Bragging

Last week Blythe and I were talking about the things that drive us crazy about our respective departments*, for example the intolerable heat in my office that has led me to have a fan operating on my desk 24/7. We later relented, conceding that our jobs are pretty sweet, and having a job in this economy well.. rocks. Anyway, the last 24 hours have been pretty awesome for me workwise, so I am going to take this opportunity to brag about how great my job is.

First, lets do away with the obvious. I work day shift, very flexible hours, and no manual labor (clicking a mouse does not qualify as manual labor). Also, the pay is good (maybe not for a day trader, but definitely for a former graduate student). I get summers off, but I don't have to take them off. Same with weekends and long holidays. Being able to do 75% of your work anywhere with wireless is nice. These reasons are not why I am posting today, they are obvious.

Yesterday I spent the whole day working a calculation. It worked, and my next paper will have some substance that I am proud of. It had been about 9 months since I had such a successful day at work; I had forgotten how good it feels. Someday I will post an entry about expectation, the stock market, and happiness to explain this phenomenon, but not today.

In addition to my great day of work on Tuesday, Monday I had presents waiting for me in the office. More ram for my desktop. I know this may appear to be a lame present, but I had been waiting for 5 months to get it (see *) so I was pumped. Then this afternoon I was latexing (sp?) and more presents. This time free books. I am teaching Numerical Analysis next fall, and a graduate course in Waves next spring, and I requested some examination copies from the publisher. They arrived roughly 1 week after I ordered them. Now I look back at December first year in grad school when such books were on my Xmas list and feel like a sucker. As a professor everyday is Xmas - so long as you only want books. What a job!