Hi Eljay!
*blows the dust off the tables, and opens the window curtains.*
Hello all (the all that's still around)!
After more than a year of "go, go, go" I have found six weeks of mostly nothing to do. This is wonderful news! So, for those keeping up at home but not on Facebook or Twitter (where I am @ladysciencenerd, because mtolan wished it so)...
1. I am now a Ph.D.! I believe the statement that captures my feelings on the subject is "FREAKING FINALLY!" I defended on March 20th, which also happened to be Eli's 16 month-day. He, alas, spent it all with the nanny or being babysat while mama, papa, and everyone else he loved got to go out and get drunk on cranberry vodka.
a. I am not yet finished with the work I need to do in my old lab, despite no longer collecting a paycheck. I still need to submit a paper and now today I found out I should also review another paper. I am of mixed feeling on this subject. On the one hand, I was so sick of the atmosphere there, it's nice to be out and at home. On the other, I would still like the money, pls.
2. I have a job! I will be joining the lab I've always (and I mean, seriously, since 2004) wanted to join as a postdoctoral associate in mid-May. That is an unqualified "OMGYAY!!!1!!1111" We're still working out the logistics involved in transport and child-maintenance, but it's generally a much more flexible and friendly environment than the one I left. So very much with the happiness.
3. mtolan was a finalist at this year's PAX East Omegathon! I am super-proud of him, and really, really happy he had this experience. I mean, 4000 nerds chanting your name is bound to be an ego-boost. Alas, he did not win the grand prize, but he and his partner do get to try again at next year's convention. Which is something I will probably get to see live.
4. I should be spending my time off getting the house we bought in late 2010 into some kind of order, but instead I'm sitting around with Georgette Heyer books. I blame the fact that I hired a personal trainer to help me lose the 55 (down from 80!) pounds I put on in the first year of my son's life. I'm hoping that my metabolism and energy levels pick up after week 2 of getting my butt kicked and I can actually do something about the mess we live in. It is a dream of mine.
So that's about it on the home front. Now I shall go nurse my back, wallow in a little Heyer reading, and summon the will to make dinner. Maybe, if I'm especially lucky, I shall also get to the SCIENCE!
Hello all (the all that's still around)!
After more than a year of "go, go, go" I have found six weeks of mostly nothing to do. This is wonderful news! So, for those keeping up at home but not on Facebook or Twitter (where I am @ladysciencenerd, because mtolan wished it so)...
1. I am now a Ph.D.! I believe the statement that captures my feelings on the subject is "FREAKING FINALLY!" I defended on March 20th, which also happened to be Eli's 16 month-day. He, alas, spent it all with the nanny or being babysat while mama, papa, and everyone else he loved got to go out and get drunk on cranberry vodka.
a. I am not yet finished with the work I need to do in my old lab, despite no longer collecting a paycheck. I still need to submit a paper and now today I found out I should also review another paper. I am of mixed feeling on this subject. On the one hand, I was so sick of the atmosphere there, it's nice to be out and at home. On the other, I would still like the money, pls.
2. I have a job! I will be joining the lab I've always (and I mean, seriously, since 2004) wanted to join as a postdoctoral associate in mid-May. That is an unqualified "OMGYAY!!!1!!1111" We're still working out the logistics involved in transport and child-maintenance, but it's generally a much more flexible and friendly environment than the one I left. So very much with the happiness.
3. mtolan was a finalist at this year's PAX East Omegathon! I am super-proud of him, and really, really happy he had this experience. I mean, 4000 nerds chanting your name is bound to be an ego-boost. Alas, he did not win the grand prize, but he and his partner do get to try again at next year's convention. Which is something I will probably get to see live.
4. I should be spending my time off getting the house we bought in late 2010 into some kind of order, but instead I'm sitting around with Georgette Heyer books. I blame the fact that I hired a personal trainer to help me lose the 55 (down from 80!) pounds I put on in the first year of my son's life. I'm hoping that my metabolism and energy levels pick up after week 2 of getting my butt kicked and I can actually do something about the mess we live in. It is a dream of mine.
So that's about it on the home front. Now I shall go nurse my back, wallow in a little Heyer reading, and summon the will to make dinner. Maybe, if I'm especially lucky, I shall also get to the SCIENCE!