Totally Opposite!

My friend Kyle posted this about the train station in Warrington, England. I thought I'd counter with something of a different sort from a park-n-ride that I know! I like this idea better.

Just when...

The snow was melting and you could see the grass, more arrived. Luckily it wasn't too much. But it does make me long for a garage.

For the record it is Friday night at nearly 8:30 and I am in my office working. I am listening to my very favorite radio station (other than NPR) on my computer so that makes this situation sort of okay. I am trying to decide if I should try to grade another problem before I go home. I think I will.

I was very sick earlier this week. I slept for a good portion of M and T. Thankfully, I had a flexible enough schedule that I only needed to come in for short amounts of time. It appears that I haven't infected anyone else. I am trying to catch up.

I am going on a "date" tomorrow.

I had a "fight" with my financial planner last week. I told him to stop my auto invest. I want to keep the money I have saved (and continue to save) for a house safe. He disagreed. I think I proved him wrong this week as the market continues to tank. I have decided to try to plot my investments in Excel. It might be depressing.

I might get to do a really cool workshop this summer in an awesome location!

I think I am going to buy flowers on my way home tonight. Some of you might know what this means, most of you don't. Happy, Happy to those of you who know!

This past week

Busy, busy, busy. This is what I've done in the past week:

• Ran >16 miles
• Went to a defense
• Took my students to see a very famous scientist give a seminar at a nearby school
• Baked banana bread with chocolate chips and pecans
• Had a marathon faculty meeting (Where I learned that there's a whole lot more politics in my department than I realized. I know this because one of my colleagues had told me he supported my preference several days before the meeting, but then when the other way during the meeting. AKA: my honeymoon is over.)
• Met with a visiting speaker
• Began learning a new instrument (another new piece of equipment will arrive next week)
• Went to dinner at the house of a friend I met through AWIS
• Participated in a study session for a super interesting project
• Spoke with a visiting prospective student
• Spent countless hours (>5) helping my slightly clueless students who are working on a large project (which is due next week)
• Supervised 1/2 of a lab session for a sick TA.
  
• Plus the usual stuff!

It was a pretty jam packed week. I am working today and will be working tomorrow. I hope to get out of here by 4:30 so I can run errands and get to the gym before it closes.

Random

I've been busy. Here are some random musings...

• Does tea expire?
• Negotiating prices at Kohl's isn't as difficult as you might think.
  
• Why has it gotten so much warmer since I purchased snow shoes on Saturday?
• How can I get my students to do better at synthesizing information? One of my very best students has been in my office recently asking question about an assignment I commented on about a week ago. The assignment was more or less complete. But, these questions are leading me to believe that she doesn't understand what she did or why she did it.
• Is it possible for me to run 100 miles in a month? Have I done this in the past? (I'm not quite sure as I can't access my 2005 running log right now.)
• Is there any chance I could get more hours in the day?
• Why was everyone I know at my favorite breakfast place on Sunday morning? (Well, maybe not everyone, but at one point I knew 6 people getting breakfast. I don't know that many people in this area.)

That is about all for now.

Springsteen is AWESOME!

despite the Walmart "mistake."

From the Other Side

It has been an interesting adventure to be on the search committee for a new colleague. I very recently got my position (which is a discussion for another time), but suffice to say, it is very close to me. An academic interview in the physical sciences is at least a day long. It involves shuttling between all of the faculty in the department (and some outside the department depending on interests) for 30 minute blocks. There are several ways to approach these sessions.

1. You can just listen. Most academics are able to fill 30 minutes talking about themselves and their science.
2. Talk the whole time about your experiences and basically don't let the professor get a word in edge wise.
3. Mainly let the professor control the discussion but make sure to ask a few questions that either come up or are things you want to know about the department. If asked questions, make sure to answer completely, but keep it short.

Interesting to observe, we have had candidates in each of these categories. About the candidate who talked the whole time, I wrote on my "score card," that he didn't listen much. This came out in his interview talk as well.

Speaking of the interview talk, that is another piece of the process. This is typically an hour long talk about the science the candidate has done. Some candidates talk about work from their first post doc appointment, or their second, or some mixture, but rarely do the candidates talk about their Ph.D. work. We did have one of the later in this round, which I thought was unusual. In addition, our candidates have to talk about their proposed research and teaching. One piece of the application packet is a teaching philosophy, so the candidates will have thought about the basics, but sometimes not the specifics. Before you actually get up and teach, it's hard to say what specific examples you may use. I think it's unfair to ask these types of questions. I don't think I could have answered these well when I was interviewing, but I wasn't often asked.

Finally, there is a chance for the dean, who will make the hire official, to interview the candidate. This was perhaps the piece of the interview I was most intimidated about, but in reality, it wasn't too bad. I was always surprised that the dean had read my whole file, unlike some of the faculty.

In addition to the formal pieces of the interview, there are always meals that are typically shared with faculty. I have been on dinner duty and have had at least one dinner with each of the faculty candidates. It's fun in the sense that I get to go out and try new places without the expense, but it's also really restrictive to my time. It makes the evening a no go for getting anything else done. I often work into the evenings and on those nights, I have to leave at the designated time no matter what I'm in the middle of working on. It makes me less productive.

Overall, it has been an interesting experience. But I hope not to have to do it again anytime soon.