So I've been out of the loop for a little while here. I'll let you in on what I've been up to: I bought a car! On a more professional note, I've also written and submitted an abstract that was accepted for a poster presentation in Richmond for SERMACS 2011 (SERMACS2011.org). Also, my first journal article was edited and submitted to the Journal of Analytical Toxicology. Things have been more than a little hectic!
On the bright side, however, I think that I can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel of work. It's not that I'll be finished working, but I think that I'll work a little less hard in the last three months of this year. Hopefully I can use this to organize some things a little. I really want to finish up my home-office setup and get the remaining cords and controllers for my old video game systems that I haven't been able to find.
My girlfriend (I'm not sure that I want to use names on this here interwebs just now) has been doing a little bit of decorating recently. We've got a lot more pictures up now than previously. I'm really happy about it; the apartment really seems to be for real people now.
We also took our first mini-vacation with my grandparents this past weekend up to Asheville. I hadn't been to Asheville in a long time (~4 years), but it was very nice to hang around there and drive the new car. I hope that everybody else enjoyed it as much as I did. It was a really good day or two.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Another Blog? Does This Conflict With My Last Post?
I knew I'd want to write some opinions and news about chemistry and science, but I was also pretty certain that not everyone would be interested in those things. For those who would like to see that too, I've separated those posts into another blog that will be found here: The Laboratory's Water Cooler. I'll also follow that blog so that you can find the link without using this post. Hope you guys find it interesting!
Monday, September 5, 2011
Too Many Interests
I'm sure that I'm not the only person that has this problem: I want to do EVERYTHING! When I learn about a new subject or activity, or maybe hobby, I want to participate in it. I can, right now, think of about six things right off the top of my head that I'd like to spend some time doing. There is, of course, an obvious problem with having such extensive interests. I know that I will likely never do all of the things that I'm interested in. I need to prioritize.
But, how should I prioritize. Well, the act itself should tell me, right? I put the most important or interesting hobbies up at the top, and then the rest follow in decreasing interest or importance. This might work for some people, but I seem to be equally interested in all of these "extra curricular" activities. For example, I would really like to write science fiction. This, in itself, is not really a problem. I don't have any particular experience with writing, but I enjoy reading and analyzing stories so I would think that, with enough time, I could learn what I need to know and practice writing to the point that I enjoy my stories. But this means that I have to take time from another hobby or potential hobby. If I'm using my evening hours to read and practice writing, it's going to be really hard to be outside looking at stars and nurturing my amateur astronomy hobby.
I know that this is not rocket science. I should be able to make these personal decisions personally. It isn't an easy job, though. Some of the hobbies are expensive and get saved for later in life. That aspect makes decisions easier, but the temporal component is always an issue. I've talked with friends (some of you, I'm guessing) about life after starting a job, and we've come to the conclusion that hobbies and hobby management are important aspects of life after employment. Jobs really seem to require use to structure our free time in order to maximize its potential. Otherwise it is very easy to feel like you're just spinning your wheels when you're not on the job.
So, like I said at the beginning, I know that this isn't a unique problem. I'm interested in hearing your thoughts about and solutions to this issue. It's not that I don't think I can get through this problem alone, but I don't like reinventing the wheel, either. What do you think?
But, how should I prioritize. Well, the act itself should tell me, right? I put the most important or interesting hobbies up at the top, and then the rest follow in decreasing interest or importance. This might work for some people, but I seem to be equally interested in all of these "extra curricular" activities. For example, I would really like to write science fiction. This, in itself, is not really a problem. I don't have any particular experience with writing, but I enjoy reading and analyzing stories so I would think that, with enough time, I could learn what I need to know and practice writing to the point that I enjoy my stories. But this means that I have to take time from another hobby or potential hobby. If I'm using my evening hours to read and practice writing, it's going to be really hard to be outside looking at stars and nurturing my amateur astronomy hobby.
I know that this is not rocket science. I should be able to make these personal decisions personally. It isn't an easy job, though. Some of the hobbies are expensive and get saved for later in life. That aspect makes decisions easier, but the temporal component is always an issue. I've talked with friends (some of you, I'm guessing) about life after starting a job, and we've come to the conclusion that hobbies and hobby management are important aspects of life after employment. Jobs really seem to require use to structure our free time in order to maximize its potential. Otherwise it is very easy to feel like you're just spinning your wheels when you're not on the job.
So, like I said at the beginning, I know that this isn't a unique problem. I'm interested in hearing your thoughts about and solutions to this issue. It's not that I don't think I can get through this problem alone, but I don't like reinventing the wheel, either. What do you think?
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Labware
Presumably, this blog post, and those which follow it, will be read by people that already know me. For those that do not, I am a career chemist. I haven't been doing it long but, after several years of study and over a year on the job, it sometimes feels like I at least know what I'm talking about. This blog, however, will not use chemistry or even science as a central topic. I'll likely just be putting ideas and opinions here. Hopefully they'll be a lot like the one that I'm going to spend this brief post on.
I think about glassware a lot. Chemists and scientists use specially designated glassware both to contain and to manipulate the chemicals and mixtures that they handle since it's usually a bad idea for them to use their hands or to get their tools mixed up with those reserved for other purposes. This glassware has come to take many shapes and very specific designs to perform important functions. Some of the pieces of glassware measure things. Others, like funnels and filters, watchglasses, and distillation devices are used to separate substances. This is what I'm often trying to do in the lab.
But this isn't a chemistry blog. It's not even necessarily a science blog. The glassware that separates chemicals is quite important and I've been thinking recently about how important separation can be. At least in my life, I tend towards letting lots of things mix together. I sometimes find that I'm thinking about work while I'm at home watching a movie, or maybe I'm thinking about how to translate a sentence into Spanish when I'm at work trying to prepare a calibration curve. This is distracting and maybe it works for some people but, at least for me, it seems that I need separation.
It isn't the case that I think all separations are good. When I'm separated from certain equipment at work my whole day will become wasted. Similarly, I don't like to be separated from people that I love. Even so, I feel like we should have a healthy amount of separation going on. Sometimes our thoughts and ideas need some rest and we have to move on to another task before we can really use them. This being the case, I'll be trying to separate myself from some of my thoughts and ideas by placing them here. If you'd like to, and I certainly would like it if you did, you can leave a comment about my thoughts. If you know me "in real life" then feel free to let me know what you think through some other means if you prefer. But either way, this will be a way for me to separate myself from some of my thoughts so that they can rest, and in this way I hope to revisit them in an even more productive way.
I think about glassware a lot. Chemists and scientists use specially designated glassware both to contain and to manipulate the chemicals and mixtures that they handle since it's usually a bad idea for them to use their hands or to get their tools mixed up with those reserved for other purposes. This glassware has come to take many shapes and very specific designs to perform important functions. Some of the pieces of glassware measure things. Others, like funnels and filters, watchglasses, and distillation devices are used to separate substances. This is what I'm often trying to do in the lab.
But this isn't a chemistry blog. It's not even necessarily a science blog. The glassware that separates chemicals is quite important and I've been thinking recently about how important separation can be. At least in my life, I tend towards letting lots of things mix together. I sometimes find that I'm thinking about work while I'm at home watching a movie, or maybe I'm thinking about how to translate a sentence into Spanish when I'm at work trying to prepare a calibration curve. This is distracting and maybe it works for some people but, at least for me, it seems that I need separation.
It isn't the case that I think all separations are good. When I'm separated from certain equipment at work my whole day will become wasted. Similarly, I don't like to be separated from people that I love. Even so, I feel like we should have a healthy amount of separation going on. Sometimes our thoughts and ideas need some rest and we have to move on to another task before we can really use them. This being the case, I'll be trying to separate myself from some of my thoughts and ideas by placing them here. If you'd like to, and I certainly would like it if you did, you can leave a comment about my thoughts. If you know me "in real life" then feel free to let me know what you think through some other means if you prefer. But either way, this will be a way for me to separate myself from some of my thoughts so that they can rest, and in this way I hope to revisit them in an even more productive way.
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