Things have gotten rather dusty around here. It’s been a while since I came around here. Between writing the dissertation, preparing for the defense, and various family dramas blogging hasn’t been a very high priority. Today, though, I got the urge to blog and I decided to run with it.
It’s a new year and I’m feeling very good about it. Not that last year was a bad year altogether. I mean, I got my Ph.D. last year (with about 10 days to spare, but who’s counting?). It’s more that I remember starting last year feeling like I was never going to graduate and feeling rather blah about life in general. Starting this year I feel hopeful. I already accomplished the biggest thing I thought was never going to happen (read: graduate) and that makes me feel like I can do just about anything. My postdoc focuses on an entirely different subject matter and the field really is wide open.
Also, I think the root of this hopeful feeling has been my recent (since my defense) change in work habits. I’m working normal work hours and not at all on weekends. I’ve started seeing Dr. Man in the daylight and spending more time with the Dixie Dog. I’ve read a ton of fun books and caught up on Doctor Who (except for the fifth season-- I’m still waiting on Netflix). I had forgotten that I have interests outside of the lab and that taking off two whole days every week can recharge me. I just need to keep this in mind as I start my postdoc and fight the whole feeling of being under time constraints. Because I guess, I’m sort-of under a time constraint, as I’ll have a little one joining our family in the beginning of July. And from what I understand the wee one will take up a lot of my time and will not tolerate me working too late at night. At least this is what I've heard about having a new baby. I'll have to wait to empirically test this until July, but after the trials of the first trimester I'm inclined to believe all I've heard.