School, Work, Life

Well, Life is happening. My past few days have been jam-packed, as in leaving my apartment in the morning and not getting home until 12+ hours later. Between school starting, work, meetings, trying to make new friends, tutoring, etc...not a whole lot of free time anymore! I am taking five classes and working two jobs, so that's maybe unwise in the name of moderation and self-care and all that good stuff—but, I've never really been one for moderation. And for now, I'm loving it all. Just don't want to feel like life is passing me by anymore, you know?

In my masters program, you don't come in with an adviser already chosen, and the first semester is mostly core coursework. But after having such a fantastic research experience with my thesis adviser last year, I decided that I was going to be pushy and find someone to be my mentor early on. Guess I lucked out, because I found someone willing to work with me pretty easily (the young professor I mentioned in my last post). I met with him yesterday, and he seems awesome. He has a few interesting projects going on, and wants to get me as involved in the data analysis/manuscript-writing process as soon as possible. #nerdexcitement

So, things are moving in positive directions all around. Can't believe this was me two weeks ago. Actually I can, because my memory of feeling like that is still so raw and real. But it's more that I can't believe how I've been able to jump into school and hit the ground running despite that, if it makes sense. I tell myself that I am only able to handle things right now and feel optimistic because my pain has been improved for the past week or so, but maybe it's the other way around. Maybe feeling optimistic has allowed me to put the pain aside in my brain and concentrate on the world around me.

Anyway, what I've been up to:
—School, obviously—Classes started this week and I've had four of my five so far—all seem good! Lots of work, but interesting. I had been worried that the masters program wouldn't be as academically rigorous or engaging as undergrad, but so far I'm pleasantly surprised. It's nice to be around smart people again. I had to e-mail one of my professors about missing a class in October, when I'm flying home to see Dr. A, and she was completely understanding and very sweet about it.
—Work—I haven't been working very many hours since classes started, which is unfortunate because my income has dipped significantly and bills are due this week...oops. Luckily I now have a better handle on my schedule, plus the added hours from Job #2, which will hopefully be enough to pull my net worth out of the red.
—Friends—Well, let's be honest; school just started and I don't have a lot of friends yet. But I have lots of friendly acquaintances from classes, and I almost always have someone to eat lunch with and chit-chat with during down time. I also have some friends from undergrad who are here at the law school or the medical school, so I know a decent number of people on campus. Helps to feel more connected and less alone.
—Therapy—I am back to seeing Dr. P weekly after bumping it up for a couple weeks earlier this month. Things are going well and I really feel able to talk about stuff openly and honestly. I've marveled about this before, but I've never felt like that in therapy before.
—Health—Knock on wood, I'm still doing okay. My eyes are great and my pain is improved...for however long that lasts. I feel better having the appointment with Dr. A lined up in a couple months. I am also going back to see this doctor from last fall (oh shit! Now I have two Dr. P's! Gotta think about this one...) in September to hopefully renew my order for PT and get another perspective. Just gotta keep plugging along...

Okey doke, I'm getting a computer headache. Think I've covered the major areas, but if anyone has any burning questions about my rockstar lifestyle, please feel free to ask! Happy Friday, everyone.