Grown up final exams

Although I'm often confused for a high schooler I'm actually a bona fide, college-graduated, grown-up. So the stress of final exams and getting ready for Christmas should be a thing of my past, right? Hardly. I have 3 major deadlines coming up and that mentality of "just have to survive until next Friday" is kicking in.

So if you'll indulge me in a short rant, and forgive the photo-less post, I'll be sure to make it up to you.

- I have a huge experiment going on. It's the kind where in at 7:00 a.m., mouse-wrangling until 10:00 p.m., and working most of those hours in between. And one of my mice was missing an eye and it was gross. Ugh all around.

- My manuscript resubmission is due by next Friday. I don't have all my results (ahem, see above) and I have boatloads of edits left. And I kind of need this to get published.

- I have to give a big presentation to my department on Wednesday. Who has TIME for this?

Ok done. Thanks. So as of next Friday, I'm on cruise control until Christmas. I just have to survive until then.

Work trip to St. Louis!

One of the things I quite like about my job as a lowly grad student is the free travel. I'm sure I'd feel differently if I had kids, or complicated business forecasts to present, or didn't like to fly. But fortunately for me, none of those are the case.

This weekend I was lucky enough to go to St. Louis for the Midwest Microbial Pathogenesis Conference (I know, dork city). It was a great meeting and great sightseeing!

I'd never seen the arch. So of course we visited and rode up to the top.

Um, wasn't crazy about this rickety space-pod.

We were in a cloud. Literally.

Only regret: couldn't enjoy it with my family or friends.