Tuesday, September 15, 2009

I have a job!

I have a job! So exciting. I will be a post-doctoral fellow in Brian Crane's laboratory starting next spring. You can learn more about his research here. I can't wait to join my new lab! Graduation can't come soon enough...

But this week of work is very busy! I am working from Ithaca to try to finish two papers that need to be submitted before I can write my thesis. While I have drafts of both papers started, I am finding the finishing and polishing of the manuscripts is not coming easily, so I thought maybe if I dedicated a solid block of time to doing it, I could set goals and be more productive than just sporadically trying to write for an hour or so here or there. So far, so good.

We are going to see a play called The Servant of Two Masters with Ken and Carol on Thursday night - their son Scott works in the theater department at Cornell as a stage manager, and is very involved with the play's production. I really enjoyed the last show we saw through Cornell's theater department, so this one should be great too. We are also going to a corn maze / mini-golf outing with David's lab on Friday night. I have to confess I have a not-so-slight aversion to corn mazes after I got lost in one during high school (how humiliating), but I suppose since I am an adult now, I need to face my fear and grab a heavy-duty flashlight!

But for now...back to work!

Friday, September 11, 2009

Here Comes Science! (and They Might Be Giants, to Ithaca)

My blogging for ScienceCheerleader.com is finally bringing in the celebrity interviews (and we all know how much I love celebrities)! After months of interviewing people that are counting their neighborhood squirrels or monitoring the pH of their local water supply (not that I'm not interested in those things of course), I finally get to interview REAL rock stars - THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS! I feel about ten times more valid as a reporter than I was yesterday...and I am absolutely sure that I am cooler too.

So how did this happen? They Might Be Giants have a new children's album out called "Here Comes Science!", and I thought writing about it would make for a great blog post for all of my SciCheer readers. The songs are really catchy, completely dorky, and I love them. (Check out this video to become obsessed yourself.) As I was prepared to write a short article explaining that the album exists and that it is awesome, my boss (the head cheerleader) interjected that I perhaps I should write to their publicist and see if I could score an interview with the group to put in my post. Not expecting much, I e-mailed their publicist (my new BFF, Debbie) and explained that despite my lack of press credentials, I would love the chance to talk to They Might Be Giants before publishing my blog...

...and not only did she schedule a teleconference with the band for Monday afternoon at 3:00 pm, but she put David and me on the list for their concert in Ithaca on October 1. No tickets necessary, we are on a LIST. ME, the biggest dork ever, on a LIST for a ROCK BAND. I wonder if I will have a backstage pass or even some press credentials at the concert? Not that it even matters...we are on A LIST (for a show not being performed by the fabulous Elliot Roth)!!! I guess sometimes, even if it seems like a long shot, all you need to do to get something accomplished is have the courage to ask for what you want.

I will post more on this subject after my interview on Monday.

P.S. I mentioned jokingly to Darlene that since I was entering into celebrity territory, I should interview Alton Brown about Good Eats. She said she'd e-mail his publicist. If she comes through, I do not know how I would even contain my excitement. I'm trying not to get my hopes up.

P.P.S. I think James Spader and Patrick Dempsey need to make a movie about being scientists so I can interview them too. Oh, and John Mayer and Maroon 5 can do that movie's soundtrack, and their people can call my people...