Mid week breather

Yesterday I spent all day working on homework that I had been working on for a week and a half. I do not exaggerate, I think I probably spent at least 30 hours on that one assignment. It was pretty unfortunate. But on the bright side the Professor was very understanding, and there were plenty of people to help out. It was long, hard, but rewarding.

So for one whole night I didn't think about that class. It was fabulous! I worked on my take home test, and on a presentation. I also got a little extra sleep because I was so intellectually over-loaded.

So, I call that my mid-week breather. Of course, I found out today that I have homework due Monday, and I my test home test is due Friday. So things are not done, but I feel a little more relaxed. Tonight I have a constellation lab, and I am watching the Biggest Loser. Did I ever mention how much I like that show? Kind of strange, I know, but fun all at the same time. Reminds me why I like to workout.

Sheriff and her bandit!

As proof that I did in fact "dress-up" here are some pictures. I know, I know the costume isn't all that authentic, but I sure did have fun walking around in my 4 inch high shoes. I could gaze longingly into Jimmy's eyes without having to look up.

Me, Jimmy and Tabitha (fall fairy)

Miriam, Brennen and Steve

We went to a Halloween party, at my friend/officemate, Tabitha's because I had work to do, and she lives near by. Plus, she has a fantastically fun house! And my other officemate and her husband and son came. They were dressed up as Astronauts/mission control. It was fabulous! But now I will show pictures instead of rambling....

High boots....yikes!

Blurry and Mysterious!

Pumpkin - more than meets the eye!

What do you think of my trendy new blog? We will see how long I keep it this way.

But onto something more exciting. Tomorrow is Halloween, so Jimmy and I prepared ourselves by getting costumes, and carving a pumpkin. I am usually not a big costume person, but in the past I have dressed up as an angel, Richard Simmons, and probably once in my life a ghost, just because it is easy to throw a sheet over my head. This year we took the easy route of cowboy/girl. Jimmy already had the boots and button up shirt. I however, was lacking. We went to Deseret Industries (like a salvation army back east), and I bought a ugly button up shirt, a jacket, and some particularly high shoes that look something like cowgirl boots. I wore this ensemble with jeans today. Tomorrow I may flex my Halloween spirit to a brown skirt. I promise to post some pictures when I get them tomorrow. Most people on campus didn't know I was dressed up, so it is not worth posting pictures of today's attire.

However I do want to show you all some pictures of our pumpkin carving skills. Jimmy took on the front of the pumpkin, carving a nice logo from Transformers. And I coped out with some stars in a fairly uneven pattern. They are to let some more light out. Plus it is artistically pleasing...or so I think.

Transformers - More than meets the eye!

Tomorrow we are slated to go to the Temple. go running, do homework, clean the apartment, hand out candy (I bought chocolate and fruit flavored candy for variety's sake) and then go to possibly a few Halloween parties. Gosh, this is a fun-filled weekend.

Colloquium

It is the middle of the week and towards the end of the school day and I am sitting in colloquium. This is the time when I normally do my other homework, and lifelessly search other information that has nothing to do with the topic being introduced. But today, Dr. Migenes is speaking, and he is entertaining. Let me describe his public speaking techniques. Normally it involves a little dancing and lots of very sarcastic jokes about how astronomers are ridiculous. It is very fun to watch. Plus, I know what he is talking about because it relates to my research. And...he even highlighted me as one of his students. I'M FAMOUS!! Well, kind of. Being popular in the physics department normally doesn't put you at the top of the social pyramid, but oh well. I am happy!

The Conference

Golden Colorado

I have safely arrived back to Provo after a long, physics-filled weekend. Highlights were:

1.My own room, 2 beds, one person! Heavenly. Although I did miss Jimmy. He does make the bed a lot warmer ;) It also prompted me to think about buying new pillows. Ours at home are just not as comfortable as the hotel pillows. La Quinta you know how to stock pillows.


2. My presentation at 8:48 am. There were not too many people (which was nice). But even with that, I thought I did a pretty good job. I didn't go over on time, and I could answer all the questions they asked me. It was quite fabulous!



3.Astronaut from NASA. He had been to space 5 times, 3 of which were to service the Hubble Space Telescope. I must say, he was fantastic. In his talk he showed us video of the trip. It was a very humbling experience to see Earth from that vantage point.

4.The van-ride. This is many not be the highlight, but it afforded a great chunk of the trip. We traveled 5ish hours Thursday, 3ish on Friday morning, and the large 8 hours for our trip home yesterday. We made it home around 11:30 pm. Long day, needless to say. Dr. Migenes was entertaining as always, and we had some very interesting physics and non-physics conversations. And the scenery was quite lovely. I enjoyed driving into and up the mountains! Beautiful!


5. Feeling smart because I actually had questions to ask. The set-up to these conferences is normally big talks for everyone, and sessions of talks having to do with specific topics. You pick and chose as there are parallel sessions with numerous topics. I went to sessions that had at least a small connection to astronomy. In 2 out of the 3 I was able to ask some sort of question. It made me feel like an actual graduate student. Hooray for feeling like I have learned something!

6. Getting home to see my very excited husband. It was a delightful trip, but I did in fact miss my bestest friend. When I got home he had 2 surprizes for me. First, he had fixed the light in our bedroom that seemed to have a wire loose, and second he bought Ben and Jerry's from Smiths. By the way it is cheapest there. We have bought it in numerous locations, including the factory store in Vermort. Just over $2 is a steal. He got my favorite Chunky Monkey, and Smore's. He is so good to me. And the laundry was done, and we had some food that we needed. What a wonderful guy!

So back to the grind. Tomorrow is my "ahhhh-I need to catch-up" day!

Rifle Colorado

I am on my way to a conference in Golden Colorado, and we made a stop in Rifle Colorado to spend the night. Yes, that is Golden and Rifle Colorado. Who comes up with these names?! But anyways....

We travelled 5ish hours, and have 3 to go tomorrow. Dr Migenes is the driver, and I have to say it has been just fine. Besides that fact that the van is completely full and I am one of the two girls in the van, life is just dandy. The hotel is quite spacious, especially because there are so few girls. Tomorrow night I get a room to myself. Wahoo!

Well, that is the update. I am trying to blog more so you have something to comment about ;)

Comments

I have found from my own blog-reading experience that the comments to the blogs are almost as good as the blog itself. Please share your thoughts about my blog. I want to know if people are enjoying it. Thanks!!