I went skiing last weekend...

And my parents are coming to visit this weekend! January has mostly been pretty low key, since there are no classes and I'm just doing more research stuff. I'm working on helping my officemate get her material ready for the experiment she's running at the end of the month. I'm researching handedness now, specifically tests for handedness. It's not as straightforward as you might think, especially if you're like me and almost 100% right-handed. For example, which hand do you use to open a jar? Which hand is on top when you use a broom? So that's what I'm working on. Also, today I gave a tour of the lab to a prospective student.

Last weekend I went skiing at Mount Sunapee in New Hampshire. It was my second time skiing ever, and I had a pretty good time. I fell down once at the end and got a bruise, but overall I did pretty well, especially considering I had only ever skied once before and that was 2 years ago. Still, I think it might be another 2 years before I ski again. I went with my boyfriend and two of our friends, and we had to get up really early to get there. Getting up early is not my strong suit :)

And this weekend my parents are coming to visit! It's my dad's birthday on Friday (happy birthday, Dad!) and we are thinking of going to see a free Imax at the Museum of Science, thanks to a donation by the Mathworks. I love going to see Imax shows. Earlier this month, my boyfriend and I saw Antarctica. I was worried it was going to be targeted at a much younger audience, but it was really good. In fact, I can't really think of any Imax I've ever seen that hasn't been fantastic. One of my favorites is Adrenaline Rush, but I don't think my mom would like that one.

I also finally finished my application to the other program that I mentioned a while ago. I don't know exactly when I'll hear from them, but it should be within the next 2 months for sure.

I'll end with a brief crew update. We've been practicing pretty hard since we got back from Florida, and our first competition is on Valentine's Day, at the CRASH-B erg event. Obviously our outdoor races can't start until the river unfreezes. In the meantime, we've been erging a lot, running more than I'd like in the icy conditions, and doing a lot of circuits. Every once in a while, we also row in the tank. I'll be glad when we can row outside again, except that I'm sure I'll be freezing.

Oh, and I ordered a new digital camera! If I ever get back to posting pictures of my food (and maybe other things), they'll probably be from my new camera!

And that's really it for now. Lunchtime!

Hello from Florida, and Happy New Year!

I have so many blisters! And bugbites! But we're having a fun time, with lots of team dinners and hard workouts and bonding. The internet is intermittent, though, and unreliable. This is just a small post, but I'll write more later. I have to go to sleep soon!