Damn You Tim Wilson

Those of you who know me well know a couple of things about how I approach summer. First, my work load doubles. My school, Rockefeller, only has a graduate program in the biological sciences. The result is that we have no students to teach for much of the year. However, in the summer we get a fresh crop of 20 or so gung-ho undergrads ready to pipette their way to greatness. Or maybe, hopefully, to get a PCR or two to work. These students work in a lab and take have a formal journal club. Typically, I take a student to work with me in the lab and help teach the journal club. This year I've taken two in the lab. And am helping to teach the journal club. And I haven't had a decent result in a few months. And I'm officially nearly a 5th-year grad student. So yes, during the summers I tend to work harder than I do during the year, between the teaching and the typical lab work. And this year I feel pressed to work even more since I should be, you know, graduating at some point in the not so distant future.

The second point is that I love summer. I love the NYC beaches, the free concerts, biking around (sweat and all). I even love it when it's too damn hot. People walk around with a special glow and a little extra sympathy for those around them. It's something we all are going through together. And it makes for instant small talk, which everyone knows I enjoy. "Hot today, no?" I love outdoor drinking. I appreciate that the sun stays with us until 10pm. The summer is an excuse to do some sweet shit. And I want to do it all.

So yes, in the summer I am busy. But lately I've been feeling as though I am leaving my intellectual development a little to the side. My new franco-friend Tim Wilson is currently doing a "I'm-going-to-write-everyday-and-post-it-on-my-blog" thing, which I did ages ago and enjoyed. I am going to try to do the same for a week and see how it goes. Now Tim writes blogs that are awesome and smart about shit like French books and stuff. I just want to put out there some things I've had on my mind for a while, maybe some stuff on race and class (white people versus White people), some stuff about philanthropy (and why it's evil), some stuff on politics (of course) and even some stuff (god forbid) about science.

Let the great adventure begin.

Or, sick it Tim WIlson.