An Expert, Eh?

so, for the third day in a row, i was back in my old familiar lab in the bio department at USA today instead of at DISL. but never fear, i was doing PhD-related work. i'm actually kind of happy about spending time back in anne's lab at USA. it feels like home. anyway, i was teaching gretchen how to analyze seagrass tissue for condensed tannins and total phenolics when we ran into tim sherman, from whom i learned bunches in my time at USA (not to mention that i borrowed a ton of stuff from his lab or the fact that he's on my dissertation committee). well, gretchen and i were in his lab again, and i introduced them. tim asked gretchen what she's working on during her time as an REU. when she said that she was working on induced defenses in turtlegrass, specifically looking at phenolics, he said something to the effect of, "well, you're working with one of the world's foremost experts on seagrass phenolics." meaning yours truly. it made me smile. i don't know how true that statement was, but still.

anyway, tomorrow it's back to DISL to help o'brien set up the lab practical for our marine bio students. then, basic classroom cleanup for me, along with getting rid of all the fish, etc. that we preserved for the class. tuesday the new class starts, when i'll be the TA for dr. v.'s marine ecology class. i get to do a bit of teaching in this one, so i'm looking forward to it. it's just a few labs, but that's ok. when i'm not so bogged down in coursework, i'm going to ask dr. freeman (the bio dept chair) if i can teach a couple of general bio labs again. i think he'll go for it.

since nothing else interesting is happening to me at the moment, how about a bit of hockey news? i just read this article on yahoo, and i have to say i'm a tad disappointed in my beloved j.r. yes, j.r. i think you are a greedy bastard. but i love you for your outspokenness and splendid hockey abilities anyway. and i will be at games even if you don't want me there. i will purchase NHL center ice so i can see as many hockey games as i want. i will record NHL games that interfere with ice pilots' games with my newly acquired TiVo, and i will watch them whenever i want. your games, j.r. assuming you don't ditch the flyers when this whole lockout thing finally ends. i couldn't be happier that the owners called the players' bluff so that this CBA thing gets done right. and, yeah - i think you all screwed yourselves by not taking the last-ditch offer that the owners made months ago, before the season was cancelled. mario lemieaux thinks so, too. don't argue with super mario. so, yes j.r., i am wildly jealous of your insane wealth. but i am also a part of what made you wealthy. without people like me, you would be just another average jeremy. the only thing that would impress me about what the NHL players gave up at this point, j.r., is to hear that you will all start working for an average person's salary. or even $100,000 a year, which is still more than most people make in a year. as one of the highest paid NHL players, j.r., it is not going to impress me that you had to take a pay cut of a couple million dollars per year, leaving you to make only 4 or 5 million a year (or whatever ridiculously large sum of money you will still be paid after the lockout). while you entertain me for a living, earning millions of dollars every year to do it, my husband and i will continue to go out with our $35,000-$40,000 per year combined salary (hey, we're young - we'll eventually make more) and support the NHL and its greedy players. i'm not interested in what you're "giving up" to play hockey this season. whatever you end up with will still be far beyond what the average american could ever hope to earn. and yet, i will continue to support your sport, j.r., and your league because i think that hockey is a great game. when you start earning an average salary and have to work for more than 15 or 20 years before you can retire, when you have to get a job after hockey, then you can talk to me about what you gave up. then i would be impressed. i really don't think that you and the other NHL players are doing anything so drastic, j.r., to help out with league revenues. you're all trying to make as much money as you can, players and owners alike, period. and you aren't greedy? think about that, j.r. you think about that.