The best laid schemes o' mice an' men

Scotland from overhead

My first kilt-in-the-wild sighting of the trip was at the gate in Amsterdam. It was one of the most anachronistic things I have ever seen. The guy wore scrunched-down long woolly socks, a tee shirt, headphones, and sneakers. Best of all, he was wearing a fur sporran. In the airport. 

Someone who has never been to Austin might be equally impressed to see someone in cowboy boots, hat, and jeans with a big buckle. I guess it really happens. I took a surreptitious photo by changing my phone to the wide-angle setting.

That was not the last kilt I saw yesterday, either. There were others on the streets in Glasgow, although they were much more traditionally styled than tee-shirt-airport-guy. 

Here are some miscellaneous photos for you...

A very comfortable bed

The view of the University of Strathclyde from my window.

A seagull sitting on her nest.

I slept for almost thirteen hours and then had the best cup of room coffee espresso imaginable. The machine takes tiny aluminum pods and makes a tasty, foamy little cup of wake-up juice. It's good that they only left me two, or I would have ripped through four or five of them!

I didn't spend as much time in the city as I hoped because I didn't leave the hotel until almost 11 am. 

I spent about 4 hours wandering around the immediate vicinity, people-watching, and shopping, but I didn't commit to something longer like a bike rental, double-decker bus tour, or train trip since I needed to come back and study. (I am ready for my lectures to be done so that I can play without obligations!)

One of the first places I went was Macgregor and Macduff's, a place that Eddie found before I left. When I asked Eddie and Billy what they wanted from Scotland, they both agreed: a sgian dubh! 

The ones in this store were absolutely gorgeous; their handles are made from real wood, antler, or Heathergem, so no two are alike. Here's a 2.5-minute video of how they make Heathergems. I'm a little obsessed with it like I was with glass in Venice. Now that I know what it is, I see it everywhere.

A bundle of dyed heather with a Heathergem kilt pin.

A £700 kilt, suitable for a fancy occasion.

All you ever wanted to know about Scottish accessories.

There aren't many natural surfaces in the area surrounding me, but nature seems to be taking them back. Trees and flowers are growing out of all the crevices, and the birds have painted many surfaces white, including the top of Walter Scott's head in George Square. 

A tour guide walked up with his group and started to talk about Walter Scott and Scottish clans. I pretended to look at my phone, sat down on a bench, and eavesdropped. The bench happened to be under a statue of Robert Burns, and the tour group moved closer. Their guide was brilliant. 

Robert Burns, he argued, has changed the world. Have you ever heard the phrase, the best-laid plans of mice and men? Burns is said to have written that poem on the spot after destroying a field mouse's nest with his plow. Billy, you need to read this to Mr. Parker when school and poetry start up again.

To a Mouse, 
on Turning Her Up in Her Nest With the Plough, 

November, 1785

Small, crafty, cowering, timorous little beast,

Oh, what a panic is in your breast!

You need not start away so hasty

With your hurrying scamper

I would be loath to run and chase you,

With murdering plough-staff. 

I'm truly sorry man's dominion

Has broken Nature's social union,

And justifies that ill opinion

Which makes you startle

At me, your poor, earth born companion

And fellow mortal!

I doubt not, sometimes, but you may steal;

What then? Poor little beast, you must live!

An odd ear in twenty-four sheaves

Is a small request;

I will get a blessing with what is left,

And never miss it.

Your small house, too, in ruin!

Its feeble walls the winds are scattering!

And nothing now, to build a new one,

Of coarse grass green!

And bleak December's winds coming,

Both bitter and piercing!

You saw the fields laid bare and wasted,

And weary winter coming fast,

And cozy here, beneath the blast,

You thought to dwell,

Till crash! the cruel plough passed

Out through your cell.

That small bit heap of leaves and stubble,

Has cost you many a weary nibble!

Now you are turned out, for all your trouble,

Without house or holding,

To endure the winter's sleety dribble,

And hoar-frost cold.

But little Mouse, you are not alone,

In proving foresight may be vain:

The best laid schemes of mice and men

Go often askew,

And leave us nothing but grief and pain,

For promised joy!

Still you are blessed, compared with me!

The present only touches you:

But oh! I backward cast my eye,

On prospects dreary!

And forward, though I cannot see,

I guess and fear!

The tour guide pointed out how empathetic Burns is. Burns can relate to a creature whose life he has upended. I think the world would be a different place if everyone cared so much that they would write a poem to a mouse. 

The tour guide then quoted Burns, who rewrote the lyrics to Green Grow the Rashes in 1784. He suggested that in these lyrics, Burns is cheekily suggesting God is female.

 

Auld Nature swears, the lovely dears 

Her noblest work she classes, O: 

Her prentice han' she try'd on man, 

An' then she made the lasses, O. 

Here, enjoy this lovely work of Scottish art. 

I am teaching tomorrow, so I may not as have as many words for you for the next few days. We'll see.

FAQs

Sometimes, it is good to sit still on flights or in airports. I practiced all four of my course lectures today, so now that I've "eaten my vegetables," it's time for dessert. I have been looking forward to treating myself to journaling all day. 

Housekeeping: I got my email notification of yesterday's post from follow.it, so the subscription service seems to be working. If you want to subscribe and are having trouble, please let me know!

It's now 9 p.m. in DTW on Friday, June 28, and I have 25 minutes left before I board my overseas flight. I intend to pass out cold and not wake up until Europe.

I am getting a few common questions about this trip to Scotland, so while I am waiting on dinner and sleep, I will try to answer them.

Q: How did I start teaching a short vibrational spectroscopy course?

A: Soon after I started my most recent job, I realized I needed to know how to interpret a particular kind of vibrational spectra called Raman (note the spelling and the capitalization...not ramen, though I could go for a bowl of noodles anytime!) So, I took a week-long course that has been offered every year since the 1950s by a nonprofit established for the purpose. It is currently led by an emeritus professor from the University of Georgia. On the last day of the course, this professor, Jim, asked me if I would like to come back and help teach some of the content the following year. At first, I declined because I thought I wasn't enough of an "expert," but he reiterated his request by email a few weeks later. I decided to have courage, prepare the material, and give it a try. The truth is I like teaching a lot, and so here I am. 

Ok, my alarm telling me to go find my gate just went off...

...and here are photos of all my leg room!

I am going to be ruined for flying any other way. This is very comfortable.

FAQ, continued.

Q: What is Raman spectroscopy, and why does Polly need it?

A: Here's the simplest, most non-technical, nutshell answer I can muster. Raman spectroscopy measures light scattering by the vibrations of bonded atoms in molecules. When the molecules exist in different polymorphic forms (see the definition above), the light they scatter changes. The changes can be quantified and measured. When the effectiveness of a pharmaceutical hinges on its polymorphic form, Raman is a rapid way of ensuring that you have the right form.

Q: If you had to choose between working at Merck in Rahway, New Jersey, and Lonza in Bend, Oregon, which would you choose? (I am in the interview process at both companies.)

A: Working in pharma has turned out to be really tough. This was my third non-performance-related job loss in 18 years, and there's a good chance it won't be my last. That said, I need to try something different during this go-round. I want to work for a big, profitable company rather than a small organization that is looking for a big break to survive. Don't get me wrong, that has been lots of fun in the cases of DSP and SNX, but I need to stop worrying about turbulence and get some big pharma credentials under my belt. 

Merck seems safer right now for many reasons. It is growing and investing in R&D, and it doesn't seem to be affected by layoffs and site closures (right now). There would be a multitude of opportunities to work on molecules in various stages of development, and I think the colleagues and their scientific toys would be amazing. 

On the other hand, it's going to be more difficult to figure out exactly where to live in New Jersey that checks all the necessary boxes. Location challenges include 1) finding a good public high school, 2) finding a school zone to live in that we can afford, and 3) finding a place close enough to Rahway for a commute not to interfere too much with my quality of life. It may also take work to get them to agree to the salary that Lonza is prepared to pay.

Lonza is also large, but not "top ten" like Merck. I think it's in the top 100 global pharma companies by revenue. They have had a recent CEO turnover, and they laid off employees in California earlier this year. Their offer is highly competitive, though, and I have really liked my would-be coworkers so far. They are an experienced team. Both of the scientists who have interviewed me have been there for over two decades, and they have described a full suite of scientific instruments. Plus, they sound like they really want me for exactly what I have to bring.

Bend would be an ideal place to move to. There are several pharmaceutical companies there. Its population is much smaller than Austin's, and there are two little public high schools. Also, Eddie's favorite thing in the world is fishing. He carves handmade lures out of wood and thinks about fishing all the time. We are clear on where he wants to go. 

Both jobs involve internal research initiatives, which would mean I would not be beholden to client companies' whims. This would be a relief. 

Prominent in my calculus, though, is the fact that I have made the mistake of prioritizing location over career strategy more than once now. Things can go badly. If I end up with a choice to make, we will just have to weigh the options carefully. Careers, schools, logistics, and finances all have to factor in. There's also happiness to consider. We only get one lifetime, so the tradeoffs have to make sense. 

I'm going to sleep.

Saturday, June 29, Amsterdam.

I did sleep on my flight! Very exciting! Besides a bit of a struggle to regulate my temperature at first (the working configuration ended up being my body wrapped snugly in a blanket, socks off, feet out), once I got comfortable, it was okay. 

There are no outlets for charging in this airport, though. The Delta app doesn't work, either, and the gate agent actually had a gate list printed out on dot matrix paper; she also warned me the gate could change. It feels like I have stepped back into the 1990s.

My laptop battery is almost dead, so I'm going to post without proofreading. I'll talk to you in Glasgow!

Gleefully Unemployed

Hi! If you are here, you are family or a friend who knows that:

1. On May 6, I was RIF'ed from a job I loved deeply.

2. Since then, I have recovered and feel much more cheerful, as my family's life appears poised for an upgrade.

You may also know that I am going to Scotland, and my trip starts tomorrow! I am co-teaching a vibrational spectral interpretation course at the University of Strathclyde from Monday, 7/1, through Friday, 7/5, and then I will stay in Glasgow until the morning of Wednesday, 7/10. This will be my first trip to the U.K. 

Very few of you know that earlier this week I splurged all my SkyMiles on an upgrade to Delta One for the transatlantic portion of my trip (Detroit to Amsterdam on an Airbus A330-300). I had dinner with a friend last night, and she expressed a strong interest in seeing photos of my suite, which inspired me to start this "travel/job search" journal.

Anyway, I have never really traveled in business class before, let alone on an international flight. I was wild with excitement after I booked it on Monday, and then I woke up on Tuesday to equally powerful regret for blowing enough carefully saved miles (79,900) to pay for a whole domestic flight. I am down to less than 10,000.

It didn't take long for me to start making justifications, though. When we flew to Italy in 2022, I was crammed into a middle seat in economy. I could not sleep on a plane to save my life, so by the time we arrived in Venice, I was too tired to speak, and it was only early afternoon. This time, I need to be ready to teach fluently and knowledgeably by Monday morning. I don't have time for jet lag, that's my excuse, and I'm sticking with it!

At this point, I am packed, checked in, and ready. 

I promise to post photos and updates every day while I am in Scotland. After that, I'll post any news about my job search and interview travel here.

I am trying to figure out how to send email alerts when I post. If you want to receive an email when I post an update and you are on a mobile device, click "view web version" at the bottom of this page. In the web version, you should be able to see a "follow.it" subscription gadget. I think this will only email once a day. Sorry, GenX here. I like blogs for writing.

Once I start a new job, wherever that is, this journaling endeavor is likely to end. I have some time on my hands and a dramatic life change underway. It's a good time to write.