stuff/utensils on the counter by the dish washer). At this point the ysil leaves to attend to a child. The men retire to another room to "chat". What is proper etiquette? I chose to join the men in conversation with the intention of returning to the kitchen when/if ysil returned. I wanted to extend an offer to help cleanup if she desired any aid.

I would like to digress for a moment... I am very particular about "my" kitchen. I do not particularly like when people try to help. They inevitably do one of three things to really drive me batty. One - they "wash" dishes by hand that are not dishwasher appropriate but do so poorly requiring me to rewash them later (and it is always an unwelcome surprise when I go to put stuff away and find it is still nasty with food crusties). Two - they put stuff away but in the wrong place. Or three - they load the dishwasher in a manner I find to be completely uneconomical or just plain wrong (safe for top shelf only means it can't go on the bottom rack dumbass).

Okay, back to the scene. At some point, mere minutes later, I find the osil cleaning up in the kitchen. No ysil. Um, so here is my question... is it rude to assume your host wants your help, and by extrapolation, to proceed without asking? This woman has also been known to come over to the bf's and to start cleaning without asking, just assuming that he appreciates the help. (He does appreciate the help and sometimes probably needs it but I think that is another matter altogether).

Maybe it is just my little hangup about personal space. The kitchen is part of my personal space and unless I have invited you to join me or accepted an offer of help - go sit the fuck down. If I am hosting, I understand that with that comes the clean up. I wouldn't offer if I couldn't handle the result. Plus, does kitchen size matter? The bf and I have trouble preparing a meal together because the kitchen is so small... but the ysil has a big kitchen leaving plenty of space for two (or even three) people to do clean up at the same time. I just think it is tacky and/or rude.

Anyone want to weigh in on this one? Should I have just started helping the osil? What do I do if she tries to pull this crap on me? Keep my mouth shut (and consequently most likely end up mostly watching her clean due to the space issue) or politely tell her to get the hell out of my kitchen?

Comment to my travel curse: In effect but not to full strength. My flight up to Ca was delayed as the plane was routed to the wrong gate, in the wrong concourse, in the wrong terminal! Sigh. You know those gated steps that lead to the tarmac that read "authorized personnel only"? Well, you are authorized if you have to take a specialized shuttle to your new terminal because the people in charge of getting gate info to pilots are idiots. Things you learn when you fly... And, or course, the flight was packed. The way back was fairly uneventful. Oh, but the public transportation management has it's head up it's ass. Apparently, if the train arrives at the station at 12:12, the connecting bus ought to leave at 12:13 so that no one can possibly make the transfer (even if they run!). Nice. Oh, and have the bus on a 40 minute loop. Ooooh, and don't construct seats for people waiting for buses. Forget about those nice, cozy warming lamps too.

BTW/FYI

Oh, forgot to mention this in today's post... I am leaving for canadia tomorrow morning. I probably won't post on Friday because I will be too, um, busy. I'll be back Monday evening and looking forward to catching up with blog reading and posting. Have a great weekend!

Are You Bored?

Well, are you? I'm actually fairly busy. You wouldn't know it given the number of blogs I have taken to reading lately. I check on more than I list in my sidebar. I am thinking about adding more bloggers to the blogroll but just haven't had the drive.

Anyway, the reason I mention other bloggers and having time to kill is I just found out about a fairly amusing site via Kait at Catz (Adjunct Kait overseas) that she found via Pete's Blog. It is a site that has a computer that will guess what you are thinking in 20 questions. It even has multi-lingual options such as german and "Think in Canadian"!

I tried it. I was thinking about a degree/diploma since that has been central to my life lately. It actually failed to guess it right in 20, or 30, questions. Afterwards, it gives you a summary and some questions it would have answered differently. Such as, it didn't think you would use a degree/diploma at night. So all of you swing shift workers who are 'white collar', you wasted your time. Oh, and a degree/diploma is also not comforting according to majority thinking (which is what the program is based on - statistical data). I dunno. I thought having both a BS and (soon to be awarded) PhD were comforting. It means I can actually pursue the type of job I want. That comforts me. I guess other people just don't think the same way. Well, I always knew I was different...

If you have a few more minutes to kill, I would highly recommend you play. Let me know if you stump the computer. :)

An aside: Thanks (as always) to the readers for comments and words of congrats. Those are always welcome.

Addition: I just tried the 20 Q's thing again before posting this and thought of a mirror. It took 21 guesses by the computer. Here is why I am sharing... I checked to see how my answers may have mislead the computer. Apparently, mirrors ARE NOT PARTLY METAL!! At least, according to the computer answers. It would have answered "no" to "Is it made of metal?". Stupid computer.

Dr. Chemgoddess, If You Please

Hooya! Yes, that's right. It is (nearly) official. My committee members (save for the bossmas) have signed off on my dissertation. I just have to get the manuscript submitted and that's it. Yeay!

I won't lie, the talk wasn't pleasant and the post-talk interrogation wasn't much better. But who cares?!?!? They signed! Weeee!!

I think only the bossman read the dis. The others gave me their copies and there aren't any comments on them. The bossman's comments aren't too numerous either. Shouldn't take me more than a day or two to make the changes. He's still not happy with the abstract - that is probably the most time-consuming thing left to deal with (as far as the dissertation goes).

I don't know how to feel. Part of me just has that stupid grin like the world couldn't be a better place but part of me feels like crying. I think it is from the sense of relief.

OMG, an aside, I was actually a little surprised by how affected my family was by the news. I know it has been kind of hard for them - to see me suffer and not really be able to help. It made me feel doubly good about passing knowing that they were all so happy about it too.

A Sad Day For Network TV

I just read that "Arrested Development", the only program I watch on Fox, is going to be cancelled. I just wanted to post to stay that BLOWS!

Quizzes - Who Am I

Okay, for the month of November I am dedicating Fridays to all things quiz. Today's is fairly scanty and last week's was more of a meme but I promise that next week will be quiz-tastic.

Your Hair Should Be Red

Passionate, fiery, and sassy. You're a total smart aleck who's got the biggest personality around.

What's Your Funky Inner Hair Color?

Your Birthdate: 14

With a birthday on the 14th of the month (5 energy) you are inclined to work well with people and enjoy them. You are talented and versatile, very good at presenting ideas, and you are also very good at organization and systematizing. You may have a tendency to get itchy feet at times and need change and travel. You tend to be very progressive, imaginative and adaptable. Your mind is quick, clever and analytical. A restlessness in your nature may make you a bit impatient and easily bored with routine, and rebel against it. You have a tendency to shirk responsibility.

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

You Passed the US Citizenship Test

Congratulations - you got 7 out of 10 correct!

Could You Pass the US Citizenship Test?

Seven out of ten is passing? I guess grade inflation really is everywhere! C- still qualifies me as a quality american. Oh, sigh.

You are a Theory Slut. The true elite of the
postmodernists, you collect avant-garde
Indonesian hiphop compilations and eat journal
articles for breakfast. You positively live
for theory. It really doesn't matter what
kind, as long as the words are big and the
paragraph breaks few and far between.


What kind of postmodernist are you!?
brought to you by Quizilla

Got The Suit

Well, I have a suit. I guess that is one less thing to worry about for the defense. Still need a talk to give in said suit. Bah.

Not much is new here. I noticed that the Convention and Visitors Bureau of Noble County, Indiana didn't much like me hot-linking to their site for my background picture (even if I did give them due credit) because the pic is "unavailable" as of today. Not that I blame them. It was rude of me. I was being lazy and just never got around to saving the pic to my drive and uploading to my site. Well, all is good now because I have hot-linked to another site. They have some awesome backgrounds. I don't know how to save a .gif file so that the animation stays intact. So, again, being lazy - I just linked right to them. I'll have to pick out a new background in less than a week. They warn you that it is only saved for a week on their server (smart people).

I think that it is a really good thing that I am not an undergrad anymore. With all of the interesting (and distracting) stuff to do on the internet - I don't know how I would ever pass my classes. Having an e-mail account was a big thing when I was in school. There were classmates of mine that never used theirs. And cell phones were big, bulky items you kept in the trunk of your car for emergencies only.

Now they have computers in every building, e-mail accounts that can send and receive pictures, videos, and other media files, cell phones, IM, facebook, and I am sure other sources of keeping in contact with other students and wasting time of which I am not even aware (in my old age of late-twenties!).

I am planning to be a total girly-girl as see the remake of sense and sensibility. I loved the original but I am a little worried how they are going to compress all of the plot into less than two hours. And Keira Knightley kind of annoys me (although Pirates is one of my all-time favorite movies, Bend it like Beckham was great, and Love Actually wasn't bad either).

Speaking of movies (because I am clearly staying within only the topic of suits - baahahaa), I CANNOT WAIT to see the new Harry Potter!!! It's killing me, the waiting. I thought the fourth book was the best one of all. I hope that I am not going to be disappointed because I am so excited. Sometimes, it really is better if you go in with low or no expectations. Oh well. I have great expectations! It's going to be faboo!

I hope that the Wyd Sisters in Canada resolve their dispute with the studio. There was a rumor a few weeks ago that it may not open on time because of possible litigation. And I am going to be in Canada on opening weekend.

c.a.n.n.o.t. w.a.i.t! I feel like such a child... but I don't care! Weeee!!

PBU credit

This is my little thing that I put at the bottom of my Monday entries. Why is it in the middle today, you ask? Because PBU is RIP. That's right. The organizer has decided to shut her doors. There is a topic this week but I am not going to write about it. See below the "Credit" paragraph to find out why.

Credit: These Monday entries are my attempt to add my voice to the cause for the Progressive Blogger Union (PBU). If you care to read what other PBU members have written about this week's topic, you can look under the subject header "PBU45" at the PBU group at Flickr. Or you can plug "PBU45" into the Technorati search engine.

I'm tired. I dropped off my dissertation copies to my committee member's mailboxes this afternoon. Now I need to produce a talk. No small feat and made double-ly difficult because my laptop has mysteriously decided to start overheating at inopportune times. Sigh. Almost done... almost done... almost done. :)

Factual Friday

Overview:

The following survey is for bloggers who are actual or aspiring academics (thus including students). It takes the form of a go-meme to provide bloggers a strong incentive to join in: the 'Link List' means that you will receive links from all those who pick up the survey 'downstream' from you.

The aim is to create open-source data about academic blogs that is publicly available for further analysis. Analysts can find the data by searching for the tracking identifier-code: "acb109m3m3". Further details, and eventual updates with results, can be found on the original posting: academic blog survey

Instructions:

Simply copy and paste this post to your own blog, replacing my survey answers with your own, as appropriate, and adding your blog to the Link List.

Important (1) Your post must include the four sections: Overview, Instructions, Link List, and Survey. (2) Remember to link to every blog in the Link List. (3) For tracking purposes, your post must include the following code: acb109m3m3

Link List (or 'extended hat-tip'):
1. Philosophy, et cetera
2. Pharyngula
3. Adventures in Ethics and Science
4. Chemgoddess' Rant-a-litious Blog

Survey:

Demographics
Age - twenty-something
Gender - Female
Location - Michigan
Religion - na
Began blogging - Nov 2004
Academic field - Chemistry
Academic position [tenured?] - looking

Approximate blog stats
Rate of posting - three times a week
Average no. hits - 8/day
Average no. comments - 1/entry
Blog content - all me all the time with political and academic comments included occasionally

Other Questions

1) Do you blog under your real name? Why / why not?
No, although you could probably figure it out with some internet stalking. I decided after the Higher Ed piece that at least I should pretend to be a little anonymous.

2) Do colleagues or others in your department know that you blog? If so, has anyone reacted positively or negatively?
A few fellow grad students know about it. Most admit to not reading it. No professional colleagues (ie: profs) know, at least to my knowledge.

3) Are you on the job market?
Kind of. See post on canadian hiring laws.

4) Do you mention your blog on your CV or other job application material?
Hell no.

5) Has your blog been mentioned at all in interviews, tenure reviews, etc.? If so, provide details.
No.

6) Why do you blog?
It was originally intended for friends and family to keep up with my life. As my life really isn't that interesting in the day-to-day, I have branched out into polical comment and memes. A constant has been my rather dissatisfing experience in my jobs - grad student and adjunct - and ranting about them. I hope to return to the academic arena full time in my professional life and return to blogging more about that area. First I need to finish the degree and get a job. Small little trifles. Is that the most repetitive statement ever?

Also, I enjoy having a reason to learn the html coding and template stuff although I am clearly still a novice.

Pass it on!

Should I Be Nervous?

Blah.

Blah.

Really, that word says it all... Blah.

I have spent the last few days putting the polishing touches on my pre and post pages (abstract, table of contents, appendices, references, vita, etc.). The bossman is a fanatic about the abstract so I sent it out to three readers. It has to be less than 350 words so how bad can it be, right? Well, two readers said it was great, one thought it was dog meat. Greeeaaat. I dropped it off last night. If it sucks - at least I will get that info from the one person who matters.

The weird thing is I thought I would be more nervous about the whole thing. Maybe I'm not so nervous because my dissertation has more or less been done for more than two months or because I (at some level) just don't care anymore. Or maybe because I still have another five or six days until I need to turn in the dissertation to my committee. Or maybe I am just totally ignoring all of the emotional stress this is causing me?

(side note: I say five or six days because we submit our 'books' to the profs through the mailroom. That means that 5:05 pm on Monday is the same as 7:55 am on Tues.)

I'm sure when I actually have to give "the talk" that I will be Freaking Out. But until that even gets close (still about two weeks away), I just can't seem to give a damn. This doesn't seem normal. Everyone I have spoken with says that it is like finishing a race at the end. Well, maybe it is because I just spent a really long time sitting on a bench, I'm just not feeling it. It feels like I am in a "fun run" where about two thirds of the way to the finish line someone tripped me. Now I have been hobbling for a third of the race, bleeding and dehydrated, and I just want to cross the line and sit the fuck down. All of my running partners (friends) have finished. Everyone is on the sidelines cheering for me. But finishing isn't making me very excited, nervous, or even happy. I just want to stop hobbling, let my legs heal, make the best of a bad race decision, and plan my next event.

What I am feeling isn't nervousness... it's dread. I am dreading the final beating to be handed out by the committee. Why isn't my research published in more highly regarded journals (JACS, Science, or Nature)? Why don't I have a half dozen notebooks of work like more synthetically-inclined disciplines? Why do I think I deserve a degree since I couldn't even manage to finish in 4 years? What's going on in current literature in my field even though I haven't had open access to online or paper journals in over a year? Or, the worst, a possible question about my research that I DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER TO! Oh god. Does it get any worse than that? And I don't even have the benefit of having people on my committee that will get distracted by each other (department politics). Nope. They all like each other and will be focused on me. I'd be nervous if I thought it was something that could go well and that I had some control over that. But, really, I feel like there is no way it will go well so I am just feeling dread.

And what do I say if they ask why I left? The bossman wouldn't support me on stipend any longer. He basically told me point blank that he didn't want to bother with writing a letter of rec for any possible funding I could pursue outside of the department. The department doesn't offer TA funding because of the way it's constructed so that wasn't even an option. I'm not independently wealthy. What? Do I lie, or at least sugarcoat it? What if they want me to do more lab work and ammend my dissertation? Do I tell them "no" flat out? Or explain my situation with having no insurance, no lab space, no desk, and no place to live making it nearly impossible?

Anyway, I'm so uninspired to work on the manuscript right now it amazes even me.

Oh, and the bossman didn't get back to me today with comments on the abstract... maybe tomorrow. sigh.

hobble... hobble...