2006-10-30 - 4:43 p.m.

back, with the same anxieties as before

I think it must be close to a month since I've reported to d-land! I left for the UK on October 1st and spent a week with blighty and her children before heading off to Norwich for what I called "science camp." I stayed in a dormitory-style room and ate dormitory-style food, and listened to dormitory-style noises... for two weeks. It was an intense research trip, but I came back invigorated, and thinking intensely about science, and what I would like to do. It feels like so long since I've been able to dedicate myself entirely to thinking about a scientific problem. It was wonderful - I am tempted to describe some of the insights that we came up with...but I am fairly certain it would produce yawns from the crowd. Maybe at a later date. But after being home for almost a week, I am already preparing for my next journey to Oregon - I leave on Wednesday.

In other news, I just finished my first Canadian proposal - woo hoo! Nice to be done with it.

I am writing from my new office, in fact. I'm not sure yet what I think of it. It's very new and white..and lonely. There are not many scientists nearby. I am getting a little anxious about finding a niche in my new department. Developing a great new project in the UK is one thing. Submitting a basic research proposal is another. Developing a new research plan that meshes with the interests of my colleagues is going to be a hefty project..

Anyway, it is dark outside, and getting late, and I want to be home early enough so that I can be awake early tomorrow for a fresh start.