Busy. Working. Tired.

Remember this post? The swearing and frustration and so little progress from so very much work? That was pretty much my day.

Except this time there were four different pieces of software that I’ve heard of but hadn’t used. Downloaded, installed, read enough of the documentation to be dangerous but not at all skilled. Changed data formats, burned CDs, went from Windows to Mac to Linux to Mac to Windows. Didn’t really do much at any of those steps, but I’m a little farther along now than I was this morning.

This actually provides a nice transition into how poor little Katie ended up with a PhD when I had such a good plan for escaping graduate school with a Masters.

I fell in love with a research group. Was so charmed by these people – both collectively and individually. There were four of them when I visited. I talked to three of my people – each with separate questions about the same projects – several times today. Bright, funny, helpful. I wanted very much to work with that specific group. But that's a story for another day.

Now I’m tired. Having M&Ms with Diet Pepsi for dinner seemed wise at the time, but I’m feeling a bit queasy now. My shoulders ache because my posture is atrocious. Lounging on the love seat with my laptop helps – I sit up straight when propped up with cushions on comfortable furniture! But spending more time than normal at my desk at work, followed by an evening in my office at home? I’m uncomfortable because I slouched.

And I stepped on something – a curved piece of plastic, I think – and it embedded itself in my poor foot! I don’t go in my office all that much, so I have no idea where it came from, but there was nobody to soothe me as I whimpered! Who would be impressed that I didn’t cry? Even when I had to pull it out myself! So I’ll tell you since I felt I should update after talking about death yesterday.

I’m quite alive, still not feeling overly important to the world in general though I have hope that I eventually will be. Maybe it's all little steps - changing data formats, moving around, feeling like I'm doing a lot of work for teeny-tiny results. I was useful today though - will hopefully come up with something of note tomorrow. And I'm too sleepy to come up with a better ending than that for today.