Hi there!

I'm still working away at blogging the Ottawa trip.  In case you hadn't caught them before, Day One and Day Two (Part One) are up, with Day Two (Part Two) and Day Three to come before Friday.  Part of the reason it's taking me so long to blog about my trip is because it was such an amazing, life-changing experience.  I don't want to just slap something down on virtual paper just so that it's done.  It needs to be done properly.

So, it's 1:42 AM, and while I'm not exactly wide awake, I am up for a bit.  After deciding that the gentle approach (licking my feet) wasn't waking me up fast enough, Piper stomped on my solar plexus to let me know she needed out.  Being the bright dog that she is, I suspect that she will stick with the more-effective stomping approach from now on.  I went to bed at about 7:45 PM, so I expect it'll take a bit for me to get back to sleep.

My super-cool part time job started last Friday.  Not sure if I told you this before, but I'm doing after-school science demonstrations for elementary school kids.  It's so much fun!  I wear a lab coat with MAD SCIENTIST emblazoned on it in sparkly turquoise embroidered lettering, and I get to entertain as well as educate.  It was a case of culture shock at first -- dealing with kindergarten kids is vastly different from teaching high school! -- but I'm definitely getting a kick out of it!

In other news, I'm gearing up for NaNoWriMo again.  In case you're not familiar with it, NaNoWriMo is short for National Novel Writing Month, and insane writers around the world gleefully spend November attempting (and often accomplishing) the task of writing a 50,000 word novel in one month.

It doesn't have to be good.  It just has to be 50,000 words.  The beauty of this shift in focus is that the writer often accidentally writes something good because they've shut up their pesky inner editor long enough to actually write something at all.  This will be my third year participating, and likely the first year I'll make it past November 3rd. :)

Chemistry class is still going well, although it's getting harder.  Part of the problem is that we're now into October, and, right on schedule my Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is kicking into gear.  It usually starts right around Thanksgiving (I'm Canadian, remember) and lasts until about St. Patrick's Day.  I was so keyed up about going to the space symposium that I didn't notice its shadow creeping up on me, but since I came back, I've been feeling like I'm lugging a sack of invisible boulders all day long.  The urge to sleep is starting to interfere with class.  I'm okay as long as I keep moving, but sitting still is a killer.  That's why I went to bed at 7:45 PM, but I have to be careful because it's so easy to wind up nocturnal.  (Don't worry -- I'll be heading back to bed soon.)  But judging by how strong it's hitting me this early in the season, I think that this will be the year I'll have to invest in a light box.

Well, time to toddle back to bed.  Sweet dreams, all! :)