Presentation Anxiety

I am about halfway through the third skein of yarn (out of four total) for the Red Scarf Project, and I am considering my presentation options.

Last year, I just packaged them up with a note saying I made them and they could machine wash them and that was it. It never occurred to me to add goodies! But this year, things are different. I do not want the student who receives my scarf to miss out on the gift card, pretty packaging goodness. For an example of what I mean see here. I'm leaning toward a bookstore giftcard because a kid at Grinnell is never going to see a Starbucks. As for the wrapping, I would like to get some nice ribbon, but I don't know if I'll be able to make it out to a craft store for that, so I might go with some curling ribbon or something like that. Or maybe a gift bag? I don't know. I'm a little anxious over it, to be honest. I know the scarf is all that is required, but I want my student to feel special. And then there's the photo for the gallery. I'm not all that great at staging photographs. I haven't quite developed my photographer's eye (if I even have a photographer's eye). I'm trying to come up with a unique backdrop. The nature thing has been done. I'm thinking lab. But what? Shall I artfully drape it over our PCR machines? Or maybe wrap it around our fluorescent microscope? I could lay it on my bench, but then I'd have to clean the bench. Really clean it. I can see it now. My student will come down with ampicillin resistant E. coli (although the stuff we use in lab is not infectious). Maybe the key is to take lots of pictures and see what looks best....

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In other news, please join me in congratulating Roommie's boyfriend, B (that's Dr. B to you), on successfully defending his dissertation in Spanish Literature entitled, “Tending to Empire: The Spanish Pastoral Novel and Its Reflection upon Imperial Spain.” I attended and was very impressed. I have never seen someone appear so calm under pressure. I didn't even realize some of the questions scared the bejeezus out of him.

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Winter has arrived in Chicago at last. We've had snow flurries all day and late this afternoon, the ground actually got cold enough for it to start to accumulate. I've been secretly disappointed by this year's winter. It's my last winter for a few years and I'm going to feel robbed if I don't get to stay home from lab at least once on account of a blizzard. Not that this qualifies as a blizzard. But, at least it's a bit more natural for these parts at this time of year.