crazy week

It's the first week of class and things are starting to get crazy already. It all started on Monday when I realized that the dateline for MBL Microbial Diversity course is February 1st. That means I have less than 3 weeks to apply for funding and submit it in time. So there goes my entire Monday just preparing proposals and 'selling' myself to the department, the College of Natural Sciences and the Graduate School.

Tuesday came and it started with another crazy morning. I was the earliest in the lab and Tom came in looking for my help - to get the projector ready for class in an hour and to make copies of notes. I was glad to help but turn out that I was the last to get to class but guess what...the guy I have a crush on is in that class too! What a coincidence! Just as I was saying I haven't seen him in a long time and that it's gonna be impossible to know him any more than just his name and who's lab he works in. In fact, I saw him twice that day. After class, I got enough time to run a gel and had to go TA for an undergraduate microbiology lab. It wasn't so bad since it's just the first lab but I kinda have the feeling that it's gonna be the one and only lab that we will get to leave on time.

The entire week was spent trying to get some lab work done and editing the proposals after getting comments back from everyone who read it. But on Thursday, the weather was soooooooo nice out - it was 45F!! - that I just had to go cycle around the campus. It's like spring! I don't even need my winter coat. It's been such a strange winter this year. We haven't had many freezing cold days where your ears hurt and you can't stand being outside at all. Actually, I've been here in Michigan for 5 years and I haven't had 2 winters that are similar. Michigan weather is just so unpredictable.

Unfortunately, the scenery doesn't seem to correlate very well with the temperature. Most of the days are just gray and dull. We haven't been getting much snow either. Now I really do understand why people feel more suicidal when they don't get to see much sun...thankfully I have enough sun in my memory - got enough happy hormones - not to feel suicidal. The crappy weather is making me miss my one day trip to Carmel, CA. J brought me there when I was at San Jose.



I can just imagine myself leaning against the rock, listening to the waves smashing on the beach, feeling the breeze of the Pacific Ocean. I just love being close to water and being part of nature. But for now, I'll just treasure the rare sunny days we get here in Michigan, or at least, in Lansing.