Adventures in the Colonial 'burg: April 2010

Friday, April 30, 2010

Oh yeah...

So the excitement from last week and early this week has started to wane. I came to the realization that the tenure-track position that I starts in the fall does precisely that: It starts in the fall. I have a million things that I have to do now, and have to get back to it.

One thing that I did was finally decide not to go to the Big Annual Conference in my field this year. It's in Sardinia, which made it a very tough decision, but honestly, the energy I'd have to put into planning the trip (and going to it) was just too much. The very notion of traveling right now makes me a little ill. Plus, we'll have trips over the summer to NY to find apartments for the both of us, and it's not essential that I go to this.

Something else I was thinking about was what I will do about this blog in the fall. I'm not very secretive about my identity with this, and I do think that it may have to be something that falls by the wayside as I enter the realm of Being a Responsible Professor. I know, all four of you who read this regularly will be disappointed, but there's another very important issue here. The very name of this blog is centered around where I live. Sure, I could cut out "Colonial" (it's not in the url of this site, after all), but I'm not moving to a 'burg again (unless I live in a certain neighborhood in Brooklyn which is not going to happen because well, it's too ridiculous of a commute for me to work and I don't think I could handle being around all those hipsters regularly).

These are important issues. Really, I'm working right now.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Chef's Kitchen

Last night was the final birthday celebration, where I cashed in on Corbett's gift, which was dinner for two at A Chef's Kitchen. This is a place, for those unfamiliar with it, where you sit through a cooking class while they prepare and serve your dinner. The menu was:

Spaghetti Squash & Pea Shoots with Kafir Lime in a Green Onion & Ginger Broth

Asparagus, Artichoke & Chiffonade Lettuce with Lemon Dijon Vinaigrette

A Chef’s Kitchen’s Skillet Baked Corn Bread

Sauté of Wild-Caught Gulf Shrimp with Fennel, Leeks & Saffron

Roast Rack of Grass-fed New Zeal& Lamb with Sautéed Red Potatoes & Shallots and Morel Mushroom Fumé

Chocolate Mousse Napoleon with Bali Vanilla Shortbread Cookies & Dewars Butterscotch Syrup

And it was amazingly delicious and super fun! Imagine watching the Food Network but you get to eat the food (and no offense to most of the Food Network chefs, but we're talking the most delicious food ever!). That, with the glass of champagne and three glasses of wine, is something I would totally want to do again, and perhaps we will before we leave the 'burg.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

No windows

I'm not sure if I've mentioned this here, but the current office in which I reside (co-reside, really, with two others) has no windows. It's not a big deal (although come to think of it, it's the first I've ever had without windows), but there are times when it's a problem.

See, the latest officemate arrived just a few weeks ago. He's a great guy, very nice and often overly considerate. But see, he walks to work. It's not too far, maybe a 30-40 minute walk. But it's getting warm out. You perhaps may see where I am going with this and you are partially right.

He understands the issues with walking so far in the extremely warm weather. So he makes up for it when he gets here. Problem is, he has an aerosol (really? they still make those?) deoderant that he applies, in the office. So while I appreciate the "not wanting to smell badly" sentiment, there are issues in that it now smells like Ax body spray in here, and well, there is no window to get fresh air in. And so it lingers.

Four more months...

Monday, April 26, 2010

Empire State

So it's almost fully official. I have verbally accepted a position at a university back in New York City. That's right, no matter what you may think of me and how I present myself, I am about to become an assistant professor of physics. There are many great things about this latest development in my life, and I would like to present them in bullet form:

First, Corbett will be in western New York, so we'll only be six hours apart, as opposed to the 1600 mile difference it was going to be.

I'll get to be back in New York.

I'll get to teach.

I don't have to live in Mountain Time.

I won't have to think about accepting a position that I interviewed for in Detroit.

I also learned my teaching schedule when I accepted the position. I am teaching Electricity & Magnetism (a junior-level course), which is four hours a week (Monday and Thursday afternoons), and an intro lab (two hours a week, Tuesday afternoon). So I get Wednesday and Fridays with no teaching, which is great.

The only downside is that I have to figure out where I'm going to live, and that's tricky in NYC. But whatever, it'll be worth it!

Monday, April 19, 2010

As usual

So as many people know, I like to drag my birthday out for as long as possible. This year was no exception. I got to celebrate it while at the All-Hand's meeting at Brookhaven this year (whoopee), by having drinks with some friends at a bar on site.

When I returned home, I got to celebrate by opening all of my presents yesterday, and yet it still can drag on. Corbett's gift was dinner at A Chef's Kitchen, and we still have to schedule that. This is something I've wanted to do for a long time, and swore we'd have to do it before leaving town. So I'm psyched.

Also, no one in town was free for celebrating last night, so we did our own thing, and sometime in the future we'll get together with our friends here. Plus, one of the (too many) gifts from my folks was to get my trunk lock fixed after someone damaged it trying (and failing) to break in (this was like, two years ago, and I'm finally getting it taken care of), so I'll still be "celebrating" on Friday when I get that taken care of.

And in other news, I have one more interview, this time in Michigan, and I get to leave for that tomorrow afternoon. Yay for me.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

One of the greatest days

Coming up is the best day of the year. It immediately follows (and every six or seven years, it actually coincides with) what many people in this country consider the worst day of the year. I of course am talking about my birthday (usually the day after tax day). I've become more muted about it lately, partly I think because this year (like last year) I will be at Brookhaven on the spectacular day. But, that makes it no less wonderful.

I think the other reason I've become more muted is that well, this time of year is always tainted with stress, what with all of the job hunting. I do have a job for next year*, but I also have an interview for a faculty position tomorrow and Thursday. So the stress is still there. It won't leave until well, I find out yay or nay. At the very least, once this week is over, it is all out of my hands.

You know what though, it doesn't really matter. We both have jobs for next year, and so I should forget about it. Hopefully being at work today will help, and the next two days will go by pretty fast. When that interview is over, I can rest (and prepare the other talk I have to give this week, thus making a total of 3 presentations over four days, two of which are on the same day), and when I get back to the 'burg, I will get a chance to celebrate this holiest of days.
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* And an offer for another job, although it too is temporary and as such, I'm unsure if I will take it. There are a million issues with regards to this second offer, and well, I have no energy to go into it.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Daze

I've been in a daze this week. Primarily I think it is because of my superfast trip to the west coast last week, arriving just at midnight Friday night (after over an hour delay in Dallas, making my time there just over four hours), combined with my upcoming trip to New York next week. This week doesn't feel real. Also, no one is around. One of my officemates has left for good, while the other will return today or tomorrow. The two professors in the group are also out of town for the week, so it's been very quiet at work.

Several things of note. I'm getting very antsy about my interview next week. I have high hopes because the interview last week went extremely well. I get to stay near Lincoln Center, so I'll know the neighborhood fairly well, and my talk is prepared already (as I've given it several times before). The only thing to do is prepare for my lecture, which will be a class in the freshman physics class (so electricity and magnetism). I will find out today specifically what it is about (hopefully it's Faraday's Law, and the only reason I say that is because I taught that in California last week).

I also need to prepare a talk for the All-Hands' meeting, and honestly I should be working on that right now. Instead I'm doing things that really need to get done but could be put on hold for a week or two.

Now I have to put my sweatshirt on, even though I turned off the a/c in here (and it's like 90 outside)...

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Sometimes it's just not cute

Last night, I felt like I went to bed too early. But alas I did, and after a while I eventually dozed off (before midnight, which is this crazy new thing we're trying here). That was until 2:30, when Dante decided to go into the living room and have a barking fit. So I woke up, and could not for the life of me fall back asleep. I tossed, turned, checked my email (surprisingly no one emailed me between the hours of 11 and 3, except for American Airlines and Jo-Ann's Fabrics), and just went crazy until sometime after 4 or 4:30 when I fell asleep again.

Then the thunderstorm hit, and I woke up at 5:30 not to the storm, but come on, you all know it, to a fifty pound beagle-lab mix shaking and shivering and just being overall terrified of the thunder and lightning. And the storm lasted for a long time, and I was up for another hour or so.

So yeah, he's cute. It's sad that he's scared of storms, but when I only get half of the necessary sleep I was promised by my bedtime, it's not cute anymore.

Monday, April 5, 2010

Just because water is falling...

Short letters to various people of interest:

Dear Southern Californians: When it rains for two hours in the morning, and by rain I mean a gentle spring shower, this is not equivalent to a storm that batters LA. Especially since shortly after the rain finishes, the sun comes out and by the end of the day, there's no sign of water having ever fallen.

Dear fellow flight passenger, sitting behind me: If you pull on the seat in front of you, I feel it. In fact, the seats are not all that stable, so as you rummage through the seat pocket (as apparently you have stored everything you own in there and during the entire 2.5 hour flight, you are in constant need of whatever you shoved in there), I am yanked back with a rather strong force. Please, realize this, and try to be more considerate in the future.

Dear apartment complex: We had some issues a few months ago when you tried to charge us for our washer/dryer, and luckily it was all taken care of. You told us you would let us keep it at no charge until March 31st. We have contacted you to take it out of the apartment, as we will not pay for it. If you do not, however, we will gladly keep it for the last few months we're living here, but we will not pay for it.

Thank you all for listening.