A quick aside before I start the real reason for this post. I just got up from sleeping 11 hours straight, and oh my gosh is that amazing! I don't need it all the time, but about once a month, man is it great!
Anyways, back to the subject at hand. So I have officially been working for an entire year now. There's something about being able to say "I've been here a year" that sounds so much more impressive than "I've been here 10 months". It's a huge milestone, like I finally feel like I have some credibility and that I'm not still "in training". When I really sat down to start thinking about it, I realized that I have completely provided for myself--everything I've needed or wanted--for an entire year. Although I have always been very appreciative of all of the help my parents have given me over the years, there is just something about being able to say that I can take care of myself. I've officially become a productive part of society and financially self sufficient! That makes me a real grown-up!
So, as my second year of employment begins, I am to have an evaluation with my boss regarding my work performance, and I am eager to see where I'm on the right track and where I need to get things together a little more. One thing I definitely want to do is to do more independent research to keep up with journal articles/new techniques, etc. This first year has mostly been just trying to keep my head on straight (and I think I need some more post-it notes!) and I haven't done much other than be a sponge and soak up stuff that the other guys already know. I'm on a quest to become an independent sponge so that I can squeeze out some things of my own for them to learn. All about becoming a team player.
My assessment on adulthood? Some things are not as much fun. . .less vacation time, bills, etc. Some things are much cooler though. . .being able to afford quick weekend getaways, having real furniture, keeping a steady paycheck! I think I'm content to stay where I am at for awhile. . .afterall there is no going back now!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
12 comments:
I can't wait to say "I've been here for a year". Congrats on the anniversary!!
Future DIL;
Hopefully the boy will be able to say that in three to five years, somewhere.....FFIL
NEVER!!! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!
;)
And see, honey, people DO comment! :)
I think it's sad that you've just now grown up. I've been on my own since my freshman year of college. What's it like to have everything paid for and not having student loans out the wazoo? It's gunna take me forever to pay those puppies off! Want so send some money my way?
Ladies and gentlemen, a lesson on internet life forms.
The above post was made by what we call an internet "Troll". Notice the cowardly abscence of any registered account or identifying marks. Also notice the venomous vitrol it spews out of it's mouth.
Now, pay attention. This part is important.
Most internet trolls like this will zero in on any opportunity they can find to say something insulting, rude, or demeaning to someone on the internet in a strained effort to make themselves feel better about their life station. In this case, the nasty cretin has chosen to insult my Fiance for the fact that her parents worked their asses off to save money for her and her siblings so they could make it out of undergrad debt free - a gift that the two of us intend to bestow upon our children, as we were both fortunate enough to grow up in households where our parents loved us.
If the troll happens to be someone who really knows who we are, the use of an anonymous name is simply a sign of deep cowardice, and also a sign that this is most likely not one of our friends.
However, it is more likely the case that this particular internet troll is just someone who was out looking for an excuse to say something hurtful to someone he doesn't know for his own amusement.
Here's the upshot. My fiance is returning home, and will soon enable a fantastic feature called "comment moderation". She can happily delete shallow insults of this type at will. In the end, the internet troll's rude intrusion upon our lives will be, just like the troll himself, forgotten, save perhaps as an unpleasant feeling or a passing foul smell in our nostrils.
Happily, the fate of all such internet trolls is for them and their puerile accomplishments (if they can be called that) to be ignored for better conversation or to be simply forgotten.
If you ever do encounter such a troll on your blog, just ignore them. They aim to start a fight, and nothing else.
The bottom line: ignore posts or comments like this on your own blogs (for those of you, that is, who have never encountered such a creature before). In the end, they don't matter, as they are most likely not made by someone you know or care about.
What a jerk!
Congrats on the anniversary...it is a big one.
FMIL
Can I double post????
Benefits of teaching...many vacations. I have the most wonderful schedule in the world. Two weeks at Christmas, one week in March, three months in the summer (unless I decide to teach summer school), Memorial Day, Labor Day, etc., etc., etc. Since I'm full-time, I get to pick my class schedule and office hours during the year.
Disadvantage of teaching...$$$ and the occasional wacko student.
I'm sorry for being so rude. I was wrong. Please, will you forgive me?
Oh, and "raoul the destroyer", yes, I was rude and I wish I had never written it, but are you reflecting Christ when you belittled and insulted me so publicly? A simple rebuke may have been more appropriate. I had already felt bad after I hit "post" and couldn't take it back.
I understand you were trying to make your fiancee feel better after my upsetting post, but you did the very thing I, the "troll", did in your insults to me.
Assuming my parents didn't love me enough to pay for my college is ignorant, too. They work their hearts out providing for their family, just as yours do, only with not as much pay. I will give you the benefit of the doubt that you didn't intend to mean that in your comment.
Again, I'm sorry and will be more careful in my assumptions and thoughts of others. I'm sure you two are very special people and I didn't intend to damper your excitement over something so momentous to you.
Because blogs are so impersonal and you can't hear my voice, I am not being sarcastic, rather, very sincere, with tears in my eyes to know I hurt you two. I'm sorry.
I would just like to post and say thank you for the apology, anon. I do understand that I am very blessed to have my undergraduate education paid for---though I did have an academic scholarship that paid for all of my tuition and I ran track to pay for my books. I also had a job working as an anatomy lab TA while in school to pay for gas/spending money/etc. My parents helped me out with my living expenses and I am thankful. During graduate school, I cashed in the fund my grandparents set up for me to pay for living expenses those two years. I took out student loans for my tuition and books, which I will be paying back for the next 8 years. On top of going to school 40 hours a week and studying 10-20 hours a week, I also held down a part-time job at a physical therapy clinic to help out with paying for my gas. During my clinicals I was blessed by my future in-laws and a friend in order to have a place to stay at reduced or free rent.
I say this not to be defensive or to say "look how horrible I had it". I know that there are many others out there who have to work very hard with no assistance to make it through school (my parents were two of these). That amount of determination amazes me! All I am trying to say is that although I had help from my family along the way, I feel that I contributed financially to my education as well, either through loans or scholarships.
Most of the reason I am excited about "being grown up" is that I'm doing a job that I love--one that challenges me regularly, keeps me humble, and always keeps me learning. It took a lot of hard work to get me where I am now, especially during graduate school, and I am excited about the place I am in now.
Anonymous –
Listen,
If you feel that something needs to be discussed further, please reveal your identity so we know who we are talking with. Otherwise, please leave peacefully.
...and I apologize for the "jerk" comment. Just get defensive about my chicks...
Post a Comment