Inauguration

Inspiring. Yay Obama :) "Restore science to its rightful place!!" I think he's talking about funding cephalopod researchers...

Wet Suit

I bought a wet suit yesterday! My friend and I drove around the island for about 5 hours. It was quite an ordeal. But I finally found one that fit. It's black and red--and I look like spider man in it :) Spider man!! Awesome.

This is my new favorite site...

Dream

I had a very strange dream... I was going to a friends birthday party, but before I could get there, two members of the foot clan from teenage mutant ninja turtles (the movie) picked me up and took me to the party. Apparently it was a teenage mutant ninja turtle themed party and we were forced to learn a dance and perform it... Weird. Then I was in a hotel looking for batteries because the power went out... and the rest of the dream wasn't too interesting.

Wind

Yesterday, I got an e-mail telling me that the campus would be closed today and all classes were canceled. Apparently there is a storm coming with 60 mph winds. Meanwhile, I woke up this morning and it was a beautiful sunny day with not a cloud in the sky. It's now about 1pm and I'm starting to see a hint of a storm--oh wait, it just started raining--whoa it's coming fast. Weird.

I didn't have class yesterday, and now I have no class today either. Monday is a holiday, so I have almost a week off. It sounds like it would be a fun thing, but unfortunately, all I have been doing is relaxing...I need to get more productive. Today I am going to work on my proposal. I'm going out with friends tonight (if the gale force winds don't stop us) and I'll make sure I have something done before then.

This week, someone came in to discuss his research on craniofacial morphologies in cichlids. It was pretty fascinating. We are looking for a new developmental faculty member, so it was a sort of audition. I'm looking forward to the other candidate talks. I've gone back to a world of science-speak, and I love it.

I want to do this!

wingsuit base jumping from Ali on Vimeo.

Paradise returned

(In homage to Milton). I am back in Hawaii. I got back on Sunday night and I go back and forth feeling like my vacation was a dream. It was a lovely vacation, lots of movie watching and puzzle making in my bath robe. I think the puzzle was my greatest accomplishment (although I did not do it alone).


I also worked a bit on figuring out what I am going to do for my dissertation. I figured out all three chapters and started my introduction. My goal is to finish by the end of this month, but we'll see how much I get done! I'm already feeling overwhelmed with work. But, I did get to the beach today... it is manna for my soul.

I'm taking a population biology course which involves a lot of math. I just finished five problems and it took me about an hour! It should have taken fifteen minutes...but it's been about four years since my last calculus class. But I am remembering how much I enjoyed math (when I understood it). There is a sense of accomplishment when you can put a box around your answer with confidence.

Yesterday I got reviews of my teaching from my students and they made me smile. Some of them said I was the best TA they had ever had! Many of them said I was "awesome" and "enthusiastic." :) It made me feel good. I feel like if nothing else, at least I accomplished something last semester. I helped some people enjoy science!