Summer Vacation

There are many, many good things about the so-called ``academic life.'' And it really is churlish to complain -- especially given the number of people I know in the private sector who have had the misfortune to suddenly find themselves out of a job. But I am going to be a tad churlish here and complain about one of my pet peeves: The assumption by so many people I meet that I'm ``off'' during the summer. Now, I know that my schedule during the summer is pretty darn flexible. I know that I get to wear shorts and faded Hawaiian shirts during the week. I know that I don't have to shave or otherwise take care of my appearance. Or bathe regularly. But darn it, I'm working hard. Banging my head against research projects that seemed so promising in the spring. Writing grant proposals. Getting grant proposals rejected. Revising papers. Getting papers rejected. Revising them again. Rejecting other people's papers. Helping graduate students finish their dissertations. (Well, one graduate student.) Grading qualifying exams. Etc.