Bringing back the boxes

Only one more week, and this term is finally over. Ok, there will be another week with assignments, an exam and a presentation, but let's not focus on the unimportant details...
The last weeks were definitely less stressful than the beginning. I made time go skiing every week, and - who would have guessed - the conditions are getting better and better. This week they had 2 lifts open, and a bunch of different runs. There's a lot more snow now, and we had beautiful sunshine accompanying our Friday morning skiing outing. The views in Cypress from the lifts and the slopes are amazing: You can see Vancouver and surroundings on the one side, and the island and ocean on the other side. It doesn't get any better!
Next week is going to be another milestone: For the 4th time this year, my life is packed into a bunch of boxes. I'm moving! By now I'm more than used to it... Plus, the fact that a) things are not moving to another hemisphere, or continent, or country, or city, but just a few blocks away, so packing doesn't have to be perfect; and b) I won't have to think about whether or not I might need an item within the next few months since I'm gonna have everything *right away* makes things a lot easier! I can't wait to finally get to my new place, and make it mine. Of course, it'll be until Dec 28, when my dear roomie Miss Susi I. is gonna arrive until the most amazing of all apartments is complete, but my moving next week is the first step!
Yet, I won't get to enjoy much of it for a while. It's this time of the year again, which for some reason all faculty that I've ever known despise, but most students love: AGU! This time next week I'll already be in San Fran, and hopefully have managed my way through the first meeting, and of course the icebreaker! Yay for free drinks :) It's probably gonna be at bit stressful, meeting a bunch of potential collaborators and talking science pretty much 24/7. On the other hand, I get to see sooo many old friends, people I haven't seen in weeks, or months, or years. Catching up with people from Vic and other places in NZ, some of my SAGE colleagues from the US, and of course my homies from Munich should be good fun! In addition there's the fact San Francisco in December. If everything else fails, at least I can do some shopping, hang out around the huge Xmas tree at Union Square and of course have some clam chowder in sour-dough bread bowl. *yum*! I might even completely forget that there's still homework to be done and an exam to write afterwards... :)

Song of the day: Pink Floyd - The Fletcher memorial home