Work stress
Term has begun, back to teaching. What should I do about a student who is progressing fine, but always looks utterly depressed, never speaks to anyone and answers friendly questions with a monosyllable? The rest of them smile when someone makes a joke or whatever, but nothing makes this guy smile. Is he just a miserable git who hates my tutorials, or is he really in trouble? Should I just ignore or should I try to find out what's wrong?
Still no sign of a job, although I have three applications in progress and have seen another couple that I might apply for. Actually I don't understand the job adverts for some, that's not encouraging.
I have spent all day wrestling with an equation. I want to either show that it does have solutions or that it doesn't, and I'm not even sure which is true yet. It's only a polynomial in 5 or so variables which are restricted to certain ranges, but the thing is just a mess. It isn't interesting either, just one of those side issues you have to take care of.
Scariest of all: they have *finally* rescheduled my seminar. It's a rite of passage that all completing PhDs give a formal seminar on their work to the rest of the analysis group. It should have happened a year ago, only I, um, got sectioned instead. I've given the talk at two other universities, enough to firmly establish that it's not seminars that make me crazy! But: an important and famous professor is over from LA at the moment, and he will be there at my talk probably. Most of my work uses things he did, it's sort of embarrassing if I am going to mention him about 20 times in the hour and he is actually sitting there! It also means he'll know what I'm on about and could ask searching questions.
Hey, it's the weekend now. Time to print out my equations and go home I reckon.
Still no sign of a job, although I have three applications in progress and have seen another couple that I might apply for. Actually I don't understand the job adverts for some, that's not encouraging.
I have spent all day wrestling with an equation. I want to either show that it does have solutions or that it doesn't, and I'm not even sure which is true yet. It's only a polynomial in 5 or so variables which are restricted to certain ranges, but the thing is just a mess. It isn't interesting either, just one of those side issues you have to take care of.
Scariest of all: they have *finally* rescheduled my seminar. It's a rite of passage that all completing PhDs give a formal seminar on their work to the rest of the analysis group. It should have happened a year ago, only I, um, got sectioned instead. I've given the talk at two other universities, enough to firmly establish that it's not seminars that make me crazy! But: an important and famous professor is over from LA at the moment, and he will be there at my talk probably. Most of my work uses things he did, it's sort of embarrassing if I am going to mention him about 20 times in the hour and he is actually sitting there! It also means he'll know what I'm on about and could ask searching questions.
Hey, it's the weekend now. Time to print out my equations and go home I reckon.