Desk Days

Here we stand, half way through the program. Literature has been reviewed and data collected, now for the analyzation process. Week 6 has me tied to a desk, cinematizing and coding videos of the first half of the data collected last semester. Armed with a thermos and 300 episodes of podcasts, I tackle these videos, one after another; the lab becomes my home away from home.

This process is tedious but it isn’t loathsome. I find my eyes beginning to glaze over so I stand up and run in circles for a few minutes to get my heart racing again, thank goodness I’m alone in here. Hillary reminded us already to, “practice good self-care.” I suppose this means I have to remember to go home and eat a real meal instead of pretzels and iced coffee.

Oddly enough, I haven’t hit any real obstacles so far. Things are running smoothly and the research hasn’t become frustrating, perhaps because I keep expecting it to? My mentee is learning quickly and is performing all of her tasks well. My poster is half way done and has been reviewed by some reliable fellows. My lab-mates are as helpful as ever, the grad students are patient, and my PI is steering me straight and helping me to keep up with my responsibilities. There’s not even the weather to slow me down. Due to my afternoon lab time I haven’t had the chance to feel the 90+ degree days of June!

Time is moving quickly, however, and the conference is starting to come into view. The best thing I can do for myself right now is get ahead just in case anything goes amiss. I’m not quite prepared to present this early in the program but I’ve got all the tools to get ready and some amazing people to guide me. Here’s to long days, short nights, and a thermos full of coffee!

#personalprofessionaldevelopment