New School Year, New Schedule

New School Year, New Schedule

• 9.02.2009

It's September and we're officially jumping into the new school year and the busy schedule that goes along with it!

Bron started classes at the University of Vermont on Monday. It's about a one and a half hour drive across the lake both there and back. It's one drive that is going to get very long and very boring. But we'll be sure to stock the car with a little extra cash for sodas and sunflower seeds to keep him awake. He'll drive to school just 3 days a week. The other 2-3 days will be spent doing research with cows on the Miner Farm. Other than the long drive, I think Bron is ready to dive into the books. He's ready to get his master's degree underway! I'm excited for him, and I know he's looking forward to his very own research study coming up.

I just started a job as a toxicology technician for a pharmaceutical research company called Wyeth. (Yeah, I ditched the ophthalmologist office.) One of the best parts about my new job is that it's located literally across the street. Miner Farm sold a corner of their ground to Wyeth years ago. So yes, I can walk to work in 4 minutes! No need to buy a second vehicle. Wahoo! That's a lot of money we'll be saving. The other great thing about this new job is that one has to have a degree in Biology or Life Sciences, and I qualify! My degree is finally worth something. The pay is awesome and I still get to wear scrubs! I'm a happy camper. The purpose of this particular Wyeth facility is to research the safety of potential drugs/compounds. Right now I'm learning how to dose various animals with the "test drugs", take blood samples, and study them closely. Don't worry, the animals are well taken care of by veterinarians and their staff. Wyeth has quite the operation. It's a little overwhelming! But I'm learning new things every day right now and enjoying my new job very much. Now you know where advil and ibuprofen come from!

On top of work, I'm the new Young Women's counselor for the girls in our branch. My Tuesday nights will now be spent at mutual with the girls having fun doing "enriching" activities.

Last Thursday was my first evening participating in the Sinfonia. It's simply a chamber orchestra. I had a blast sight-reading the new material and the conductor has given me enough solo pieces to keep me challenged. I think it's going to be a great season!

So Bron and I will be busy, but that's old news. We have been incredibly blessed! It's just the two of us living here in New York. I couldn't be here without Bron, and he couldn't be here without me. We're content and happy. Bring on the school year!