Goodbye Fevrier

Clock continues to tick. No way around that fact eh?

Today is the last "work" day of February. I had been productive today, surprisingly, despite the bloc I've been experiencing the past two weeks. I've got an idea for the last part of the thesis that resembles a blood clot in a brain. In fact, at this point I believe there is a manifestation of a blood clot in MY brain by the way my thoughts are getting constipated.

I foresee my last February weekend to be a busy one; I need to get something interesting to pass up as a RESULT by Tuesday. I had not impressed boss M last Tuesday with what I showed him in our brainstorming.

I've got ONE graph to show him so far. At least I've got that. The precious one. But I expect to have a few more by MARCH, which is on Monday.

Codeword: CODEMONKEY.

Maths demo tomorrow.

Tomorrow is the schedule I have for the tutorial demo at maths. If I do well, I can be looking at at least 4 hours a week of teaching.

I'm not sure I want the added workload, and I've been advised against it. Though I do need the money, and the diversion from thesis work can sometimes help. I also did note the last week that attempting to prepare a class lesson was enjoyable.

So here's hoping I do well. I can still decide not to push through with the gig should I get it. And there's also the chance I won't be given a schedule, or I'm not wanted at all.

Scholarship and a Postdoc.

(Source: http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive/phd020209s.gif)

Of course, I hope the deviation is not as wide as his. At least I know it's not an option for me to finish AFTER a year, coz the money runs out by then ;)

Thank goodness for the scholarship. Otherwise, I'm pretty sure I can't afford this degree. The amount to spend for tuition is incomprehensible to me.

In other news, boss M forwarded an email to me regarding a postdoc opportunity... in Canada. First off, I'm happy he suggested it. Second of all, Canada. I would love to go, but it's another 2 years of solitude should the husband and I not jive in our plans. Anyhow, it's another thing to think about. The list can only get longer ;)

On writing the thesis

From Joe Wolfe (School of Physics, UNSW)-- One anonymous postdoc told me: "You should tell everyone that it's going to be unpleasant, that it will mess up their lives, that they will have to give up their friends and their social lives for a while. It's a tough period..." It certainly is hard work, stressful and you will have to adapt your rhythm to it. It is also an important rite of passage and the satisfaction you will feel afterwards is wonderful."

Lecture and tutorial demos

This week there were lecture demos for the search for a replacement for boss M's position as Genetics lecturer. I went to sit for some. So I heard the sickle-cell and malaria example and Hardy-Weinberg law several times (as well as koalas, kookaburas and possums, very Australian hehe). Not bad, I need to be reminded about teaching styles as I might give demos in the next few weeks myself.

Yesterday afternoon I started to write up answers for sample problems for two undergraduate courses: Vector Calculus and Complex Variables. I found myself breezing through the first few problems, but later on got stumped on several ones. On some items I knew how to answer them, but the theory got lost.

Went to the library to harvest dusty textbooks to backtrack on theorems to justify my solutions in these problems. I suddenly felt nostalgic, felt how much I missed teaching, and the process of preparation for lectures.

I am certain I want to teach in a university again.

Couples, partners, incest and such.

(Source: http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive/phd012809s.gif)

This blog is turning out to be a commentary/reaction on phdcomics.com. What can I do, almost each comic strip strikes a chord.

I suppose "incestuous departments" occur not just in academia. But, having hardly worked (less than a year) outside academia I haven't enough data to support that claim hehe.

I met my husband in the university, and we both became instructors there. Some (if not most) of our colleagues in the department also met their spouses in the university or in the department. So I can say that our department is also incestuous.

I only know of one couple in my current university who work in the same department. Yep, they are also in Maths. Fancy that. Ah, there is also another couple in Biological Sciences, but they started out as a professor-student relationship. There are also a number of those from all over I'd imagine. I know I've seen a lot.

I've met some couples in a conference, who work in the same university. It's kinda tricky spotting them. I find out only after speaking with them that they are partners, coz they say so. I've met only one couple so far who share the same surname. It's not something I'm accustomed to, coz most couples in my country take their husband's surname.

It's interesting to note that some universities encourage couples to work "together", meaning that if they hire one of them, the university would try to hire the partner. Even not in the same department. It like a "hire one, get two" situation.

A blue form

So about item (3) in this list, I'm being summoned to the other school to fill out a blue form. Ok so that other school is the Maths and Stats school. It gets me excited to think that I can experience tutoring in an actual Maths school here. Two reasons:

(1) I'm not in a maths school at the moment. Though I am sorta doing maths-related research.
(2) I used to teach maths. In fact I taught maths for a while after graduating from a maths degree.

I'll stop counting eggs before they hatch for now. No jinxing!!