Florida Bay + Taylor River

Tagged along on a sampling field trip yesterday – We shoved off of Key Largo, crossed Florida Bay and worked our way up the meandering, mangrove-lined Taylor River as far as our boat would go.

Spotted 3 manatees, 2 sharks, stingrays, pelicans and a variety of other creatures along the way:

Alaska Coffee Roasting Co.

My new favorite study spot:  Alaska Coffee Roasting Co.

They have 2 locations:  1 in Fairbanks, AK and 1 in North Miami, FL (weird, right?)

They roast their coffee on site (I’ve had 3 different kinds already and love them all) and serve up some amazing sandwiches.  I can’t wait to meet Jim for lunch there someday so we can try one of their wood-fire pizzas!

I spent about 7 hours there yesterday grading a giant stack of lab reports and studying for my last final ever.  In a city where nearly every coffee shop is a chain, this little cafe is a welcome breath of fresh air :)

Never Stop

Just popping in to say “hello” – It’s been too long since I’ve posted here, but for good reason.

This month has been all together busy and exciting …

• I’ve been planning a trip to Colorado next week for field sampling and a dissolved organic matter fluorescence workshop
• I’m finalizing an experimental design that will likely take me all summer to finish, but I expect that the results are going to be pretty awesome
• Our group recently published in Science and the story was picked up by both NSF and the Wall Street Journal (!!) – This publication is essentially the precursor to what I am currently working on (just in case you were wondering what I do all day in lab) – We know that black carbon is associated with dissolved organic matter, but how?  This is the question I need to answer
• After this week I am completely finished with college classes … of course I will still constantly be learning, observing and absorbing information related to my research, but I am stoked to never have to cram for another final ever again

P.S.  It’s National Parks Week!  Free admission to all national parks until April 28th!  Get out and explore :)

Graduate School, Year 1 – Done!

Seriously, can someone please pinch me?  Where did the past two semesters go??

I can’t believe I am already done with my first year of graduate school!

AND (barring any unforeseen mistakes I might have made on my final this morning) I’m pretty sure I’ll be wrapping up this year with a 4.0 GPA!  Thank you, University of Delaware, for forcing me to endure your ridiculous chemistry curriculum as an undergrad – You’ve obviously prepared me well.

Now that I don’t have to worry about classes for a few months, I can spend more time in the lab – Yay!

That isn’t sarcasm, by the way – I’m really excited that my days will go from looking like this …

… to this!!

Okay maybe not quite that – But you get the idea.

Good luck to all my fellow students who are wrapping up their semesters too!

Study

It’s hit that point in the semester when it feels like all of my exams and papers are either scheduled for or due in the same month.

So I’ve officially assumed the study position (hunched over a keyboard or a stack of class notes for hours per day) and will probably remain in intense school mode until the end of March when my sister comes to visit during her spring break (Yay!).

Anyways, here are some cool online thingies that have recently piqued my interest:

• Most and least romantic cities (according to Foursquare).

• Blueberry-mint lemonade – Yum!

• Who knew honey bee relocation was so complicated?

• 10 tips for growing seedlings.

• Live-action Angry Birds!

What fun things do you have planned for the weekend?

P.S. I can’t find the source for the image above – Let me know if you have it!