odds and ends

1. i open my mail once a week. other than during very special seasons like christmas and my birthday, most of the mail is junk. when i am done opening, i end up with a large stack of paper to be recycled, a slightly smaller stack to be shredded, and occasionally, a couple of pieces of paper i need to do something with before i recycle or shred those too. it's such a waste of paper! and my time. i posted my problem on facebook and friends suggested i, a) live off the radar, address-free, and b) mail back all of the junk in the return envelopes that come with the junk mail. both valid ideas, obviously, but there has to be a better way.

2. i think there's a mouse in my office. i've been here for about an hour and i keep hearing a little squeak. it's freaking me out a little. i thought maybe it was my chair so i held still for several seconds but the squeak sounded again. then i thought maybe it was my keyboard but no. i don't really want to look around too much so i'll just keep working and hope it goes away. and that i don't hear it scurry around.

3. i have a headache and need to take ibuprofen but i have to eat something first or i'll get an upset tummy. i ate some sugar-free jello, i'm hoping that counts. i'm a risk taker, what can i say?

4. this coming week is the last of this semester. i have a project due tuesday by noon and a paper and presentation due wednesday morning. the project is about half-way done; the paper is not started; and the presentation is about three-quarters done. technically, the presentation is about the paper so i should have written the paper first, but it's a short presentation and it helped me outline the sections of the paper. oh! so let me re-phrase, the paper is outlined. very much looking forward to being done with this semester. not because it was difficult or a lot of work, mainly because i'm bored with it.

5. i officially started as a real employee of the population health institute on friday. no longer am i a graduate student (i mean, i am, but not in a work capacity) with a project assistantship. my official title is assistant researcher which doesn't really mean anything on the hierarchical ladder because pay is commensurate with experience. my responsibilities are remaining basically the same except that i'll be working on two grants instead of one. the only bummer with giving up my student assistantship is that my tuition was paid for by the institute and now i'll have to pay for it out of pocket. but i'll be earning a real salary again so it's worth it.

6. i just heard the squeak again.