Kids these days

I recently had a conversation with a good friend about having babies. Which in itself isn't extraordinary - it seems to me that many conversations with women friends in stable relationships eventually touch on babies, and specifically, when to have them. My friend was contemplating having children soon because she couldn't see a better time in the near future. We talked about having babies while in grad school, while trying to get tenure, or after tenure was procured. And I remembered a second-hand quote from a professor in my department to a grad student (the professor doesn't have children): "there's no good time to have children as an academic".

All I want for Christmas

Friends,
  It's hard for me to concentrate on a serious post today. I am enjoying the end of grading combined with a part-time job by taking the day 'off' and wrapping presents, making food, and answering tons of emails. Whoops, that last part doesn't sound fun.  So in the spirit of the holidays, I have made an academic wish list.

Good-bye, semester!

  Ah, it's that time of year. When the winter holidays beckon and your comments on student work nigh disappear. They're not going to be your students for much longer, so they don't have to worry about meeting your particular standards anymore, and just want the grade. Which is good, because at this point you're tired of correcting their citations (again) and asking 'where's the hypothesis?' on their 5th report.