a re-reading of past posts

My goodness. I hadn't bothered to really re-read the older posts from this blog. Which, by the by, used to be called "sekai no omoshiroi koto" or, "interesting things in my life." I wanted to only post when something interesting was going on. I wrote sometimes while I was at work, about going to graduate school, and about adopting Rocky & Dylan, and about Lee.

Well, I'm in graduate school. It wasn't as hard as I thought to get back into the swing of things, although I do find it challenging. I'm constantly vigilant of what I need to be doing. (Which I'm sure does not include writing this blog). I need to read more. I need to work on filling in all of those gaps I worry over so much. I need to make sure I know what the hell I will be doing and where I will be going in the field this spring and summer. I need to be prepared to teach the genetics lab and make sure everything is in order. I need to get back in the genetics lab and analyze my sequences.

It's really an exciting time, and I know I need to make sure I'm not taking anything for granted. For example, this beautiful day. 75 F and sunny. And it's the middle of January. Butterflies are still out there flying. You know what they're doing in the Midwest now? Freezing their a**es off. No, thank you.

I'm just writing and thinking a bit before classes start again. I checked out a few books, downloaded a few more articles, went to half-price and purchased "The Green Phoenix: A History of Genetically Modified Plants" by Paul Lurquin of Washington State, and "Dancing Naked in the Mind Field" by Kary Mullis. Yup, inventor-of-the-PCR Mullis. Quite a fascinating read.

There is something that has been bothering me: I haven't been painting or drawing much. I would really like to pick that up again. I tinker now and then, but what I would really like to do, is embark on a new series of works. I wish I had about a dozen 4'x5' canvas-stretched-over-masonite panels to work on. Oh, and a bit of spare time. The trouble is (and I predicted this according to my older blog posts) when I have spare time, I feel like I should be reading or writing. I feel out of sorts if I'm doing anything else now, including having fun. That's a bummer, isn't it?!

Good thing I think research is fun...