A day in the life of Adam Musser
Some people are night owls: they stay up late, a lazy light hanging over a good book in their favorite comfy chair until the clock strikes the midnight hour; but for Adam Musser, his morning zzzolt of kid electricity begins a chaotically beautiful day nice and early, and that’s the way he likes it. Though, if truth be told, he’d never turn down a good book at any time of the day, or pie for that matter: pizza from his pizza oven or a good, plump, flaky-crust fruit pie. He has strong feelings about pie. He loves it — except pumpkin. He said,
Pumpkin? I simply cannot.
Adam believes mornings to be, by far, the best time of the day, and for someone as active as he is with his family, that’s probably a good thing. He describes the waking hour as hectic.
He and his wife Megan are raising two kids. They work together to pack their lunches and pack their schoolwork — so it’s a pretty packed morning. Josephine, seven, and Oliver, two and a half, already have a spectacularly full life, beginning with school. Josie pedals to school with Adam running beside her. Oli is off to preschool, ready to take on an important day of playing and learning.
By nine o’clock in the morning, the house quiets for Adam. Megan is off to work. The kids are settled at school. Wallace, their 11-year-old Lab-Pitty mix, takes his place nearby. The four backyard chickens peck around: Diane, Macaroni, June, and Schoolbus. And Adam starts the part of the day that centers on his work as a Pre-Award Research Administrator.
There’s no routine he could write in stone; Adam’s job depends on the cycle of proposals, budgets and submissions. But behind every project is someone trying to do something meaningful. He said,
Doing science is hard. I like to think that pre-award research administrators help alleviate some of the stress and inconvenience associated with getting the funding that allows our principal investigators and researchers to do the science they want to do.
He sees his role as a form of relief, removing obstacles so researchers and creative minds at Boise State can focus on their work. That work isn’t always lab coats and formulas, either. One of the most challenging proposals he has worked on was for the IRS to support the VITA program, which provides free tax assistance to those who need it. “It’s a thousand times a thousand times worth it,” he adds.
He makes space for balance, intentionally: sunshine breaks, even when it’s gray. Five minutes of exercise, or exercise snacks, as he calls them, while waiting on forward-progress emails. And the time with Josie, biking and chatting in the morning or heading to the library or park in the afternoon, holds genuine, to-the-marrow value. It gets him outside and grounds the day in something expressly human; connected.
Home life for Adam is a thread of movement and joy: trails, laughter, espresso, and a good paella. He used to teach high school English and still collects more books than he should (Is that a thing? Too many books?) He said,
I Cheerfully Refuse, by Leif Enger, is the best book I’ve read this year. James, by Percival Everett, was the best one I read last year. And right now, I’m reading a very funny and dark novel by my friend, Annie Hartnett, The Road to Tender Hearts. It contains a cat named Pancakes who can predict (or cause!) people’s untimely death. HIGHLY recommend!
He’ll bake homemade pizza, ski with Josie, or take the family up to McCall for lake dips and huckleberry picking. The ideal day, he says, involves espresso, trails, books and time with Megan and their kids. “Honestly, that’s probably what my birthday will look like,” he said, “and pie.”
Written by Jenny Gilman