and... she's back

It is hard to believe that August is almost over. I spent three weeks at sea, and it was great. Hard, but also amazing. I expected to be totally worn out by the end of it, and ready to get back, but instead I felt like I could have done more. I think that is a good sign. Now I am trying to settle back into life in the lab. Instead of focusing on one project for 18 hours a day I have 4 or 5 projects that I need to keep making progress on while also doing the whole personal life thing... much more complicated, and easier to get distracted.

The new year starts soon, which is also hard to believe. This is a big one: teaching, analyzing the data from my first set of experiments, and oh yeah... the dreaded qualifying exam. I also need to pick back up the goal setting. I kind of let that go for the summer, but now its time to put the game face back on. I a bit apprehensive, but mostly I feel good about it.

I went hiking this weekend. It was rainy and clammy, but fun. One big goal for this year is make time for being outside. Specifically I want to get up to the White Mountains regularly (is once a month realistic? I think so.) and start getting to know them. It is so easy to fall back on having too much work, but I think ultimately it will keep me happy and sane. I just have to remember to bring my trekking poles, and maybe get some new shoes, because my knees are still hurting!