9:40 pm – Friday 14th January 2004

These waves are all around us now…

I spent several hours talking to Bonnie on the phone last night, and she said it was ok for me to mention her in my diary, so “Hello Bonnie”. ;)

This morning I woke up and it was about –20C, and I had to walk to work because I was carrying my suit in preparation of my presentation. I spent most of the day trying to get ready for that. I had been preparing for this presentation for quite a while and wanted feedback, and so now was my time to step up. The talk itself went good except maybe I needed to be a bit slower for people who are not in my field. I was very disappointed that neither boss did not come along, and neither did the woman who organizes the seminars. I just get the impression she doesn't like me, and this only serves to reinforce that.

After that was all over, I was happy to relax. Nachi the Indian Masters student dropped in and was fairly displeased with the speed and direction of his research (no speed, no direction). We talked and I suggested he come and work with me for a while, since I tend to specialize in short term, fast pay off experiments. I gave him some papers, cheered him up a bit and told him to come back Monday. Monday is a holiday, but the most important thing you can do at an institution like this is to exclusively surround yourself with motivated people, or none at all. The malaise which permeates this place can be deadly otherwise.

Tonight it is pizza, alcohol and staying in. The weather is still dreadfully cold, but we should have some relief by Monday as temperature get back towards merely freezing. My friend Jen called, and we may hang out on Sunday after I've finished with the moving. Tomorrow morning I have to leg it over to the U-Haul place early and then later in the day, probably after lunch, Brandon and Ryan will help me with the heavy stuff.

In other news, my previous boss at the University of Miami has accepted a position as a full professor at Purdue University in Indiana. I sent him a congratulatory email, since it's always a good idea to keep old bosses onside.

1