Ringin' in the New School Year!

Welcome to 2014! Sorta. We've been here a while.

Sparknotes on what has happened since:

• I survived the spring semester. 
• I took the physics GRE and did...satisfactorily.
• I went to France for a month.
• I started doing physics research on top of my MechSE job.
• I also became a physics TA...on top of my physics research and my MechSE job. 
• I am still a president of the Society for Women in Physics.
• I am living in my first apartment! With Bryce! (I'll try not to gush about it too much but it just might be the best most fantastic thing ever also our apartment is awesome and cute and big and it's just really really great omg)

I am now taking a slightly reduced course-load, but am pretty much as busy as ever. Jumping from work to class to research to class to teaching to trying to learn how to cook a variety of meals in our new kitchen that are more than some hot dogs and easy mac.

Graduate school is also a newfound source of unease. Bryce and I have come up with a list this weekend (a long and slightly stressful and anxiety-producing process that may or may not have reduced me to some tears) of graduate schools that we want to apply to. We'll ask around and perhaps narrow it down, but we have a pretty good spread of sparkly top-tier schools to "pretty" schools (pretty good, pretty strong, pretty large and independent, pretty generous) to we'll-go-there-if-we-have-to schools. But don't talk to me about it yet; I'm still trying to calm my inner freak-out demon.

Our family dog, Pippin, passed away a few weeks ago, which was incredibly heart-breaking. I've gone through a steady grieving process and have for the most part accepted it, but the wound is still raw. I think I might be able to say that it's the first time I've ever lost someone close to me. The feeling is new.

My biggest enemy this semester so far is focus. Focusing on my schoolwork, my writing, my research, has become incredibly difficult recently. I don't know if it's the emotional ups and downs I've been having since last semester, but it's definitely something that is stronger now than it has been in semesters past. 

Perhaps it's just the knowledge that I'll be leaving so soon. Both anticipation and dread.