busy is good

I don't think I say this very often, but: I'm busy, and it's good!

Usually when I am busy (or at least when I say I am busy - I suppose many would argue that I'm busy very often, and I have to be insanely busy before I actually think that I am) it's very NOT good. It's usually stressful, crazy, and none of the things that must be done get done nearly as well as they could/should.

But not now.

What I've got on my plate for work...

• Writing a report for my thesis committee - meeting is on July 2!!!! And I am intending to do my very best to convince them that I am nearly done and only have to do a couple more experiments before I'm allowed to graduate. No small feat.
• Trying to figure out why my ELISpot assay works one day and then doesn't the next, because I NEED it to consistently work June 21-28 when I take up residence in the laboratory to isolate millions and billions of cells and test them in this assay
• Writing a self-evaluation of the past year for the annual review we students undergo by the faculty, due June 29
• Attempting to learn 2 software packages that will (in theory) make the analysis of my data a ton easier than it is now and will allow me to make pretty pictures to include in the thesis committee report
• Writing (yeah...lots of writing going on here...!) a journal article about several years' worth of my work, which requires making more pretty pictures from data that is buried in one of my 5 lab notebooks and/or in some mysterious folder on one of three computers I've used over the period of time during which the data were collected. Lesson learned: organization is very helpful, and I need to be more organized.
• Trying to make it so the "important!" marked emails in my inbox don't get pushed so far down in the list by new, un-dealt-with email that they don't show up in the top 20 anymore. Perhaps making a few folders and organizing my email would help here...but maybe not.
• Preparing nasty questions to ask to second-year PhD students who are asking me to be part of their mock comprehensive oral examination. This requires that I first read (and hopefully understand) their 10-20 page proposals.
• Plotting out the next several experiments I want to do, which fills my calender up through December 6 and involves making sure there's enough space and time to coordinate these experiments with everyone else's space and time WHILE ALSO avoiding holidays in the schedule-making process.

And then on my plate in other parts of life...

• Trying very desperately to keep up with the constant barrage of emails from friends and teammates and fellow knitters and rabbit-owners. I welcome emails, but I hope people don't think I'm mad at them when it takes me a month to write back, especially when their message says something like, "Hey, wanna have ice cream on Thursday?"...
• Organizing my social calendar. Not that this is exceedingly complex, but I do tend to make being social not a priority when I have lots to do at work, so I'm trying very hard to leave spaces in the schedule for "Hang out with someone!" Which also means I need to do silly stuff like write down in my planner, "CALL so-and-so to fill that hang-out spot, otherwise you'll forget so-and-so exists!"
• Treating Joelle for her sneezing. Again. Of course. Oh, and did I mention that she bit me on the thigh the other day? She was mad that I was trimming her hair.
• Feeding Sheamus one food pellet at a time. He is eating now! But I can't just put food on the water surface and expect him to find it. Ohhhh no. No, he requires that I put one piece of food down at a time...then he can hopefully see it (he seems to be lacking some eyesight quality since his near-death experience) and choose to eat it. And then I can offer another piece. Two at a time is too much. ...My animals are special...
• Taking care of a friend's fish. Why my friend thinks that I, the owner of I'm-about-to-die-oh-wait-no-I'm-not-just-leave-me-here-for-5-months Sheamus, would be a good candidate for fish-sitting is beyond me. Fortunately the fish, Houdini, is really fat and is probably not going to suffer a whole lot if he decides to not eat for the rest of the month that I'll be watching him.
• Knitting! Yes, folks, I am indeed knitting even though pictures never appear on this blog anymore. More out of necessity now than for fun - I've got a baby shower gift on the needles, and the shower is July 7. AAAK! Not sure if I'll be making that deadline, but it'll be close.
• More deadline knitting: Sockapalooza 4. I haven't started yet... And considering my extremely slow knitting pace, it's going to take me many late-night knitting runs to be done by the August 2 deadline... But at least now I've finally ordered yarn and narrowed my pattern choices down to two.
• The everyday things of life, like getting the oil changed, seeing the eye doctor, finding time to go buy cereal and milk...

That is what I've been up to and/or am still working on. Why or why am I not feeling like busy is bad? Because...everything is falling into place very nicely. I can't explain it, it's just...life is peaceful now. I wake up refreshed in the mornings, I have enough time to read the Bible and do a little journaling every day, I eat meals. Maybe I've finally learned how to balance? Maybe everything is going to blow up in my face in the next couple weeks...? I guess we'll see, but for now I'm choosing to stay in this "happy place."