Offices in the Blocker Building where I work are set up as suites. They are all variations on a theme, but here is a description of mine:
When you enter off the hallway, there is an office for a student worker or a secretary and then three adjoining offices. The front office is shared by three graduate students and then two back offices are for professors.
I sense that these were originally classrooms, with offices later squeezed in because the side walls do not extend out to the windows. Instead, the windows fully extend across the west wall. As a result, where the walls meet the windows, my office is only separated from Wade Griffin's office by a thin sheet of aluminum. This obviously means sound carries through. So, when he is in the office, I generally don't have music playing.
If music isn't playing, there really isn't much need to close the doors. This fact has led to a couple of graduate students coming in to chat. Wednesday of last week, I was talking with a grad student about his interest in health economics and some of his research ideas. He seemed mostly concerned about efficiency issues so I directed him to the Rand Health Insurance Experiment and the papers written by Newhouse, Manning, Keeler, et al.
And while I'm explaining the basic results to the graduate student, Ed Reister knocks on the door, introduces himself and asks if we've met before.
In fact, he was one of the professors at dinner when I interviewed here.
The market is a whirlwind for both sides, so I wouldn't begrudge anybody who didn't remember me. I begin to explain that we had met at that dinner. Before I can finish, he throws out a few staccato Yes's and then invites me to dinner at his place Friday night. As my social planner is fairly barren, I agree. Just as quickly as he entered, he's is out of my office, his voice trailing off about send an email with directions.
Ed Reister, the most unlikely whirling Dervish I've met.
Two days later, after getting lost several times, I find his house south of town. He has invited three other younger faculty members and a graduate student that he advises. Dinner is really relaxing. They indulge my talk of Madison and rejoin with stories of their graduate school days in East Lansing. One of the other faculty members did his graduate work at Ohio State, so it is quite a nice Big Ten showing.
Again, lots of talk about things to do in College Station and across Texas. And just as suddenly as I was invited to dinner, Ed is asking if I've ever been to McAllen.
McAllen is about 5 miles north of the Mexican border and about 40 miles from South Padre Island. It is also one of the premier birding locations in the world. I keep trying to figure out when and how I will make it down there.
And just like that, he invited me to head down to McAllen with him at the end of the month. He even had his secretary set up my hotel reservation. Pretty neat, huh?
Well, I planned on sending a nice thank you email on following Monday to Ed and his wife. Before I got the chance, he had already sent one to me. It was an invite to a BBQ that they are holding for recent graduate who is taking a position at Oklahoma State. Apparently it is being catered by the best BBQ join in Texas (Sorry Melissa, not the Salt Lick).
The point is, the hospitality of my colleagues is simply too fast for me to keep up.
When you enter off the hallway, there is an office for a student worker or a secretary and then three adjoining offices. The front office is shared by three graduate students and then two back offices are for professors.
I sense that these were originally classrooms, with offices later squeezed in because the side walls do not extend out to the windows. Instead, the windows fully extend across the west wall. As a result, where the walls meet the windows, my office is only separated from Wade Griffin's office by a thin sheet of aluminum. This obviously means sound carries through. So, when he is in the office, I generally don't have music playing.
If music isn't playing, there really isn't much need to close the doors. This fact has led to a couple of graduate students coming in to chat. Wednesday of last week, I was talking with a grad student about his interest in health economics and some of his research ideas. He seemed mostly concerned about efficiency issues so I directed him to the Rand Health Insurance Experiment and the papers written by Newhouse, Manning, Keeler, et al.
And while I'm explaining the basic results to the graduate student, Ed Reister knocks on the door, introduces himself and asks if we've met before.
In fact, he was one of the professors at dinner when I interviewed here.
The market is a whirlwind for both sides, so I wouldn't begrudge anybody who didn't remember me. I begin to explain that we had met at that dinner. Before I can finish, he throws out a few staccato Yes's and then invites me to dinner at his place Friday night. As my social planner is fairly barren, I agree. Just as quickly as he entered, he's is out of my office, his voice trailing off about send an email with directions.
Ed Reister, the most unlikely whirling Dervish I've met.
Two days later, after getting lost several times, I find his house south of town. He has invited three other younger faculty members and a graduate student that he advises. Dinner is really relaxing. They indulge my talk of Madison and rejoin with stories of their graduate school days in East Lansing. One of the other faculty members did his graduate work at Ohio State, so it is quite a nice Big Ten showing.
Again, lots of talk about things to do in College Station and across Texas. And just as suddenly as I was invited to dinner, Ed is asking if I've ever been to McAllen.
McAllen is about 5 miles north of the Mexican border and about 40 miles from South Padre Island. It is also one of the premier birding locations in the world. I keep trying to figure out when and how I will make it down there.
And just like that, he invited me to head down to McAllen with him at the end of the month. He even had his secretary set up my hotel reservation. Pretty neat, huh?
Well, I planned on sending a nice thank you email on following Monday to Ed and his wife. Before I got the chance, he had already sent one to me. It was an invite to a BBQ that they are holding for recent graduate who is taking a position at Oklahoma State. Apparently it is being catered by the best BBQ join in Texas (Sorry Melissa, not the Salt Lick).
The point is, the hospitality of my colleagues is simply too fast for me to keep up.
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