Fuddland

I handed in my notice at work yesterday, which went down like a lead balloon filled with a gas that has the exact opposite properties of helium. [Perhaps it is magnetised and strongly drawn to the Earth’s core? Hmm, can you magnetise a gas? Hello, physicists? Anyone?] The boss reacted in an entirely predictable manner, using her complete lack of management skills to try and guilt me into staying on, instead of, I dunno, mentioning that I’m a good teacher and an asset to the company and other management-speak phrases that anyone desperate to try and hold onto yet another early-departing employee might think to throw out. I gave my main reason for leaving to be feeling that a year is long enough out here and it’s coming up to be the right time to leave [cunningly, ambiguously leaving off the word “China” from the end of that sentence].

Asking her to sign my copy of the resignation letter to acknowledge her receipt of it, and CC-ing said letter to the other full-time teacher were both taken as a sign of distrust — this is partly true of course, but mostly I did it because I knew it would antagonise her. Cruel I know, but there was that aspect of proving I’d informed her of my decision that makes it not entirely vindictive.

The notice period is an unheard-of two months, and I’ve no real idea of how the next sixty days will go — I’m half-expecting my workload to double — but I’m hoping to just keep my head down and do my job until I reach Day Zero. I’ve a feeling that there will be attempts to draw out more detail about my reasons for leaving, but for the sake of an easy life I’ll stick to the official story.

#1

Jann | 2006 / 10 / 11 – 17:29

Well I have to say I like your style.

Where to next?

#2

Ade | 2006 / 10 / 11 – 18:03

In answer to your question: Yes, you can magnetise a gas. If you ionize it, by say, heating it until it forms a plasma, then as long as the plasma’s gyrofrequency is greater than its collision frequency it will be magnetised. I would imagine, though, that the influence of the Earth’s magnetic field on a lead balloon full of plasma would be negligable compared to the influence of gravity on the balloon itself.

By the way, my notice period is 3 months.

#3

David | 2006 / 10 / 11 – 18:26

Re #1: You’ll know when I know!

Re #2: Isn’t that a magnetised plasma then? That is to say, if you had said you could do it by freezing it until you had a solid, then you’d have a magnetised solid, not a magnetised gas. No?

And three months? See, told you two months was unheard of!

#4

Ade | 2006 / 10 / 11 – 20:42

Re #3: Sorry, you did ask if you could magnetise a gas, not if you could get a magnetised gas - you didn’t specify that you didn’t want the act of magnetisation to involve a change in state :)

If you want to magnetise your gas without changing its state then you might want to try optical pumping, which can magnetise a gas via photomagnetisation.

I suspect, however, that what you actally wanted, was just an opportunity to be pedantic :)

#5

Em | 2006 / 10 / 11 – 20:58

I’m not going to get drawn into the whole magnetised gas thing! :-)

Yeap, 3 months notice for me too.

[Edited by commenter — 21:01]

#6

David | 2006 / 10 / 12 – 02:14

Re #4: Since I’ve already been accused of pedantry, I’ve nothing to lose by claiming [correctly, of course] that wanting to magnetise a gas is exactly the same as wanting a magnetised gas. Where would the compass manufacturing industry be if, when handed a lump of iron and requested to magnetise it, they returned a ball of magnetised plasma and seriously expected to be paid? :P

Re #5: So, again, not two months then? My statement stands. ;)

#7

mrtn | 2006 / 10 / 13 – 05:42

speaking of pedantry: “filled with a gas that has the exact opposite properties of helium.” i can’t help feeling that, since helium is a gas, anything with the exact opposite properties of helium would have to not be a gas.

i’ll go now…

#8

Jann | 2006 / 10 / 13 – 17:29

Might I suggest a spot of getting out a bit more?

Oh, and 3 months for me too, 2 months just daft.

#9

felicity | 2006 / 10 / 14 – 01:50

like your style there david! here’s to a quickly passing, relatively stress-free 60 days and the ensuing freedom.

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