"My group used to have a reputation for being heavy drinkers. Then I hired all these pussies."

Four pints and a glass of whisky with your advisor does wonders for the group dynamic. I asked questions I never should’ve asked, got responses I never should’ve gotten, and generally got a good flavor of guy I admire tremendously, masked with sarcasm and insults as it was. He cracked jokes about Americans, told me I was a clueless mathematician, and then shook my hand for agreeing to drink anything he bought. Somewhere in the fray I got him to agree to give me eight weeks vacation if I publish a paper that gets cited over 130 times. When my first paper goes platinum, you can expect to see a whole lot of Joe Scott around town.

I suppose I hate to admit that I give so much credit to a guy just for going out to the bar, but that’s my outlook on academics. He can spit and drink with the best of ‘em because no one in the world can fuck with what he does from nine to five. That’s the goal, and that’s why knowing that he agrees with anything I believe in, not least of which my rebellion, is a huge boost.