Monday, February 05, 2007
I know why I never update this
My life is a circus. Why is it that we are expected to live circus lives - we're taught to want it all!
I've been very busy since returning to Fredericton. I'm a veritable workaholic, but I'm enjoying being busy, although I've been teetering on 'frazzled'.
I'm at the point now where I have two manuscripts almost ready for submission in a week or two, a third almost done, and a fourth in point form. This is very encouraging, but it's taking me a long time to sort through all the feedback that I've received from the numerous co-authors.
I'm also TAing this semester in invertebrate zoology. It's a very small lab, so it can get a bit dull when everyone is working away without questions, but I like the group. Generally, they're enthusiastic, which is probably the most important thing. I also love the subject matter.
I'm taking a biostatics course as well. Although I feel like I'm finally understanding how stats relate to experiments (and how to properly employ the confusing terminology), there's a lot of homework to keep up with, and I'm a bit of a perfectionist, so it's taking up a lot of time.
I've also taken on a lot of responsibility for the upcoming GSA research conference, happening on my birthday this year. Just organizing it and emailing presenters and judges takes a lot of my time. I'm hoping it will be a success - but I'm a little iffy since people were slow to get the ball rolling on it.
Oh, you think that's it?
No, no.
I've also started learning Spanish using a computer program tutor. It's an interactive program, which assesses your speech patterns, teaches spelling, and sentence structure. It was very tough at first since it doesn't start at "easy", but I think I'm picking up on the language quickly. French helps a bit, although it confuses me on pronunciation as well. I went to see Pan's Labyrinth though on the weekend, and I understood quite a bit of the dialogue, so that was good.
By the way, that movie is terrific, but be afraid.
I'm also keeping up my kung fu this semester. We got to start learning a new form, which is fabulous, and keeps me motivated. On my off-days I try to squeeze in a yoga workout at home to keep the muscles loose and comfortable. I'm in good shape now, but chocolate might be my downfall (they just installed a candy machine around the corner from my lab).
Anyway, things have been busy with me. I'm not home much, and when I am, I'm on a tight schedule. I'm definitely feeling frazzled today though, so I deserve a nice glass of wine. I got a random phone interview today from a production company looking for documentary presenters - a documentary about ants. We'll see - I didn't expect a phone call, and I was a bit surprised, so I wasn't particularly prepared. It was a bit nervewracking, nevertheless.
I'll try to keep up with this, but I can barely keep up with my laundry... haha. Gross.
I've been very busy since returning to Fredericton. I'm a veritable workaholic, but I'm enjoying being busy, although I've been teetering on 'frazzled'.
I'm at the point now where I have two manuscripts almost ready for submission in a week or two, a third almost done, and a fourth in point form. This is very encouraging, but it's taking me a long time to sort through all the feedback that I've received from the numerous co-authors.
I'm also TAing this semester in invertebrate zoology. It's a very small lab, so it can get a bit dull when everyone is working away without questions, but I like the group. Generally, they're enthusiastic, which is probably the most important thing. I also love the subject matter.
I'm taking a biostatics course as well. Although I feel like I'm finally understanding how stats relate to experiments (and how to properly employ the confusing terminology), there's a lot of homework to keep up with, and I'm a bit of a perfectionist, so it's taking up a lot of time.
I've also taken on a lot of responsibility for the upcoming GSA research conference, happening on my birthday this year. Just organizing it and emailing presenters and judges takes a lot of my time. I'm hoping it will be a success - but I'm a little iffy since people were slow to get the ball rolling on it.
Oh, you think that's it?
No, no.
I've also started learning Spanish using a computer program tutor. It's an interactive program, which assesses your speech patterns, teaches spelling, and sentence structure. It was very tough at first since it doesn't start at "easy", but I think I'm picking up on the language quickly. French helps a bit, although it confuses me on pronunciation as well. I went to see Pan's Labyrinth though on the weekend, and I understood quite a bit of the dialogue, so that was good.
By the way, that movie is terrific, but be afraid.
I'm also keeping up my kung fu this semester. We got to start learning a new form, which is fabulous, and keeps me motivated. On my off-days I try to squeeze in a yoga workout at home to keep the muscles loose and comfortable. I'm in good shape now, but chocolate might be my downfall (they just installed a candy machine around the corner from my lab).
Anyway, things have been busy with me. I'm not home much, and when I am, I'm on a tight schedule. I'm definitely feeling frazzled today though, so I deserve a nice glass of wine. I got a random phone interview today from a production company looking for documentary presenters - a documentary about ants. We'll see - I didn't expect a phone call, and I was a bit surprised, so I wasn't particularly prepared. It was a bit nervewracking, nevertheless.
I'll try to keep up with this, but I can barely keep up with my laundry... haha. Gross.
