Summer is a beautiful thing

Happy 4th of July! I'm celebrating by watching Wimbledon (as I've done every year since the summer of 2001) and chilling. I think I'll go to Starbucks later and do some work for a bit.

So I finished my second year of grad school, and I'm still alive, so I guess that counts as success! I'm set to take my comprehensive exam in October. I've gotten my committee together, but haven't quite set a date yet. Right now I'm working on getting a paper out - I promised my advisor a draft by the middle of the month, so I've got to keep rolling on that. So, that part of my life is going okay. I'm not feeling particularly motivated right now, but I guess we all have ups and downs. I'm done with classes, though, so that is a very freeing feeling, let me tell you!

I'm training for a half-marathon, if you can believe it! It's going to be in Chicago in September. I have to go run today, actually, but only 3 miles, so that shouldn't be difficult. I'm really looking forward to seeing LJ, though, as I haven't seen her in 2 years! Actually, she's coming out here in a couple of weeks, which is frickin' awesome.

My parents are moving to FL next month - super excited for them. Ah, retirement! I'll be going down to help them out.

I've been thinking about starting a new blog - kind of a weight loss + exercise + diabetes thing. Mostly for my own benefit, but if others get anything out of it, that would be cool.

I guess that's it for the first half of 2013. Not much else going on with me right now. Doing some dating, nothing serious. I'm pleased with my diabetes care right now (I got a CGM), and my last A1c was 5.8%. Yeah, I think that's it. Mwah!

Another post for 2012

So, I figured I'd get in another post before the year is out - which is incredibly soon! Riding high on the election results. My fiscal views may be a little left of center, but socially, I'm about as liberal as you get, so I see last night as a big win. Now, I just hope the folks in Washington can stop us from heading over the fiscal cliff. If for no other reason (and there are a great many other reasons) than that funding for science and research will suffer hardcore.

I'm almost halfway through my second year of grad school. It's been a bumpy ride this year. The spring semester was uber tough. My summer was pretty shitty, for mostly non-school related reasons. Was sort of seeing a guy who turned out to be a douche. Anyway, this semester has been up and down. Right now I'm feeling okay about things, but we'll see as the end looms closer. I'm toying with the idea of applying for some jobs when I get done with the Master's degree section of my Ph.D., just to see how it goes. I know I don't want to stay in academia, so it sort of makes me wonder if maybe I'd be happier just getting out now. I don't know, I haven't reached any conclusions on that front. We'll see how the rest of this year goes. I did pass my candidacy exam in August, which was the first big hoop to jump through in the grand scheme of graduate school hoops. Next will be my comprehensive exam, which I'll probably take maybe a year from now. Or maybe in August if I have a really productive summer! (N.B. The previous statements was tinged with sarcasm.)

I've started seeing a guy recently. I like him a lot. It's in it's very early stages, but I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes.

Let's see - is there anything else to report? Not that I can think of...

Edit (a day later): Oh! And I've been on my insulin pump since March! Best decision I've ever made, no holds barred. My HbA1C is better than when on shots, even when I feel like my control has been iffy.

Hallo! Did you know that sometimes I still check this blog? Hard to believe, I know. I'm only sorry I missed posting in 2011, even once. In any case, I figured I'd jump on here and give you all an update.

Let's see... I finally finished my degree. I officially have a BS in Engineering Physics with minors in Astronomy and Classical Civilizations from UIUC! Woot! Graduated with High Honors. So, that was in May. I spent the summer doing nothing. However, in June I got motivated to lose some weight, and so far I've lost 20 lbs. It got rocky over the holidays, but I'm ready to hop back in the game. I spent some time this spring visiting grad schools I'd been accepted to, and it came down to choosing between UC Davis and Penn State. I chose Penn State, and I've just finished my first semester of grad school there - all A's! Anyway, I've been spending the break in Florida with my sister and other family. I'm heading home today, actually. I miss my kitty! He's been being visited by the pet sitter every other day, but I want him to know I haven't abandoned him. I look forward to seeing him. Next semester starts in a week. I'm looking forward to getting back into the routine, although I'm worried about these classes being tougher. Oh, and I won the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship! Really big accomplishment, I'm not going to lie. I wrote my research proposal based on the solar physics I did in Montana, which was the last thing I posted about, I think. Anyway, so I'm supported (pretty well) for three years of grad school. I'm looking at doing some astrobiology research for an initial project. Anyway, that's my last 18 months in a nutshell! Whew!

I wish everyone a very happy new year.

Hullo from MT

I've been settled here in Montana for a week, now, and I'm really enjoying it. The weather hasn't been the greatest - a lot of rain, unfortunately, but we've found time to do a hike and play some volleyball in between showers. The people that I'm working with are all really cool. There's Graham from Scotland, Margot from Massachusetts, Dustin from Maine, Nate from New York, Ian from Montana, and Cameron from Ohio. Last night a few of us went out to downtown Bozeman and checked out a few of the bars - we had a great time. I'm very glad I drove, as my car has been a huge asset. Yesterday, I went with Nate to I think four different pawn shops... that was hilarious. I think I'm going to go back and get a chair that was comfy. Ha.

So far, my research has been pretty simple. My advisor has been out of town since last Thursday, so I'm a bit adrift today. My "secondary" advisor, I guess you could call him, has not yet shown up this morning, so my couple of questions cannot be answered. Anyway, I'm kind of bored right now, which is why I'm blogging.

Tomorrow, we start our series of solar physics lectures, done by people both from this department and other places. I look forward to learning more about the sun and how it works. I'll be going to Yellowstone sometime next month with some other people and the area's astronomy club, so that will be a fun experience. Anyway, that's about it for now.

New Post

Hey, folks! Well, the semester is drawing to a close (a fact that I'm quite excited about) and I haven't written anything in a while, so here I am.

First of all, I have had the honor of being chosen as the winner of the Laura B. Eisenstein Award for the outstanding undergraduate female physics major. Very exciting! I mean, I know that I'm keeping my head above water, but I didn't realize that I was actually being "outstanding" or anything. These things are decided by committee, and I didn't even know that people in the department even knew who I was! But anyway, I get to go to a little lunch with other award winners, so that's cool. Also, it will look great on my CV and grad school applications!

I got an REU at Montana State University this summer, where I will be studying solar physics. It's in Bozeman, which I guess is not that far from like, Yellowstone and Glacier National Park, so I'm expecting to have fun and learn a lot! I'll be there from late May to mid-August. And they're paying me, so I can't complain.

I was informed by the physics department that they chose me as their nominee for the UIUC Women in Engineering Kirkwood Scholarship, a fact by which I felt very honored. I don't know what my competition is for it, but considering that you have to be nominated by your department to be considered for it, it's probably not too bad. I'm not getting my hopes up for actually winning, but I was happy just to be nominated. I guess it makes me feel like people are noticing what I'm doing, so... that's cool.

Well, I think that's it for now. Finals are in about three weeks, and once those are finished, my sister and Nathan and Mom and Dad and Aunt Barbara will all be in town for graduation weekend. Jennifer is coming back to get hooded for her Ph.D., even though she was really done last August, so it will be full of fun and celebration! Then a couple of weeks before I head out to Montana. I'm driving, and it's doable in two days, but I'm thinking I'm going to take three so I can detour through the Badlands and Mount Rushmore. Anyway, so... that's all folks!

I forgot I had a blog, ha!

I was reminded last night that I actually have a blog, and that people might stop by every now and then, so I thought I'd post something. Uh... yeah.

I guess I've got a pretty busy weekend coming up - gallery opening on Friday evening, party Friday night, baby shower Saturday morning, driving to Chicago Saturday afternoon, dinner with LJ Saturday evening, karaoke-ing Saturday night, Super Bowl on Sunday. Whew!

Anyway. Blegh.

Hi ho, hi ho

School starts on Monday - here we go again! I like school. I've just been twiddling my thumbs since getting back from my trip to the Cape, so it'll be nice to have a renewed sense of purpose, if you will.

I have a new roommate - so far it's going well. I'm thinking about doing karaoke tonight. Depends. I don't want to go without someone else, but I don't know who will come with me. Maybe Laura Jane will go.

Bye.