San Diego report

I'm baaaaack. Got in last night. Left 70 degree and sunny weather to come home to 40s and rainy. Figures. I'm very disoriented and oddly relaxed. It's 2 hours earlier in San Diego and fits my body perfectly since I'm a night-owl. Not so good for coming back to St. Louis though. Slept until 11:30 (late, even for me) and took a nap at 6. It's going to be hard getting back to a routine.
The interviews were awesome. A great experience. I loved talking to people and being the center of attention. It just suits my personality very well. Can I just get paid to interview? I also liked talking science, getting new ideas, and seeing other labs. It was very exciting for me. I really do love my career. Anyway, I have my top 2 choices. I just hope they want me. I was also given two offers, which was nice. It was an awesome experience.
We also figured out apartments, got on some waiting lists, and figured out how much we could get with a student loan. Very productive trip. Pretty busy. Not a vacation at all but I can enjoy San Diego once I move there. Pretty much, we would eat, go to interviews, eat, and sleep.
San Diego was la la land. Weather was perfect. Everything was blooming. Little animals were everywhere. We did get to go for a verrry nice run after my best, most invigorating, number one pick interview. We ran up to Torrey Pines Park, home of a species of pine tree that only grows in two places in the world. It was SO gorgeous. We saw pelicans. Ocean was everywhere. We ran down to the beach and ran on the packed sand back to our hotel. I kept stopping to pick up sand dollars and clam shells. We ran past little birds and sandpipers hunting for tiny morsels as the tide came in. We had to wade through the water at one point where it ran into a little tide pool. I took off my shoes and socks and ran in with Jason following, more hesistantly behind. The shock of the cold water took my breath away when it first hit me. Then, I got used to it, and it felt very refreshing. The water came up to my waist. I felt like just floating away. But, I waded through, put my shoes back on, and kept on running. I loved the spontaneity of it.
When we were done with the run, I waded back into the water. It's overpowering and intoxicating, beckoning me. The waves were crashing in. I found a spot clear of surfers to avoid being run over. The surfers were amazing, twisting and flipping about on top of the waves as if they had wings. How do they keep so steady on an ever-changing surface? I loved the feel of the cold water crashing against me. I wanted to dive in to see if I could still get out past the breakers like I had learned as a kid. You have to time the waves perfectly, and dive under each wave as it comes in, then swim like mad with the undertow to let it pull you out. But this time, I braced myself against the undertow, which pulled mightily against me after each frothy wave retreated. It was really something.
Back to reality. Back to lab and the grind. Back to exercise. We were going to do a sprint triathlon this weekend, but we're totally trashed. We need to rest. I don't know what I was thinking. I, again, overestimated what I could do. Thinking I could get off the plane, and then leave for a triathlon 2 hours away the very next day. No, thanks.
I need to begin a routine again. Gotta work off the buddha belly that's emerging. I blame it on the increased cortisol. It's so hard with everything changing. I'm a little anxious. My dreams are full of potential things to forget and lab things to do. I can't wait to get back to lab and get everything in order. Committee meeting in 10 days. They're going to tell me when I can graduate. I should be nervous but I'm not. Not after what I've just been through.