Summertime

Let's get something straight: we university types do not have summer “off.” Academics are not getting three or four month vacations – at least, the good ones aren't. Which is a roundabout way of introducing a few of the projects I have to work on from now until Labour Day, and which will be featured in this journal in weeks to come.

• Write and submit my first full research proposals.
  
• Convert an existing lecture-based class in introductory biology to a partially on-line class.
  
• Work on the web site for the International Society for Neuroethology, a society of which I am a proud member and also head of the Web Committee.
  
• Develop a new undergraduate course in neurobiology.
  
• Rework an existing graduate-level course in cell biology.
  
• Make multiple trips out to our local Coastal Studies Lab to find out what kind of critters live there.
  
• Wait anxiously for ordered lab equipment to arrive.
  
• Inevitable cursing with frustration over setting up lab equipment. I anticipate not having enough cables, or the right electrical connectors, etc. Plus, there's a new computer involved.
  
• Work on a proposal for symposium at an upcoming meeting of the Animal Behavior Society.
• Work on a proposal for the Karger Workshop for an upcoming meeting of the J. B. Johnston Club.
  
• Help a new faculty member in our department find an apartment.

Some of these projects will certainly carry on past Labour Day, too.

That said, things are not so hectic that I didn't have time yesterday to see a movie (Spirit, if you're curious) do a bit of shopping for a slightly belated anniversary present. You know, a DVD player is not easy to sneak into an apartment without the intended recipient noticing.