Post-doctoral perks

As much as I consider my current employment situation as a post-doctoral Research Associate as simply something temporary, to last only until I find myself a `real' job, there do exist certain perks to the position, an example of which I experienced about a week ago. I was driving onto campus for some late-night work in the lab, and slowed down at the entrance to campus for the usual ID-card check --- when the semester is in session, and [undergrad] students are occupying the residence halls, the campus police close off all entrances to campus, except three, between roughly the hours of 10 pm and 4 am, and check the identities of the drivers of all vehicles entering campus through those remaining three entrances. Only those vehicles that have an occupant affiliated with the university --- student, faculty, or staff --- are allowed in. And, unless you have a university/campus parking permit, your name, vehicle license number and on-campus destination are logged. I don't have a permit (I typically cycle to campus); consequently, my entrances are always logged. So, that night, expecting the usual 30--40-second wait while my particulars are noted down, I approached the single-file checkpoint as I always do: headlights switched off (`dimmed'), window rolled down, left arm out the window holding out my ID card ready for the police auxiliary to inspect. My new ID card. My new ID card, which now says "Faculty/Staff" instead of "Graduate Student". And the young undergrad police auxiliary kid looked briefly at my card, and without skipping a beat waved me on, with a very respectful "You're good, sir."

I couldn't stop chuckling, all the rest of the way to my lab.