Stranger than Sleep Talk

My husband's excuse for ditching daycare duty this morning-

"I was crawling through 80,000 pounds of raw chicken last night. I don't think I should be around her"

At this point I thought he might be sleep talking, then I remembered he'd had a fire call last night and come home talking about chicken while I was still half asleep.

"Oh, the fire call? What was this, a restaurant?"

"80,000 pounds," he repeated. "It was a tractor-trailer fire."

"Did you take a shower?"

"Yes."

"Well then you've killed all the bacteria. You're fine," I said. "But I'll take her."

I hope he is sleeping in and feeling better...

My three year plan

It's hard to believe that just ten years ago, I was a college student talking with of my mentors, a female geology professor, who had two young children. As an aspiring female in science, I asked her, "Is it really possible to balance a career in science and a family? How do you do it?"

Two quotes from the conversation stuck with me-

"Well, I've learned to tolerate more mess around the house"
and
"I haven't read any novels in the last few years."

In college, a one-page paper was a good enough excuse not to wash my dishes, so her first comment didn't bother me. But the second comment was really horrifying. I couldn't imagine going a few years without reading a novel. That would never be me!

Well, it's been five months since my daughter was born. I've read some non-fiction lately- the end of "Phantoms in the Brain" and the first half of "The Omnivore's Dilemma." As a science educator, I can justify making some time to enjoy some non-fiction relating to biology.

*But I haven't read a single page of novel*

And yet I refuse to give in! I recently got Carl Haissan's new novel, Nature Girl, from the library. Tonight the realization has hit home that I'm probably going to run up fines exceeding the cover price of the hardback book if I actually finish it.

So I've given up and decided to blog tonight instead. Darn it, though, I will read a novel in the next few years, even if it takes me the whole three years.

International Science Geek

Remember that BBC radio show I mentioned in my previous post? I decided to send them an e-mail with a nagging question I had about genetics. This afternoon I was listening to this week's show on my iPod on the way home from work, and they read and discussed my question!

I'm beginning to think maybe this "Information Age" is more than hype. Years ago if your books and colleagues couldn't help you out, where could you go? Now there's Google.

I have even heard of people diagnosing themselves with rare genetic disorders that the doctors miss by googling their symptoms. Few people can visit a medical library at 2 AM, but you can find so much information at 2 AM googling away on your laptop.

Although Google didn't work for me, I had previously discussed this genetics question with a blogger/professor in another state, and then heard it discussed by a physician/radio host in the UK. Amazing world, isn't it!

Meme

I was tagged a while back for a meme by Radagast .


5 Things You Don't Know about Me

1. I commute with the Naked Scientist. (It's an awesome podcast.)
2. I once attended a Brittany Spears concert.
3. I can still recite most of a German poem I had to memorize in high school over ten years ago, but I called another professor in my department by the wrong name yesterday.
4. After ignoring American Idol for the first several seasons, for no apparent reason I suddenly starting watching it this month and actually care that Paula might be leaving the show.
5. I smuggle out egg yolk from the campus cafeteria salad bar every Tuesday to feed my flatworms. They are my adopted pets and sit on my desk.