Tuesday, November 16, 2004

Is there a doctor in my office?

I really should be working, and this won't be a long post because of that... I was reading in someone else's blog about her frustration with being called Mrs. when she should be called Dr. or Ms.

I have a different problem, and one not based in any sexism or chauvinism. I get called Dr. all the time, yet have 'only' an MFA (yes, I am fond of asserting that an MFA is a terminal degree, but I am aware that it is not at the level of a PhD). So I find myself constantly being 'promoted' to the level of Dr. Filmmaker-Guy, which I clearly am not. I'm just Mr. Filmmaker-Guy, or Professor Filmmaker-Guy, or in most cases, as I've gotten to know students, just "Film" (i.e., my first name).

It's not that I am offended at being promoted in this manner -- more like embarrassment. I hate HATE having to correct people on this because it's so awkward, but if I don't, I almost feel like it looks like I want people to refer to me as Dr.

A minor trifle of an issue, worth only a minor trifle of a post.

p.s., I don't know if it's the mac keyboard or what, but lately I just can't seem to type anymore. It takes me twice as long as it used to. I've always been a hunter-pecker (hold your snickers), but one that still types upwards of 45 wpm (enough years hunting with two fingers and you do start to remember where things are, after all). So why am I suddenly struggling with my typing. It's not that I can't locate the keys; rather, it seems I frequently hit two or three at once. I feel like Homer Simpson when he ballooned to 300 lbs: "The fingers you are using to dial are too fat. Please contact the telephone company to obtain a special dialing wand.

Are mac's standard keyboards slightly smaller than average? I was a PC user before landing here and switching to a PowerBook G4 (17", woo-hoo), so I am not used to the mac keyboard (not talking about the laptop's keyboard, either; this is a regular keyboard connected to laptop via USB). In my previous mac experience, editing on Final Cut Pro, I had the same keyboard problems. I also notice that the keys seem ultra sensitive -- I frequently get two s's or two p's when I tap those keys (and a few others).

Ah, the things I talk about to avoid working...

4 Comments:

At 9:50 PM, Blogger ~profgrrrrl~ said...

I think the universe just wants people to get it all wrong. When I didn't yet have the PhD students were always calling me Dr. Now I get the Mrs. all the time. Grrrrr.

 
At 7:06 AM, Blogger TerminalMFA said...

The universe wants to get it all wrong. Now THAT is something with which I can agree.

 
At 7:09 PM, Blogger TerminalMFA said...

Yes, we do exist. I used to edit on a Pinnacle Liquid Silver system, but I finally switched to Final Cut Pro. I love it (though I had to teach on Avid this semester -- and HATED it). Final Cut Pro is great, and I am a mac convert. But I'm not a PC hater. There are still things I love about my PC at home, and things that I think PC does better (though, really, it's not anything truly BETTER -- it's more like what I've grown accustomed to).

 
At 12:12 PM, Blogger Nels P. Highberg said...

I understand the issue. The year of the dissertation, I was fulltime, non-tenure-track at Ohio State, teaching upper division courses. I hated being called Dr. but never wanted to correct anyone because I wondered about my credibility, about which I always felt concern. I was glad when I finally finished the damn thing.

 

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