First week at UCDenver

It's been one week since we moved into our new lab, and very little progress has been made. We still don't have any instruments set up and ready to use. We have most of the supplies we need, but not all of it. There was very little for me to do last week. I had the obligatory online training that took me a couple hours one day, and we had two meetings on Thursday. Besides that, I basically just passed time at my desk.

My favorite part about the new lab is my desk. It is so quiet and peaceful. Right now nobody is working on the bench, so all the PhDs are in their offices which is through 2 doors and down the hall from where I am. So I'm all by myself next to a big window that looks out to the Rocky Mountains. I haven't even been bored. I have kept very busy finishing my graduate school application and planning our honeymoon :-) I officially "e-submitted" my application this morning. It cost me almost $300 which is mildly irritating. We don't really have $300 to spare, but we'll find a way to pay for it. It's important enough. And Daniel and I figure we just have to make it until March and then Daniel will get a full-time job and we will be able to pay off any credit card debt we accrue between now and then, if any. But I feel very strongly against having any debt at all. The only debt I personally have ever had is student loan debt. We don't make payments on our cars, and we don't even have a mortgage, though I would be fine with that kind of debt as well. It's really just credit card debt that I am opposed to. I just feel that you shouldn't spend more money than you can afford. Period. Even though we are making so little money right now, we have to live within our means. So I really don't want to carry a balance on any credit card if I can help it. Daniel feels a little differently about that, probably because he knows more about finance, business, and the economy. He thinks it's worse to have cash sitting in the bank doing nothing than to carry a small balance on a credit card. I like to have a little cash sitting in the bank. It makes me feel safe.

So I had so much extra time last week I couldn't avoid writing my graduate school application essays anymore. I had to write 3 total: 1) my motivation towards becoming a PA in 5000 characters or less, 2) my life's history and experiences in 3200 characters or less, and 3) a stressful experience in my life and the resolution in 1600 characters or less. The first essay I wrote months ago and it's way under the limit. The second and third I wrote last week, and I had such a hard time keeping them within the limit. 3200 characters is about a page, and 1600 characters is about a paragraph. Try writing a story about a stressful experience in a paragraph! It's not easy. And the prompt about your "life's history and experiences" is so broad, I didn't even know where to begin. I was so grateful to have my sister's help. We're still so in sync with each other, I can practically predict what she's going to say before she says it. Just yesterday Daniel and I were talking on the phone with her and she made an argument that was almost verbatim what I had told Daniel weeks ago. It was so funny sitting there listening to her say exactly what I said before. Even though we've lived in different states for 4 years, we are still right in sync with each other. I think it's a twin thing. I hope we never lose that.

As for the honeymoon planning, I am making lots of progress. The final details of the wedding day are coming together, so I can focus on the trip now. It's funny that you spend so much time and effort on that day, you forget there's a huge vacation the day after. We booked our flights and got what I think is a great deal. We have been looking for weeks and finally found a Delta flight around the time that we wanted for $720 roundtrip for each of us. We were ready to book it, but Daniel's parents asked him to wait a few days because they're paying for his flight as a graduation gift. By the time we got around to booking it, we found a US Airways flight at almost exactly the same time for $625 roundtrip- Score! I booked both of our B&Bs that we're staying at on the Big Island, and researched some fun activities. We're going to go horseback riding at sunset, snorkel with manta rays at night, and go stargazing at Mauna Kea Observatory. The stars must look incredible when you're on a tiny island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. I think it sounds so romantic. And I bought a new bathing suit this weekend! I think it's a rule that you have to get a new bathing suit before a trip to Hawaii. I know, all of this sounds very expensive. I'm pretty concerned. But, if worse comes to worse, we can dip into our savings. We have almost $5500 saved up. We're hoping not to use any of it, but if we have to then that's the way it goes. It's hard to plan when you don't know how much gift money you're going to get. But I'm trying not to worry about it. The part that's going to cost the most is the rental car. We have to get a 4-wheel drive to get to some of the beaches and to go to the top of Mauna Kea. That will cost us close to $800 for the whole trip- and that's with USAA waiving the $25/day underage fee (thank goodness!). I really don't want to blow that much money on a stupid car, but we don't have a choice. All we need is something to get us around the island with 4-wheel drive. I would much rather spend $800 on an incredible experience, nicer hotel, or something super romantic- not something so practical as a rental car.

Well now that the honeymoon is planned and my grad school application is finished, I'll have to find something else to occupy my time until the lab is up and running. Any suggestions for wasting about 6 hours a day on the computer? I've got another week or 2 until I'll actually be able to do any work.