This is What Retired People Feel Like

School is out, and it feels weird.

No papers, no textbooks, no case studies, no emails, no anything.

I have free time for the first time since before kindergarten. Literally.

I've spent it making this.

It cracked pretty badly (stupid oak), but it's coming along pretty nicely, I think. It was a nice way to just kind of relax and be productive at the same time. Here's some of the other things that I've been up to the past few weeks (during school).

I've gotten the chance to hike some pretty awesome mountains over the past couple of weekends...

I've tested my balance when my hiking trips led me to the wrong side of the stream...

I rediscovered the bench where I dropped the "L" word (love) on Yellowhed...

Annnnnd, I've learned how to make some pretty awesome homemade granola bars, if I do say so myself. 

Two More to Go

And so ends another semester. I've spent the past 4 months in journal articles and exams up to my eyeballs, consistently staying up late to finish yet another paper due by midnight. It's been a blast learning what I'm learning, I like studying exercise physiology and all that, but it's definitely time for a break. And thankfully, this is the first real break I've had yet with the whole grad school experience. No winter intensives, no prepping for next semester's biostatistics class, none of that.

It's my temporary mental vacation.

And so, I've spent the past two days sleeping in, going on walks downtown with Yellowhed, and working on turning an oak stump into a chess board.

I'm starting to like this whole semester break thing.