I considered writing this post about the trials and tribulations of the second year of my PhD, how data collection is finally ramping up in a meaningful way and how daunting the upcoming presentations and assessments are. That sounds pretty boring though, and someone else will do that over the next few weeks anyway so I’ll let them write something more interesting about science. In the interest of work-life balance, I’m going to write about my holiday last week instead with some nice pictures.
So I went to Las Vegas last week (the above is the view from our balcony). It was for a friend’s stag, but we also flew out on my birthday and celebrated another birthday while out there too. We came up with the idea so long ago that it has been booked for nearly as long as I have been on this PhD programme. So it was bound to be a messy week. We started each day by drinking bottomless cocktails with our free buffet breakfast, and I think you can figure out how things played out from there.
Most days were spent wandering around the more famous casinos on the strip, which are all completely insane and seem specifically designed to make you have no idea what time of day it is, while waitresses ply you with free drinks if you are sat down dropping money on tables or in slot machines. Over the course of the week we took in a Cirque du Soleil show, went on the New York New York rollercoaster, a couple of the group members did the Skyjump from the top of the Stratosphere (the tall one above), we went to a firing range and also played KISS themed Mini golf for my friend’s birthday (that’s me and him rocking out there).
The absolute highlight though was the snap decision we made to rent some muscle cars and drive to the Grand Canyon. We made a day out of it, and between 6 of us drove a Mustang GT, a Mustang convertible and a Camaro convertible past the Hoover Dam and to the south side of the canyon, with only one pair getting lost on the way. I hadn’t driven in nearly 4 years at this point, and my car was a 1L Vauxhall Corsa in the UK, not a significantly more powerful and wider car on the other side of the road. Luckily the roads are nice and straight in the states, so I adjusted just fine. The views on the drive and at the canyon itself are stunning, my photos don’t do it justice at all. It is crazy to think it was only 5 days ago I was doing this.
So now I’m back and ready to hit the ground running with my work. I’m lying. I’m still jet lagged somehow (I finally got to sleep at 3am last night), and am bitter that I am not still in Nevada with a glass of bourbon on the rocks firmly in my hand. I’ll settle back though, as I’m starting to move towards my late stage assessment period. Which I am sure will be just as fun.
Adam