Yesterday a dear friend told me that I am scary. Or maybe I should say she reminded me of that. She offered that reminder when I was venting about a campus committee meeting. In the esteemed group of faculty and administrators at the meeting, I found myself to be the only person who could make […]
Hens Lose at Chicken
An article in a recent issue of the American Economic Review has a big title: Gender Differences in Accepting and Receiving Requests for Tasks with Low Promotability. In our research we find that, relative to men, women are more likely to volunteer, more likely to be asked to volunteer, and more likely to accept direct […]
Minions Sing 99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall
Everybody sing along: “Malatikalano Polatina, Malatikalano Polatina….” This is a guaranteed smile.
Job Search Advice for Students (and Other People)
When I discuss post-grad plans with my students, one of the issues that always comes up is balance. No, not work-life balance. The balance of the short-term and long-term perspectives. Often the conversation happens in what should be an ecstatic moment: a graduating senior has a job offer (!). Why is the mood less than […]
Time, Continued
Time has been on my mind. I have two watches. My running watch and my work watch. They are both broken right now. That means I am out of my habit of wearing a watch to sleep. DH has long suggested that consulting my watch in the middle of the night is not good for […]
Elastigirl
In honor of Father’s Day and the Wonder Woman movie, I am writing about my ultimate parental superhero: Elastigirl. Elastigirl doesn’t have the glamour or renown of Wonder Woman. That’s because she is too busy packing lunches, finding babysitters, and saving the world to work on her make-up and her publicity. In other words, she […]
It’s Going to Look Worse Before it Looks Better
Warning: this post is about a medical issue. It might be TMI for some of you. I went to the dermatologist last fall to have her look at a spot on my arm. That spot was fine. As a thorough professional though, she took out her magnifying specs and scrutinized my skin from head to […]
Culture of Helplessness?
Lori Isbell has a story that I would file under “you can’t make this stuff up”: Recently, I received an email from a student asking me the name of a writer — a writer whose book we’d been reading for two weeks….I knew that the student owned the book, because I had seen her with […]
I Hope This is the Day I Love You Least
My husband and I attended the wedding of a young couple. The groom had been my undergraduate student years before. I had met his wife, before they were even a couple, because he had sent her my way for help with her job search. She was a lovely, spunky young lady. She did improv, which […]