If you… + have an uncongenial or hostile work environment + lack the materials and conditions needed to do the work you are ostensibly to do + are poorly enough paid that considerable time and energy is spent figuring out how to cover routine expenses, or which not to cover + have an unstimulating or … More An exercise in naming
“how dare you question the dogma they believe” “you work at a university after all” “you should know your place” “your job is to teach them and not challenge their preconceived notions” Axé.
Now the sun moves into Leo, and there is still another month before classes start. That means another month to do my summer things: research and writing, swimming and yoga, house and yardwork, all in a rhythm. My goal for this year is to be self contained. The banes of my existence are early undergraduate … More Nouvelle saison
The energy is just bad in Maringouin, there is no escaping it. This is why people who know what is good for them are only here during the week, when they have to be at work. My friend says the quality of the energy has to do with all of the enmeshed relationships, which make … More La vérité
This comment on the Christian fundamentalist idea of generational curses and what to do about them explains yet another undiscovered piece of the strange and highly destructive psychotherapy I went through. The therapist, as I eventually discovered and comprehended, was a true believer in ACOA, Al-Anon, and other 12 step theories according to which, if … More On generational curses
1. I repeat. And I cannot believe how many people make this mistake, which even I have always been smart enough not to make. Do not speak poorly of faculty to other faculty. You do not know who is friends with whom, or who may owe favors to whom. You also may not realize which … More More advice to new and prospective new faculty.
Out of scholarly duty I saw Savages and it is even worse than expected — it feels like an assault, really. In any case, I was reminded that Laguna Beach is beautiful and I miss it. I learned that Mexicans are savages and pacifists are highly corruptible and unreliable, and that the sanguine, clean, and … More Savages
The current form of maternal martyr, I discern, is not the one I remember from childhood but is, nonetheless, an interesting inversion of this one. The form of maternal martyrdom I remember was undertaken by those mothers who had renounced everything to be at home with children. They were legion and they were known to … More Maternal martyrs of the 21st century
What I notice is that you have to put more, not less time into everything. I do not mean larger blocs of time, of course, although that is fine too. What I mean is, more total time into everything that matters. That means less into what doesn’t, of course, but it does not mean starving … More Time Time Time
A large part of the problem, as a local friend points out, is the abusive environment. One could, theoretically, move about as freely as one does elsewhere and enjoy local delights, but one learns that it is not so simple — unpleasantness comes when you least expect it, but often, and “just avoid it” or … More Things I do automatically when abroad, and did here before Reeducation, but have a hard time doing here now.
coldhearted scientist وداد 