BALUG Day 6: Is this a sign I should move to New York?

The internet in this Starbucks is super slow and as I'm waiting for my Reaxys page to load, I figure I might as well blog since I haven't in a while. (I do hope that BALUG: Blog A Lot Until Graduation doesn't turn into BALUG: Blog A Little Until Graduation...big cookie for the reference). The reason for the ridiculously slow nets, is probably because I'm on VPN here so I can get to Reaxys because oh hayy this Starbucks is on Broadway. WHAT. I'm in New York for the second-to-last of my grad school visits.

Now, I love visiting New York. Every once or twice a semester when Culture Draw comes along, I am ecstatic to come and spend the day in the Big Apple. I love the glam and the glitz of Broadway. I love Rockefeller Center. I love Central Park, the museums, and the art. I love the feeling fabulous as I walk down the street even when I know I'm not. But I've never thought I could live here. It's always been too tall, too gray and too dirty, too hot in the summer, to humid to bear, too fast, and too hectic. For me, it's always been a great place to visit, as long as I can get away at the end of the day. But being here the past couple of days may have gotten to me. The scary thing is, as I'm sitting in the window facing Times Square, sipping my Skinny Caramel Macchiato, I could see myself living here...if I weren't a chemist.

Don't get me wrong. Columbia was amazing. I loved the campus, what little there was, the professors, the students and the Upper West Side. But I have no illusions about my life if I were to live here. Perhaps, if I were writing my thesis, I would be able to come feed off the energy of this place, but by that time, I fear the novelty will have worn thin. If I were a writer, a designer, an artist, perhaps, the numerous juxtapositions that I see right in front of me could congeal into some sort of inspiring piece of work. At the same time, however, just this weekend, I have unwittingly ran into several friends who I haven't seen for a long time. I had breakfast with I.C., and just ran into K.C. when my computer ran out of batteries and I had to trade plug slots with someone. I didn't even know K was in the city until running into him which is craaazy. I also saw lots of nuns in sequins. Sparkly nuns. Only in Sister Act.

BALUG Day 1!

After much deliberation, I have decided to embark upon BALUG: Blog A Lot Until Graduation. It's after Spring Break now, during which time I visited San Diego, Boston, and Princeton, and it's been crazy just getting my sanity back together and getting enough rest to finish out the year. I realize that this will likely be the last spring break that I have (ever?!?) and it's been more hectic than usual. But what they (my mom) says is correct. As long as you're doing something different that your usual fare, it constitutes a well-deserved break. I think that was just her way of getting me to keep studying different subjects, but it's worked.

This Spring Break led me to play with stuff at the ScienCenter, revisit my high school anxieties, meet old friends, and make new ones. I have admittedly vegged out a bit when I should have been doing stuff like writing my thesis, but I feel like this semester, with all the traveling and having to be on top of my game when not traveling leads me to believe that I needed some serious veg time for myself.

Today, I am blogging during lunch time because I'm not sure how much time I'll have this afternoon. Going back into lab, setting up a couple of reactions, and having to actually do a lot of work. Oh boy! That is why, because of my time restraints and because of my workload coming to the end of the semester, I have decided to scrap BEDUG in favor of BALUG. I'm going to try to blog at least every other day, but if I am just too overwhelmed, I will have a little bit of leeway (for my own sanity). I'm going to try not to think about it, but there are only 63 days until graduation. Holy. Crap.

Back in Boston

It's a couple days into Spring Break and I'm back in Boston. It doesn't really feel like a break because usually, I would lounge for a few days at home, get my "doing nothing" on and feel ready to get back in the swing of things. But Kelsey (!) has been visiting so we've actually been doing things like exploring the Birch Aquarium at La Jolla (with Mom!), watching movies intended for a younger audience (The Lorax and The Muppets) with a slightly older eye, bumming around the California ScienCenter, which has an AWESOME exhibit on different ecosystems around the world (KELP FOREST! SO COOL!), chilling at the Third Street Promenade, and laughing at each other (and Michael!) attempt to do yoga and balancing games on Wii Fit. The few days that I stopped blogging has been good for me, as I have been living my life more than writing about it, and though I've ended each day tired and weary, it's been a happy time and totally worth it.

I'm back on the road now, spending three days (they say three, but half of the first and last day are spent traveling) in Boston, four in LA, three at Princeton, and then it's back to school already! I can't believe this is my last semester and yet I feel like I'm in and out of school so much that I already have one foot out the door. It's exciting to be able to visit all these places, and I know I'll probably never have this kind of opportunity again (unless I'm going on the faculty circuit), but at times like now, I just want to forgo the socializing, the bars, and all those questions and sit in my room, eat fruit, and watch 30 Rock.

That being said, this trip has been pretty straight forward. Delicious steak dinner + tiramisu. So good! And people have been very forthcoming which is always appreciated. Maybe it's because my Feb 8-10 visit was only my second visit so everything seemed so much more new and bright and exciting, and I have learned to take a more discerning eye at everything, but this visit seems so much more rushed. Tomorrow will be a long day so I'm going to sign off now. Goodnight!

Spring Break!

Yes! Blog Every Day Until SpringBreak has been a success! I have indeed blogged every night before going to sleep (some days it was at 1 AM but I feel that it still counts), through bouts of slim-to-none internet, and while traveling and exhausted. I am again, super tired because of travel, so I'll keep this post short, but in the past few days, I have had my last grad school interviews (whoo!), kayaked in the Pacific Ocean (which was amazing because of my awesome buddy, H.H., the sea lions, the dolphins, and the warm San Diego sun), wandered around the sleepy, laid back town of La Jolla, CA. I've also explored the aquarium and saw some awesome fish, sea horses and relatives, jellyfish, and mollusks.

I am again at home, about to go to sleep, and upon reflection, BEDUS has been great for me. I'll probably blog less during spring break as I get my bearings and get some rest, but afterwards, we'll see! Maybe I'll continue blogging until the graduation. BEDUG?

BEDUS Day 54: Last interview, No Bowling!

That is all. So, so tired.

BEDUS Day 53: It's Not Always Sunny in Philadelphia

And when it's not, like today, where you could see no more than 300 feet in front of you, the planes don't run on time. (Contrast with Phoenix where you could see for 10 miles). And when there's only one runway open in Philadelphia, planes from New Haven can be delayed for up to an hour causing a person who has only eaten half a granola bar and an apple for breakfast at 5:30 AM to have to run to Terminal C from Terminal F on an empty stomach. I mean, at the time I got off the plane at Philly, my next flight was already boarding. I made probably the best decision ever and took a minute to buy the first sandwich I saw to save my blood sugar from dropping any lower, and made it to the gate just as they were calling final boarding.

And then planes flying from Philadelphia can be delayed for 1/2 hour, making the next connection also dangerously close. Good thing the gate was only 2 down from the landing gate. I rewarded myself with some chili cheese fries, but because of the line still ended up getting to the gate just as they were calling my zone number.

But when I got to San Diego, it was all worth it. It was a beautiful day and because I had been traveling for 12 hours by this time, my grad school liaison suggested coffee, which we drank while strolling along the beach (a real beach!). It was such a relaxing way to come into Southern California that it is only in this moment, lying in bed typing with my thumbs on my phone as my roommate sleeps in the bed over, that I realize how tired I am. Excited for interviews tomorrow!

Goodnight!