I few months ago I saw a production of “The Book of Mormon”– the musical written by the creators of South Park. I didn’t really like the (ethnocentric and racist) storyline, but some of the songs were catchy and fun. One of these was “The Spooky Mormon Hell Dream”, link here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNEh4bm6rNQ
It’s Hell for Mormon-specific minor sins (it features dancing coffee).
I waste a fair amount of mental energy feeling guilty for grad-student sins.
Things I’ve felt guilty about over the last week:
-losing productivity in late afternoon
-not getting to lab until 11:30am (after staying in lab until 3am the night before)
-working on projects that should have been complete several months ago
-outlining a NaNoWriMo novel during office hours
-doing homework the same day it’s due
-gchat and other internet while in lab
-not working on the weekend
-not being conscientious about lab chores
-complaining about my advisers
-not paying attention during talks
-not appreciating graduate school
-being more excited about books/fun than science/work
and last but not least…
-blogging in lab 🙂
Forgive me Science, for I have sinned…
I’m always working on being a better student, and not all weeks are as bad as last week. Still, it’s unusual to go more than a week or so without some failures, and the resulting disproportionate guilt. Graduate Student Hell probably includes angry committee members, rancid seminar coffee, dead specimens, and eventual unemployment. Hopefully that stays a spooky dream, and doesn’t become reality.
Science Pilgrim 