Isn't "Busy Summer" Supposed to be an Oxymoron?

Boy oh boy, who ever thought that summer would be so hectic and busy? I certainly didn't. I hate to do this, but if I don't simply list out what I've done, it will never be written down. I haven't had much sleep lately but I swear I'll have more time to write later.

After a week of working at the Broadreach office, I went to staff training. Remember, I'm going to be leading two trips to Belize (information can be found here).

Before staff training was finished, with only the staff party remaining, I shared heartfelt goodbyes with other trip leaders and went on my way with Liza to our hometown of good old Charleston, WV to see a good childhood friend of ours be wed. The 5-6 hour drive put us at the after-rehearsal-dinner party for the last 45 minutes of it. The wedding and reception the next day were fantastic and it was great to see them again.

We came back today and started packing since Liza moves out tomorrow. While doing so, I watched the Heat beat the Mavericks in Dallas in the NBA finals to give Miami a 2-1 lead in the series. Tomorrow I have some things to sort out at the Broadreach office then we need to pick up a Uhaul, load it up, and be gone by 12 at the absolute latest.

Seeing as it's after midnight, I would be wise to call it a night and go to bed. I promise future posts will be more interesting than this boring one. Thanks for sticking it out and keep checking back: I should be posting again by next weekend.

Hard to Get

At the peak of Sharp Top.  Photo: Cornelia

I've been hard to track down the past week or so.  Sorry about not saying anything.  Everyone likes a brief post, so here's what I've been up to:

I hung out with Liza as well as Mike and his family in Charlotte.

Liza and I came back to Raleigh for a couple days and I started working at the Broadreach office.

We then drove up to VA to visit family (met my new baby cousin whose birthday is the day after mine).

With family, we hiked 3 miles (I was barefoot for the entire hike). Good times.

Liza and I returned to Raleigh and I started working again at the Broadreach office.

Staff training starts on Thursday night, then I meet my co-leader on Saturday, and I'll be gone from internet until next weekend.

Don't forget to cheer on the Miami Heat as they power through the NBA playoffs! And also FC Barcelona as they take on Manchester United for the UEFA Champion's League Final.

WFR - FTW!

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 8^th, but road-tripping adventures are on the horizon!