My first semester of grad school at UMass Amherst is done! Hooray! Well, this is my first public post in a long time, so a little catch-up: my research is awesome, classes are meh, and personal life is amazing.

First, my research: As many of you know, my research is on the structural applications of steel foams (think of a sponge that's instead made ( Read more... )

I'm now largely moved into my apartment in Amherst, and I'll post about UMass soon, but for now, here's the roadtrip post!

In numbers:

• 5,763 miles
• 19 states
• 19 different beds / couches / campsites
• >16 national parks

In firsts:

• First road trip (!!!)

A lot of things lately. Some that I'm really excited for, some that I'm very sad about, and some that I'll have to wait and see. It was definitely nice having a three-day weekend (huzzah Memorial Day being a company holiday), and my 50-mile bike ride to the Hartland Farm Fest was both a great ride and a good time at the event ( Read more... )

Springtime makes me so happy. I can finally be outside without worrying about getting frostbite or hypothermia, I can wear sandals, and there's sunlight when I get out of work! Of course, I'm writing this today because it's snowing outside and I'm stuck inside (note: it's late April...). But it'll be back to the 70s by the weekend, so it's all good ( Read more... )

Well, it's not actually visible through the clouds, but tonight is the Worm Moon - the first full moon of spring, said to usher in the warm season and signal the beginnings of worms re-fertilizing the soils in preparation for the spring growing season... It is turning out to be a good spring so far.

I'm still anxious to hear back from grad schools ( Read more... )

Distance: 26.5 miles ( Read more... )

 A series of unrelated thoughts ( Read more... )

Ever have one of those days when your brain just feels in a really weird mood? Not in any bad way - just in the 'WTF, brain? Where did that come from?' sense. I think I've just been getting sick of routine lately - I definitely need my regular fix of exploring and finding new stuff to do and check out. Hmmm... Any suggestions?

In other news, I'm ( Read more... )

I'm learning Lindy Hop right now (a from of swing dance), which is quite fun. However, all of my habits in dancing right now are trickling from contra dancing, which can be a bit problematic. In contra, it really only matters that you're on the right measure, and if you fall off of that, the way to fix it is to either speed up or slow down your ( Read more... )

This weekend was definitely the best weekend that I've had in months. So much reconnecting with old friends, making new friends and finding even more new social circles, and just having a ton of fun. I'd say that I accomplished nothing productive, but really, work is not the only thing you can (or should) be productive with ( Read more... )