Yeah, we suck!

Okay so we definitely suck at keeping this thing updated. Thought I should though since I was complaining about other people not updating theirs and I wouldn't want my glass house to break from all my stone throwing.

So here's an update of our fabulous lives...

...Brian

Brian has finished his first year of his Masters. He spent an awesome time this summer in New York and has some great stories and pictures from that trip that maybe you will see some day. Currently he is working his butt off at one too many jobs and trying going to school. He will be needing lots of support, which I will be supplying! One of his new jobs is working at the UI Sustainability Center, which is a really amazing opportunity for him and he's really enjoying it. We're not seeing much of each other, but we still do see each other sometimes and are having a blast together (can't believe we've been married for almost four years)!

...Kelly

I finished up my Masters in Teaching this June. I'm happy I did it and really glad its done. Started being a TA for the chemistry department again (which is really nice...happy to be back in the Chemistry department). I also started taking a Nuclear Reactor Operations class to learn how to become a Reactor Operator. Yeah, you read that right. I started training on Friday and am looking to take the exam in January to get my license. It's been a really amazing experience just this week and I'm looking forward to learning doing more everyday.

The above picture is a picture of the core of the WSU reactor (the windows in the back are to the control room...that's where I sit!). The blue glow is from electrons moving faster than the speed of light through water, creating something kind of like a sonic boom. On Friday I got to actually start up and bring to full power the reactor. I myself created this glow...I'm a little proud. This new goal for me is something that is really exciting. I am really passionate about something for the first time in a while (at least since the whole education program bust). It's definitely something that I wasn't planning on in the beginning but is going to be really beneficial for Brian and I.

Be prepared in the next few months to hear a lot about this, and to learn more than you ever wanted to about reactors and nuclear chemistry...

...get excited people!