"Private Life" has gone dark again.

Private Life in a Glass House Blog has gone dark again, but it is never too late to turn the lights back on. For close to three and a half years I have been posting here on and off and I am again returning from a rather long three month hiatus. It is kind of hard to figure out precisely what to write about and what my blog should focus on even though there is a lot going on in my life and my mind is always working a mile a minute. I am always commenting on some recent news story, my recent efforts at running and some personal events in my life but the posts seem to follow the random path of an ADD inflicted Blogger with zero attention span.

One idea that I came across was to use blogging as a means to be more productive at work (#4 on the list). My personal favorite from this list is "#2 - Bring your dog." That sounds pretty awesome... but I think the bosses might frown upon having a dog wandering around the offices and it may be a safety risk.

My bosses would be a bit disappointed if I were to spend time on the clock writing to my personal blog, it may help to try it out at home on my own time a bit. This idea has added accountability to my training and races, so it's worth a shot. To sum up some of the more recent activities going on in my life.

1. On the job I am focusing on performing and documenting calibration checks for a fleet of 10 instruments located throughout the building. Pretty good considering that just about 2 to 3 years ago, I didn't even know how to operate these particular instruments.
2. Wedding plans... invitations, bachelor party, order of events, ceremony music. All that stuff has been occupying Emily and my time.
3. Training for the Flower City Half Marathon. I will be running my first race next weekend. A 5 mile St. Patric's day run.

More details to follow.

26 Years ago this past Friday…

Once again I have gone a few weeks without posting. Shame shame on me! It has been hard to motivate myself to write much, but there's always something on my mind.

I recently celebrated my 26^th birthday. I know I am still young but 26 seems a bit scary to me! Thirty is suddenly looking closer than twenty.

Overall, I am very proud of what I have accomplished on this planet in the 26 years I have worked through. I have earned my B.S. and M.S. degrees, landed a good job and somehow in this economy have managed to hold on to it. I have a great relationship with a wonderful charming young woman. ;-) I have done some traveling, read lots of books, done some exciting scientific research and learned a lot about the way the world works. Through the process I have asked many questions and answered a few along the way as well. Another year older, another year wiser.

I am excited about what the coming years have to offer and what questions I can answer along the way. I will keep you the reader clued into this as much as I can.

Three things I must comment on in the days to come

1. I organized a "Tea Party" of my own.
2. T. O. signing with the Bills!? WTF? Is this a blessing or a curse upon the Bills?
3. I also must wish a happy birthday to my cousin Eric who shares my birthday of March 5^th. Born 10 years after me… almost to the minute!
   

Speaking of running!

I started training for my first marathon today!

Now that I have finally run my first race of the running season, I have some baseline to establish my training schedule off of. Things started with a simple 5 mile tempo run. :-)

The marathon I am planning on running is the Preferred Care Rochester Marathon.

In other news, my new job is still rather slow. I have not been assigned any projects for me to take off with. I feel like I am still just trying to prove my self and demonstrate that I have all the skills to take on responsibility. I have not screwed up... yet.

Nonetheless... life is good.

Tomorrow is my D-day.

Recently I have been watching a few parts of "The Band of Brothers" mini-series. For those of you who are unfamiliar, this mini-series tells the stories of "Easy Company" of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment. I have been particularly interested in Part 1 which shows the extreme rigorous training these soldiers went through and their anxiousness to participate in the impending Normandy Invasion (A.K.A D-Day). I feel a great inspiration from learning about stories like this.

Tomorrow I defend my Masters Thesis. I feel that I can relate to the anxiousness of the "Easy Company" soldiers given my own experience with the past 2 years of intense preparation for this event.

I know my experience is NO COMPARISON to these brave soldiers, many of whom lost their lives. But I gain solace in the idea that far more discomforting things have happened to many who have come before me and achieved even greater things than I.

The late nights with few hours of sleep, the heart-burn inducing stress, the seclusion from friends and family, hours upon hours of homework and reading articles... it's all a cake walk compared to the sacrifices others have made.

When considering things this way, I think I will do just fine tomorrow.

Wish me luck!

"Life is just one damned thing after another.” (according to Elbert Hubbard)

Yeah... I think he was on to something.

So here I am looking pretty exhausted. My "thesis beard" is coming in pretty nicely. What is a "thesis beard" you ask? Well, when all you do for a couple of weeks is sit in front of a computer and write about the work that has consumed your day to day life for the past 2 years you begin to neglect the unnecessary things in life.

For instance, there's no time and energy for shaving these days (hence the unkempt facial hair). When you open your kitchen cupboards all you have left is a few packages of Raman noodles, oatmeal and a bottle of mustard because you don't have time or energy for grocery shopping (and you actually try to consider ways to combine those ingredients into something edible). Laundry... well, that only gets done when you are down to one last pair of boxers, that last pair of socks with the holes in just one of them and the shirt you never wear because it has a distinctly visible stain on the front of it (and even then you are thinking that it would be O.K. to wear that outfit just one more day).

Yep... this is the life I chose as a graduate student. Funny they never included this in the brochure.

***Also... I will have you know that upon the request of a friend I turned off the moderator feature for posting comments on this blog. Now as soon as you post a comment it will be visible on the blog. Let's hope that this does not allow for spam to be posted all over the place now (f&$g SPAMMERS!).

My "Zero Hour" has been set in stone.

At last week's group meeting for the Smith research group at RIT, my adviser (Tom Smith) started the meeting by listing off the string of dates that the department seminars will be held on. He then looked directly at Sidd and my self and said that those department seminars will include the thesis defense talks of this year's round of MS candidates (that's us).

*Deer in the headlights look on my face*

Tom now addressing me: "Glen I am looking for you to defend sometime in the beginning of April. What do you think? That would be either April 1 or April 15."

*Deer frozen in headlights with trembling legs*

Me: "Uhhhhh... ummmmm... I suppose that could work. Yes."

Tom: "So what date would you prefer."

*Semi-truck bearing down on frozen deer!*

Me: "Uhhhh... I'll have to think about it!"

Tom: "O.K. You let me know soon."

*RUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!*
*Narrowly escaping passing semi*

So the weekend came, and motivated by the feeling of being scared to death over how soon this is coming, I began to write my thesis on Saturday! And after sleeping on it a few nights, I decided to set my defense date at *drum roll please* April 1.

So there it is. My "Zero Hour" has been set.

WOW! I have SO MUCH to do to prepare!

I am standing upon the precipice of a great period of enlightenment and productivity.

As the title of this post implies, I am about to embark upon a period of great enlightenment. A mini-renaissance if you will. A time when absorbing new and exciting knowledge in all aspects of the world around me will become a day to day norm. A period in which productivity will balloon to a degree in which two... three... or more days worth of productivity will seamlessly be fit into each and every blessed day.

What is spurring this?

Tomorrow is my last formal class ever!

Well... unless I decide to go back to school again to get another degree. But following tomorrow, and the subsequent final examination held on Monday, time will not have to be wasted in stale classroom atmospheres. Hours will not have to be frittered away on studying and preparing homework assignments.

My time will solely be dedicated to research and managed as I see fit towards fulfilling my goals. I will be more immersed in the arduous task of of job/internship hunting. I will be directing more efforts towards philosophical endeavors such as reading and learning about other non-chemistry related things. I will have time to tackle the formidable list laid out last weekend!

Two other things are contributing to this monumental occasion:

1. Sidd (my coworker) will be leaving for India until December 11. That means having an extra empty hood in the lab to use and pretty much free reign over all the lab's glassware! That's going to make for some productive times!
2. Emily is still in England! Review some of my previous posts for my feelings on her absence. As much as I enjoy having her around, I don't have to worry about making time for and planning dates for a brief while. I refuse to let that extra time and effort be spent on obsessively missing her but rather wish to direct it towards constructive endeavors.

This is going to be exciting!

Those bastard Austrian chemists!

One of the many things in life that gets me pissed off is when a laboratory procedure published in the literature does not work! I am repeating some previously published work done by some Austrian chemists that is closely related to what I am doing. I am working on making this molecule you see at your right so I can mess around with it my self under some different conditions. The molecule is ready for purification and according to their methods, the molecules they made were purified via silica gel chromatography with 50:1 cyclohexane:ethyl acetate.

My crude product however is not soluble in 50:1 cyclohexane:ethyl acetate!!! WTF!?

A simple 1-2-3 procedure that should take me no more than a day from start to finish is now complected. Bastards! Did I forget to mention that I am a little bitter towards these guys because they kind of published something slightly similar to my research 3 days after I proposed my research! Grrrrr.

My apologies to all those out there who have no clue what I am talking about. Just some inner rage at the moment.

You know what... a girlfriend abroad *is* worth 16 [monogamous] weekend benders... or in my case, 7!

I recently read this article and wow... it hit the nail right on the head! I refuse to be mired in feelings of missing Emily's presence for the next 2 months. (*DISCLAIMER... remember, I do miss Emily, but I am trying not to let those feelings and thoughts overtake my day to day thoughts. I AM NOT AS TERRIBLE OF A BOYFRIEND AS YOU MAY THINK! HA HA HA.)

So anyway, this article discusses how to deal with significant others who are abroad for a summer. I am in that situation at the moment and am stuck here feeling jealous and nervous. How can that be dealt with? By one-up-ing everything it is that they are doing with your own experiences at home! How does this work? This quote from the article may put it into perspective:

"But the truth of the matter is, no matter how excruciating [his or her absence] is for you, no one will ever ask you 'so, tell me about your summer of celibacy'… Unless, and this is a big unless, you have what it takes to blow that stupid summer abroad out of the water."

So yesterday afternoon over lunch, Jon and I put together this list. I know I am already on the right track because we did this even before I read this article. Jon is fully on board because he's just that kind of crazy adventurous good friend who will do stuff like this! I can't ask for more!

1. Published my first scientific paper. The day before Emily left, I (with the help of my adviser) wrote, revised and submitted my first scientific paper for publication. I am damn proud of that! Other things in my posts recently have kind of overshadowed that. As soon as it is accepted, I will be happy to post the actual paper here.
2. I'm going to New York City! I've never been there. Andy, one of my college roommates lives there. He has a guest room. He's welcoming me. I'll be there for about 4 nights or so in the beginning of December. We're going to rip it up.
3. Hit up the driving range. Jon and I are working on our golf skills. We need to improve them a bit if we're actually take up this sport.
4. Crazy random Band of Brothers/Movie drinking day. Buy some beer and booze. Pop in some movies, mini-series, video games or something. Commence watching and drinking. Get rowdy and see where things go.
5. Wine tour. Get some friends and take some time appreciating the flavors, textures and colors of the finger lakes wines. (And maybe get sloshed too.)
6. Crazy drunken limo bus. Get some friends together. Pool our money for a limo bus and alcohol. Have a night out in the city.
7. Get something published in the Library of Congress. That would just be some awesome and random bragging rights!
8. Test drive a Porsche. Need I really explain that one!
9. RIT hockey game. I hear they are pretty crazy.
10. Play some tennis. In the interest of our wanna-be rich preppie-country club snub nosed inner child, we'll take up this activity too.
11. Find a place to learn and play some curling. 'Cause 'dem Canadians have one crazy sport, eh.
12. Make a short mocumentary film. We're accepting ideas right now for the script. We already know that this scene must be included!
13. Get my passport! When I was a teenager I equated having a car with freedom to travel. Now I equate having a passport with freedom to travel. With this document, Jon and my other friends can continue our randomness on an international scale. And when the opportunity arises for me to blow everything off here and travel abroad... I can do so without hesitation!
    

No matter what the state of your health, the race must still be run.

Ugggghhhh... I hate sinus infections. If you get them on occasion you will know what I am talking about. If you do not get them... you are very lucky!

I ended up coming down with one Thursday and it has pretty much drained much of the energy from me over the past few days. Despite that, I still felt compelled to run a 4k cross country race today, the Golden Flyer Invitational - Alumni/Open 4k.

Drugged up with a dose of Sudafed that allowed me to breathe yet left me with a distinctly unpleasant dry mouth despite drinking countless bottles of water, I threw my self into the race. It could have been worse. Brad (a former teammate of mine) decided to run the race with a hangover following a night of partying.

I posted a time of 18:25 (pace of 7:22). It was an unseasonably hot day with the sky clouding over during the race and finally letting loose a solid downpour in a thunderstorm just as our race wrapped up. Given my bodily condition, I am glad I simply finished the race!

A group of about 5 alums went out for food and reminiscing after the race. It was nice to get together with former teammates I have not seen in quite a while.

So now I am feeling pretty dead tired right now. Somehow I need to find the energy to work on writing a manuscript for my boss concerning my research. With any luck, I will be a published scientific author within the next 6 months! :-)

I'll write more when my bateries are recharged and my health is restored.

The everlasting battle of graduate school and how life is kicking my ass.

Yeah, so it has been a while since I have posted anything. That is not to say I have not wanted to write. The present moment in time is very busy and stressful. I am reminded of a famous quote by one Marge Simpson:

"Bart, don’t make fun of graduate students. They just made a terrible life decision."

Well, let me tell you a little bit about what I do.

At minimum I put in 10 hours a day, showing up at the lab at 8 AM and leaving no later than 6 PM, and just for good measure I put in another 5 hours or more of studying, reading, writing or cleaning up the lab on Saturday or in the evening when my energy permits. I am almost done with the boring menial task of taking classes. I am down to only one this quarter. I am one of the lucky ones who is receiving funding from an external grant for my research (thank you very much Bausch and Lomb). That money keeps me out of the teaching laboratories where I would have to deal with the juvenile complaints and excuses from undergrad chemistry students. Instead I spend my time in my research laboratory doing as many experiments as possible. Some give me the desired result while others continually mock me and require seemingly endless patience as I try try again. It's things like that which contribute to a low level of natural inner rage* I seem to carry with me throughout the day.

After I work, I try to fit in a good solid workout because I still have this residual addiction to running due to my days of running cross country and track. That also serves as a good and necessary release for the inner rage.

Now if I ever have time after that... I try to do some leisure reading. Oh yeah... and all that other stuff necessary for running one's life, like paying bills, laundry, grocery shopping (see September 23's post for an explanation of my disdain for such activities). Those activities actually contribute to the inner rage so that brings me back to square-one!

Oh, and on top of that I am taking on the monumental task of finding and applying for a job to launch my career as I do not plan on being a graduate student forever. It's not much of a lucrative position.

And... I do have a girlfriend whom I like to spend time with. The inner rage really bites me in the ass on this one. The lack of time and extra stress adds up lately to one strained relationship with two frustrated people involved. :-( Not all things are for blogging, so that's about as personal as I am going to get with that topic.

*Inner rage: This personal phenomena (whose name I attribute to Tim) is best summed up with the fact that at any given moment there is something on my mind that is really pissing me off and if brought to light in just the right way will set me off very nicely. A healthy level of inner rage is often what pushes me through the really difficult moments of any given day.