2008-06-27 - 6:31 p.m.

...the value of stick-to-itness...

One week ago I came home feeling the size (and value) of a snail. Today I attended a meeting of the same committee and came away with an entirely different feeling. Three people came up to me and asked about my proposal. One person said that he was so glad that I was representing my department and that I was bringing useful comments to the table. Another person (the woman I recently described by declaring that she and I will never be friends) called me after the meeting and talked my ear off for an hour about her ideas, with the justification that "she and I seem to think the same way."

I spent the last few days fielding email criticism from members of my own department in preparation for this meeting. (That's the literal definition of criticism, i.e., both positive and negative comments). But it's all very interesting to me, because I noticed that within my department, NONE of it felt personal. I realized that I now understand how my department works. It felt more like fielding scientific comments from reviewers and participants on the same project. That's very very good. Because it means that I am feeling secure enough to listen to criticism.

Amazing. This is a lot of work. But you know? I feel like it's progress.