The Concrete Cylinder Crushed by 1500 lbs of force

At Engineering Open House two weeks ago. I interviewed exhibitors and took pictures. It was definitely a party.
(When I say "crushed", what I really mean is "exploded". Just look at the kids' faces!)

I got it! I'm keeping this job over the summer!
HALLELUJAH.

Crossing Fingers

I hope he says yes to the telecommuting. Please say yes. I don't want to work in food service for the rest of the summer.

My other plan is to reach out to my contact in communications at Fermilab. My professor connected me to her, I did an interview on her for a career project. I might send her an email asking if there's any room for me.

IF this doesn't work out. I hope it will. Pleasepleasepleaseplease.

Maybe I wouldn't mind working as a waitress. I dunno. I'd rather be doing something more productive, though, for sure. We'll see.

It took me forever to finish that large article on EOH. It was just a conglomeration of all the MechSE exhibits, but it took me forever. I had to research details, names, I listened to the audio of all the recordings that we got and tried to nutshell it in the best way I could. So it took me ages, and when I got it to him, he didn't seem entirely enthusiastic to get it up right away. He hasn't contacted me all break about it. (But then again, the website shows nothing new...) I wonder if he's just busy with other things. I like having multiple things to do, prioritizing, multi-tasking, but recently he's just been waiting for me to finish one thing and then sometimes taking his time in shooting me another.

Makes me feel less important in a silly, insecure way.

Tuesday

"Does anyone want this can of chicken noodle soup?" Betsy asks the office at large, emerging from the cubicle she had been cleaning out.

"ALWAYS," Bill declares from his cubicle.

"Really?"

"No, please throw that out. I'm sure it's a decade old."

"Probably."

The office is going through major changes. I told you I lost my cubicle? I got one back! Although it's been recommended to me not to make myself comfortable, as we'll be getting a larger, shinier office soon.

Of course, they've been saying that for weeks, but I don't mind.

There's also a new student worker. He looks a bit older than me, and we haven't interacted much except when our shifts interfere, which is only Mondays. In which case I found another place to work until I could get my table back.

There are no hard feelings. Bill has a lot of work to do. It's crazy to me that they just hired a Director of Communications this past summer, and hadn't had one for the past year. They've piled him with catch-up work, AND all the daily work that a director of communications for a major engineering department at one of the largest engineering colleges in the world would USUALLY have to do. That's one of the reasons why he was so desperate to hire me back in October, even as a freshman with no experience. He just needed help.

And I hope I've been doing him proud. He has offered me this job over the summer, which I'll take, assuming I can telecommute (since I really can't stay here, not this summer). The only problem is when I take on research, as I'm required to do as a physics major looking to get into graduate school. I'm not sure I can do research and this job at the same time.

But, I shall take it as it comes. Research probably won't start until next summer anyway, which means I can give him at least another year of work.

And I do like this job. I like the experience it's giving me, I like Bill and Betsy, I like interviewing interesting people and getting my name on a website with my writing--my writing!--for everyone to see. It's kind of awesome. And as a potential science writer, this experience is priceless in helping me decide what I want to do as a career.

Pretty much the only question left is whether or not I like research more. And I really don't even have the slightest clue what the answer to that question will be.