Joining the Craze....

Hello all! Yes, it's true. I finally got myself a blog. Frankly, these are the easiest way to keep up with all my close friends who are so far away, so I thought I might as well throw my hat in as well, in case my friends are curious as to what is going on in my life. Tomorrow I leave for my first research cruise, which is why I'm typing this at 2:30 A.M. I"m nervous and excited. Tomorrow I'll fly to San Diego, then boat down to and around Mexico for a month, doing research on squid physiology. I'd go into more detail, but frankly, do any of you want to hear about the workings of squid physiology? Probably not. Besides, when I'm excited about my research, or pissed because it's not working well (let's hope it's the first option, shall we?) I'll probably end up posting a long explanation anyways. Which you all may ignore. I'll label it appropriately, so that those of a nonscientific mind may skip it.

Of course, while on the ship, I will be incommunicado via my cell phone, which is what inspired me to actually get a blog. This way I can tell everybody about my cruise in one fell swoop, instead of repeating the same conversation through phone calls, emails and ims. I'm hoping this cruise will be a turning point in my graduate career, which has varied from absolutely miserable/prepared to quit and fly home that day to inspired to continue a career in science. However, those inspirations have been few and far between, with various levels of misery, ennui and vague discomfort generally dominating. But no more. Now I get to actually DO science, which is the whole reason I came to graduate school. Sure I have no idea what I'm doing (I finally got the computer program to work the night before we had to pack everything up to ship it), and my absent-minded advisor isn't much of a help, but I'll consider this a trial by fire. In Mexico. In June. Which will make it a beautiful, if scorching fire.

And on that note, dear reader, I'm going to bed. Despite my uncanny ability to sleep in any upright position, thanks to a lifetime of day and a half car trips with 6 people, cats and luggage shoved in one minvan, I think I should attempt to get a few hours of sleep tonight. I will be eagerly awaiting some comments from my more experienced bloggers. Good night!