rodzik@www

I'm not really in a typing or story-telling mood right now so I figure I'll just briefly post an update on the last couple of weeks. I've been thinking more and more about grad school, and on Friday I pretty much solidified my choice. I went and talked to my boss' boss about it and she said that while she really wanted me to come back to work in my office, she 100% recommended that I pursue the options I was looking into. She also said I'd be able to come back and intern in her office while I worked on my Masters and then I could work there full-time, so that was excellent to hear. I've been slowly studying for the GRE over the last few weeks, and I'll probably go ahead and completely finalize my decision by beginning the application process at Georgia Tech, registering for the GRE, and telling the intern program manager I plan on returning as an intern instead of a full-time employee.

A couple weekends ago I went up to Jersey to visit Kowski, and while I was there I met/partied with a bunch of his friends. It was a good time, but man Delaware and Jersey are rough when it comes to tolls. I also had the chance to see Live Free or Die Hard (finally), and I thoroughly enjoyed it (and got a good laugh out of their portrayal of science and technology). Friday night Kowski and two of his friends came down to visit and stayed at my place Friday night. Saturday we went to the spy museum (National Cryptological Museum) followed by visiting another friend of his downtown in DC and then playing tourist around the National Mall for a while. This was followed by a party, which for the most part was a good time.

Today I pretty much just sat around and did nothing. I watched 300 again, as I watched it right after I bought it on Tuesday. Next Saturday is the anniversary of the Battle of Thermopylae so I'm thinking that might be a good occassion for a 300 party...we'll see...

Last Saturday I played the most badass game of paintball ever. I left with some injuries (sliding into a bunker at top speed generally doesn't result in an injury-free day...but it did prevent me from getting shot!) but it was a great time.

I also found a couple new federal fellowship programs in addition to the ones I already knew about. While they don't pay as much as the major one I've been thinking about, they don't tie me down to research either (the other program is research-oriented, and I really don't want to have to work in a research lab for the next few years). We'll see....

I guess that wasn't exactly "brief," but oh well, I covered a lot of topics...

P.S. The Bourne Ultimatum is sweet.