Tuesday, September 7, 2010

There are many, many topics I could choose from regarding things I wish I knew, or knew more about, before joining the faculty here at Big State U. Managing lab personnel and lab finances. Grant writing. Writing manuscripts. Teaching. Committee work. How bad the departmental coffee is. When not to speak up at a faculty meeting. Managing my department chair. And so on. But that's not what today's post is about.

Today I'm wishing I knew before I started my faculty position that

The Freakin' Data Fairy Has
The.
Worst.
Sense.
Of.
Timing.

Ever.


Summer? No teaching. Almost no committee work. Very, very few commitments outside of the lab.

No Data Fairy.


Now it's Fall and I'm being tag-teamed by the Grant Review and Preparing New Lectures Goblins and the Committee Meeting Boogie Monster. I have a month in which to review thirteen (13!) proposals and put together twelve new lectures.* I'm being constantly pummeled.

Now the Data Fairy decides to dump on me.

I mean really dump on me.

And not just data, but awesome, earth-shattering** data. From multiple fronts.

I'm drowning in the good stuff.

And I don't have the time to process it.

Damn Data Fairy.










* Okay, okay, I know. I should have started earlier on those. Bite me.
** Maybe "earth-shattering" is overstating it a little. Still, it's pretty damn cool data.