Clear Lakes, Blue Lights & Bright Reflections

Sunday night always roll arounds too soon, making me realize there aren't--and will never be--enough hours in a day, or days in a week. So here I am, swamped with manuscript revisions that I'm trying to turn over as quickly as possible so I can submit it to a journal ASAP. Depending on the type of position I apply for (esp. if it's in academia), my job prospects could really hinge not only on how many publications are on my cv/resume, but ALSO whether the publication is "under review" vs. "in press" vs. actually published. I actually know someone who didn't get a position he interviewed for at a Top 10 university because his article was still "in press" rather than actually out in a journal. Yikes. Did you know that it can take up to 2 years between the time you submit to a scientific journal and the time the article comes out? You wonder why I'm questioning whether an academic position is truly what I want?

My weekend was good, if short. I joined some people from school for a cookout at Lake Sherando, which was really nice. The lake is in the George Washington National Forest, and it's absolutely beautiful and so peaceful. I'd like to go again. Despite the warm 70/80 degree days, summer is really waning. I had taken a swimsuit to the lake and was kind of excited about getting in one good lake swim of the season. But when I dipped my toes in, it was cold! The sand under my toes still felt good b/c it was one last taste of summer. I walked away from the lake beach thinking about how I'd love to do another triathlon, and practice open-water swimming again one day.

I got pulled over by the cops on I-64 on my way home from the lake last night....for using my high beams. Because I was going exactly 65mph, it surprised me when I saw the blue lights start flashing behind me, and my first thought was, "That can't be for me, can it?", but I pulled over. (He actually gave me a warning and was surprisingly courteous about it). Wait: before you start thinking I'm a jerk for using my brights, remember how I saw EIGHT deer along that stretch of highway a few weeks ago? The season of deer collisions is almost here, and it makes me uneasy b/c there are so many around here. One of my friends hit a deer at 60 mph on the way to school one morning and it totaled her car. Long story short, I had my brights on to help scan the sides of the road for deer.

I have to wonder if the cop was bored. On a Saturday night (esp. the night of a football game), you'd think he'd be looking for drunk drivers. Or maybe trucks and SUV's with high beams that shine into small cars' mirrors. Not some law-abiding, fuel-efficient Honda Civic that has it's little bright lights on to avoid wildlife-in-the-windshield. I'm starting to think September is the month of the "blue light special". It was 3 years ago this month (Sept. '06) that I got my first traffic ticket--$86 for not stopping for 3 full seconds at a stop sign in my neighborhood. Ouch.

In other news, I recently found out an ex is engaged. But I can't quite get into that right now. So let's talk again later, ok? 'Til then, drive carefully!