For the better

There are lots of things that have changed for the better in my life over the past six months. Although I miss my old city and friends and family there, the improvements are all a result of finishing my PhD and relocating. While the most obvious probable contributer to my slightly smaller size is a change in generic hormones, any and all of these could directly affect my well-being.

I now sit at a desk next to a large window that gets direct sunlight all day. Sometimes I even have to pull the shade down because it is so bright and warm (it is not a black-out shade, so natural light still gets in). No longer are the lab and office in which I spend my days windowless.

I no longer feel like I need 8+ hours of sleep a night. As a matter of fact, even after and during the busier times I have had at work, 7 hours seems adequate for me to function perfectly normally. This is particularly important because I drive 35 - 60 minutes each way (depending on traffic, weather, and whether I am heading to my house or CF's). I do not like driving tired.

I am funded by my university's training grant. I know there was one other post-doc who was applying to be on it when I was, so it was not a sure thing. I tried to apply for external funding in grad school to no avail. While this is not exactly external funding because someone at the university chose me to fund, it still felt good that someone saw potential in my application. We will see how I do when it comes to applying for an individual training grant this summer.

Last Sunday CF and I were both working on our computers and both our stomachs were growling. We were at his house, so of course it was his job to feed me. Then the power went out. So after a while he suggested that we go to the local pub he has always gone to. As we were walking out the door, the power came on but we went anyway. He took a different way home and then turned away from the direction of his house. I asked if we were taking a mini Sunday drive, and we were.

Then we were sitting on separate couches on our computers again. I was trying to work on my mediocre poster (which is much better and printed now), and he was killing time online doing something. I asked how he was (he looked pensive and we had been talking about his grandfather who recently passed away earlier in the day). He said he was in love. {cue: Awwwws}

Today I had two moments of deja vu. One was when I was writing up a description of a microscope image to submit to a bioartography thing at my university; the other was when I stopped to get my glasses adjusted a bit so they would fit a little snugger. Some TV show or movie or something once said that deja vu means you are in the right place at the right time. I get that it is a trick of the mind and probably some weird synapse thing, but I still like the feeling that I am supposed to be here.