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!

summer reflections (part 3)

Mountain top yoga... it is my new goal to do this as often as possible. I went hiking with friends the other day in New Hampshire. It was a bit overcast, and we were rain soaked on the way down. This was actually a nice break from the heat and humidity of Boston. It was wonderful to be in the White Mountains again. These forests feel familiar and safe to me in a way that the plans, scrubland, and vast open areas of Texas never did. I guess that is part of what makes many of us have such strong attachments to the regions where we grew up.