.....ain't that the truth.
Ever since we got back after our vacation, we've gone from complete rest to full-on work-related onslaught without as much as a day of transition or gearing up. It's been brutal. Capital B, capital R, UTAL! And truth be told, things ain't gonna return to "normal hectic" levels until after the first of October, so it's still more than a week to go, but at least we can foresee the work pace returning to normal levels.
So; what new can put on my list of accomplishments since mid-August?
Ever since we got back after our vacation, we've gone from complete rest to full-on work-related onslaught without as much as a day of transition or gearing up. It's been brutal. Capital B, capital R, UTAL! And truth be told, things ain't gonna return to "normal hectic" levels until after the first of October, so it's still more than a week to go, but at least we can foresee the work pace returning to normal levels.
So; what new can put on my list of accomplishments since mid-August?
- Made continuation exam. In general, ~50% of students who are registered for continuation exams don't show up, which is a constant source of frustration, extra work and extra cost for our University. Why they elect not to show up beats the hell out of me, seeing as how they have to physically show up at the originally scheduled exam, register and turn in a blank test, OR provide the registrar with a note from a physician in order to qualify for the continuation exam. If a particular course only has one candidate registered for continuation exam, the percentile can be converted into the odds of said person actually showing up being 50-50. Guess which fifty percent I ended up with.
- Organized and attended two-day MSc and PhD level course given by Big Name Professor. Found out after the course that I essentially have to give as many lectures myself on same topic later this Fall.
- Being administrator for a PhD defense, with all the various tasks that entails. Arrange for opponents to give department seminars the day before the defense.
- Attend post-defense party, having speech on hand as part of commitee.
- Another all-day off-campus pedagogic training, and still three more to go......
- A whole bunch of "free" lunches and dinners.
- One full day of travel + meetings + giving presentation
- One full week of evaluating/treating data and making coherent PowerPoint presentation for said presentation.
- Meetings + hands-on lab tutorial for MSc student (luckily, I've got a post doc helping a brutha' out)
- Submitting two research papers to journals (again - thank God for post docs)
- Working like a mofo to revise another manuscript following six pages of reviewer comments (five full pages from one of teh reviewers). Ending up with a 17-page revision letter in addition to changes done to manuscript. Submitting revised version today.
- Progress report to Research Council of Norway. Still a lot to do on that one.......... Why they want a "popular science" version of results for a progress report and not just on the final one is beyond me.
- Starting to make two more presentations to be given in Oslo next week.
Damn - it doesn't look like much considering the time and effort put into it. TGIF!
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8 comments:
...and let's not forget the following achievements by you this week*:
- 6 posts on one of the leading blogs in Norway
- 32 thoughtful and intelligent, yet witty, comments on above mentioned blog
- One not so free dinner
- One crusade against all things french
- Fought off a bunch of weird looking men in striped sweaters and berets charging out of a 2CV swinging their baguettes.
- And lots more that I can't think of right now, because now I'm leaving for home. TGIF!
*Because I'm too lazy to go over the stat's for your blog activity since mid auggie (yeah, that's a month!)
Believe you me, this dinner was much preferred to the "free" meals I've had.
My crusade against the french scourge is ever ongoing. Putain!
Wow. And I thought I was having a busy life these days. Now I wonder why, on top of this, you find the time to post four times as many blog posts as I do...
I come up with some idea or framework while doing menial tasks such as looking up references, making graphics or doing spreadsheet calculations, and then I type it up after the concept is 75% formulated, typically late in the evening. The typing part is real quick once the idea is clearly outlined.
During times like this, the blog becomes a useful dumping ground for whatever comes to mind.
Now I wonder why, on top of this, you find the time to post four times as many blog posts as I do...
Some theories:
1. Touch method. By utilising all ten fingers rather then just the index fingers, he should be able to type five times faster then you. So actually, he's a bit slow compared to your posting rate (assuming you type with just your index fingers...)
2. It's his evil twin doing all the blog postings while Wilhelm is doing his research.
3. It's his evil twin doing all the research while Wilhelm is posting on the blog (even more scary then the option above)
4. Multi-tasking. Wilhelm has the feminine gene that's make women able to do more then one thing at the time. Picture W-boy pipetting samples with one hand and typing blog posts with the other while making PowerPoint presentation with his toes. Yeah, the dude can type!
5. It's a spacial think. I could explain this, but you have to be able to think in three dimensions, and since you are a girl, you wouldn't understand.*
6. Or what Wilhelm said. But that one is way too obvious and more boring the any of my options.
*Sorry, today's post above about "epic double standards" and sexist commercial from Bohus got me thinking about sex stereotypes. I've see you photos, and know that your eye for 3D angles is much better then mine...
Feminine gene, eh?
Well; I DO enjoy shopping, even window shopping..does that count?
I think I like the evil twin theories best. The touch method theory is based on a false assumption, so I'll have to disregard that. The multitasking thing is quite appealing, too. After all, I can't multitask (and hate shopping, but I can read maps and think in 3D), so I can easily see how that feminine gene I seem to lack would enable him to do lots of things simultaneously :-)
The evil twin idea IS appealing.
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