Sunday, July 25, 2010

The life of a grad student is never calm. I just finished playing bridesmaid for LabFriend. Currently I am preparing for a job interview in a few days, writing a paper, writing a chapter for my dissertation, and last, but certainly not least, I’m settling into my new digs here at Lab Spaces. And I think it's time for me to properly introduce myself.

I’m Amanda. I started blogging a little under 3 years ago (which in internet time is approximately just as the Earth’s crust started cooling) because my husband, Dr. Man, had to move away for a year. I was criticized a lot for not quitting grad school and following him. So, I turned to the internet to find other people in my situation and support. Lo and behold, here I am still blogging.

Why the name? Growing up I was constantly being told to act like a lady. I was told that something I was doing wasn’t lady-like (climbing trees, catching frogs, trying to make things explode with my chemistry set) or that a gentleman does not a like a lady that is/does X, Y, or Z (is smart, does science, is interested in action movies). I’d like to expand the notion of what makes a lady. I think you can be both a Lady and a Scientist.

What you’ll find here is a bit of this and a bit of that. I’ll I’ll mostly talk about my thoughts (rants) on grad school, trials for searching for a postdoc position, and general life-in-science stuff. But I’ll also share any cool science stuff I find along the way. So, welcome to the blog and I’m looking forward to being apart of the blogging community here on Lab Spaces!