It's the final countdown...

I leave the country in 31 days.

On September 20th I will board a plane for Manchester, England. On September 21st after one of the shorter nights of my life I will get on a bus, provided by the school, and drive two hours to Bangor University in Wales. For those of you that don't know at Bangor I will be earning my Master's in Marine Biology. A one year intensive program (September to September) that I've been planning on attending for at least two years now. Finally, I'm off.

I will be living here:







Studying at the University of Wales, Bangor:







At the School of Oceanic Sciences:






And will be living approximately 5 miles away from my building:






The wonder of Google Earth:






In the mean time, I have a full plate of activities. I am currently in my last two weeks stint working in the electron microscopy lab at the American Museum of Natural History. It's been interesting. Normally I'm quite the busy-body, but I haven't started any new projects because I don't want to get myself involved with anything I can't finish. My last project just is just about wrapped up, I created a conductive plasticine for the lab to use that's not as sticky as the type we buy. But I digress...

Saying goodbye to friends and co-workers is just as hard as I dreaded it would be. Luckily, it's all been warming goodbyes.

So, in the 20 days after I quit my job and before I leave for Wales are also turning out to be a mini adventure. After spending a good week with Mom and Pop, I'll be back in NYC for a friend's Bachelor/Bachelorette party. Than it's up to Boston for a few days to say goodbye to friends up there. After hoping home for a day my friend Cory and I will be flying to sunny Oakland, California! Where old college chum Erin Gleason is willing to put the two of us up for a a couple of days. Cory and I will then get on a train for 23 hours and bus through the mountains of northern Cali, Oregon and Washington as we make our way to Seattle to visit Michael and Barbara Trentalange. The Cory and I have never been to the west coast, and we figured that it would be worth seeing before I skip town.

After that, we fly back to New York, I spend some more time with the parentals who I won't see again until Christmas. And then I'm off.

Hopefully, I'll be able to report from my various locations in the United States as well. I'll be a busy again, but I like life in fast mode. You see more, and right now it suits me.

I love you all, and I'll miss you bunches. I hope and will try to see as many of you as I can before I go.

Emily
AMNH-office desk

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