Oof.
It was... a semester. And now it's over. *flop*
The funding I'd been expecting had evaporated over the summer, so my advisor and I scrambled to throw together a TAship. It was my third (!) semester in a row TAing, this time for my advisor's odd classical mechanics class. It was a lucky deal beacuse it was really only half-time work -- the class doesn't really *need* a TA. My advisor persists in calling it a fraud, even, because he doesn't really count the kind of work I put in. I consider it payback for last semester, though, which was full-time work for him for only half-time pay. :P
We finally submitted our first NSF grant proposal, based on my thesis project, and I have one fellowship application pending. We'll probably do another proposal and several more fellowship applications in the spring. Next semester's funding is still up in the air, though. I'm seriously starting to think about taking an industry internship. If I'm not going to work on my thesis, at least I might as well make some real money for it?
I also took a class this semester, Systems Biology. I didn't actually have time for it, but it was useful credits and interesting material -- quantitative modeling of biological systems, from gene networks & chemical kinetics to population models. Good background material for my thesis.
The 3h final for that class was early this morning, made extra-exciting because 403's coughing and such kept waking me up during the night. Now I zombie through the lethargy-blanketed twilight zone between workness and vacation. Exciiiitement. Tooooys. Need toooooooys...
Boy, that was a boring post. Anyway, I'm not sure I'll return to regular LJ-ing, now, though I'd like to... Gotta spread that boredom around.
The funding I'd been expecting had evaporated over the summer, so my advisor and I scrambled to throw together a TAship. It was my third (!) semester in a row TAing, this time for my advisor's odd classical mechanics class. It was a lucky deal beacuse it was really only half-time work -- the class doesn't really *need* a TA. My advisor persists in calling it a fraud, even, because he doesn't really count the kind of work I put in. I consider it payback for last semester, though, which was full-time work for him for only half-time pay. :P
We finally submitted our first NSF grant proposal, based on my thesis project, and I have one fellowship application pending. We'll probably do another proposal and several more fellowship applications in the spring. Next semester's funding is still up in the air, though. I'm seriously starting to think about taking an industry internship. If I'm not going to work on my thesis, at least I might as well make some real money for it?
I also took a class this semester, Systems Biology. I didn't actually have time for it, but it was useful credits and interesting material -- quantitative modeling of biological systems, from gene networks & chemical kinetics to population models. Good background material for my thesis.
The 3h final for that class was early this morning, made extra-exciting because 403's coughing and such kept waking me up during the night. Now I zombie through the lethargy-blanketed twilight zone between workness and vacation. Exciiiitement. Tooooys. Need toooooooys...
Boy, that was a boring post. Anyway, I'm not sure I'll return to regular LJ-ing, now, though I'd like to... Gotta spread that boredom around.