Variety, the spice of life

Well, motivation is back! So are other frustrations. What is life without frustration. But about that later. Let me be positive for once!

News! Had formal interviews and managed to bedazzle the committee somehow and am now officially a part of the institute. Have promised to go to the moon (no, make it Sun) and back and cure all diseases while am at it. Ask me a year later how far I got.

More news. Found two (!!) people willing to risk their happiness, career and life and join the CS Lab. Very smart students but still novices. I am trying to think back, what was it about science that enthused me so much in those days. When every small thing took time, failed, failed again and got nowhere. Here reading Rita’s comments helped me remember that perhaps I do not need to belabour the enthusiasm, it is an integral part of committing yourself to five (or more) years of research. My job is perhaps just to try not to kill it.

Managing science, instead of doing it has been an eye opener in itself. So many facets to doing science that were not obvious when I was doing it myself. So many tricks to easing one’s burden, of speeding things up. Should I spell these out or should I let them discover them themselves? Should I push to get more done or let them find their own rhythm? Should I trust their motivation or try to inject enthusiasm? Should I show them how to do it or let them falter and fall and recover? Should I get angry or ignore the irritant? Should I get impatient about science not moving or feel satisfied that a student is learning? Questions and more questions.

But have to say, life is never dull.

There is thinking about science (which sometimes I have to struggle to remember is my job),

there is teaching how to do science,

there is communicating science,

there is convincing others to give you money to do science,

there is finding ways to spend that money,

there is accounting for that money,

and there is phone calls and meetings and conversations and interactions!

Variety, such that I never had in my life before!

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PEREGRINATIONS

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