I’ve been sick with a cold for the better part of 3 days now, putting a damper on my progress. I’ve tried to stay home and rest as much as I possibly can with my academic responsibilities (curling up in bed and reading Modern Astrophysics by Carroll and Ostlie, for example), and have had no time to research. I also thought it best to postpone my GRB talk in Senior Seminar for the following Tuesday.

I was surprised yesterday to receive an email from Dr. Sion of Villanova University containing the recent revision of our WW Ceti paper submitted to ApJ. I wrote that paper following my two summers of CV research in July 2004 and was thrilled with the idea of publishing my first scientific paper. As time went on and I hadn’t heard any news on that paper or the other two Villanova publications I was to be part of, I assumed the paper was lost, only now to find it’s been in revision this whole time.

I am, of course, still thrilled with the idea of publishing, but I am hesitant about the order of authors. While I’m honored that I’m still listed as first author on the paper, I feel I no longer deserve it, as I was only involved in the initial research and none of the additional studies or the revisions. Maybe Dr. Sion will write back with a justification on why this is more my paper than anyone else’s, but I think I would feel more comfortable if someone more deserving was moved up. This will still be my first publication (if finally accepted) and I am thankful for the opportunity and everything else Dr. Sion has done for me.

I think I’m going to have to adapt my Thanksgiving goal to something more realistic: say, survival. This is one of those many times that I wish I didn’t have so many classes to worry about so I could actually get some research accomplished.