Learning to Nag
Okay, I’ve got to get this off of my chest. At the end of a very nice conversation the other day, one of my advisers said, “Oh, by the way. That recommendation letter that you asked me to write? Yeah, I didn’t get that sent until two days after the deadline. I included an apologetic note, and in my experience these things aren’t a problem. But you really have to stay on be about this sort of thing.”
what the fuck.
I had sent this person three separate e-mails as reminders about the letter, including one five days before it was due. The first e-mail contained not only my request, but also the due dates, in bold. To which the professor responded, “Happy to write the letters. Send me the due dates so I can put them in my calendar.” Okay, maybe she missed that in the original e-mail, so I sent the info again. And then once more, along with a draft of my proposal, which I assume she didn’t read. And still that wasn’t enough. Apparently I need to call her the day before the letter is due and the due date itself.
So I’m learning to be a nag, which comes with its own perils (“Jeeze, that student sure is a pain in my ass.”). But, c’mon, get your shit together. I know $7,000 may not be a lot when you’re making six figures, but that’s a lot of coin to me.
