Woops

Wow, I have been super bad about posting anything here! I'll try to catch up on some of my trips soon. Otherwise, I have just been enjoying the summer life of an academic. There is a weird mix of finally getting a break and being able to take days off whenever, combined with the looming start of the year and the need to get lots of things done while I can. The end result is a lot of guilt that I'm not being more productive, but only when I let myself think about it.

One of the things actually keeping me at the office a lot is my summer student. Unfortunately that hasn't worked out quite like I had hoped. I am getting a little frustrated by his progress. I think part of it is that he is just a freshman/sophomore and so has never really had a research experience. He is still in the mindset of teachers assigning things that have right answers, and is definitely not used to independent thinking. I am trying to be understanding of that, and being patient while he learns new skills. On the other hand, I feel like he is not trying particularly hard. It gets frustrating when he jumps to ask me things rather than working them out on his own, and I am getting tired of explaining things more than once (he doesn't write stuff down - apparently you have to tell undergrads to do that?). I will refrain from continuing my list of complaints because I don't really want to bash him in a public place. In the end he is a good kid, just perhaps not my choice for my apprentice astronomer.

At home I have been trying to do some projects around the house. Unfortunately the hot weather is making me very lethargic on that front. I am trying to be very un-complainy about the heat since I whined about the cold weather for so long. I am indeed happy that summer has finally come. I am trying not to set my AC to low, but I only have a window unit in my office, so sometimes the only way I get truly cool is in my car. There has been a lot of lazing about on the couch under my ceiling fan.

Lastly, I have been trying to make a concerted effort, now that I have the time, to "get out there." I asked around and found out about a local community band. Unfortunately they meet on the same night as the public star parties, but there is an associated wind ensemble that meets on another night. You have to actually be good and audition to join them, so I have pulled out my flute and have been trying to play a little bit everyday to build up my chops. I also contacted the UVa alumni association to see if there were ever any events in my area (besides NYC). The answer was no, but they are doing statistics to see if my area could support a local chapter. It would be so like me to start a group here. And lastly, I found some local knitting groups (on ravelry, actually - another good use for that site). Last night I went to the first one. They were very friendly and welcoming, so I will probably keep going back. They are mostly a bit older than me (though not the gray haired ladies one might expect), so probably no bosom buddies, but you never know. There's another group that seems younger and actually meets in my town, but they meet less regularly over the summer with people's travels. Any other ideas for things I can do?