Happy New Year 2010!
What was that I said last entry about "long time, no see?" Yeah... took a bit of an update break.
Anyway, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Let's see... got an A in both my Fall 2009 courses, keeping up the 4.0 GPA for grad school. Currently signed up for four credit hours for Spring 2010, a three-credit Atmospheric Physics class and a one-credit Colloquium. This semester will be definitely kicking it up a notch or three; the work will be harder (mainly due to the atmosphere class, I expect) and there will be more papers to write.
Add to that the fact that, while mostly set, Courtney & I still have wedding prep to complete, which will culminate just a week or two after the conclusion of classes. 2010: The Year We Get Married. Honeymoon destination has been set: Ireland in early June!
Add on top of that the fact that I'll be working intermittent periods of shifts at the same time... sometimes on the same days I have class... sometimes on the weekends... always for at least a week straight without break. It won't be for the entire semester, but it will still be for a fair chunk of it. I will need to be at the top of my game, and then a bit more.
If I can survive the next five months, I can survive just about anything.
Christmas was good; got back up to NY to visit with family and some of the multitude of friends. Also got to go snowmobiling with Mom & Stacy again, thanks to a bit of snow in chilly chilly Watertown one weekend.
I've struggled a bit recently with questions of self-confidence, but they are starting to fade now, and I think I know why. I went out for a run yesterday in the warming weather, which improved my mood. Also, my classes for the semester started today. Additionally, I started a Roth IRA over the weekend, and bought new shoes for work.
I am very much a creature of inertia: body at rest is inclined to stay at rest, body in motion is inclined to stay in motion. I think I thrive on activity and accomplishment, so when this body is at rest my mood tends to stagnate and sour. Breathe in the wind for too long, and the still air feels thin.
I'm also fighting to change a recently self-perceived difficulty in seeing things I start through to their suitable conclusion. It wouldn't hurt me to lose a few pounds, either. I'm working on both of these, the latter with a return to running. I need to get some new sneakers, though; my run last night rubbed my ankle raw and made it hard to walk around at work in shoes.
It's kinda funny that I make the above remarks about self-confidence, when I realize that in the past year it has built to an all-time high. Here are the successes of 2009 that I shall build upon for this year... for optimum effect, imagine me enthusiastically shouting each point:
-I proposed to Courtney, and she accepted!
-I ran my first 5k race... up the side of a Goddamned mountain!
-I maintained a 4.0 GPA!
-I had my first paper published! (Though I still haven't spotted it on Google Scholar...)
-I finished two term papers simultaneously! (I'm pretty proud of those...)
-I switched to a new contract at work, and have been improving at my job!
-I received a couple more raises!
-I attended a flashmob geocache wedding!
-I saw the new Star Trek movie, and thought it was great!
-I got back into dice-rolling RPGs with my friends!
-I started investing in stocks and bonds!
There were some big downers, too--Snickers, for one, and Tim for another--but you have to roll with the punches, even if they do hurt. Just the same, 2009 was a great year in many different ways.
Have a good night, folks... it's going to be an intensely awesome year.
Anyway, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Let's see... got an A in both my Fall 2009 courses, keeping up the 4.0 GPA for grad school. Currently signed up for four credit hours for Spring 2010, a three-credit Atmospheric Physics class and a one-credit Colloquium. This semester will be definitely kicking it up a notch or three; the work will be harder (mainly due to the atmosphere class, I expect) and there will be more papers to write.
Add to that the fact that, while mostly set, Courtney & I still have wedding prep to complete, which will culminate just a week or two after the conclusion of classes. 2010: The Year We Get Married. Honeymoon destination has been set: Ireland in early June!
Add on top of that the fact that I'll be working intermittent periods of shifts at the same time... sometimes on the same days I have class... sometimes on the weekends... always for at least a week straight without break. It won't be for the entire semester, but it will still be for a fair chunk of it. I will need to be at the top of my game, and then a bit more.
If I can survive the next five months, I can survive just about anything.
Christmas was good; got back up to NY to visit with family and some of the multitude of friends. Also got to go snowmobiling with Mom & Stacy again, thanks to a bit of snow in chilly chilly Watertown one weekend.
I've struggled a bit recently with questions of self-confidence, but they are starting to fade now, and I think I know why. I went out for a run yesterday in the warming weather, which improved my mood. Also, my classes for the semester started today. Additionally, I started a Roth IRA over the weekend, and bought new shoes for work.
I am very much a creature of inertia: body at rest is inclined to stay at rest, body in motion is inclined to stay in motion. I think I thrive on activity and accomplishment, so when this body is at rest my mood tends to stagnate and sour. Breathe in the wind for too long, and the still air feels thin.
I'm also fighting to change a recently self-perceived difficulty in seeing things I start through to their suitable conclusion. It wouldn't hurt me to lose a few pounds, either. I'm working on both of these, the latter with a return to running. I need to get some new sneakers, though; my run last night rubbed my ankle raw and made it hard to walk around at work in shoes.
It's kinda funny that I make the above remarks about self-confidence, when I realize that in the past year it has built to an all-time high. Here are the successes of 2009 that I shall build upon for this year... for optimum effect, imagine me enthusiastically shouting each point:
-I proposed to Courtney, and she accepted!
-I ran my first 5k race... up the side of a Goddamned mountain!
-I maintained a 4.0 GPA!
-I had my first paper published! (Though I still haven't spotted it on Google Scholar...)
-I finished two term papers simultaneously! (I'm pretty proud of those...)
-I switched to a new contract at work, and have been improving at my job!
-I received a couple more raises!
-I attended a flashmob geocache wedding!
-I saw the new Star Trek movie, and thought it was great!
-I got back into dice-rolling RPGs with my friends!
-I started investing in stocks and bonds!
There were some big downers, too--Snickers, for one, and Tim for another--but you have to roll with the punches, even if they do hurt. Just the same, 2009 was a great year in many different ways.
Have a good night, folks... it's going to be an intensely awesome year.