America

As often in my writing, the title says it all. I am off to America tomorrow! This trip isn’t quite as long as last year, but at three weeks it is still a fairly hefty length. The summer has flown by, so I want to make the most of my vacation proper. Packing is almost complete, the tablet accompanying me has been wiped and is running a lot better, the cameras are being organised, and at the end of it all, there will probably be a mad rush to sort stuff out in the morning just before leaving. It is inevitable, and is the way of the household, so it will be, and has always been. We are flying out from Dublin tomorrow morning, and have one stop in Chicago, before heading on to Portland, Oregon. I was so busy last time that I barely got blogging till after everything happened, and I cannot promise a regular post when I am away, but I will do my best. This time I will be straying a bit further, once again to Seattle, but also California at some stage. These are exciting times!

Science!

I just completed my first abstract, for what the project that will hopefully become the subject of a scientific paper next year. When I say first, I mean my first real scientific abstract. I have written abstracts before for essays, but not for a few years, so I was a tad rusty. With help from my supervisor this one turned out suprisingly good, and has been submitted into the QUAMS student research symposium (QUAMS is the Academic Medicine Society in Queen’s University Belfast). Things are going to be busy when I get back from the states when I start into my MRes. The eight weeks of the studentship seemed to go in very quickly, but there is still a lot of work to do.

Metal Gear?!

I never quite can leave Metal Gear Solid. Whether it is struggling through MGS4 in hard mode, or playing MGS1 again for the ‘n’th time, it is by far my favourite game franchise. It was a deciding factor in buying both the PS2 and PS3. In actual fact, it was the only reason for buying the PS2 – I just had to play Snake Eater! It is a fantastic game too, but one I have only completed once. The second game is probably my least favourite, with some insanely long cutscenes and weird and wonderful plot twists, but still an enjoyable one. I’m on my second playthrough of MGS4, and even though I have all my weapons and items from the previous completion, it is still challenging at points. I’ve barely used stealth at all recently, though that takes away much of the fun.

UPDATE

So I’m still up, and nobody seems to be that bothered about getting packed. I’ve also gone back on using solely the tablet, as I may have to do some video editing, and a more powerful PC is needed. My trusty laptop will be accompanying me after all.