Les Mis and Labsickness (Caveat: Rant Ahead).

Mia left yesterday, which is quite a bit of a downer.  On the plus side - and I never thought I'd say this - my room actually seems large now!  I suppose I actually have to study now since I don't have someone to come up with superfun distractions for me anymore...
One of the superfun distractions, which we did a week or so ago, was go see Les Miserables in the West End.  It was INCREDIBLE.  I haven't seen too many professional productions of musicals, but this was definitely the best of those I have seen.  I can see why it's been playing here for over 25 years!

Outside the Queen's Theatre.                                         Mia looking quite revolutionary.

The mind-blowing show aside, Mia and I were astounded to watch as members of the audience entered the auditorium with food and drinks (lots of drinks).  Now, we're not talking the kind of small snacks you hide in your pocket to take to the movies because you refuse to pay the exorbitant prices at the cinema.  We're talking complete multiple-course meals.  The people next to us, for example, brought a full picnic with starters, a main dish, side dish, dessert, and all the time juggling some very large, very full cups of alcoholic beverage.  In the Queen's Theatre!  I couldn't believe there weren't sticky residues on the chairs and odd stains on the floors... maybe the British are just better at eating cleanly.  It was very strange.

As for my rant:

On a completely different note, this past Friday we had our first "Practical" (lab) for Cellular Neurophysiology.  It was infuriating.  We were modeling neurons as circuits, nothing too difficult theoretically; for Pomona profs reading this blog, it was very similar to NerveWorks.  BUT unlike in a Pomona lab, the professors and TAs, of which there were many, were unhelpful and in some cases, downright condescending.  It's true, I have a very high standard for what I think comprises "good teaching" (Pomona professors), but why, why, WHY would you EVER become an educator if you are not interested in students' learning?  It's fine if you're good at science; go do research.  But don't for a moment think you deserve to be rude to other people just because they are younger and less experienced than you.  Absolutely unacceptable.  And to top it off, the lab, which only runs 2-5, stops AT 5 and you will be kicked out whether or not you're finished, with no ability to come back later.  In which case you are totally screwed because then you can't write your lab report.  So, let's say you want to have multiple runs, including one with no signal, so you can average them, subtract out the zero, and get the best accuracy for your measurements.  Nope, no time for that, no time for good science.  Just go through the motions and git 'er done.  Also, it was very obvious that the TAs and one of the profs thought we were idiots because we were American.  One of the pairs of Pomona students next to me raised their hand for help.  A prof came over and said, "Do you need help again?" They responded, "Yes", and he said sneeringly, "I thought so."  It was so unbelievable, I was speechless - and I'm never speechless.  I myself got told off by a TA with, "You Americans and your slick answers."  So much hostility was distracting, and especially bad when compounded with the stress of a tight time constraint.  Sigh.  I've heard it called, "hand-holding" sometimes, what they do for us at Pomona, and that incenses me to no end.  It's not "hand-holding," it's teaching.  It's someone caring about the fact that you understand the material. 
End of rant.  The point is, while we are all enjoying our time here, everyone agrees they miss Pomona greatly.  I especially miss lab.  Real lab, I mean.  Where you run experiments and learn things.  Where you discuss things and work as a team.  But most of all, of course, I am labsick for my flies : )