Update

Just thought I'd post a quick update on a few things.

I had an amazing snowboarding trip to Colorado a few weeks ago. I'll post pics as soon as my camera gets fixed--it was either the freezing temperatures or one particularly nasty fall that did it in. Several of my high school friends have been getting together once a year for a ski trip. I recently got back in touch with them, so I got invited this year. One of my friends lives in Denver, which made it easy for everyone to meet there and then ride up to Keystone and Vail. This was only my second time snowboarding, but I was with three guys who were all pretty decent skiers. So, I pushed myself to keep up with them and got a lot better in a hurry. Bruises build character. I had a fantastic time on the slopes and hanging out with good old friends.

In other news, I FINALLY have a defense date set--March 5th. Not bad, considering I submitted the first draft of my thesis to my advisor on February 25th of LAST YEAR! I'm trying to motivate myself to study, but it's been difficult. I'm a little nervous, considering I've been out of the lab for over a year and have given very little thought to cocaine and GABA since then. I can't believe it will finally be over in less than a month!

As for this weekend, I'll be skipping some studying responsibilities for a jaunt to the self-dubbed "American Riviera" of Santa Barbara. Oh yeah, and the coolest part is that I'm renting a Lotus Elise with my friend Kathy for the trip. Apparently, Enterprise rents all sort of exotic cars in LA. I'm looking forward to some twisty mountain roads, great scenery, the wind blowing through my hair, and the finely-tuned whir of the Lotus's engine. We also have a beachside hotel and massages waiting for us in Santa Barbara!