The "big time"...

This week I got called up to the majors, so to speak. A national parent group asked my supervisor (I need to come up with a fun alias for him - working on it...) to give a talk at their annual meeting in October. He is often asked to give talks like this and I would say that 80% of the time he accepts. This is actually one of the things I like best about him. He feels that since the public funds the majority of his research he should give something back to the public. And because the research that he does has practical applications to many groups - parents, teachers, government - this means giving talks not only at academic conferences but also at annual parent and teacher meetings, etc. Part of the reason I'm working with him is to learn how to do more practical research, and I'd really like to do a better job of translating my results into something that might actually be useful to a non-academic.

Well, it turns out that he is going to be away somewhere else the weekend of the conference (he's basically going to be away for the entire month of October) and so he asked me if I might like to give the talk. Thankfully he made this request via e-mail, so he did not see the blind panic on my face in reaction to this. This is a 90 minute talk, given twice in a row, that touches on a politically charged issue. I was hoping to work my way up to that - maybe watch him give a similar talk, then give one together with and/or one of my other labmates, and then maybe fly solo. Nope - I'm jumping into the deep end. I suppose I could have said no, but that seemed like a bad idea. Oh, and it's three days before I leave for Wales to give my first ever talk at an academic conference. Eek!

I know that this is what I am supposed to be aiming for - the "big time". I should be excited to be giving talks like this. And half of me is happy, and flattered that he thinks this is something I can do. But the other half of me is freakin' out just a little bit. This is a good thing though - I just need to keep reminding myself of that.

me and julio

Honey, I'm home...

I'm baaaaaaack! Did ya miss me? Yeah, I thought you might have.

So I'm hoping to make blogging a regular occurrence from here on in. I had intended to start the blog right back up after I moved from here to here, but in the craziness of moving, starting over in a new city and at a new university, and getting registered as a postdoc (I have just depressed myself by reading the "cons" of being a post doc - for those applying, just ignore that section) I never did. However a recent e-mail exchange with the lovely and charming effamy rekindled the idea and so here I am.

For those expecting a first entry filled with juicy gossip, shocking revelations, and in-depth political analysis you will be disappointed. I am tired and need to go to bed and my lovely co-host Julio is meowing his fool head off because he wants to go out into the hallway. So he can run into the stairwell and cower in fear. And then bite me when I pick him up to bring him back to the safety of his apartment. Good times.

I will end with three recent pictures of Senor Julio. One of him lounging in his chair in a most undignified manner:



One of him having a drink in a most undignified manner:



And a third of him in March - after he was very, very bad. Very, very bad.

Yes my friends, that is a down duvet!

Check back soon!

me and julio

I'M DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes ladies and gentlemen...aside from some proofreading over the weekend my dissertation is DONE!!

That is all I have the energy to write at the moment, but look for a better update this weekend and more frequent blogging.

I can't even express how crazy it is to be DONE!

me and julio

It's not just me folks...

I know that some people believe that I have an...ahem...unhealthy obsession with a certain fake news broadcaster. There may be some truth to this - #1 labmate has limited me to one Jon reference per day. But here is evidence that I am not alone...check out this link. Et voila:

(courtesy of http://www.babywit.com/)

Now I will admit to finding out about this on a site that is dedicated to my buddy Jon...but doesn't the existence of such a product suggest that there must be a market for it? There are more of us out there than you might think :-)

Don't worry everyone, I won't buy it for any of your little ones...I promise.

Teehee,
me and julio

Happy

I have been thinking about what it takes to be happy - and have decided that sometimes it is not much.

On Friday morning I taught my last class for one of the courses I am teaching. This course has been very stressful. It was on a topic that I am not overly familiar with and that has nothing to do with my research. It was a large class. It was a 100-level course, meaning that there was a huge variety of people in the class - from 4th year Psychology honours students to 1st year Chemistry students. I was always behind with it too - finishing lectures at 1, 2, or even 3am the night before. Ugh. But at 12:30pm on Friday it was over (except for the final exam, but it's not hard to get a computer to score 80 multiple-choice questions).

I had planned to take Friday afternoon off as a reward (a great idea because I only got 4 hours sleep the night before), and had finally booked a haircut, something I have been trying to fit into my schedule for 3 months now. My hair was LONG! And if you know me (which you all do) you know that I have an insane amount of hair. So I hopped on the bus and headed downtown. It was a nice temperature on Friday - sunny, and jean jacket weather. I went in to the salon and everyone was commenting on how much hair I have - it was ridiculous. So I chatted with the stylist about what needed to be done (cut a bunch off and thin it out - as usual) and so began the most relaxing hour I've had all week - maybe even all month. Exactly what I needed. I left the salon feeling like a million bucks. Still sunny outside at this point, and I was going to walk home, so I stopped at the Starbucks on the corner and got a Frappacino. Then I walked the 5 blocks home sipping it, listening to my iPod (yay for the Stars!) and enjoying the sun.

I still don't know where I will be living next year. I still don't know when my thesis will be finished. I still don't know when I am moving.

But that Friday afternoon - that my friends, made me happy.

me and julio

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

"Wherever you go and whatever you do,
May the luck of the Irish be there with you."
Irish Blessing

525,600 minutes...

If you have seen the musical Rent, then this number should mean something to you. Or even if you haven't seen the musical or rented the movie you have likely heard the song Seasons of Love. But if you're still confused - 525,600 minutes = a year in the life. Now let's multiply that by 10. Ten years = 5,256,000 minutes. Somewhat alarming, but I do have a purpose for all this math.

As I was walking home from the bus today, I realized that if I do start a postdoc at McGill this summer, it will likely begin on July 1st. What's special about July 1st? If I move to Montreal on July 1st, 2007, I will be moving back exactly 10 years after I originally moved away. Yup, on July 1st weekend 1997, my family (minus my little brother who came later on) packed up all our worldly goods and moved out East. That was such a hectic weekend. It was incredibly hot, and we had the dog with us:


While my parents went from the bank, to the lawyer, to the real estate office, the dog and I sat in the car, sat on the curb, even sat in the office a few times. I was 19 years old and starting my undergrad degree at Mount A that September. Now I will be 29 years old (scary!), have defended my PhD dissertation (or at least have done my departmental defense), and will be starting a post doc. I've now lived in three other provinces, have met all kinds of new people, have lived in 8 houses/rooms/apartments with 7 other roomates (in various combinations), have acquired a cat (see exhibit A)

Made some of the best friends of my life...

Strange coincidence? Yes...exactly 10 years to the day - 5,256,000 minutes. I have decided it must be a good sign! Julio agrees - he thinks he'll like Montreal - his Spanish should help him learn French :-)

Bonne nuit,
me and julio

P.S. Update re: Jon Stewart stand-up gig - I BOUGHT THE TICKETS! I still may not be able to go, and probably won't know if I can for a long time - but I just could not pass up the chance. Thanks to #1 Labmate for agreeing to come with me :-) I am beyond excited!