When I meet people for the first time, I don’t like telling them what I do. In a way, I’m almost embarrassed to admit that I go to MIT, that I’m a PhD student. Non-professionals seem intimidated by it; professionals don’t know what to make of it.

My response, when I’m asked what I do, used to be “oh, I’m a grad student.” Inevitably though, people dig further, “what do you study? where?” Then I feel worse for having not completely revealed what I actually do, as if I were trying to hide arrogance by feigning modesty. So then, for a while, I answered with the direct approach, “I am a PhD student at MIT, studying Bioengineering.” The response I got in reply? “Well, that’s no basket-weaving, that’s for sure.”

Lawyers, consultants, bankers, it didn’t matter; they all gave the same response: “That ain’t no basket-weaving.” Do people study this phrase in company training case-studies? Do they teach people how/when to say this in business school? Law school? Etiquette school? It’s not a clever response anymore when everybody uses it; it is actually rather absurd.

Speaking of absurdity, I got stopped for directions twice yesterday in the hallways of MIT. So my skills at attracting lost strangers is not restricted to the dark streets of downtown Boston.

I’m gonna try this new thing at the end of posts. We’ll see how soon I get tired of it.
currently listening: Firefly by Ben Arnold
current mood: mellow