Thanksgiving, Movember, Internships, Semester closing, and DEADLINES!

As my blog title suggests...there is a LOT going on.  Too much...

First with the good.  Finally Thanksgiving is here.  My favorite holiday by far as I'm 110% justified in eating too much and watching football while slipping in and out of consciousness on the couch via food comas.  I (and many of peers do as well) unfortunately do have some work to do over break but for the most part well deserved relaxation is in order for the LGO's.  I personally am back in Buffalo with family and plan on being in sweat pants for about 97% of the time...it's gonna be fantastic.

Another great aspect of November....MOVEMBER.  Big LGO, MIT, man (and woman?....see photo) tradition and the LGO's did not disappoint (or very much did depending on how you look at it).  Unfortunately due to timing all of the participants can't be seen in the group shot but the spirit is there....hide your wives, husbands, and children everyone...

Yeah...it's not pretty...  Special shout out to Jeremy for giving his best effort.  On the original photo with enough pixels and zoom you can see his mustache...I can vouch for that.  Mine isn't much better... (in my defense however I did have an interview and had to do a mid month shave to prevent from looking totally ridiculous).  Some of us didn't get the costume memos but overall the men and ladies represented Movember well.  My personal favorite is Ben Polak pulling in a stache that is an uncanny Peter Griffin.

Speaking of that interview...I got my off cycle internship!  Very happy about it.  I'll be working at National Grid to model and simulate damage to their substations, power lines, etc. to optimize how they dispatch their repair crews BEFORE a storm hits.  Especially with Sandy recently causing havoc, having a priori knowledge of where the worst of the damage will be is invaluable to minimizing the long term effects of major storms.  I'll be starting that in February so I won't be taking classes next semester.  It kind of feels like I just got to MIT but my internship is local so I can still be involved while getting of the classroom (and actually having my weekends back).

But before I get to that point this semester has to be finished.  While it seems like the end is in site there's still a lot to do before I can put my feet up for a while.  The first week of December is going to be particularly rough as I essentially have 5 projects due that week.  It's going to be painful and right now I'm really questioning my decision to max out on credits this semester.  But I'm told from 13's that if you endure the pain now it's much lighter later...I REALLY want that to be true.

One last thing...THE DEADLINE IS APPROACHING FOR PERSPECTIVE students.  Get those applications in! I know for me the worst part of the application process was constantly checking and re-checking everything.  I have no idea how many times I edited my essays.  My advice is to not think too hard on that stuff.  If you've been putting in the time to write it and edit it and haven't put it off until the last minute.  You're going to be okay.  The best feeling is sending in that application and then it's off your chest.