School/Life/Blog Updates

How would I describe the start of this school year?  BUSY.   Pretty much every facet of my life has been ramping from 0 to 60 instantaneously.  So let's break it down.

School

1. Research

It has been up and down on my research lately.  I solidified the scope of my project, have established who is going to be on my committee, and have a working prototype of the new seepage meter that is the main focus of my project.  I cannot iterate how HUGE that last one is because it's been a struggle of learning how to program a microcontroller and assess the data correctly.

While this was a major hurdle to overcome, (at the time of posting this) I have 219 days until my graduation day.  This means that I need to turn this into a real device, build/set up the methods to test the seepage meter soon.  Testing it will take some time.  This includes modifying the programming, write another program to process the data, testing the prototype more, and building the full seepage meter.  

On top of all this, I need to deal with paper.  By this I mean I need to finish some paperwork associated with my project and committee, finish writing my prospectus (formal research proposal), and prepare to present it.  I haven't been too proud of the writing I've done.  I need to sit down and Just Do It™, on top of revising what I have done.  The road is still steep, but I am on it and just need to keep at it with some (hopefully) newfound zeal.

2. Classes

I am in 2 classes and a seminar.  While this is the least number of classes I've taken in a while, I find myself working harder to try to understand fully and stay on top of them.  One is largely on the biogeochemistry of wetlands which is foreign but very exciting to me, and the other is about how to model groundwater flow which is interesting but seeming to be largely technical and detailed.  The seminar is mainly reading about plate tectonics and different methods of understanding how they started in Earth's history.  While this is important and technical in the field of Geology, it really does not interest me at all and I never really enjoyed learning about High Temperature Petrology which is the focus of these studies. Regardless, I'm sure it will be fine but it is a matter of time budgeting to understand everything I'm learning to a proficient degree.

3. TA

We are just starting to really getting into the projects  for the Environmental Capstone class that I am a TA for this semester.  While it is fine, each class is about 4 hours long and it is pretty draining to be out in the Florida heat and humidity for that long.  Again, this is not difficult but is a major chunk of my time budget.

Life

1. FG 

I am getting ready to start my career as a geologist/hydrogeologist.  And thus, I am starting to get into the details of being a career scientist.  One thing that I am looking into is my Professional Geologist License.  This is regulated on the state level, and each state may have different requirements.  In Florida, it involves taking two tests, the Fundamentals of Geology (FG) and Practice of Geology (PG) exams, administered by the National Association of State Boards of Geology (ASBOG) which send out a nationally standardized test.  October 4th, I will be taking the FG exam in Orlando and hopefully pass.  If I do, then I will obtain my  Geologist-in-Training (GIT) licensure for the state of Florida, essentially saying that I am dependable enough to understand the basics of geology.  Over the next week, I will be reviewing all of my undergraduate topics to prepare for this.

2. KKPsi

I am still involved heavily in Kappa Kappa Psi, National Honorary Fraternity for College Bandmembers, even in my Graduate School career, serving as our chapter Parliamentarian.  While I love this, it is a major chunk in my time budget.  

3. Band

Though I am not a member of the Marching Chiefs this year, I am still involved.  I volunteer on the Gameday Operations Staff.  So my Saturdays involve running around Chiefs Field and the stadium, moving equipment (and occasionally people). I love this (almost ass much as I love being in Chiefs) and is a nice transition period between having Chiefs be my life in the Fall and leaving FSU.  Aside from marching Band, I am still participating in Seminole Sound, the non-football athletic band, where I perform mainly at volleyball matches and basketball games.  This may be the last time I play a tuba in who knows how long, so it is really nice to appreciate and reflect on the role that music has played in my life.

Blog

1. Hydrogeology/Research

As for goals with this blog, I hope to focus more on my research and interesting fields in hydrogeology.  I mainly have been talking about personal subjects in gradaute school, and want to talk more about science.

I don't want to go into too much detail concerning my seepage meter, because we are thinking about applying for a patent and I don't want to interfere with that process at all. But, within my field of hydrogeology, I may try to dissect surface-groundwater interaction (SGI) as well as river corridor science concepts to explain to readers

2. Add Submission Request

On top of my plans for this blog, I want some reader input.  I have a passion for education and I would liek to educate readers on Earth Science that interest them.  Thus, I have found a way to add a "Submit a Question" Tab.  Feel free to submit any Earth Science question and I may find tiem to answer a few, whether briefly or in depth, we'll see


Regardless, I have lots of plans and lots of things to do.  So here's to me getting it done. If I can make it to Halloween, I think I'll be ok.  I just need to get there.  Wish me luck

"Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives"