The sun is back

The photo is from a fieldtrip a few weeks ago, on the first day the sun peeked over the mountains this year. Now it's back in full force and in another few weeks we will have midnight sun.

I have spent the transition from the dark time to spring season on getting research projects up and running, getting grad students started on their projects and paying some attention to myself and having a life. Getting the research projects started hasn't been easy, and I'm not quite there yet, but at least I have had some time to devote to this and I do see things develop and begin to see the contours of a reearch program that will work. I have also spent some time with family and haven't been working very particularly long days. The latter will probably come back to haunt me, but it's been good to take it a little easier for a while.

Since my last update I've:

• Been to a conference in Scandinavian town where it always rains (not a major important event scientifically, but nice to catch up with colleagues and friends)
• Visited home country to attend the christening of my new nieces
• Prepared the paperwork for three new MSc students projects including budgets and logistics for field work and developed a project description for something I don't know much about.
• Almost finished major revisions on a manuscript I submitted last year (still needs some final comments from a co-author, but is almost ready to go).
• Coached MSc student through writing her first abstract, finding funding to go to the conference and preparing a poster for upcoming conference in Grad School City.
• Had a week long family visit by sister and toddler nephew.
• Prepared week long visit by MSc student including organising housing, safety training and arranging contact with various people who will assist with aspects of the project.
• Spent a week visiting youngest sister and travelling with her to Eastern European City where I often go for research.
• Worked on getting a student exchange agreement between University above the Arctic Circle, and University in eastern Europe I collaborate with.
• Worked on pulling some strings for increased formal collaboration between current university and previous institution.
• Gotten up-to date on literature in new topic direction and studied previously published works about rocks from specific time interval.
• Done the initial legwork for getting a group together to develop ideas for proposal for continuation and expansion of project.
• Gotten an overview of previously published literature on another specific time interval in order to decide field sites for this summers fieldwork.
• Maintained some contacts relevant for different angle of new topic direction and explored some other options for how this work may be framed and eventually funded.
• Set up meetings during upcoming conference to discuss new project ideas and options for funding.
• Started preparing practical arrangements and guest lecturers for field course this summer.
• Been on a one-day field trip to explore the geology around town and read up on some of the general literature from this place in order to get a better overview and prepare for next time I run the undergrad general geology class.
• Gotten back to practicing Fieldwork Country language regularly
• Been socialicing with colleagues and joined a group of female colleagues/friends who exercise together.

What I didn't do was to

Finish the other major revision, which doesn't seem major at all compared to the last two major revisions I have gotten, but still needs to be done, or start preparing the poster I'm supposed to present a week from now.