Hey there! I decided to create a blog about my summer plans and about my internship in New Mexico! I was going to make it strictly professional and just write about my research, but then I decided it would be more fun to make it personal as well. So think about it as a "business casual" type of blog. Or better yet, picture this blog as a mullet: "Business up front, party in the back!" Okay, I guess it will be a bit more personal since I've already made a fool out of myself!
I spent the first 2 weeks of my summer at home on Long Island. It is so beautiful there, that is when it's not cold and rainy. I cannot wait to go back in August when it will be warm and sunny every day and I will be going to the beach all the time! Last summer, I spent the whole 4 months up there and it was great! The first 2 months were boring because I could not find a job for the life of me and my parents were working full time. Needless to say I read a lot of books, watched a lot of tv, and was basically a bum for that time. The last 2 months of last summer were amazing and I am glad I got to spend all that time home. The summer after my freshman year I was only home for a month and a half since I stayed in Florida to try and work and get residency (I failed at that one--still paying out of state tuition). It was tough not being home for that long, and this summer I will be home for less time. I know it will be worth it in the end, but I will miss being home and I already miss my family and friends!
Yesterday, I flew back into Tallahassee and I will be here for the next 2 weeks. I am packing up my room and getting it ready to move into the apartment next door in August. I am also going to be relaxing and experiencing summer Tally life! It is so warm here and I have an amazing pool at my apartment complex! This weekend will be fun because my friends and I are taking a trip out to Bear Paw to go tubing on the river! I am excited to see this part of Tallahassee. Today I took a scenic route to get to Walmart which was fun. I usually go to the one closest to my apartment but I decided it would be an adventure to explore a different part of town. I think I will make that a goal for the next few weeks, to explore different parts of Tallahassee. Since I haven't been on the main campus much all year because the engineering school is on a separate campus, I am going to try to walk and/or run around the main campus to get some much needed exercise and because it is so gorgeous.
Right now, I am trying to complete an online training course for my internship. It consists of 8 or so pages of information and quizzes that follow. I have to get an overall score of 80% to be able to get funded. I wish I could be over and done with it already but the information is so dry and boring, and the readings take FOREVER. The pages are so long too and the information is just not sticking in my brain, haha. I've been trying to split up the work so that I wouldn't have to sit down and do it all at once, but it is so hard to get motivated to do it especially since I am still burnt out from the semester. Once this is done, I will be ready to start my internship in New Mexico! My dad will be flying down here in about 2 weeks and helping me drive out there since it will take a total of 24 hours. We will be stopping in New Orleans, Houston, and some other places along the way. We are going to make it a really awesome road trip! Then he will fly out of Santa Fe a few days after we get to New Mexico.
The lab is in Los Alamos (where the atomic bomb was created and where the Manhattan project developed) and I will be staying in White Rock which is about 1o-20 minutes away. The internship officially starts on June 7th and runs to July 30. It is a paid internship (woohoo!!) so that is my only job for the summer. I am excited to get some experience in a lab setting and I am sure it will look awesome on my resume. I am a bit scared though because I had a bad research experience last year. I was working in the astrophysics department here at FSU and I had no idea what I was doing, my professor (as much as he tried to help) was hardly ever around and when he was I had no idea what he was talking about. I think he thought I knew more about physics and computer programming than I really did. Anyway, it was pretty horrible. I hope this experience will be much better!
Okay, I should stop procrastinating and get back to work on my training course.
Peace & Love,
Val
