A very busy week. At least it's officially over. I've mostly had no time for anything except school stuff. We're coming down to the last few weeks and there's lots to do for every class. It seems impossible that this semester is nearly over. And I still don't know if I'll be teaching next semester, or moving on to something else. There's been more news on that front, but still nothing I'm willing to say publicly. Or privately, I guess. Almost none of my friends know anything yet. And I'm really torn if I want to stay here or leave. Neither prospect cheers me up at this point.
On Tuesday night I went to a reading by Dava Sobel, from her new book The Planets. An entertaining evening, but I was really uncomfortable. Everyone was either over 65, under 12, or a former colleague of mine. It just pointed out the isolation of being an astronomer, I guess. Whatever it was, I left pretty early. And only said a few hellos.
Friday night I went to a party for the opening of a new exhibit at the art museum. Since it's for murals and artifacts from Italian villas buried by Vesuvius there was a whole Roman theme going on. Even with my interest in archeology I found it a bit underwhelming. And, of course, most of the patrons had to mention to everyone that they had been to Pompei, and none of these pieces could compare. I didn't think it was politic to bring up that almost everything you'll see in Pompei are modern recreations. All the good stuff was looted for museums and private collections centuries ago.
And several times I got the odd compliment from older ladies that I looked good in a laurel. I have no idea what that was about.
I like science, but can't stand the nerdiness. I like art, but can't stand the snootiness. I guess it really shouldn't surprise me so much that I don't fit in anywhere.