backpacks & lunch money

wow, can you believe it? i'm officially a full-time student again now! today was the first day of school (orientation, actually). classes will start on wednesday. boy was today jam-packed! it was energizing and tiring all at once (but tiring in a good kind of way). orientation ended with a lovely picnic/bbq dinner, and then me coming home (to my new place!) to FINALLY decompress by collapsing into bed for several hours. life here has just been "go, go, go" lately, so it was an especially delicious nap.

i feel older this time around (coming back for my doctorate vs. when i was getting my masters degree). a lot of the 20-somethings suddenly looked so young today. but i got the best compliment from an old acquaintance & former co-worker at today's picnic. i hadn't seen this woman in seven years, so call me vain, but it put me on cloud nine when she said i hadn't aged at all! also, i got carded while buying a case of Warsteiner over the weekend!

it feels good, and it feels "right" to be back at school. i've got a healthy mix of normal apprehension & doubt, optimism, and confidence. i'm incredibly excited about receiving National Science Foundation grant funding through my faculty advisor this year! however, i also admit to feeling somewhat apprehensive. you see, i just learned a few days ago that i'll be teaching (TA-ing) a class, of 62 students in addition to my research assistant duties. the key is to approach new experiences with a positive attitude, so i tell myself that teaching a large class (and getting that experience under my belt early on) will only help me. right? i hope so! wish me luck or just think positive thoughts for me.

well, it's bed time. i'll be back with more updates, but will try not to whine about my statistics textbook alone costing $145. that's more than the REI backpack which will carry that book. hey, can i borrow some lunch money? i promise to pay you back. ;-)