Half a month to go

Hello all,

I know it's been a really long time since I've posted. I've been meaning to write something for awhile but I've been pretty busy here.

Ok, first lab stuff. Things don't seem to be going by so fast for me as they have been for others. Most days I've really only worked about 8 or 9 hours in the day (a couple of times I've been in the lab for about 12 hours). It's never a problem because everyone else works about the same amount, and even if I wanted to work more, I wouldn't have anything to do. Also, most of what I've been doing hasn't been very theoretical or taught me anything advanced. I've had to make a couple of pieces of equipment that we will use for measurement on our samples but all that amounts to is basic construction work, not much advanced physics involved. Also it's taken me a very long time to build those pieces because I've had to wait for all the parts to be constructed by our machine-shop department. I've used some of my extra time to read up on Solid State physics, but you don't learn as much without doing actual problems. However, I am gaining a lot of valuable experience about how to work in a lab. It's the little things, you know, the daily routines and routes one has to take to get things done that are teaching me a lot. Also at least twice a week they have colloquiums where we hear presentations from visiting professors about new research going on in different fields of physics, so I get to see what's being done in the world of physics and what direction might be interesting for me to pursue. Also once a week most people in the department get together to discuss articles or presentations, so that the whole department can keep a current understanding of how the research our department is doing fits in with the research other people are doing. It's really helpful for me in terms of looking to the future.

Unfortunately I just got a phonecall and have to go back to work but I'll try to post again soon when I get the chance to talk about the social aspects of how things are here.