In which math is an illusion, and there are muffins

The paper count for this week isn't too bad, and though I did have to go through 19 pages of DNA sequence in one day (at the insistence of the PI) the workload is fairly light, still. Which was why I was puzzled by my three day's worth of doom and gloom (and sleeping a lot) in the middle of everything. My view about life, the universe and everything (which naturally includes grad school and my classes) didn't change at all. I was no more and no less enthusiastic than before, but for a few days I found everything to be vaguely depressing. Or maybe "depressing" is too harsh a word. Cheerless? Less shiny.

Anyway. I felt much better yesterday for no discernible reason, despite of the sudden onset of stats homework. As predicted, our statistics course featured no math, really, but is program based. Our "homework" essentially consists of us analyzing sets of data (blood pressure, sleep cycle, etc.) using the program (i.e. clicking the buttons in the right sequence and selecting the right parameters) and then answering questions about what the analysis tells us about the patients, that kind of thing.

I didn't like stats the first time I did it, but even so, I wish, just a little, for a part where I actually get to handle the numbers and not the GUI.

Orientation today went well. The animal shelter is unusual in that it works in partnership with all the humane societies and kennels in the area (they swap animals around, apparently, in order to increase their chances at adoption). I think volunteering there will be really fun! I signed up for cats. We're not allowed to branch off into other species until we've worked there for a while, but I think I'll do rabbits too. (Speak of which, there's a bunny there named "Kari" that looks just like Lucy!) They do need more cat and rabbit people than they do dog people, which means that I do get to set my own schedule (yay). I had my picture taken for the ID tag today so as soon as I went through a round with my assigned mentor I'll be ready to start.

Then I went and did grocery shopping and got baked-goods. The pineapple-orange muffins beckoned. Life is good. There may be curry later.