We are Go for Year 2

I feel like I should have something profound to say in the two days before I begin my second year as a graduate student, but nothing comes to mind.  I did get more unpacking done this evening, but there's still a ways to go.  Thankfully the weather is more or less cooperating so our two-week excessive heat warning has been lifted.  That makes carting boxes to the garage(!) much nicer. Yes, I do have a garage.  It is amazing.  It will be even more amazing once the snow starts this winter.  It was great during the heat wave because it meant the car didn't get nearly so hot.  Now, this is only at home, so the car still bakes in the parking lot at work, but hey, I'll take what I can get when it comes to cooling off my car!  Oh, and I suppose having the A/C checked and fixed had something to do with the fact that my car quickly becomes an igloo.  Speaking of my car, I got to work via driving and riding the Park & Ride bus for the first time today.  I think it's gonna work, and it sure will save me a lot of hassle trying to find a spot to park either in the close parking lot or on the street near work.  And the Park & Ride bus drops me off right across the street from work, so you can't get much better than that.  Hopefully I'll still feel the same about it come Thursday when the rest of KU's student body emerges from the summer!

This will be an interesting but busy semester since I'll be enrolled in only 3 classes so that I can work on my Master's thesis.  This time next fall I should have my MA in Child Language!  I was accepted to be on Dr. Mabel Rice's training grant for this year, which means I'll make a little more money but I'll have more responsibilities.  The point of the traineeship is to train new researchers in Child Language via coursework and multiple research experiences.  So, in addition to my current work in the Fragile X lab, I'll also be starting a secondary lab experience in Dr. Hugh Catts' reading lab.  It should be interesting.  Oh, and in the FXS lab we're almost finished with data collection for Time 4, which means we are talking about posters and papers to draft in the very near future.  I can't wait! 

a glinting foot

of SNOW!!  We got about 12 inches yesterday, though it is hard to tell since they've been scraping and plowing all day.

I'm excited to walk around in it today, even though it's still super cold.  Volleyball class got cancelled, but at this point I've still got Abnormal Psych.  and work.  Ah yes, work.  I feel like I might as well live there these days, I'm there so much!  In fact, I have some students asking me that :)

I'm off to a pretty good start to the semester.  I love having only a few hours of class a week, even though I'm constantly working on my theses in every spare moment.  I'm honestly more than a little nervous about my Honor Scholar one....

25 Below

It is COLD.  I don't think I've ever been in wind chills this cold.  And I know it's even worse north of here!  I have to keep the space heater cranked up just to keep my room above freezing!  I think it's supposed to warm up tomorrow.  I hope so.  I'm running out of clean clothes, wearing so many layers!

Driving up on Wednesday, my car got FILTHY!!  I drove into and through at least one snowstorm, and when I got to school the roads weren't plowed.

[caption id="attachment_64" align="aligncenter" width="480" caption="My car after driving back to school through snow storms"][/caption]

It was clean when I left!  And now my windshield wiper fluid is frozen :( so I guess it'll stay dirty a little longer...