Fading into Obscurity

I've been a bit absent from this blog for the past year or so. Infrequent posts during the school year is pretty typical for me. But this year, the sabbatical continued on into the summer. The blog hasn't been the only thing I've ignored, either. I slowly stopped keeping up with new music -- rarely checked mp3 blogs, stopped reading reviews, and got into a music listening rut. I retreated from just about anything remotely intellectual. The only websites I regularly checked were CuteOverload and Go Fug Yourself. Entertaining, yes. But not terribly thought provoking.

I think after four years of college, spending ages buried in new music to process at WRUW, and stress levels that caused me difficulty breathing, I finally hit full-on burnout. Burnout from music and from, well, thinking.

But, I've had a summer filled with sleeping, copious amounts of trashy TV, and some much needed exercise. A vacation from the typical life of a student. And while I'm regretting not having a job this summer from a financial point of view, it was the right decision for my sanity.

I'm finally feeling ready to go back to the life of classes and research. I've even noticed my interest in music coming back. I feel more like myself again. Though I will admit that I'm watching Britain's Next Top Model as I write this post . . .

This resurgence comes at an excellent time, since my first year of graduate school is about to begin. Which brings me to the reason I wanted to write this post. I never officially mentioned it here, but I'm starting UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco's joint Ph.D. program in Bioengineering this fall. I moved in to my new apartment in San Francisco recently, after a week+ drive across the country -- from Philadelphia all the way to California.

So, here are a few pictures from my long journey.

Devil's Slide, Utah.

Antelope Island in Salt Lake City Utah.

View of The Great Salt Lake from Antelope Island.

Lake Tahoe, Nevada.

Yosemite National Park, California.

Vernal Falls in Yosemite National Park.

More of Yosemite National Park.

And finally to San Francisco!

And UCSF's Mission Bay Campus. Somewhere I'll be spending a lot of time.

See more pictures at my Flickr account.

Hopefully this won't be the last you hear of me this year.