One thing I hadn't counted on was seeing my gross pay, and the amount cut out by FICA, fed taxes, and state taxes. Oh that was sore. And I can't claim the HOPE credit like I used to, so that's an equal wallop. Still, it's more than I used to make.

I have intricated myself with many projects for work. There's the high impact glucose regulation and brain atrophy analysis. There's the 'immune system can degrade a brain area that makes you more stress reactive, and being more stress reactive rots away your higher order cognition brain area' high impact analysis. Then there's the Paper That Will Not Die (TM), the survey studies paper, and the follow-up to PTWND from my old lab. That's just monkey data to be published or written up.

I've got 4 undergrads working on 3 different projects, and Aparna who's a post-undergrad working on a 4th one. I've buried myself pretty deep, but the inevitable pay-off will be very good. The more I publish now, the easier it'll be to land a good faculty position, and probably to get tenure. That's where the real money is.

I honestly don't know what all I'm doing for the weekend. I've decided on going to the Inferno on Saturday. I was motivated to do this during a coffee outing with one of the dancers I see there, Drew. He's a biochemist who straddles a few different areas, like me. I was surprised that we could talk shop as easily as we did, given that he mostly focuses on receptor binding potentials and using fancy software to look at different protein structure shapes and if they fit said receptors. I could have taken up Aparna's offer to go see some fireworks on Saturday, but that seemed moderately awkward. Far better to suck down half a half dozen's worth of gin and tonics, dance to goth-industrial music, and perhaps occasionally talk with my crowd.

I suppose one could say that I'm seeing someone. That's a more metaphorical than literal use of the verb, but all the same it works alright. I used to feel weird and, on the unoccasional occasional, worried about getting back on the dating horse. But the more I've gotten to know her in recent times, the more it just clicked and made sense. It always has. I like the way it's going.

Life is good.

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