Explosive

It turns out that my REU might just be stupid, and I don’t really know what to do about that. Okay, so stupid is probably a bit harsh, but she definitely lacks maturity, both as a scientist and as a person. Recent highlights include:

1. Sunday afternoon, I ran into a faculty member who reported having been surprised when a person she didn’t know started grinding on her in a bar on Friday. Turns out that person was my REU. I told her not to do ANYTHING she didn’t want EVERYONE in the lab to hear about, but apparently I also needed to include “don’t grind on faculty”.
2. Yesterday, she came over to my desk to ask “is Wikipedia allowed?” My response: “allowed for what?” She actually wanted to cite Wikipedia in her proposal because she “liked their explanation better” than the well respected and widely cited textbook that I gave her. Obviously, I said no.
3. Just now, I had to turn off track changes on her computer for her because she couldn’t figure it out herself.

For now, I’m trying very hard to be a good mentor and to steer her in the right direction without being her mother. But I foresee a discussion of personal responsibility coming on, and I do not look forward to it.

Today’s horoscope:
There is a strong wave of power coming your way, so be careful of how you handle it, Maggie. You are extra prone to injuries and accidents of an explosive nature, so try not to make any hasty moves while driving, and extinguish all cigarettes when operating near a gas pump or propane tanks. Used properly, however, today's planetary energy can help you tackle just about any obstacle that is put in front of you. The choice of how you deal with the energy is yours.