Monday PM

I've just now retired to my study after puttering about in the kitchen for about two hours making some of the more unique Thai dishes to take to work tomorrow. A few of my employees who were not invited to my dinner gathering on Saturday (maybe their invitations were regrettably lost in the mail **smirk**) have been badgering me aobut bringing in some more Thai food. Hence the culinary endeavour tonight.

Before our montly department administrative meeting today, the laboratory director asked that I give a presentation in March to his entire lab staff. Since I am highly allergic to saying "no," I agreed and am now faced with putting together an hour long lecture and Powerpoint on West Nile Virus and other mosquito-borne diseases. The overall caliber of the lab staff is fairly high, so I am permitted to say things like "enzootic" and "pathogenicity" without having to worry about them dozing off, or wanding out of the room. Perhaps I'll even live on the edge and say "encephalomyelities."

While the presentation should be fun, it does bring up the problem that I absolutely loathe public speaking. It was not but so many years ago that I avoided giving presentations at almost any cost. Even during the undergraduate years I would give them only reluctantly: waiting until last to give mine with hands and voice shaking all the while. I said back then (and I more or less still agree with the sentiment today, that I would rather write a ten page paper than give a ten minute presentation). But with the progress in the career, speaking engagements were just those things into which I was thrown, like it or not. I still don't like them, but I've reached the point where I just accept them as part of the job. Besides, it's all good practice should I someday find myself a professor at some university. Not that I necessarily plan on this, but it is a possibilty nonetheless. I've had the opportunity over the last year or so to teach a few labs and give a lecture or two and it is somewhat appealing. So who knows. It could very well be the direction my life's path will take.