So, it is party time again, folks!

[wiseheart]

Each year this time, we launch my virtual birthday party, which starts on October 1 and ends on October 9 at midnight, sharp. The goals of the party are to post as many comments and collapse as many threads as possible, on as many new pages as we can. It is always great fun, as you can see if you check out the similar entries of the last few years.

This year, I'll also throw the real party at mid-time - and post the recipes of all the food that will be there for you, so that you can all participate if you want to. Virtual food has no calories.

Fandom-related discussions are as welcome as the ones about coffee or chocolate (just to name a few favourites from previous years), and, of course, pictures and recipes of birthday cakes. ;)

So, drop by, tell your story, post your pics or silly poems, ask questions you always wanted to ask and have a good time!

Soledad, in excited expectation




Oh, and by the way, to provide birthday gifts hobbit-style, I've got a revived story and a Kansas 2 update for you.

Enjoy!

Comments

[solanpolarn.livejournal.com]

I think the advantage of not having to move every two or three years, more than outweigh the disadvantages; having to apply for my own research grants is indeed one of them. Though it is also one of the advantages, in that I get to choose what I work on -- so long as I can convince so grant awarding body to give me the money to do so... Equipment is indeed expensive in solid state physics; this is one of the ways I am very lucky to be at Queen's, because we have (since long before I started) a very good collaboration with Seagate (who have a factory in Derry/Londonderry); a part of this is that they have donated a number of pieces of equipment to us that they no longer wanted/needed. Indeed, the two most important bits of kit for my research came from Seagate.

[espresso-addict.livejournal.com]

The three-year research project is brutal if you'd like to settle down somewhere. Many of the people I knew got out after their first or second post-doc, often to have children.

[solanpolarn.livejournal.com]

There is also a (non-official) limit to have many post-docs you can actually do; since your salary as a post-doc is determined by a scale where you move up a step for every year of working experience you have, after a few three-year contracts you are just too expensive to be afforded on another one...

[espresso-addict.livejournal.com]

Ah, that makes sense.