Hi everyone
I can only apologise for the ridiculous length of time that it's been since I last wrote a proper update for you all. Well, that's not entirely true, I could also attempt to make some excuses for it. So with that in mind, here's a brief summary of my life in Texas over the last couple of months.
Work has been insanely busy. I'm still having a few experimental issues, but I'm working hard to try to solve the problems. A final year graduate student has also recently started working on my project as well, and that's something that's really helped me settle in my role as a postdoc. All those things I thought I'd forgotten are coming back to me, and I've been really enjoying a chance to help people troubleshoot their experimental problems and use my experience to advise them on things. I've also submitted a review paper and a pre-application for an independent fellowship, and I'm now working on a second fellowship application. All in all it's so far a very validating experience for me, and I can only hope that things continue in the same way. Actually I can also hope to not be working 7 days a week for a while!
As far as my social life goes, I'm actually starting to get one! I'm so thankful for the church I've found. It's such a welcoming place filled with wonderful people who have and still do make an incredible effort to make me feel included. I've already started up a new program at church where we cook and deliver home cooked meals to the medical students while they're studying for exams, and that's been more rewarding than I thought possible. The picnic we had a couple of weeks ago was amazing too - I never imagined I'd be too hot wearing jeans in the park in October! It did cool down briefly, but the temperatures during the day are still high 20's to low 30's - it's like the peak of summer in the UK, and it's almost November! I'm also going to dance classes two nights a week (although I haven't been for a few weeks since I caught a hideous strain of the flu).
Social activities also took a good turn last week when a few of us from work went to a bar to witness what still seems like the funniest spectator sport I've ever heard of - turtle racing! Every Thursday the turtles are put into a big bucket from which they are released to race to the edge of a mat. You get a free ticket for whichever turtle you like, and if it wins two rounds you get free stuff! You can also get free stuff if they pick your ticket number, if you catch whatever they throw into the crowd or if you volunteer (or are volunteered) to be a bucket babe :)
Given that I'm sure none of you looked at my blog hoping to find a short novel, I'll leave it there for now and let you all go and do other, potentially more interesting, things.
Keep in touch guys, miss you all
