The eve of the big announcement.

It is now an hour to the big announcement in South Africa. The announcement of a project that I have been partly involved. I know exactly what is being announced, and I know the material that will be revealed. But, I feel like I'm on the very edge of it all. I am seeing this as an outsider with some restricted access that I would not otherwise have.

Should I stay up another hour and witness it live?

Or should I just carry on with my normal day?

...I should probably just get to bed and wake up to find whatever that is coming my way.

Most probably nothing at all.

This is all rather cryptic, isn't it.

Tequila Tuesday.

Another ten minutes spent on this blog. I am going to finish writing this up before the end of Tuesday.

So it was just an ordinary Tuesday, except that I had to cross a picket line to get to the office this morning. I felt horrible about it. The reason being, I understand what they are fighting for, and if I didn't have to consider everything else happening to me, I would have stood at the line in solidarity. But the reality of it all is, what is the point? Is this bystander effect? What is another body blocking foot traffic at the entrance to the building? It is not the students entering the building who need to act in order to get the vice president of the university to engage in contract negotiations. So, I ultimately crossed the line. I felt pretty horrible about it.

D minus two days before the big announcement. It is exciting, but I am pretty far removed from the festivities. The news is so last year.

Been there. Done that. This is old news.

But it's not, really. Is it?

A new species named.

And I was involved.

That's a pretty freakin' big deal.

Monday night's thoughts.

Ten minutes. I'm going to sit and write for ten minutes every day on this blog as a diary of some sorts.

It is the eve of the first day back of school for many people. Not me though. I'm trying to finish up my studies after years -decades- of being in the education system. I don't bother getting new school items like binders, notepads, and a new outfit. I don't bother getting excited about new courses, new teachers, or new classmates.

I spent the last few weeks getting rid of my old notes that I had kept until now. I scanned them and made digital copies instead. Looking through the notes, I enjoyed reminiscing the things I once learned and making sense of the scribbles and my immature handwriting. I have learned a lot. I still remember a lot. But now, it is time for me to start being on the other side of it all. I need to finish up and I should start teaching.

But today, I read a facebook post by a former postdoc who was leaving academia. It made me think. His post was mostly of despair at the current state of academia and its publish or perish nature. He commented how it was no longer about the wonders of knowledge and the scientific endeavour. And then, I watched a 7 minute lecture by a prof at UBC who shared his excitement about spiders, about science and about the beauty of learning about biodiversity to a non-academic audience. He argued that the most important way for people to be concerned about documenting the extant biodiversity is the knowledge that we may lose it soon through extinction. He argued that the most effective way for people to start caring about human impact on habitat is for us to fall in love with these creatures that may suffer from deforestation, habitat loss, and global warming.

I see both sides of these viewpoints and have also felt the joys of the scientific endeavour and felt at a loss for my future prospects. I don't know what my future holds. Some days I don't feel like I have much to contribute, nor made of the right stuff to make it in this field. But, I think the 7 minute lecture had a positive effect on me and it was a suitable way to end a day that began by reading the rather dismal outlook on academia. It's funny how things work out. Take this day for example. I think it wrapped itself up quite nicely.