of peach oatmeal

It has been exactly a month since my last post, and so much has changed in the past four weeks. A month ago, I wrote from my friend's apartment in the Canary Islands - Gran Canaria to be exact. There was sunshine, pool time, adventures and catching up. On August 6th I made the long trip back home - Gran Canaria - Madrid - Chicago O'Hare - Denver. I learned that I will never again travel on Iberia in a long flight. I learned that the O'Hare airport sucks. I learned that no matter how cheap, it is better to buy your tickets through the airline rather than through a company. I learned that I should always pack that second bag, because odds are I will fill both my carry on + my duffel because I can't control my spending. I learned that talking to people sitting next to you is not always such a bad idea.
On my flight from MAD to Chicago I met José, a wonderful young biologist that lives in Henderson, Nevada. We shared stories and laughter, and also shared our terrible stories of lost cameras - he lost his camera on this trip too. I shared my experience with my lost camera on my previous Europe trip. We became facebook friends upon arrival to the US of A. I am looking forward to running into him some time in the future.
On August 13th, I went back to school. I have sunk into a horrible post-travel depression. It is not really horrible, but I surely did not miss driving, and I surely did not miss working. I learned so much and met so many amazing people... why can't life be JUST about learning and meeting people and less about working our butts off?
The first few days of school were rough - all my baby seniors are off to college and I know no one at school. At least it feels like I know no one at school. I have met over 130 new kids. Brand.New.Kids. I have lots of siblings, which is good because they have some sort of background knowledge on me - and so do their parents - but it is terrifying to start over this year with a new batch of kids and parents.
I had to put my comprehensive exams on hold. I was the first person to wave a big "comps in october" flag, but the more I heard about our new evaluation and the closer I looked at my schedule, the clearer it became that if I wanted to pass my comps, I would have to wait until March. So I organized myself last weekend, I ordered a bunch of books, I got in touch with my advisors, and I have now proceeded to slowly but steadily continue studying for comps... but I feel like I can breathe now. I feel more comfortable with my decision and I think my kids will appreciate that choice. They will not have a frantic teacher, but rather a normal teacher.
I have reconnected with my friends, and come back to the challenge of making it to goal by my birthday. It has been tough to get back into a routine, but this past week was good. Busy, but good. I lost 1.2 pounds and that made me feel refreshed. 31 pounds, 20.8 to go. My goal is to lose 4.1 pounds per month between now and January. I shall keep you posted!

Much love,
Bee