Insider Spaceball

I'm working on my first first-author publication.  It's mostly done; I'm waiting for someone to run a simulation for me, and he's really busy.  Once that's completed, I'll be able to write the last section and submit it to my PI for review.

One aspect of this, though, is that I've been doing deep-dive analyses on several electric propulsion publications relevant to the topic - and all of them have been less-than-stellar (no pun intended).  I have no idea if this is "normal", per se, but it's a little frustrating.

Obviously, I don't want to go into too many details for a variety of reasons.

The first paper was a derivation of a mathematical one-dimensional model for something.  It itself relied on calculations done about 10 years prior in another publication - and *that* older publication had some basic math errors in it.  I wouldn't have known except that it looked a little weird in the more current presentation, so I wanted to go through the effort of doing the full derivation myself (neither paper had all the details, or even most of them).  That effort led to realizing that the original author made some pretty silly math errors that the later authors retained/duplicated.  Oddly, the final result is correct, but it's only so because they make some unsupported/unjustified simplifying assumptions that then (seemingly coincidentally) remove the erroneous terms.  I'm wondering if it's really coincidence or if the authors realized something was off in the math and just hand-waved away the corrections.

The second paper was one recently sent to a conference, so I can't get too upset as it's not been peer-reviewed.  That being said, a lot of EP publications are conference papers, and the quality of conference papers is usually pretty decent.  In this case, they were commenting on a specific set of physics that happens in vacuum chambers, explicitly under what we call free molecular flow.

---BEGIN TL;DR BLOCK---

In basic terms, a gas is a loose collection of particles within a volume.  At ordinary pressures, the density of particles in the gas is high enough that they collide all the time and bounce off each other.  Because of this, the gas is termed "collisional" (which just means that the particles collide); this has a lot of implications.  Because of the collisions, a gas will naturally diffuse and spread its particles evenly within a volume, for example: if there is a higher density in one area (such as because you're flowing gas into the volume at that area, like air flowing out of a vent into a room), then the particles will naturally self-diffuse and spread out into the whole volume (room).  This is just one effect of collisionality, but it's an important one. It means we can treat the gas as a flowing fluid, a contiguous, continuous stream rather than a bunch of individual particles.

If the gas density is low enough, though, then there aren't enough gas particles to interact.  In a room, say, any particle entering the room is more likely to cross the entire room without hitting another particle.  For orders of magnitude reference, a standard room is at 1 atm; at that point, gas is collisional and treated as a fluid.  If we drop down to, say, one millionth of an atmosphere - 0.000001 atm - we've got one millionth of the density we had; now there are few enough particles that they don't actually interact much with each other.  The standard densities we deal with are closer to one billionth of an atmosphere (usually measured in micro-torr).

Gas at such low densities is non-collisional and is referred to as "free molecular flow" - restated, we have to treat it as individual molecules or particles and not as a bulk gas because it doesn't behave in any bulk method anymore.

---END TL;DR BLOCK---

TL;DR: free molecular flow means that the normal concepts of "pressure", "diffusion", etc. that we associate with a gas no longer apply due to the lower gas density.  This is the regime that most vacuum chambers operate in when testing thrusters (since we're trying to reproduce spacelike vacuum conditions).

This paper, which is explicitly focusing on a free molecular flow situation, repeatedly and explicitly invokes pressure and diffusion as explanations for behavior.  It's a gross failure of even basic understanding of the physics of the situation, and I'm horrified that kind of error in basic physics made it into even a conference paper; like, this is the kind of thing you'd fail someone for in a basic fluids class as an undergrad.  The papers *overall* findings are interesting and still relevant, but their justifications and explanations are completely flawed by this mischaracterization.  It's even worse that the last author on the paper is someone I know who graduated with a PhD from our lab.

Like, dude, you know better than this. I *know* you know better than this.

The last paper is a more complicated thing.  One of the other universities we work with gave us a data set to use for validation of some models, including the note that some values needed "a correction factor", but that's completely normal for this kind of measurement.  Except we couldn't get our models anywhere close to the values in the paper, to the point where we were wondering if we were doing something wrong in our models.

I started looking into it and found the original conference paper the data was published under as well as the follow-up peer-reviewed publication of the same content.  The conference paper has the data values we have in the file, but it also includes a statement that they were off by a multiple with no real statement why.  The official publication has *entirely new values*, where the original values (in the datafile and the conference publication) are universally multiplied by a constant and then presented.  No explanation for the change in values is given, and the constant doesn't match any correction factor we've ever seen for this kind of data.  I've emailed one of the authors (who sent us the data) asking for clarification (he's a friend, so it's basically: "WTF man...?"), but no response yet.  For now, we're just ignoring the datafile and the conference paper and going with the publication, because 1) that's the official report and 2) it actually lines up with what our models show (which is a relief).

(My postdoc is thrilled, btw, that it turns out we discovered the error in their data due to the fact that our model was right and the data was wrong.)

So, each of the three is maybe something small, something unimportant in the bigger scheme.  But there are three major aspects of research: underlying theory, mathematical models, and experimental data.  The point is to get all three to match.  I've now got three (sets of) papers where each of them screws up one of those areas.

My PI mentioned a few months ago that I was the only one in the lab "doing actual physics" because I'm the only one who is trying to merge theory and models with experimental data; most of the others are either using ML/AI techniques (which are inherently statistical and don't care about physics) or just pure experimentation.  Now I'm wondering how many other labs work the same way, with only 1/10th (or less) of the lab actually caring about the physics and math.  It's kind of depressing.

Necromancy 101

Everything flows, and nothing remains unchanging.

...

It's been a while.  Since last I wrote:

1) I got my BS in Aerospace Engineering from UCLA.  It was still somewhat "peak covid" in the summer of 2021, so we didn't have an actual graduation ceremony per se.  Instead, they had us line up in the field, then walk across the stage, shake hands, get our diploma, get our pictures in, then walk off and pick up some swag on the way out.  I didn't care about the ceremony at all, but my mom and stepdad wanted to see me "walk", so we did that.

2) I got into UCLA grad school as a PhD candidate in the Aerospace Engineering.  The PI I worked under as an undergrad was more than enthusiastic about bringing me on as a grad student, especially as he had a new project starting which was perfect for me and would fund me for the full 5 years of my PhD.  With my grades from undergrad (3.73 overall), I was essentially guaranteed admission, but I also did extremely well on my GREs just in case.

3) I started working on the project, which was a NASA-funded initiative focused on electric propulsion systems for satellites.  I also started taking my classes and planned to do my "quals" at the end of the first year of grad school (spring of 2022).

4) In early March (end of winter quarter) 2022, my PI told us all that he had accepted a position at Oregon State University and would be moving in the fall.  We were all offered a chance to go with him, but OSU didn't have an Aerospace program (part of his job would be to build one), so there would be some changes.

I was the first person in the lab to tell him that yes, I wanted to go with.  Turned out that I was only one of two people to do so; the others would stay at UCLA and finish their degrees under accelerated timelines while he still had lab and professor privileges.

My thinking at the time was this: I had too much left to get a PhD (the others who stayed were all further along than I was), so my options were to either take the Masters and walk away, or follow him to OSU and finish the PhD.  I loved the project I was on, even if I was just getting my feet wet, but I wanted to keep going with it.  On top of that, I'd never lived outside of Los Angeles County.  This would be a big change (the town OSU is in has a population that is about on par with UCLA itself - yes, the whole town was about the size of the university I was leaving), but it was also something new and different, and I had to try it out.

5) Moved up to Oregon, and I'm still here.  I'm in year 4 now, officially, and getting ready to plan out my last two years and official thesis/dissertation plan.  The other grad student who came along was my roommate for the first two years up here; he's moved back to L.A. this summer, as he's finishing up his degree and is mostly writing (and can do that anywhere), so I've just moved from our 2b2ba place into a smaller 1b1ba apartment nearer to campus.

Life up here is a fair bit different, but it's like being in a suburb without a city.  There's probably a lot else to talk about, including lab drama, issues with my parents, trips both failed and successful, and other things, but this is probably good for now.

So why did I come back to the blog?  I don't know.  I've been thinking about it a bit, honestly, and I like having a place to write out thoughts even if there's no one out there to respond.  Heck, maybe someone might stumble across something here and benefit by it.  Maybe I'm also feeling a bit alone or isolated; the guys in the lab are great and friendly, but as always, I'm probably trapped in the land of "exceptions", especially in my own head.

Anyway, the wave function, as ever, continues to collapse; all we can do is surf along and see where it leads us.

Jupiter Rising

I'm sitting on a lounge chair at a clothing optional resort in Palm Springs.  We're "social distancing" (which is an annoying phrase but conveys useful information), and it's outdoors with enough air circulation, so the risk is pretty minimal.  It's not a big place, and almost everyone is being good about the rules (a few people have to be reminded to back off a bit once in a while).

Right now - 11 pm, about 85 degrees - there are a few different "couples" floating in the pool, a few more sitting around the skirt on lounges spaced about 8-10 feet apart.  No one in the hot tub, though a few people have been in it in groups of up to three at various points (including me, by myself).

Antares, to the south, is about at its zenith for the night.  Vega's up and over my left shoulder, Arcturus over my right, and Altair is hanging out to the east.  The moon hasn't quite set yet, and I'm half-waiting for Jupiter (and maybe Saturn) to poke up over the bushes.

In an hour, I'll be 43.  Other than being prime, it's not a huge deal.  It doesn't mean I'll have any less homework due on Tuesday, or any shorter of a drive home on Thursday, or anything really.  Part of me thinks it'd be nice if there were someone for me to be in the pool with; I've been hit on by a few of the other single guys here, which is kind of refreshing (one thought I was mid-20s, which I haven't heard in ages), but I'm not "feeling it" with any of them.  I'd rather have a friend to just hang out with and maybe cuddle up to even without sex than some few-night stand that seems entirely sex-based.

Someone literally said to me, "If you're single and you're not here to have sex, why the fuck are you here?"  I suppose that pretty well encapsulates my conflict with much of the gay community around here.  Another guy mentioned he's "39 and wanting to settle down" - an half an hour later was sticking his finger in some guy's ass (unwanted, which caused a minor amount of conflict for a bit).

I've always felt like I'm trapped between worlds.  As a teen, I had a series of dreams involving this guy named Peragin whose face I can never remember, even when other parts of the dream are crystal clear.  One of them centered on the idea of being "AC/DC" in his words - of not being one thing, but not being the other, and never quite fitting with either.  The analogy I use most is being fluent in a language but lacking any knowledge of the culture, so while you can converse, the jokes and subtleties all go over your head.  Being in the world but not of it.

Oh men, it must ever be, that we dwell in our dreaming and singing/ a little apart from ye.

Oh well.

The old man just poked his head above the bushes.  Next up should be Saturn, though I'm not actually sure how bright he is typically.  Jupiter's easily one of the brightest things in the sky, now that Luna's below the hills.

Anyway, enjoy Pride, however you celebrate it, if you do.  If you don't, enjoy your Sunday, the last Sunday in the first half of the year.  July 2nd actually starts the second half.  And if you happen to be out at night and can see the stars (or things that look like stars), come up with a name for one and wave at it for me.  They get lonely up there, and I can't watch for them all.

Waiting for the day

One thing I've realized is that I have a lot of problems with physical contact.

I was never abused or hit.  I think my grandmother once told me (as a teenager) that even as a kid, she and my parents had only ever spanked me once; normally just knowing I'd done something bad was enough punishment (which... indicates other issues, but later for that).

I do have sensory issues, in the sense that I've had heightened sensation for almost every sense.  Not in the Daredevil or superhero sense - nothing so useful.  It's probably just related to my ADHD, and I'm sure I've talked about it before.  But it means, among other things, that I'm very aware of physical contact and touch.

But that's just a small part. Most of it is, really, because of high school.

I came out as gay as a Freshman in high school.  I didn't really have any major negative reactions (in fact, it was mostly positive, albeit very lonely).  But one thing I internalized very quickly was that I "had to" behave in a way that couldn't ever be considered as compromising for another guy.  I mean, "everyone" knew I was gay, so anything I did with or around guys had the potential to make people think the other guy was gay, and I both didn't want to put people in that position and didn't want guys worried that I would.

So, I essentially went totally hands-off, physically distant, and as un-suggestive a possible.

It was just the start of the whole "hugging" thing, at least in more-liberal SoCal, and guy friends would often greet each other with a hug or a shoulder squeeze or whatever.  I rarely even shook hands.

I went through extra effort to try and use restrooms that either only had one urinal or that no one else ever really used, just so that I couldn't ever be thought of as trying to "check out" anyone else.

I explicitly avoided changing in the locker room whenever anyone else was in there and would often just walk home (track was last, after school) and shower and such there.

I don't know that most people noticed.  I had one old high school friend comment about it decades later, but he was a close friend and, so, perhaps more attentive to such things.  It also fit into the general "calm, cool, brainer/geek" reputation I had, so maybe that led to people not really thinking about it.

But the truth is that I am a *very* sensual person.  I love physical contact with other guys.  Not sexual per se - I mean, sure, fun and all - but even just giving someone a massage, someone's head in my lap for a movie, whatever.  I see guys - straight, gay, whatever - being able to do "bro" stuff and I love that they have that freedom, that it can be so casual.

But 30 years of practice is hard to break.  If I *do* get to the point of actually trusting someone, like really trusting them, then it's all-in and I'm relaxed doing anything.  It's like a switch flips in my head.  But until I get to that point, there's this barrier in my head that I always throw up.  And that of course makes it so much harder to get close to people.

It's something I need to work on, though I don't exactly have much of an opportunity to do so - especially now during the quarantine, but even in general.  Too many other walls in the way usually, not all of them mine.  But still.  To quote an old George Michael song, "All these insecurities that have held me down for so long; can't say I've found a cure for these, but at least I know them so they're not so strong..."

Momentary lapse of reason

Please note, I'm not writing this as a pity session.  I'm not looking for sympathy or anything.  I'm mostly putting this here because it is, in fact, pretty close to shouting into the void.  One doesn't expect the void to shout back, just to shout out and let the void absorb it.

There's this vintage photo posted on Reddit the other day.  Shows two guys in lifeguard shirts, seemingly from Coney Island or somewhere similar, and the back has a note dated 1949 that is pretty definitively a love note.

You see things like it pop up all the time: little things from the past that seem to float the message, "yes, there was love, even when it wasn't obvious"...

I keep looking at it over the last few days.  Not because the guys are cute - I mean, they are - but because of what it signifies.  And because I know it's something I won't have.

That's not to say I haven't been there.  I've had moments in the past that are snapshots in my mind.  A face laying in my lap in a back seat as streetlights flash by.  Walking down the boulevard holding hands during Pride weekend.  Hearing a song come on the jukebox, and turning to see him smiling as he comes up the stairs towards me.

But the truth, the real honest truth, is that I haven't had anything even remotely in the same class in 20 years, almost half my life.  And given where I am, what I'm doing, and the specifics of my life, I'm not likely to have it again any time in the near future.  There's a certain kind of attitude and approach, a certain kind of no-strings, just-enjoy-the-moment that is the core of how I approach romance but seems completely alien to anyone over 30.  Maybe that means I'm childish; it's not unreasonable.  Maybe it means the rest of the world is just too serious.  Maybe it's just that I haven't looked in the right places or hung out with the right people.

It's just a momentary bit of loneliness.  It doesn't hit often.  Maybe it's being magnified by this whole quarantine, though to be honest my life hasn't changed all that much since the quarantine started.  I'm not going to give up my longer-term goals or change much of how I'm doing things at the moment.

It'd just be nice, you know?

Keeping on keeping on

So, it's been a while.  Almost a year, actually.

For better or worse, not much has changed.  Current GPA (overall/upper/major): 3.68/3.6/3.55.  Which means, so far, I qualify for the Exceptional Student Admissions Program (ESAP), which means guaranteed admissions to the master's program and slightly easier admission as a PhD.  There's no such thing as "guaranteed PhD admission", since that's kind of complicated, but more on that later.

Still working 28 hours a week.  Nothing much changed there at all.  The boss I have who didn't really "get" what I do has finally started to understand and is now all gung-ho for me helping out in all sorts of different areas.  I suppose that's better than not being valued at all, but we've creeping closer to the time when I won't be here any more (whenever it ends up being), so this just means she's starting to panic a little.

One thing that has changed since last time: I'm working in a lab at school.  Actually, I'd just started when I made my last post (March of last year), but I was only working on a paper at the time and wasn't sure where it was going to lead.  I've officially been physically working in a lab since late June, and I'm actually playing with some cool equipment and doing a few basic experiments.

Interestingly, I got the position primarily because of my "medical" experience (which is largely non-medical, but I at least know the terminology).  The PI and his new postdoc were looking to start up a branch of his existing lab that focused on a specific technology, and the medical applications are more easily monetized than some of the other; I was the first student they brought in, mostly to help on a long lit review (which is apparently in the final stages of publication now), and my background working at the hospital plus all the papers I've co-authored led them to decide to give me a shot.  I'd also talked to the PI previously, so he at least recognized my name.

Now, I mostly don't want to be working on this specific tech in the future; my interest is in propulsion (which the PI's lab also does), and this isn't really useful for that.  But PI knows this.  In fact, he and I had an hour-long talk last week, both going over the current stuff we're doing in side of the lab I'm on as well as talking about my future.  And he all but guaranteed me a position as a PhD candidate in his propulsion lab, including Graduate Research Student standing and funding, so long as I keep my ESAP qualification.  I'll still have to do my GREs, of course, and it's a year away anyway, but that takes a fair bit of stress off my shoulders.

One thing that also hadn't changed: I'm still pretty isolated.  I mean, there are a few students in classes that I am friendly with and who I've shared a few classes with, but no one's ever expressed any interest in hanging out outside of class or anything.  Normally, working in a lab would at least lead to more interaction there, but while there are 30-something people in the *other* lab, I'm literally the only one in the lab I'm in most of the time.  The postdoc I work with is a nice guy, generally speaking, but he's a Chinese national with very specific ideas about how things work that kind of rub me the wrong way sometimes in addition to the language barrier.  I also don't think he knows I'm gay, though I've hardly been secretive about it, and frankly I don't think he'd react well to the news if he did (not badly, necessarily, just not well).

No dating prospects what-so-ever.  I had Tindr and something else on my phone for a few months, and even popped on Grindr (though I then decided that I had zero interest in that crowd and haven't launched it since).  But, really, I'm too old for college students (and frankly wouldn't want to date most of them anyway), and most guys my age think someone who is an undergrad in their 40s obviously has something wrong with them.  Neither of those is likely to change much even when I switch to grad school; by the time I get out, I'll be near 50.  Given how little I dated before complicating things with school, I'm probably not going on any dates at all for the next 5 or 6 years.

I haven't even gone on one of my gay-cations recently: over summer, I was working in the lab almost non-stop getting the paper ready and helping out with some interns we had, and since then I've been either in school, sick, or just not really wanting to spend the money.  I may have to book something for spring break just so that I can get out a bit.

To be clear, I pretty much knew this was going to happen; it's part of the costs I knew I'd likely have to pay to go to school, back when I considered it 4 years ago.  I still wouldn't have changed that decision, and I'm still willing to pay it to do this.  It just might be nice to not have to.

and we danced

... and we danced in the darkness
in the void without a name
before the world was written
and there were no hearts to tame
and when our dance was finished,
when the band played to the end,
we motioned for more music
and began to dance again...

and we danced in the dim light
'neath a newly starry sky
as gods were born around us
and the new worlds passed us by
and when our dance was finished
and the sky was set to spin
we motioned for more music
and began to dance again...

and we danced in the brightness
as new life began to throng
an infinity of voices
to sing the chorus of the song
and when our dance was finished
with nature's fabric woven,
we motioned for more music
and began to dance again...

and we danced in the daylight
while the stories came and went
to each their unique purpose,
to shine in their moment
and when our dance was finished
and the pages all written,
we motioned for more music
and began to dance again...

and we danced in the twilight
in the final silent dark
no heart's drumbeat to move us
and with no stars left to spark
and when our dance was finished
and new hopes set to begin,
we motioned for more music
and began to dance again...

and we danced...

Keeping on

Okay, wow, it's week 7, and I haven't posted since before classes started.

School has been... awesome?  fun?  I mean, I'm enjoying classes and have made a couple of casual friends.  I'm at two As and a B right now (they do +/-, but I'm not at the point of figuring that out), and may be raising the B to an A with the most recent midterm (which I think I did well on; find out tomorrow).  Tues/Thurs/Fri, and my weekends, are the best days of the week right now.

That leaves Mondays and Wednesdays, which are work days (I work some on Friday and Saturday, but from home).  Work's actually not bad; getting up at 5:30 to leave at 6, and then generally not getting home until 6:30-7, sucks, but it's doable.  The only real problem is my car.  I think the move kind of pushed it over the edge; it needs thousands of dollars of work now, and frankly - as much as I love this car - I can't justify it.  So, right now, it's hard to start most mornings (once it's running it's fine), which is a little anxiety-inducing.  But since I'm only driving twice a week, I'm hoping to make it until after finals (mid-December) before getting a replacement.

Probably something cheap and used; I can drop about $5k in cash on a down payment, and I don't want anything more than $200 or so a month as a payment, so that puts me at about $14k-16k.  Which isn't unreasonable for a small used car in the area.  I'll probably end up paying it off early as well.  I just don't really need a fancy car if I'm not driving much, and I'd rather keep my expenses lower.

I could also do a lease, like of a civic or something, but I'd have to think about it.  The mileage would probably be a close thing, and a lease is a flat 3-year commitment rather than being able to just pay off a loan if needed.  Down payment would probably be less, of course,and I'm really only looking for something to last me the next three years I'm guaranteed at school (after that, who knows).  Anyway, stuff to consider.

I've got a paper due the week after TK.  I've already started writing it, but I'm having trouble getting my thoughts framed.  I've done the outline, so it's more just a matter of phrasing and such (I don't think in words, so often figuring out how to say what I want to say is the hardest part).  I'll still likely be done, at least in a solid edited first draft, this weekend.

Still enjoying the apartment.  I love being able to walk both to classes and down to the village for meals/studying.  I've taken to hanging out at a local sports bar or Starbucks for homework; I've asked, and both places are fine with it (I'm always ordering stuff too, so it's not like I'm freeloading).  I actually study better in a "noisy" environment, which is my flavor of ADHD at work: I have to have enough "background" activity to keep my peripheral attention satisfied without being massively distracting.  Coffee shops work pretty well.

The fires have made the air quality around here pretty bad.  School actually issued no-outdoor-activity alerts over the weekend.  Things seem a bit better at the moment.

Not sure if I'm going to do anything for New Years.  I kind of feel guilty about spending money on a vacation if I'm buying a car.  I also don't feel like I need to "get away" at this point; being in Westwood is still relatively new and feels like its own little vacation anyway.  Which I suppose is a good sign.

T minus 10 days

Hung out with D (of C&D) Saturday.  He kind of nudged me about getting out and dating, or at least having sex once in a while.  While one could argue that it's none of his business, he's someone I *have* had sex with, so I supposed that gives him a bit of authority in the subject.

I dunno; I'm not exactly jonsing for a relationship, but I also feel like I'd enjoy having one.  That's kind of the state I'm in and has been for a while.  Oh well; we'll see if anything changes with school.

I know I said I wanted to start getting out to WeHo a bit more, but right now, I'm getting home from work after 6:30; once I'd get changed and such, it's usually 7:30 or later, and I don't really want to get back in the car and head out.  I suppose I could take a lyft, but that's now adding another $20-30 to the price of the trip (even including parking).  There's no bus that goes straight there; best I can do is down Sunset and walk down the hill, and that's still a 45-minute trip for the 4 miles.

Again, once school starts, it'll be a bit different.  My last class Tuesday and Thursday ends at 5:45, and on Friday at 1:50.  So, plenty of time to relax or get stuff done before heading out, at least on Fridays.  We'll see if I actually end up doing it.

Right now, the biggest thing I'm thinking about is whether or not to get a 2-in-1 laptop I can use for taking notes in class.  I mean, I've got the work laptop, and they don't care if I use it, but I'd rather have my own especially since work isn't guaranteed long-term.  Additionally, I take notes better by writing than typing, especially with math and physics classes (which these mostly are).  I've had a slate in the past - in fact, I had one of the very first, back before tablets became a thing - and I loved using it for writing.  I just  need to decide how much I want to spend on it.  Most of them are $800-$1500; it's a question of whether or not I'll be happy with the $800 or should splurge for (and can afford) the $1500.

Apartment is getting a bit more in order.  Not much, but a bit.  I started cleaning off the printer stand, since I ordered a new printer (which should arrive Tuesday).  Nothing extravagant, but I do need to occasionally print and scan at home, so, had to get something.  Anyway, I still have boxes of books, but those are almost all that is left.  I need to do some re-arranging in the bathroom and closet a bit, but nothing unreasonable.

Classes start in a week and a half. I've got all my books and will start reading up on stuff this week.  The syllabi aren't up yet, but I can at least get a head start on the subjects.

Gray skies at dawn

One of the oddest things about the new place is the west-facing window.

There's really only the sliding door, of course; it's a studio and looks basically like a hotel room in layout (long and narrow).  But it faces west, into a small "back alley" area with the other building opposite about 20-30 feet away.  There are trees and plants in the gap, so it's not like looking out at another building; it's actually pretty green.  Also, with the slight slope, my line of sight is just below the roof of theirs, so there's plenty of blue sky above as well.

But, for the last seven years, I've had sunlight shining in my eyes (almost) every morning.  Now, not only is it afternoon/evening light I get, the mornings are even generally foggy or cloudy (the marine layer comes in at night).  So, most mornings, even on the weekend when I sleep in until 11 or later, are dark and gray.

That's not a huge issue, and I've got a 6500K lamp as my main light source for just this reason.  But it's still a bit weird to me.

The old apartment is empty, and I've turned in the keys to management.  I'm Officially Moved, though not fully unpacked yet - the kitchen is done, I think, but I've still got boxes everywhere else.  I got my school stuff mostly organized at least.

Mainly, being moved means 1) Sunday was the first day I got to actually be at home in the new place and not driving all over and 2) today will be my first leave-work-and-drive-home day, since I've been stopping at the old place to clean/pack/toss.  Getting to work in the mornings is pretty quick, about 45 minutes; getting home is going to be an hour or so, maybe a bit longer.  I'm hoping to judge traffic just right and leave here about 5:30 to get home around 6:30 if possible.  We'll see.

I may try to hang out with C&D this coming weekend.  I haven't seen them in ages, and I kind of owe it to them.  It'll be a longer drive, obviously, but it also may be the last chance I get to do so with school starting up shortly.

I also need to start thinking about social activities.  Though I should get my place in order before going too far in that direction.