Tuesday, February 17, 2009

mixed messages

When I had my first committee meeting in December, I thought we very clearly laid out what I was supposed to do and when. 6 weeks before exam date- send committee a draft proposal. Get their feedback and incorporate it into the proposal I will defend that I must send them 2 weeks before exam date. Everyone agreed to this. Chip and Sam seemed to think this was a particularly good idea.

I asked for feedback on my proposal by Feb. 16 (yesterday). Melody was the only one who sent it. I'll get feedback from Herb today. Sam sent me an email last night saying, "I think I've already given you my feedback over the past two months. When did you want feedback by? Let me know if there are specific parts you need help with." This morning I asked Herb how to handle the non-responders, and he said, "Oh, most people probably won't give you feedback until the exam." WHAT?

Apparently, they laid out a best-case timeline for me but didn't really expect me to do it? Admittedly, I was more than a week late sending them my first proposal. Still, I'm kind of annoyed. It's only 8 pages. I'm especially annoyed that Sam and Chip haven't given feedback yet since they were so keen on the draft. Even though Sam and I have talked about my project at length, it would be helpful for him to read my whole proposal since ideas don't always come out clearly.

Also, I am completely intimidated by Sam- but only over email. Phone, fine. In person, fine. Email... opening emails from him fills me with dread. Is this totally bizarre? I give myself pep talks and remind myself not to be intimidated by anyone, especially not a colleague/committee member/advisor. Jon reminds me that I should always read emails in the best possible way. You have to give people the benefit of the doubt without inflection. I need to practice this with Sam.

On a completely different note, I have 825 unread blog posts. That number hasn't been below 250 since before Christmas. I (try to) read too many blogs. Time for lab meeting...

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