Where can I get more wax!

Ages ago I used to post on bulletin board groups. One girl in particular had a .sig that said, "Don't tell me not to burn my candle at both ends, just tell me where to get more wax!"

Does anyone else feel like that right now?

My sister's husband finished his postdoc last summer, and I was making fun of him because he was working looong days up to the very end, and wanted to come in for a few weeks after his job technically ended, when he was no longer being paid, to get more data. Now, I think I understand.

There is so much pressure to get lots of papers out. This pressure is there all the time, but it is heightened by artificial deadlines like finishing a thesis, finishing a postdoc, 3rd year review, or tenure review. Unfortunately, research does not always fit in neat boxes like that.

I produced zero data for the first year of my postdoc because I was setting up my system. Once that system was operational, data rolled off in streams and torrents. If I stayed another year, I could probably produce a paper every three months. Unfortunately, I am leaving in a 1 1/2 months so I will be lucky to get much out of it. And that is so frustrating.

I am working so hard right now sometimes I feel as if I will break. Another girl in my lab is really, really sick, but our advisor needs data for a grant proposal due April 1, so she is dutifully trekking in and doing her best. Well, at least I'm not sick. I think I'm going to go schedule a manicure....