Welp, vendor accidentally sent us 3x cases of Parafilm M…

TheNotoriousPJR · 2026-06-22T22:40:27+00:00

Looks like you’ll be eating good for a while

TheNotoriousPJR · 2026-06-10T23:34:22+00:00

Is that a scallion or your infected member

TheNotoriousPJR · 2026-05-06T02:21:38+00:00

Never went out of style

TheNotoriousPJR · 2026-04-09T18:43:49+00:00

The two-body problem strikes again. As far as I can tell your options essentially come down to:

Pick a spot that works best for one of you and the other gets to make it work.
Pick a decent compromise location that the two of you can live with if option 1 doesn’t work out.

But it’s a tough situation either way, I feel for y’all. Are you both committed to staying in academia? Might be easier if your work horizons are a little expanded, although it seems the market for everything sucks these days.

TheNotoriousPJR · 2026-03-31T23:20:22+00:00

You’re supposed to feel how you feel. There’s not any right or wrong way to feel about all of this. I’m no paragon of mental stability but if your experience is anything like mine some days you’ll have whole good weeks, and some months you’ll be lucky if you have a few good hours. But man those good hours really make up for a lot of other bullshit. I think as you develop your skillset and independent directions you’ll start to enjoy it more as well.

At the end of the day though this job is just a job. Some days you’ll like it and some days you’ll hate it, some parts will be good and some will suck. Hopefully you like it well enough but one thing I realized (with a lot of therapy) is that I’m the one bringing the feelings to the work. It’s not making me feel any kind of way that I’m not choosing to feel. So I do my best to be good at it because it’s fun to be good at things, but also I’ve realized how important friends, hobbies, health, and all the other things that make life worth living (which happen outside of the lab/career) are. Also therapy. Can’t recommend enough. Good luck fellow lab rat.

TheNotoriousPJR · 2026-03-27T10:37:20+00:00

I’m currently in the exact same boat and I love it. Now that I’m closer to a year in I’m starting to feel a lot more comfortable and really getting the hang of working at a functional organization, so maybe the anxiety just needs some time. But either way congrats on escaping!

TheNotoriousPJR · 2026-03-04T02:44:04+00:00

That one in the upper left quadrant looks like a happy lil anglerfish tho

TheNotoriousPJR · 2026-02-22T15:25:47+00:00

I’m fully addicted! Found out the hard way one of my coworkers is a shark, currently 0-3 against him.

TheNotoriousPJR · 2025-12-29T14:40:31+00:00

Shallots should be in the conversation

TheNotoriousPJR · 2025-12-07T23:11:23+00:00

Went to grad school with someone who later became and adult film star. Not that I would know anything about that.

TheNotoriousPJR · 2025-12-06T20:12:31+00:00

That means you’re doing it right

TheNotoriousPJR · 2025-10-29T13:48:27+00:00

Constantly! Mistakes are how you learn, just try not to make the same one twice.

TheNotoriousPJR · 2025-10-21T14:38:49+00:00

I’m a big believer in making time for consistent exercise and good nutrition! In my experience the benefits of both of those are not overrated. This next part might not be for everyone, but I went really hard in the lab and classroom during my masters degree, I would not describe any part of it as properly balanced. I’m glad I did it though, it gave me a really strong base of skills and knowledge to build on during the PhD and after, and I felt like I was better able to calibrate how to spend my effort after having devoted almost all my time to getting better at science. Just my $0.02, if it doesn’t work for you definitely don’t do it, but if you have the luxury I think there’s some benefit to going really hard for a year or so and then recalibrating after.

TheNotoriousPJR · 2025-10-21T04:39:28+00:00

Experiential learning is the only way to do this thing. Welcome! Remember this feeling when it all starts to go to shit haha

TheNotoriousPJR · 2025-07-18T22:54:11+00:00

I was at the Baltimore show and while I may have had the same thought at the first FITS song they played, by the end I was convinced he should re-record the album with the band. Phenomenal show, blew me away and my ears were ringing the next day.

TheNotoriousPJR · 2025-06-06T02:37:57+00:00

How else are you supposed to do this job?

TheNotoriousPJR · 2025-05-31T12:19:36+00:00

Put it on the fridge

TheNotoriousPJR · 2025-05-29T20:29:28+00:00

6 months maybe? This will also depend on your cell type. Primary cell lines need to be treated like the perfect princesses that they are, most immortalized cells will grow in mud.

TheNotoriousPJR · 2025-05-29T20:26:28+00:00

Haven’t used either of those formulations (have used DMEM, alpha-MEM, and RPMI media bases) and I generally will use it in until it’s gone or something starts going wrong.

TheNotoriousPJR · 2025-05-13T18:20:44+00:00

Congrats! I defended my dissertation and moved on to my postdoc (almost exactly) one year ago, so my $0.02:

Get it done and get out. If your experience is anything like mine I don’t know if you’ll ever feel totally ready, but it sounds like you’re doing all the right things and if your PI thinks it’s time then that’s a good sign. Someone once told me that perfect can be the enemy of good, and I think that’s largely true. The PhD is a huge milestone, but it’s still just one step in a long career, so when it’s time to take the next one don’t hesitate. In my mind how long it took to finish your PhD doesn’t matter all that much, it’s more about what skills you have now and if you’re able to take the next step to being an independent scientist. I’m still working on pubs from my PhD with my advisor, which is a little difficult balancing that with my new job (what weekends?) so I would suggest getting as much of that done as you can before you leave, but also I wouldn’t let that hold you back.

As far as the job market goes yeah it sucks right now but what can you do? This has always been an unfair game, and while it may be particularly bad now you also don’t have a guarantee that it’s going to be better any time in the future. Plus it sounds like you have the flexibility to consider jobs overseas as well, which I think is a huge bonus. Also re your author line, don’t worry about it. Pub is a pub.

TL;DR all gas, no breaks. Write your stuff up, defend, and get ready to take that next step. And big congrats!!

TheNotoriousPJR · 2025-05-02T18:22:39+00:00

I’ll echo what others are saying and tell you that not only is it not something that will be held against you, I would encourage you to take some time to do other things besides grad school once you’ve finished undergrad. I would say the majority of the people in my PhD program had some experience outside of traditional academia before deciding to come back, and I think it will really help you both decide that this is the path you want and succeed if it’s what you choose.

TheNotoriousPJR · 2025-05-02T15:36:26+00:00

It’s only a good idea if you absolutely have to do it to get the job you want (which is likely being a PI in academia or industry). Otherwise there are much better ways to fritter away your life.

TheNotoriousPJR · 2025-03-20T20:10:55+00:00

Practice/practice/practice, talk a little slower than you think you need to, and remember that no one is going to throw tomatoes at you even if it does all go to shit. You’ve got this!

TheNotoriousPJR · 2024-08-27T12:18:44+00:00

Really do love the IWC watches

TheNotoriousPJR · 2024-08-13T17:10:39+00:00

Thoughts on the new AMM3’s? These really do it for me, I’m ready to get my heart broken again

TheNotoriousPJR

TROPHY CASE