Everyone is Sick

Everyone around me is sick due to the weather... one of my roommates has not been in class, her coughs have been drifting up the stairs all week, and now I can feel a frog in my throat, and I hope HOPE HOPE I don't get full-blown sick my first week out of classes!

Yes, class is officially over for the term-- I completed two presentations earlier today and they seemed to go very well. I'm not too worried about those grades even though they were partially peer-assessed, and I'm also not too worried about my essays. I can see the end is near for those... I just need to rewrite a couple of paragraphs each, edit, ideally have someone else edit, and then turn in before Jan.11th.

Now I have to squeeze in as many research participation credits as I can next week-- I'm supposed to have 30, and I will have over 25 by the end of this week-- so close! The system will not beat me!

Oh, and my adviser just e-mailed me and said he would have to push back task programming until next week... I expected as much, I suppose! Of course, this is what I get for not being able to teach myself MATLAB, but I en't worried-- most people won't start their thesis projects until after the holidays anyway, so if I must follow suit, I'm not fussed.

So this weekend I'm going to Cheedale in the Peak District with the hiking society. Don't worry, now-- it's not going to be as dangerous as last time! Or so they tell me. It should be just a moderate, pleasant walk through the snow, and I've got some new hiking boots to do some good ol' fashioned tromping.

I discovered a new sport today! It's called 'Orienteering' and I think it's mostly based in the UK. It is a combination of hiking or running, and navigating. What you do, is you tromp around the wilderness with a topographic map that's marked with points you're supposed to follow-- there are big gaps of space between each point, and your job is to find the fastest, most efficient route to each point and ultimately to the finish. It sounds so cool! The university does not have an official orienteering team, but it has an affiliation with a city-wide group that I might think about joining in the spring... especially if we can work in teams-- Jana's good at reading topographic maps so she'd kick butt finding a route that doesn't take us over a waterfall, and I've got the speed and agility part down--

Yes, read how hardcore I am-- I ran 5 miles on the day Leicester frosted over. It was about 28 degrees outside, and you know what? It wasn't so bad! Even Amish the soon-to-be Everest climber was impressed by my perseverence. Nevertheless, I am still planning on getting that sports card after Christmas. Although I found I can run in sub-zero temps (er, celsius, that is), I cannot safely jog on ice, so I will still go for the treadmill during those harshest winter weeks. I've come to appreciate the idea of picking up yoga, pilates, or some other such thing, as well, which would be free if I have the sports card.

I may post more later-- but I am off to a seminar now!

Ta ta!