My Latin buddy, Vita

I have a great relationship with my CV. It's been with me for many years now, and now I feel like it's kind of a friend of mine. I see it often, and it's good to see it. I often see it when I am adding something to it, which means that most of my interaction with it is positive. And every time I see it, it looks better and better. It helps me get jobs, and in return I publish stuff and graduate to feed it. It also reflects who I am. Everything good that I've done that is relevant to my science career is on it (and none of the bad stuff, like rejected papers, bad reviews, the places that decided not to hire me). That's what's great about a CV compared to a resume. The resume is highlights; the CV is the full monty. As a result it's got my history on it, too. You can tell what I was doing and when by looking at my latin buddy. That's why I don't save versions of my CV-- the old versions are there in the new one. Just delete the new stuff.

That CV will be my buddy longer than some friends. It will be my buddy for the rest of my career, and after that, a record of my modest accomplishments (If I'm not modest, at least my accomplishments can be.)

I got the format for the CV from my actual flesh-and-blood buddy Gabe Brostow. And I guess he gave the format to other people too, because I come across it once in a while, as in the case of Antonio Haro. When I see these CVs I think of them as cousins of my CV. So I feel warmly. They're family!

So here's to you, Vita! May you stay well-fed.