YOU ALL WILL BURN FOR YOUR BLASPHEMY

that was the message attached to one of the copies of our Maclame's spoof issue and jammed into the office door handle.

i think it might have been a prank, but i'm not ruling anything out. although it really wasn't all that blasphemous. ah well. at least we don't have to shut down, like these chumps did.

***

i was in a toy store today. it was horrifying: concentrated overpackaged and unnecessary gaudiness, and a fisher price cd player looping through grating screaming-kid renditions of 'the farmer in the dell' and 'happy birthday to you.' i'm so glad i don't have kids. and if i ever do spawn forth progeny, i really don't know what i'll do if they insist on spending hours at the toystore or going out to see movies like Rugrats. i think i might have to be committed.

***

another beautiful day. another day holed up in my lab. i usually use dinnertime as an escape, but it's good friday today -- i doubt very many places around campus will even be open.

speaking of dinner, though, i did end up going to dinner with my lab group yesterday. it was, in my mind, anyway, slightly more awkward than it usually is. i didn't say very much and i just sat back and watched my supervisor fail to start conversations.

"so...what's the latest news from iran?" he asked the iranian grad student in our lab.

"uh...i don't know what you mean," the student replied.

seems all my supervisor knows about this student who's been with him for four years is that he's from iran and that he has a wife.

not much to go on.

he made similar attempts to start conversations by posing these sweeping vague questions that made it clear he didn't really know anything about anyone in the lab.

"how was your course?" he asked me.

i wasn't taking a course. i was petrified that he didn't know that, assumed that i was away so much because i was taking a course and would be even more disgruntled with me if he found out that i was, in fact, not taking a course.

i didn't know how to answer him.

instead, i just talked about the course that i taught.

i taught my last lab yesterday. possibly ever. i really like teaching -- it's the marking that's absolutely dreadful.

"everyone is outside drinking and partying," said one of my students, "and we're in here putting circuits together."

i know how you feel, dude. i totally opened up after the lab period ended and started chatting with my students like a normal person. i feel like i have to be professionally guarded or something while the term is on, and it was kind of cool to be able to shoot the shit with my students. a lot of them seem really frustrated with their courses and the structure of their program, and i've definitely been there...still there.