At 3:45pm today the sun slipped behind the mountains. It's not really dark at that time however we are losing about 7 minutes of daylight a day. More then that if you count how much time the sun is actually above the mountains. It's very noticeable. I find this time of year harder then winter. In winter there is snow and the reflectance of moonlight off of it. Now the trails are dark and invisible. My body wants to hibernate & I struggle my way out of my warm bed in the morning, clawing my way from the bottom of consciousness. I have little tricks I use to help me adjust to the darkness. I have a light star on a timer that goes on 15 minutes prior to my alarm. By the time my alarm goes off it has started to settle it's way into my subconscious, mimicking the rising of the sun giving off the false impression of warmth & heat.
This morning after my morning walk with the Disreputable Dog, during which I realized my layers were no longer suitable for the weather, I dug out the following necessary items from a box under my bed:
-down vests, down jackets, wool jackets
-my hats, each of a different thickness depending on the cold
-my ear band because no matter the hat it won't keep the cold air off the ears while bicycling in heavy duty wind
-my reflective suspenders for commuting
-my headlamps because it's easy to get stuck somewhere without light at this time of year
-quilted & flannel lined pants
-the 3 layered gloves
I'm ready now...the pockets of all of my coats contain headlamps and handkerchiefs and you will not find me anywhere in this state without a wool hat until May. Now the layer of skim ice on the ponds can freeze over and I will rejoice with my ice skates, the snow can come & I will rejoice with my skis.
09 October 2007
08 October 2007
Mt Alice
Mount Alice has gotten her new winter dress and she's as shy as a girl going to a dance as she has been hiding behind the clouds a lot of late.
Today was one of those days where I wondered if I had gone back to bed and got up again would it have turned out differently? I won't go into it, I haven't the words right now and though I've typed 5 posts in the last hour I'm leaving them as drafts for now, to reconsider on a day that weighs a little less.
Today was one of those days where I wondered if I had gone back to bed and got up again would it have turned out differently? I won't go into it, I haven't the words right now and though I've typed 5 posts in the last hour I'm leaving them as drafts for now, to reconsider on a day that weighs a little less.
06 October 2007
Canine Instincts
The other day the Disreputable Dog and I were on our way for our usual evening walk in the woods. I was lost in thought, decompressing from the day, and wasn't paying particularly close attention to my surroundings when suddenly the Disreputable Dog came to a complete stop. His nose stretched up as far as it could, every muscle taut as the string of a bow, one foot paused in mid-step. This brought me to a halt behind him as well. "What's up?" I asked him. In response he tucked his tail down and turned heal back the way we came. I stared at him for a moment then followed suit. I thought perhaps he take another loop but he headed completely out and away towards home. I didn't question him - there's not a lot that gives him pause but I figure if he sensed something we didn't want to mess with he had his reasons. I tried to think of what would make him act like that - a young black bear or moose wouldn't make him react like that. I could only guess that maybe there was an old grizzly or perhaps a wolverine up the trail. But whatever it was, I wasn't over eager to find out after watching the body language of the Disreputable Dog.
So instead we headed over to the shoreline which has been abandoned by all the RVs and campers. The evening was so still that I could hear the rasp of teeth as a sea otter chewed on a mollusk, hear the clinking as it broke the shell open. The quiet, soulful eyes of a seal peered over the lip of the water starring at us while a playful group of young juvenile male Steller seal lions got up to mischief further up the coast. The Disreputable Dog was playful, tossing sticks in the air and sniffing at the dead fish, gallivanting through the fallen leaves as if he had gotten a reprieve, the cold nipping at our cheeks. I am grateful to the Disreputable Dog for his company, for his alertness when I am less then I should be, for his light playfulness at the end of long days, for always being willing to go on a walk.
So instead we headed over to the shoreline which has been abandoned by all the RVs and campers. The evening was so still that I could hear the rasp of teeth as a sea otter chewed on a mollusk, hear the clinking as it broke the shell open. The quiet, soulful eyes of a seal peered over the lip of the water starring at us while a playful group of young juvenile male Steller seal lions got up to mischief further up the coast. The Disreputable Dog was playful, tossing sticks in the air and sniffing at the dead fish, gallivanting through the fallen leaves as if he had gotten a reprieve, the cold nipping at our cheeks. I am grateful to the Disreputable Dog for his company, for his alertness when I am less then I should be, for his light playfulness at the end of long days, for always being willing to go on a walk.
04 October 2007
We remember them
I wanted to share with you a poem that I find comforting. It does not make promises or speak of better places as so many of these things do and which I find empty and of little solace. Instead it addresses what I think of as the essential core of what it means to lose someone one loves.
Photo by Alexander Burdin a Russian colleague of mine
*Please note that I am not a member of the faith from which this comes from and I take it in my own context separate from which it may be originally intended.
Photo by Alexander Burdin a Russian colleague of mine "In the rising of the sun and in its going down,
we remember them.
In the glowing of the wind and in the chill of winter,
In the glowing of the wind and in the chill of winter,
we remember them.
In the opening of buds and in the rebirth of spring,
In the opening of buds and in the rebirth of spring,
we remember them.
In the blueness of the sky and in the warmth of summer,
In the blueness of the sky and in the warmth of summer,
we remember them.
In the rustling of leaves and in the beauty of autumn,
In the rustling of leaves and in the beauty of autumn,
we remember them.
In the beginning of the year and when it ends,
In the beginning of the year and when it ends,
we remember them.
When we are weary and in need of strength,
When we are weary and in need of strength,
we remember them.
When we are lost and sick at heart,
When we are lost and sick at heart,
we remember them.
When we have joys we yearn to share,
When we have joys we yearn to share,
we remember them.
So long as we live, they too shall live, for they are now a part of us,
as we remember them." *
So long as we live, they too shall live, for they are now a part of us,
as we remember them." *
— Jewish prayer, from the Rabbi’s Manual 1998
*Please note that I am not a member of the faith from which this comes from and I take it in my own context separate from which it may be originally intended.
02 October 2007
In Memoriam: Aunt Belle
Monday morning I was a bit hassled, the way one is when one is running a little behind schedule. I'd been to the doctor's for a routine check-up and was in a rush to turn on the glacier cams and do the morning scans. Then I noticed the red light that was lit up on my phone indicating there was a message. It was my father calling to let me know that my Great Aunt Belle had passed away, rather unexpectedly that morning; 8am my time, noon hers. I sat there stunned listening to my co-workers who were arranging rides up to Los Anchorage for Matt's funeral which is today, feeling disconnected, dazed. Around 5pm a co-worker came to see if I was leaving for the day and I stared at her, unable to comprehend what time it was. She coaxed me to leave, to go home, and I rode my bike through the swirling autumn leaves and walked my dog close along the shore listening to the lapping of the waves against it and finding strange comfort therein.
Aunt Belle was an amazing woman who lived a very full life. I have this picture of her dancing with my Grandmother at my sister's wedding and it is the epitome of who these women are. They are dressed to the nines and they partied that night long after their kids and grand kids had given up and they are laughing, the two of them full of mischievous humor and good natured ribbing. Of her remaining sisters Aunt Belle had seemed by far the healthiest although she was in her mid-80's. She still cooked at her family owned restaurant and took long adventurous vacations to places like Italy. She never lost an opportunity to gussie up, to flirt with a young man, or to dance. So it came as something of a shock that she had passed away although I take great comfort in the fact that she lived a full and rich life.
I'm still sort of numb - I'll be driving north to Matt's funeral this afternoon. I can't wrap my head around these duel griefs at the moment, nor the shocking vitality of life around me.
Aunt Belle was an amazing woman who lived a very full life. I have this picture of her dancing with my Grandmother at my sister's wedding and it is the epitome of who these women are. They are dressed to the nines and they partied that night long after their kids and grand kids had given up and they are laughing, the two of them full of mischievous humor and good natured ribbing. Of her remaining sisters Aunt Belle had seemed by far the healthiest although she was in her mid-80's. She still cooked at her family owned restaurant and took long adventurous vacations to places like Italy. She never lost an opportunity to gussie up, to flirt with a young man, or to dance. So it came as something of a shock that she had passed away although I take great comfort in the fact that she lived a full and rich life.
I'm still sort of numb - I'll be driving north to Matt's funeral this afternoon. I can't wrap my head around these duel griefs at the moment, nor the shocking vitality of life around me.
01 October 2007
October 2007 Scientiae Carnival
A quick announcement before we get to this month’s carnival. CONGRATULATIONS to Jokerine for designing the winning logo for Scientiae (see below)! Please feel free to copy & paste it to your Scientiae post if you have submitted one for this month’s carnival. Thanks very much to FemaleCSGradStudent & to Skookumchick for contributing wonderful submissions! And thanks to all of you who voted!
On to the October Carnival whose theme is Mentoring/ Supervising/ Advising - the good, the bad, the inspiring, and the morale draining. I would like to thank all of the participants in this month’s Carnival – as many of the stories will attest, mentoring & supervising is something most have experienced from both sides of the coin. Great posts everyone!
I have been reflecting a lot on this topic lately because I have had some supervisor/ advisor/ mentor relationships that were particularly disastrous (i.e. resulted in people getting seriously hurt) and because I am beginning to supervise people myself. This has lead me both to think about the working atmosphere that I want to look for in the future as well as to reflect on what kind of supervisor/ mentor I want to be.
Here are things that I think are important in a good supervisor/ advisor:
- regular & clear communication-trusting others to do the job and knowing that they will make mistakes but that is how they will learn
- be sure to let the employee/ student know when they’re doing something write or something you appreciate as well as when they’re doing it wrong. It doesn’t take much and it will certainly make any employee go out of their way for you if they feel appreciated
- looking out for your people. This means their safety, this means their welfare, this means getting their backs. The project will only be as good as the effort your people are willing to put into it, if you have their backs, they are more likely to have your. The safety of your people should be more important than any data point. No data is worth a life. As a supervisor you are more then responsible for the data, you are responsible for people.
- creating a team of the lab; regular meetings, discussions on what everyone is doing, pre-presentations, fostering an atmosphere where people bounce ideas off each other, help each other, etc.
I think a mentor goes beyond all of this…and a mentor is not necessarily a supervisor. They’re someone who helps you keep perspective, who inspires you, who will listen and help you evaluate a situation even if they don’t have the answers, they are a sounding board. They’re someone who helps you find clarity with where ever you currently are with your career and your life. In an ideal world a supervisor/ advisor is also a mentor but it doesn’t always work out that way. Often they are the people you find on your own as you are seeking to grapple with the issues of life & career and how to go from here – where ever your here is.
Okay, enough of my thoughts, here’s the list of contributors to this carnival. Enjoy!
Patricia Campbell of Fairerscience with "We need a name for it" in which she discusses the powerful dynamic that can occur when mentor/mentee relationships become something bigger and our lack of appropriate vocabulary to use for it.
Cathy Davies of Lab Cat talks about "Growing up in a sorority" and how sororities, although much maligned, can be a powerful place for mentor/mentee relationships.
Science Woman at her blog On Being a Scientist and a Woman discusses how we go through different mentoring needs throughout our careers and about forming a network of relevant mentors in "Young Faculty ISO Mentoring".
Veo Claramente of The Ways & Means of the Immune System talks about the characteristics that defined her best mentors and how she hopes to follow their examples in "When the Levee Breaks" In particular she points out what she feels the most important piece of advice is she has gotten over the years.
Jane from See Jane Compute writes about how being a mentor affected her confidence in her field and how it has shaped her approach to being a mentor in "Lessons from mentoring".
Kate & Cat from A K8, A Cat, A Mission writes about how to deal with the angry student and how this is really an opportunity to be a mentor and how sometimes it’s not all that pleasant but that it can still really make a difference in "Once upon a time – thinking about mentoring".
Jenny F Scientist from A Natural Scientist gives us an excellent three part discussion on mentoring covering 1) Funding in "Realistic Mentors Say ‘Chances of Funding Are Slim, Check Magic 8 Ball" and 2) Publishing and Grant Writing in "Realist Mentors Say ‘Play the Game (And if You Want to Innovate, Game the System)’" and 3) a little reality check on future prospects that she thinks your mentor should have told you in "Realism in “Realistic Mentors Say ‘I’m Telling You This For Your Own Good’"
Twice Tenured on her blog Twice gives us a post about a recent interaction with her PhD advisor in "Some things don’t change".
Saxifraga of Rising to the Occasion revisits her relationships with her PhD advisors after two years of space in "Advising – in hindsight".
Skookumchick on Rants of Female Engineer talks about how what could have been a useful tool for mentors in assisting their graduate students and post-docs turned out to be a farce in "Mentoring & Supervision: Official Faculty Knowledge".
Female Doc in Training from Kate’s Casebook thanks her first mentor on teaching her how to be a good mentor and making it a positive experience in "Mentoring: Learning from my Student".
Kathi from Kat on a Wire writes about the differences between what she is looking for in a mentor and what she gives as a mentor and what she thinks she should take from it in "What I’ve Meant by Mentoring".
Mad Hatter at A Mad Tea-Party writes a tribute to the people she has worked with who influenced her career choices by giving a list of things she learned about being a good mentor from them in "On Being Mentored and Being a Mentor".
Propter Doc at Post Doc Ergo Propter Doc discusses her dislike of the word mentor & it’s connotations especially when she feels it is part of the job description of a supervisor in "Thoughts on Mentoring".
Thanks for a great carnival! See you at the November 2007 Scientiae Carnival which will be hosted over at Yami's blog Green Grabbo. As usual you can find out about the whens & wheres of future carnivals over at the Scientiae Blog.
On to the October Carnival whose theme is Mentoring/ Supervising/ Advising - the good, the bad, the inspiring, and the morale draining. I would like to thank all of the participants in this month’s Carnival – as many of the stories will attest, mentoring & supervising is something most have experienced from both sides of the coin. Great posts everyone!
I have been reflecting a lot on this topic lately because I have had some supervisor/ advisor/ mentor relationships that were particularly disastrous (i.e. resulted in people getting seriously hurt) and because I am beginning to supervise people myself. This has lead me both to think about the working atmosphere that I want to look for in the future as well as to reflect on what kind of supervisor/ mentor I want to be.
Here are things that I think are important in a good supervisor/ advisor:
- regular & clear communication-trusting others to do the job and knowing that they will make mistakes but that is how they will learn
- be sure to let the employee/ student know when they’re doing something write or something you appreciate as well as when they’re doing it wrong. It doesn’t take much and it will certainly make any employee go out of their way for you if they feel appreciated
- looking out for your people. This means their safety, this means their welfare, this means getting their backs. The project will only be as good as the effort your people are willing to put into it, if you have their backs, they are more likely to have your. The safety of your people should be more important than any data point. No data is worth a life. As a supervisor you are more then responsible for the data, you are responsible for people.
- creating a team of the lab; regular meetings, discussions on what everyone is doing, pre-presentations, fostering an atmosphere where people bounce ideas off each other, help each other, etc.
I think a mentor goes beyond all of this…and a mentor is not necessarily a supervisor. They’re someone who helps you keep perspective, who inspires you, who will listen and help you evaluate a situation even if they don’t have the answers, they are a sounding board. They’re someone who helps you find clarity with where ever you currently are with your career and your life. In an ideal world a supervisor/ advisor is also a mentor but it doesn’t always work out that way. Often they are the people you find on your own as you are seeking to grapple with the issues of life & career and how to go from here – where ever your here is.
Okay, enough of my thoughts, here’s the list of contributors to this carnival. Enjoy!
Patricia Campbell of Fairerscience with "We need a name for it" in which she discusses the powerful dynamic that can occur when mentor/mentee relationships become something bigger and our lack of appropriate vocabulary to use for it.
Cathy Davies of Lab Cat talks about "Growing up in a sorority" and how sororities, although much maligned, can be a powerful place for mentor/mentee relationships.
Science Woman at her blog On Being a Scientist and a Woman discusses how we go through different mentoring needs throughout our careers and about forming a network of relevant mentors in "Young Faculty ISO Mentoring".
Veo Claramente of The Ways & Means of the Immune System talks about the characteristics that defined her best mentors and how she hopes to follow their examples in "When the Levee Breaks" In particular she points out what she feels the most important piece of advice is she has gotten over the years.
Jane from See Jane Compute writes about how being a mentor affected her confidence in her field and how it has shaped her approach to being a mentor in "Lessons from mentoring".
Kate & Cat from A K8, A Cat, A Mission writes about how to deal with the angry student and how this is really an opportunity to be a mentor and how sometimes it’s not all that pleasant but that it can still really make a difference in "Once upon a time – thinking about mentoring".
Jenny F Scientist from A Natural Scientist gives us an excellent three part discussion on mentoring covering 1) Funding in "Realistic Mentors Say ‘Chances of Funding Are Slim, Check Magic 8 Ball" and 2) Publishing and Grant Writing in "Realist Mentors Say ‘Play the Game (And if You Want to Innovate, Game the System)’" and 3) a little reality check on future prospects that she thinks your mentor should have told you in "Realism in “Realistic Mentors Say ‘I’m Telling You This For Your Own Good’"
Twice Tenured on her blog Twice gives us a post about a recent interaction with her PhD advisor in "Some things don’t change".
Saxifraga of Rising to the Occasion revisits her relationships with her PhD advisors after two years of space in "Advising – in hindsight".
Skookumchick on Rants of Female Engineer talks about how what could have been a useful tool for mentors in assisting their graduate students and post-docs turned out to be a farce in "Mentoring & Supervision: Official Faculty Knowledge".
Female Doc in Training from Kate’s Casebook thanks her first mentor on teaching her how to be a good mentor and making it a positive experience in "Mentoring: Learning from my Student".
Kathi from Kat on a Wire writes about the differences between what she is looking for in a mentor and what she gives as a mentor and what she thinks she should take from it in "What I’ve Meant by Mentoring".
Mad Hatter at A Mad Tea-Party writes a tribute to the people she has worked with who influenced her career choices by giving a list of things she learned about being a good mentor from them in "On Being Mentored and Being a Mentor".
Propter Doc at Post Doc Ergo Propter Doc discusses her dislike of the word mentor & it’s connotations especially when she feels it is part of the job description of a supervisor in "Thoughts on Mentoring".
Thanks for a great carnival! See you at the November 2007 Scientiae Carnival which will be hosted over at Yami's blog Green Grabbo. As usual you can find out about the whens & wheres of future carnivals over at the Scientiae Blog.
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