The Adventure That Wasn't

Do you see that time? That was AFTER my shower, I was actually up at 3:45am. There is no way I ever see a "3" or a "4" on the clock from the GETTING UP direction as opposed to the STILL UP direction, unless I'm planning on an adventure.

And oh, what an adventure I had planned.

I was going diving with sharks.

Sharks, I have learned, have migration patterns. In the early fall, they congregate off the New England coast. I have a scuba diving license, and I have a friend whose job it is to tag sharks, and a friend who is an underwater photographer. I had it all planned to go out with them on a charter boat with a shark cage, to spend the day swimming with sharks.

The day before the trip, I rented the gear I needed from a dive shop. Then that night I packed up my tank, B.C., regulator, wetsuit, fins, mask, snorkel, food, water, camera, towel... Gracious, it takes a lot of gear to go diving! I went to bed especially early. I was carpooling, so at 4:30am my ride pulled up and we rolled out, headed for Rhode Island. We made it there in good time, although it was drizzling. We pull up to the dock, pile out of the truck, and meet up with our boat captain.

"We're not going." he says.

Aw, man.

Turns out that some other fishing boats had already been out beyond the breakers (!!! it's 6am, how were they already out and back? guess that's fishermen for you...) and reported 12 foot swells. That's too much for safety (and comfort - hello Drammamine) of the divers. Plus, it was drizzling, so visibility wasn't that good. All in all, if the fishermen don't want to be out making money, there's no way our captain wanted to be out with expensive gear and people's lives in danger in the water.

Bugger.

And, to top it off, the captain was completely booked for the next several weeks - plus, it was late in the "shark season." So there were no available rescheduling dates.

So, next year we all agreed we would be back. More adventures await, just not that day and not that adventure.

I' d love to see one of these buggers up close and personal. 

In fact, I want to spear one with a tag.

It will happen next June, believe me. :)

Ugh.

It snowed today.

Winter has begun.

And it won't end till next April.

*tear*

Winter Vegetable Hash

Vegetable Soup:


Kale and Vegetable Stir Fry:


I've got veggies coming out of my ears from this farm share!

Ratatouille

Toasted eggplant:


Chopped fresh squash, onion, and tomato:


Sweet bell peppers:


All cooked with spices in a warm comfort food, ratatouille:


Yum!

Style

I have been excited to decorate my room as an RA. It's a step up from my old dorm room in terms of size, and it's a semi-public space because all the girls on my floors are welcome to stop by whenever I am home and have my door open. I realized that I was missing an important thing - a clock! Every room needs a clock, right? So I did a bit of searching, and look how slick my new timekeeper is:




As I was picking out the clock, simple as it is, it got me thinking. My room is all I have as my home right now. And humble as it is, it's important to me that the girls be comfortable coming to my room to talk to me. It needs to be welcoming, with plenty of room to sit and chat.

I will post pictures eventually (when I have it all clean!). But I was reminded of something I read in an article recently. It said that as you get older and accumulate material objects, the things you buy and surround yourself with make a statement about you. And I want to make sure that my home and my life reflect who I am. I want to be surrounded by things I enjoy, not unnecessary knick-knacks. I want to have fewer things, and higher quality of what I do have. I want to be stylish, but warm and welcoming. I think these principles apply to my living space, my office space, and even the clothes and shoes I own.

So I smile when I look at the jewelry rack that I made myself (my own design in cherry wood, with all my favorite dangly earrings hanging on it). I look longingly at the top shelf of my bookshelf, filled with books I have yet to read - and with satisfaction at the bottom THREE shelves full of completed class notes, textbooks, and reference books. I know that the top cabinet above my closet has three bags of tools and supplies waiting for me to tackle a new project, and that the whole floor of my closet is covered in cute shoes waiting for a night on the town with friends. My favorite cotton PJs fresh from the wash are snuggled in the bottom dresser drawer. My neatly organized desk has a handful of the best liquid ink pens, and stacks of engineering paper for studying.

I feel better when my surroundings are in order. All seems right with the world.

So good night, from me (sitting here wrapped in a down comforter from my grandmother) to you (hopefully safe and happy in your own home, wherever that may be).

Tape Measure CAD

Remember that tape measure I took apart? Well, the professor approved of the choice and it is now the official object my team is going to work on all semester. The first thing we had to do was make a CAD model of it. Three people on our team of six worked on the CAD (including myself), and if I do say so we kicked butt! For reference, here is the actual tape measure:




Then look at these gorgeous models:





And the pretty drawings we made:





It's a little ridiculous how excited I was about these pretty pictures. After six years of engineering training, this is what I do - model gadgets that have been around since 1868...

Journal Papers

I am pleased to announce that my very first journal paper (I am a co-author, not the first author) has made it past the review process and been accepted for publication. In a good journal, too. (At least, I think it is - impact factor of 2.4 - whatever that means. I'm having to learn the lingo here...)

And also, another paper on which I am second author has just been submitted to a journal for review. It's too early to hear back yet, but I have high hopes!

Look at that - one of these days I may see my name in print! Miss Outlier, published author... I like it.