The lab floor is cleaned and waxed.

I forgot that it was going to happen. It’s really quite striking. I walked into lab today after sitting through four hours of presentations (that’s half of them) from the program. It was actually visually stunning – for some reason, the lack of chemical buildup and gunk on the floor makes the lab look brand new. I am impressed.

Presentations were boring. I wish I’d been scheduled for today, because now I have one more night to sit around and think about what I’m going to say. It might end up being a good thing, though, because I think I need to make sure that I’m close to 12 minutes... I think I’m closer to 13. Talk fast and enunciate.

I’d prefer to be able to take my time but unfortunately I just have too much stuff to cram into 12 minutes.

So the program is coming to a close, and I’d be much better equipped to know whether or not I’m sorry about that if there wasn’t all this STUFF due. Frankly, it’s a little overwhelming in a familiar way. And yet again, I come to the end of the summer somehow expecting the coming school year to be a break.

A break from what? A break from summer?

I’m so dumb sometimes, hahaha. I wish I could just not expect it. I know that next week I will probably be barraged by emails about tutoring and TAing and whatever else I’m supposed to be organizing. I have to get on top of my life.

A break from no-strings-attached research? A break from working 9:30 – 5:30 and then saying “hey, what the heck, I think I’ll go do something fun!”

Seriously. It’s kind of depressing to think about. Tonight I have to rewrite my abstract and touch up the results and approach a bit, since I’ve finally managed to make myself put the images into the paper. Once I do that, I’ll be free. Well, sort of free. Brad should probably read my paper at some point.

It’s sort of depressing to realize that it’s not over when I give my presentation.

My fingernails are too long.

I miss Christina, Justine, and my family. Too much of the unfamiliar is addling my brain, and I need to go jump back into the open arms of my people in good old boring Syracuse, New York, where the sun doesn’t shine but boy does it snow and there’s not much to do but at least I can shave in the shower.