Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Institutional Memory

It's spring break, y'alls.  And what better way to spend it than a roaring trip back to the famed Longwood Medical Area, seeing old professors, "colleagues," and meeting with Whitecastle.  Per usual, the visit was rushed; I ran late for everyone I tried to see (Sister Claire, I hope I'll swing around to your side one of these days).  Luckily, bruising my dignity only takes a few minutes.

(to start, Whitecastle first tried to convince me that working on his papers was worth more than getting good grades, then changed tactics to say that he can't be held responsible for my bad grades, and finally decided that I should learn to live with bad grades)

Whitecastle: Your parents will still love you if you get a B.  I promise they'll love you even if you get a C.

Moi: Maybe not a C.  Actually, my parents don't really follow the recent immigrant stereotype.  They don't demand high grades.

Whitecastle: Then they're to blame for your C's.  They set expectations too low.

Moi: But that's not how you're raising your kid, right?

Whitecastle: Of course, not.  Are you kidding me?  She better do well in everything.

(besides personal hits, there were also institutional gems)

Whitecastle: You just get a week off to do nothing?  What kind of second rate school is this?

Doc Winner: Maybe Hopkins students work so hard because they have to, just to keep up.

Moi: That's probably true.  No wait, I meant er, it's an excellent institution.

---
(regarding our new full professor)

Doc Winner: You know our biostatistician who looks like a civil war general?

Moi: No... wait, oh yeah.  He totally does.  A southern gentleman.

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