leaving on a jet plane...
The bags are almost packed and I'm nearly ready to go. I probably shouldn't have left my packing to the last minute, but staying up late to finish will ensure that I am good and tired for the plane ride!

I felt the need to put something new here since there will hopefully be new folks perusing this blog after my mass email about it. I am as ready to go as I'll ever be. I did do some un-packing earlier when I realised I'd packed things I probably would never wear, which is silly. It is hard to pack light when you're going away for two months.

I hope I am able to keep this relatively up-to-date over the course of the summer. The odd email from folks looking for updates will probably push me to get writing.

16 days until I leave
...and today, for the first time, I felt nervous. Sometimes I wonder about what I'm doing, I'm not sure if I really know what I'm getting myself into. On the other hand, I'm not usually someone to be afraid of new experiences, I tend to dive into things headfirst so I don't have time to think myself out of it.

This afternoon I finished the essential job of buying some summer tops to get me through the hot weather in Detroit. This morning I started working on my learning goals for the experience so I can have some clear expectations for myself, and get the most out of it. And as part of those goals, I'm contemplating using this blog as part of my journalling. I'll keep a private journal for sure, since that's the way I process things best. But if I post some stuff here, that would give all the people who want to hear about what I'm doing a chance to find out. And that way I'm not being intrusive by sending out mass emails. I think that will work well.

today i turned my brain on and did real work
Today I actually got to mine through some data and get some information out of it. It's been ages since I've done anything like that. My Access skills were a little rusty, but I managed ok through a bit of trial and error. And tomorrow I'll finish writing a memo that summarizes the pertinent information and offers options for reports I can run from the database. I feel so important.

The fact that I am leaving for two months in Detroit in just a couple of weeks is just sort of starting to sink in. I think that is ok, I need to do some reading and set some learning goals for myself, but I like living in the moment.

things don't change much...
both of these tests gave me pretty much the same answers as I've had before. The enneagram is reverse of what I thought I was last time (1 with a 9 wing last time), which probably is a reflection of the fact that I am more laid-back now than I was a couple of years ago. I took a myers-briggs test at the beginning of this year, and I was INFP, just like I always am when I take that test. I think there's something to be said for consistency, also there is something to be said for the fact that my myers-briggs results were all very close percentages, which means I'm learning to balance my extremes.

Of course, I had a good day today, and am feeling like my life is very purposeful right now, so my results reflect that.

and I'm spent
on Thursday I emailed my last paper off to my ethics professor. What a relief. All I have left are the "integrating oral exams" where we have to talk about how we have integrated all of our learning from the year. It's not really something one can study for. I think I will do fine. We'll have to see how it goes. I am very excited about the summer, I'm anxious to get out and do something, instead of just sitting around talking and thinking and writing about things.