I'm behind again. This is starting to become the theme of the blog. I suppose it's due to the fact that I have much less time to blog nowadays as compared to my time on Gili T for instance.
So here is a brief list of highlights since the last update:
Bernard came to visit while on a business trip here. We went out to dinner at an all-you-can-eat Argentinian steakhouse and it was absolutely stunning. I finished off with a fantastic filet mignon. The whole experience was exquisite and made up for the fact that I had to study for a test the next day and write a paper.
With a bit of magic (not on my part), I got into the scientific diving course that I've been dying to take! It's a graduate level course that meets a minimum of 8 hours/week and is going to be quite rigorous. This will have a huge impact on my decision of where to go post-December. The other class that I was registered for is a graduate course titled Tropical Meteorology based on a recommendation from a marine physics professor.
I bought bike parts. After a mishap with a popped tire, I bought two new ones (of high quality so it won't happen again), as well as head and tail lights. I'm back on the road and as long as there is a minimal chance of rain, I'm taking to the streets! Okay, well, not the main ones. Just the ones where I won't get killed. And the bike paths when available. Actually I'm probably going to go on a very long ride tomorrow since I have nothing to do before 2pm.
I went up to North Carolina for Thanksgiving break! It was great to see family again since the chances I have to be with them have been severely reduced over the past year and a half. We scoped out the venues for the wedding in June which was a bizarre experience for me. Marriage seems so far away for me that I struggle to relate and it's weird to see my sister going through the process. It's not bad at all – on the contrary, I couldn't be happier for her. It's just that it's weird b/c it's such a foreign concept in my life right now, that's all.
The PhD student who is ultimately in control of the lab I'm working in successfully defended his dissertation today. He did a spectacular job and I couldn't help but admire him through it all. Not only his composure, well-made smooth presentation, ability to field questions, but particularly the joy I could see in his eyes when I saw him walking around with his parents after he passed. My degree was earned through 4 years of blood, sweat, and tears but he has been working on his PhD for 4 and a half years. I would be fooling myself if I thought for a second that the joy I experienced when I finished my degree compares at all to the feeling I could see beaming across his face today.
I WFRed a girl at school today. Allow me to explain: I finished a marine science test and as I exited the building, there appeared to be a massive traffic jam. After pushing my way through the crowd, I noticed that just outside the doorway was a girl lying on the ground with a few people around her. Unsure of what had happened, I squeezed my way through a few more people, through the door, and started asking what had happened. Faith in UM students quickly faded when the guy “in charge” told me that he wasn't present when she went down and in fact none of the ones standing there saw it happen. It was between classes and there's no way she could have been in the doorway without traffic. Whoever saw it happen must have actually walked away. Anyway, she was responsive but a little weak. I gathered the facts, found out that she had a recurring iron deficiency, and asked a few other questions. My WFR instructors would not have been entirely pleased because once I figured out what was wrong, I stopped asking questions. I should have taken what's called a SAMPLE history and written it out on paper to hand to the paramedics. There's always next time.
Tomorrow is the last day of classes for me! It's crazy to think that a semester has already passed me by. I don't think I'll have too much to say between now and my exam on the 8th, but road-tripping adventures are on the horizon!
