Aren't you forgetting something?

When I started this blog, I intended to write about (1) general lab life, (2) my experiences at different stages of my career and (3) microbiology. I tend to write the most about general lab life, although admittedly, this area needs improvement. I'm only on my second career stage, but I do try and post about things that I think are relevant. Again, I can certainly do a better job. However, the category that is most commonly overlooked is microbiology, which is a shame since the title of this blog contains the word Microbiologist. Sometimes I feel as if the word itself is taunting me, reminding me of my failure to post on the topic.

So, I've decided to implement "Microbe Monday" where I will post about something microbiology related on, yep, you guessed it, Mondays. I can't promise I will post every single Monday, but I am going to try and post on a regular basis. My ideas about this new feature are pretty vague. I know I don't want the posts to sound like lectures or something you would find on a Microbiology 101 website. However, I don't want them to be so specific that only a microbiologist would be interested or able to read them. I plan on starting next week, so I better at least have an idea about what I want to write by then.

I snarfed

Despite the fact that I live in a state where you can't swing a bag without hitting a fundamentalist-type christian, I rarely discuss evolution with those that don't already believe it.
This Friday, I was enjoying time with friends when some new people (new to me anyway) joined our table. Inevitably, the "what do you do for a living" question came up and I gave one of my stock answers, "I'm a microbiologist." My friend then chimed in, "she has a PhD." Immediately the guy turned around and said, "Oh, well then I'd like your opinion on this awesome movie that I saw a couple of weeks ago." I figured I was about to get asked about a somewhat microbiology-themed movie, like 28 Days Later or Outbreak, so I said, "sure" and took a big ole swig of my beer while he formulated his question.
Guy: "I can't think of the name of the movie, but it was really informative and it had that Ben Stein guy in it."
Me: I snarf the beer. (snarfing = verb, when liquid that you put into your mouth comes out of your nose. You can also snarf a solid.) Finally, after I composed myself, I asked him if he was referring to expelled.
Guy: "yes!!" Followed by, "I just wanted to know what you thought about it."
Me "I think the movie is propaganda for the Discovery Institute."
Guy: "Oh, why?" So I tell him, and I am pretty nice about it. Eventually, he asks me why I don't think intelligent design should be taught in the science classroom, to which I replied, "There is no evidence for intelligent design and science is evidence-based." Then he said, "Well, there is no evidence for evolution either." I paused, shocked at the statement. I was prepared for comments about the gaps in fossil records and the like, not flat out denial that there is any evidence for evolution. Finally, I calmly replied, with a five or so pieces of evidence for evolution. Afterwards, he gave me the evil eye and started playing with his phone.
I think I need to take this as a wake-up call to get better prepared to talk to people. At the very least, I think I should avoid blowing beer out of my nose. I don't think it gave me too much cred.

The age old question...

Over the years, many people have asked me the dreaded question, "What do you do for a living?" Throughout graduate school the answer continued to change on a somewhat regular basis. The first thing I learned was to avoid informing others of my student status. I found it difficult to explain to people that while yes, I was a student, I really didn't spend that much time in class and that instead, I spent most of my hours toiling away in the lab. The additional benefit of not telling people that you are a student is avoiding the painful, "When are you going to graduate?" question. People just don't take well to "I don't know" or "It depends."
Even after deciding to remove the word student from my answer, the response to that question still changed over time. Versions included:

1. "I am a microbiologist and I study gene regulation in Painintheass bacterium, the causative agent of horrible way to die disease. Followed by way, way too much information."
2. "I am a microbiologist and I study gene regulation in P. bacterium. It causes disease X."
3. "I am a microbiologist and I study P. bacterium. It causes disease X."
4. "I am a microbiologist."
5. "I grow and kill a shit-ton of bacteria on a daily basis." (current response)
   

It's not that I don't like to talk about what I do. I freaking love, love, love to talk about my work, but molecular biology is just a little to complex for the lay person and I am getting progressively worse at using non-science lingo. I find that people want the short answer, and for me (at least for now) that is #5. If people inquire further, then I provide more information. For me, the take-home message I learned about discussing my career with non-science geeks, is to let the person you are talking to determine the amount of information they receive.

Does anyone else have their own version of #5?