One more week...

...until classes start! The semester technically begins tomorrow (August 25), but the first day of class is Monday, August 31. Honestly, I'm ready to get started. I'm signed up for 11 credits (9 to stay full time): Fluid Dynamics for Geosciences (3 cred.), Tectonics Seminar (3 cred.), Process Geomorphology (4 cred.), and Geosciences Colloquium (1 cred.).

The first two courses are courses that apply to my interests. Fluid dynamics relates to the convection of the mantle and flow of rocks, as well as to streamflow. The tectonics seminar will be a study of the classic papers in tectonics. Process geomorph (surface processes) is not my thing at all, but course selection is slim pickings here, and I needed a course to stay full time. This was the most interesting of the choices, and may actually have some relation to my studies of the unroofing of deeper metamorphic rocks. Finally, there is the colloquium, which is essentially a department seminar, and I might as well get credit for going!

My three courses meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays, making for two very busy days. In addition, I will be TA-ing a course taught by my advisor called "Rocks, Minerals & Resources," which is essentially mineralogy. The course is required for geology majors. There will be approximately 30 students taking the course, which meets three times a week (MWF) plus Wednesday afternoon for labs. I will be attending the labs, as well as most course meetings, and holding office hours. There are 30-ish students taking the course this semester, so there will be two lab sections to accommodate everyone. Approximately 30 students took the course last semester as well, which gives you an idea of the number of majors coming through the department.

In addition to my studies and TA duties, my advisor and I have begun to discuss preliminary research for the semester. She's looking at submitting a proposal in January, which would best be submitted with data to show what we're planning to do. This means I'll start looking at the available rocks and data, and will likely be collecting more samples to start processing.

Did I say I was ready for the semester to start?