Somehow, I managed to finish December on a high note thankfully. The semester was starting to drag me down and left me slightly frustrated. No one wants to question their own decision making especially on such an important front, but it does happen. The answers you give to those questions show what you’re made of. I know the stakes of the game, so I just kept forging ahead. Those who doubt or judge, only serve to provide fodder for my hunger to reach my goals.

Classes and exams finished for me on the 16th, culminating with a test in one course and a final project due in the second course. It felt very satisfying to finish up my assignments and not have to do anymore school work (at least until next semester). Grades came out on the 21st and somehow I came away with two “B+’s”, which was a nice confidence boost. I found a few websites with tutorials to keep me semi-proficient in basic Python until the next semester starts, hopefully I can get 10 minutes a day in for my own sake.

At work we finally submitted a paper we had been sitting on for two years, to the journal, “Letters in Applied Microbiology”. The woman who did most of the work had been asking about getting it published, but because of our increased workload due to the use of CIDT, we never had time to put it all together. Hopefully it will be accepted and published early next year. It won’t get me a raise or promotion, but it will be nice to have it on my resume (it could help me find a new position) and nice to get it off our plate so we can focus on other things.

Speaking of new positions, I’ve had no new prospects lately. I did receive one rejection letter and had a few “no responses” to a pair of applications. However do I have my eye on a biotech company (Nuritas) who is expanding to the US. Not that I have a chance with them, but one can dream can’t they?? At this point in my seemingly never-ending search, I’ve decided to shoot for the stars and see what happens. All I need is a chance/interview, and I guarantee I won’t disappoint.

What was even more satisfying was being able to get back on the mats after my extended absence. Finals week saw me make it into Jiu-Jitsu training TWICE! It was nice to see everybody and catch up on the gossip and news. No lie, I was a bit nervous going back to train, mainly because I realized while although I’d been exercising my brain, everyone else had been working on their technique. No doubt I’ll take a few more beatings then usual until the rust falls away, but it will all be part of the process.

Since then the end of classes I’ve managed to get back on a normal training schedule and have been slowly working my way back into Jiu-Jitsu shape (easier said than done). My plan is to focus on a few techniques and positions which flow together (X, Single X, CuruCuru and some passes) and try to sharpen them up and go from there. My best bet for this is probably going to be a bunch of drilling, and then rolling with some upper White and lower Blue belts until I’m sharper. With a lot of newer people in the classes and open mats, it shouldn’t be a problem.