Another turn of the wheel

Oh man, it’s like a play on “The Wheel of Time” series and a reference to “the wheel of ka” in “The Gunslinger” series. Or maybe a CCR song. . . .errr.

So school has started again. I’m sitting at the beginning of the 3rd year of graduate school. Sitting in the class I’m TAing (which I already took during year 1) I realize I’m learned a lot. My vocabulary has changed, and the way I think has too. That felt good. But when I sit trying to decide where to go with my research and prelims and such, oh do I feel so undisciplined and frankly a bit lost. I’m told this is normal. I read lots of PhDcomics.com and see it is true. The emotional journey into madness which is Grad School continues. Vague enough? Melodramatic enough?

Life is really, really good in many ways, mainly along the friendship and dating categories. Drama lies elsewhere, and I’m really thankful that part of being a grad student is learning to worry less and do more, so even though I do worry about all this crap, it’s in a zen way were I just work through it.

School has started and brought with it a wave of new college students, and doesn’t that make you feel another year older? Oh man, I feel more settled and stodgy. But the beginning of the school year seems to have taken me by surprise, maybe since I don’t have any classes to take—just TAing. Mom has been telling everyone I’ve started working on my prelims, which simply isn’t true and gives me a squelchy feeling in my stomach to even think it.

Final, actual bit of news: Tomorrow the student-invited speaker committee is hosting Dr. Bonnie Bassler, who is a total lady rock-star scientist—and I’m on point for this visit (aka, I’ve done all the scheduling and have to introduce her for the seminar she will give). I’m very excited to work with the fruition of all the labor to get people meeting times with her, and awaiting some fiasco that inevitably happens, even though we’ll deal with it beautifully. It will all be fine, but I’ll be happiest when it’s done and my responsibilities will drop off a bit in the administrative category. I want to get some science going!

Other nice thing is perhaps a big house party at Petra’s this Saturday to welcome all the new first-year students to the program. It promises to be huge, drunken, and memorable. And if not, it will at least be a Saturday.