Hi. I'm boring. (But there's a beautiful necklace at the end.)

I even stole the title from Lady Scientist, because I am just that original these days.

I spent the week teaching, advising, mothering, and making some progress on my InaDWriMo goals for the month. As of last week the goals stood like this:

1. Done! Finish revisions on the paper-that-won't-die (goal: November 13)
2. Done! Internal release time application (due November 18)
3. Read around proposed grad student topics enough to ensure we're not reinventing the wheel/pursuing proven dead ends (amorphous, I know)
4. Finish GIS work left-over from 2008 AGU poster.

The paper got re-submitted on Wednesday! May that be the last time I ever see that paper except in proof or preprint. The release time application is fully written, with a colleague for possible critique, and will be submitted tomorrow or Tuesday after a final read-through. It is absolutely at the page limit, so I will have to resist the temptation to add anything. These accomplishments sound more impressive than they really are, however, when you consider that the paper was *so* close to being done before the week and the release application was not long and not technical. I didn't really do anything related to the last two goals, but I did talk with a distinguished person in my field who thought my students' work was interesting and novel, so that was nice and validating.

I did, however, get reminded of two more important and urgent tasks, which I am appending to my list of InaDWriMo goals:

• Draft abstract that is due in early December, so that I can get my co-authors' approval.
• Write the letters of recommendation that have piled up because of graduate fellowship season.

At least I can perk up an otherwise dull post (and week), with a fantastic piece of jewelry one of my readers brought to my attention.

Now, you can have one more way to proudly proclaim your passion for SCIENCE, by wearing this wonderful creation from underoakstudios on Etsy. You gotta love an artisan who make necklaces proudly proclaiming dirty words and who describes her aesthetic as "We make jewelry that showcases beautiful organic shapes and materials. Earrings, necklaces, and bracelets made of wood, shells, glass, stone, bone and seeds send us over the moon!"

That's it. I'm out. Back to my regularly scheduled routine. I've gotta make some fishsticks for Minnow's dinner.