Bits and tids
I can't believe I'm down to writing in this thing once a month. I think it's because people have mostly migrated over to other means of keeping track of folks - facebook, twitter, tumblr, whatever. But I've never felt like any of those sites are a good medium for actually getting to the meat of what's going on with me. So LJ it is.
1. Things have been looking up considerably, but I'm afraid I'm lined up for a big series of disappointments soon. I had a job interview 2+ weeks ago, and they haven't gotten back to me today. I talked to their HR person last week and she said they still had people to interview this week. I'm afraid I haven't been proactive enough with this job - I didn't email or call to thank them for the interview, I gave them my old, un-updated copy of my resume (which still impressed them significantly they said, so I guess that's okay), and I didn't get any contact info for the folks I talked to there. It's a really good job - it's a position as an EEG technician, the company is called NeuroFocus, and they do research on how people watch ads. I've gotten a lot of flack for "going over to the dark side" here, but they have a beautiful salary and benefits package, which the "good guys" can't afford right now. So, nyah. I'll probably hear about that soon - anywhere between 1-4 days, I'm guessing.
2. I have a job interview for a lab at UC Berkeley today. I'm fairly nervous about it, but I think that's mostly because it's so damn hard to stay optimistic about the job search when I keep hearing about the unemployment rate rising so much. The reality of the situation is that I know I'd do great at that job, I have all the required skills and then some, and as far as I can tell I'm a great fit for the lab. Just to add to it, they're researching a phenomenon that has always fascinated me, and they're a HIGHLY quantitative lab, which would give me a lot of opportunities to expand my analytical abilities. None of these things make me more optimistic, though, mostly because there are a lot more unknown than known variables on the table. I know I'll feel different by the end of the day, though.
3. I've been having a better time at my current lab job, surprisingly. I'm starting to get pretty bummed that a) they don't have the money to support me full-time and b) it's in Davis. Okay, in reality B doesn't bother me so much, it bothers me more when I think of leaving it actually. Davis is really wonderful in the fall, I gotta admit. And it's great to catch up with Caitlin and Zach when I can. (Strawberry - miss you!) There are also some errand-y things I'm more comfortable with doing in Davis than I am in Berkeley, which is kinda bizarre. Anyway, I've been getting to know our post-doc Sukbin better, and she's really sweet and super supportive. Plus we have very complementary abilities - she has a Ph.D in statistics, and I have a BS in neurobiology, which means we can both fill in the gaps for each other when we encounter a concept we're not familiar with. I've found that I'm far more motivated in my research when I have a partner I can work with. It used to be Corey and I would do everything together on this count (he'd shoulder the biological components of the project and I'd do that math/programming parts), but since we work in different labs it was hard to apply that to our research post-graduation. Anyway, if I don't find any other good job opportunities, I think I'll try to talk to my boss about doing a collaboration with Sukbin on a project, and maybe increase my hours so I can actually afford to stick around.
4. Last time I wrote, I mentioned how one of my favorite profs emailed me a while back to see about getting a beer together. That happened, and all in all it was good times, but now he's being a little bit flirty with me. I'm happy to have reconnected, but I'm also pretty resentful of the notion that a) the reason he contacted me was because he's interested or b) he wants to add some sexual component - whether it's acted upon or not - to our mentor-mentee relationship. I think that feeling will pass, though - all in all, it's good to have him on my side, and I know he'll at least give me a killer letter of recommendation at the very least. (Oddly, this is the advise my dad gave me about the situation... go figure.)
5. Michael and I went to Utah a few weekends ago, and had a really wonderful time. I got a lot of questions about him&me moving in together, grandchildren, him as a brother-in-law to my sisters, etc etc etc. I don't think those questions really bother either of us, but it's definitely very soon to even mention most of those things. We went fishing with my dad, got dinner with my uncles, prepared dinner for my family + aunt&uncle, went to a bar where my stepmother tricked me into dancing on the grand piano in front of dozens of people, and cuddled with my sisters. Michael and my sisters are basically the most adorable thing ever - they just adore him and can't wait 'till he's back. I think they're more excited about him being around than about me being around, actually :P
6. Tutoring is going pretty well. I've worked with over a dozen students so far, and I've had a handful that I really enjoyed working with. Last night I had a student who was working with quadratic functions and I was able to clear up a LOT of confusion he had about it, which was really gratifying. I have another student who is high-functioning autistic, and I really love working with him because his methods of doing problems are uncannily similar to my own, but his understanding of the concepts underlying the problems he's working on is shaky. I feel like it's easier to help him with his conceptual understanding since his whole thought process feels so familiar to me. It's this kind of thing that makes me wonder if I somehow inherited the same kind of brain wiring that autistic people have (people who are closely related to engineers/scientists are more likely to exhibit autistic traits, and autistic people tend to have similar thought processes to engineers/scientists. It's a particular pattern of analytical/systematic thinking that is common to both groups, and seems to be heritable.) Honestly that kind of thing is what really drives me to want to learn more about neuroscience.
7. I haven't been reading as much lately, but I have started knitting and I've gone back to my music connoisseur tendencies. I picked up the latest EP from Massive Attack, the latest from Loquat, the debut album from Rain Machine, which is basically Kyp Malone (one of the main TV on the Radio guys) and his side project. I've been putting some of my favorite songs from that group together with some old favorites ("Untitled" by Interpol), recommendations from friends ("Green Grass of Tunnel" by Mum, thanks Tam! and "Schizophrenia" by Sonic Youth, courtesy of Corey), stuff pulled from NPR's Marketplace and random commercials ("Bottles and Bones" by Califone, "1901" by Phoenix - featured in some car commercial, Mercedes S maybe?), some honorary tunes to mark noteworthy cultural milestones of the now ("Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)" by The Arcade Fire), and songs I've been digging for a while but haven't find a good place to put them ("Astronaut" by Amanda Palmer, "Mayday" by UNCLE, "Running to stand still" by Elbow). Now I've got the raw material for a killer fall mix, which I've been really needing lately. I should have a final version by the end of the weekend, but in the meantime I'm trying to listen the fuck out of a rough draft so I can really get to know what needs work.
8. I found an interview with Sufjan Stevens in which he talks about getting somewhat burnt out on creating music and what he's been doing with a project called The BQE, which is a combination of music, essay, and a comic book about the expressway between Brooklyn and Queens. He says, "For myself, I’m starting to fear that music is far too selfish, self-absorbed, and self-interested for the ordinary life." The project and the interview really resonate with me, since I find that music is pointless in a vacuum, in the little space I'm occupying, and is much more worthwhile when I use music as an emulsifier for my internal world and the external world. I feel like I need a subject for music, and it's empty when I don't have one. I've also been turning away from music that is internally reflective and turning towards music that is descriptive of the artist's perspective on the world. (Note: Honestly, the music on BQE isn't that impressive, which is a real let down. Oh well.)
9. I'm really excited to get a job so I can finally start looking for my own apartment somewhere. If I find work at UC Berkeley, I think I'll try and get a place to myself in the Northside neighborhood where I used to live; if I end up at NeuroFocus, I'll probably go for something west of San Pablo. I really want to live by myself for at least one full year. We'll see how that turns out, though.
Okay, time to get a move on and get ready for this interview. Eeep!
1. Things have been looking up considerably, but I'm afraid I'm lined up for a big series of disappointments soon. I had a job interview 2+ weeks ago, and they haven't gotten back to me today. I talked to their HR person last week and she said they still had people to interview this week. I'm afraid I haven't been proactive enough with this job - I didn't email or call to thank them for the interview, I gave them my old, un-updated copy of my resume (which still impressed them significantly they said, so I guess that's okay), and I didn't get any contact info for the folks I talked to there. It's a really good job - it's a position as an EEG technician, the company is called NeuroFocus, and they do research on how people watch ads. I've gotten a lot of flack for "going over to the dark side" here, but they have a beautiful salary and benefits package, which the "good guys" can't afford right now. So, nyah. I'll probably hear about that soon - anywhere between 1-4 days, I'm guessing.
2. I have a job interview for a lab at UC Berkeley today. I'm fairly nervous about it, but I think that's mostly because it's so damn hard to stay optimistic about the job search when I keep hearing about the unemployment rate rising so much. The reality of the situation is that I know I'd do great at that job, I have all the required skills and then some, and as far as I can tell I'm a great fit for the lab. Just to add to it, they're researching a phenomenon that has always fascinated me, and they're a HIGHLY quantitative lab, which would give me a lot of opportunities to expand my analytical abilities. None of these things make me more optimistic, though, mostly because there are a lot more unknown than known variables on the table. I know I'll feel different by the end of the day, though.
3. I've been having a better time at my current lab job, surprisingly. I'm starting to get pretty bummed that a) they don't have the money to support me full-time and b) it's in Davis. Okay, in reality B doesn't bother me so much, it bothers me more when I think of leaving it actually. Davis is really wonderful in the fall, I gotta admit. And it's great to catch up with Caitlin and Zach when I can. (Strawberry - miss you!) There are also some errand-y things I'm more comfortable with doing in Davis than I am in Berkeley, which is kinda bizarre. Anyway, I've been getting to know our post-doc Sukbin better, and she's really sweet and super supportive. Plus we have very complementary abilities - she has a Ph.D in statistics, and I have a BS in neurobiology, which means we can both fill in the gaps for each other when we encounter a concept we're not familiar with. I've found that I'm far more motivated in my research when I have a partner I can work with. It used to be Corey and I would do everything together on this count (he'd shoulder the biological components of the project and I'd do that math/programming parts), but since we work in different labs it was hard to apply that to our research post-graduation. Anyway, if I don't find any other good job opportunities, I think I'll try to talk to my boss about doing a collaboration with Sukbin on a project, and maybe increase my hours so I can actually afford to stick around.
4. Last time I wrote, I mentioned how one of my favorite profs emailed me a while back to see about getting a beer together. That happened, and all in all it was good times, but now he's being a little bit flirty with me. I'm happy to have reconnected, but I'm also pretty resentful of the notion that a) the reason he contacted me was because he's interested or b) he wants to add some sexual component - whether it's acted upon or not - to our mentor-mentee relationship. I think that feeling will pass, though - all in all, it's good to have him on my side, and I know he'll at least give me a killer letter of recommendation at the very least. (Oddly, this is the advise my dad gave me about the situation... go figure.)
5. Michael and I went to Utah a few weekends ago, and had a really wonderful time. I got a lot of questions about him&me moving in together, grandchildren, him as a brother-in-law to my sisters, etc etc etc. I don't think those questions really bother either of us, but it's definitely very soon to even mention most of those things. We went fishing with my dad, got dinner with my uncles, prepared dinner for my family + aunt&uncle, went to a bar where my stepmother tricked me into dancing on the grand piano in front of dozens of people, and cuddled with my sisters. Michael and my sisters are basically the most adorable thing ever - they just adore him and can't wait 'till he's back. I think they're more excited about him being around than about me being around, actually :P
6. Tutoring is going pretty well. I've worked with over a dozen students so far, and I've had a handful that I really enjoyed working with. Last night I had a student who was working with quadratic functions and I was able to clear up a LOT of confusion he had about it, which was really gratifying. I have another student who is high-functioning autistic, and I really love working with him because his methods of doing problems are uncannily similar to my own, but his understanding of the concepts underlying the problems he's working on is shaky. I feel like it's easier to help him with his conceptual understanding since his whole thought process feels so familiar to me. It's this kind of thing that makes me wonder if I somehow inherited the same kind of brain wiring that autistic people have (people who are closely related to engineers/scientists are more likely to exhibit autistic traits, and autistic people tend to have similar thought processes to engineers/scientists. It's a particular pattern of analytical/systematic thinking that is common to both groups, and seems to be heritable.) Honestly that kind of thing is what really drives me to want to learn more about neuroscience.
7. I haven't been reading as much lately, but I have started knitting and I've gone back to my music connoisseur tendencies. I picked up the latest EP from Massive Attack, the latest from Loquat, the debut album from Rain Machine, which is basically Kyp Malone (one of the main TV on the Radio guys) and his side project. I've been putting some of my favorite songs from that group together with some old favorites ("Untitled" by Interpol), recommendations from friends ("Green Grass of Tunnel" by Mum, thanks Tam! and "Schizophrenia" by Sonic Youth, courtesy of Corey), stuff pulled from NPR's Marketplace and random commercials ("Bottles and Bones" by Califone, "1901" by Phoenix - featured in some car commercial, Mercedes S maybe?), some honorary tunes to mark noteworthy cultural milestones of the now ("Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)" by The Arcade Fire), and songs I've been digging for a while but haven't find a good place to put them ("Astronaut" by Amanda Palmer, "Mayday" by UNCLE, "Running to stand still" by Elbow). Now I've got the raw material for a killer fall mix, which I've been really needing lately. I should have a final version by the end of the weekend, but in the meantime I'm trying to listen the fuck out of a rough draft so I can really get to know what needs work.
8. I found an interview with Sufjan Stevens in which he talks about getting somewhat burnt out on creating music and what he's been doing with a project called The BQE, which is a combination of music, essay, and a comic book about the expressway between Brooklyn and Queens. He says, "For myself, I’m starting to fear that music is far too selfish, self-absorbed, and self-interested for the ordinary life." The project and the interview really resonate with me, since I find that music is pointless in a vacuum, in the little space I'm occupying, and is much more worthwhile when I use music as an emulsifier for my internal world and the external world. I feel like I need a subject for music, and it's empty when I don't have one. I've also been turning away from music that is internally reflective and turning towards music that is descriptive of the artist's perspective on the world. (Note: Honestly, the music on BQE isn't that impressive, which is a real let down. Oh well.)
9. I'm really excited to get a job so I can finally start looking for my own apartment somewhere. If I find work at UC Berkeley, I think I'll try and get a place to myself in the Northside neighborhood where I used to live; if I end up at NeuroFocus, I'll probably go for something west of San Pablo. I really want to live by myself for at least one full year. We'll see how that turns out, though.
Okay, time to get a move on and get ready for this interview. Eeep!