did DC just skip fall and move right onto winter today?

brrr. It's cold in my living room. Time to move into my now heated (!) bedroom.

The past month has certainly been a lot calmer than the last one. Maybe not having a huge report to work on has something to do with it. Nonetheless, I'm feeling pretty good about work - I've had the time to go back and redo some earlier stuff, and to think about ways to improve the model, and those are finally turning into concrete ideas.

Twitter, which began as a way to find out the random thoughts of people from college and new friends in DC, has turned into a great way to get information about work, and to keep abreast of legislative news, even better than something like an E & E Daily. Plus, I like finding Twitterers who quote our work.

At the beginning of the month, I very seriously considered applying for grad school this coming year, specifically at an MPP program somewhere in the DC area -- the idea being that I would work while going to school. Still thinking about it, but maybe delaying that process until next year? I don't know, it's difficult when a lot of people are starting to go back to grad school and I feel like there are definitely skills I could gain from going, especially with an MPP program, since I could use some economics and policy skillz.

Speaking of skillz, I've been able to flex my interpreter skills the past few weeks in training to be a volunteer at the Zoo. I'm going to be volunteering in the Amazonia exhibit as an interpreter, basically doing the kind of stuff that I did at the Franklin Institute. Minus the live shows. Plus the live animals (win). Minus the being paid, plus the volunteering (actually, also a win because I've realized that interpreting is a really fun once-a-week thing for me and not as fun every day). I'm learning tons about the animals in the exhibit and brushing up on Tropical Ecology from my B-deis days.

Speaking of Tropical Ecology, or rather, really good books I read while I was studying Tropical Ecology, Tim Flannery, a very cool evolutionary biology and mammalogist (of The Eternal Frontier and Chasing Kangaroos fame) will be speaking at Politics and Prose on Saturday. I will be in New York City and therefore incapable of seeing him without splinching myself or getting a Time-Turner. I'm pretty sad I'm missing him, since he's Australian and therefore not in DC so often. And since, you know, The Eternal Frontier is in the top five books that make me excited about science.

Speaking of which, I want to get Richard Dawkins new book. I love his analogies and ways of presenting information, but don't love when he gets all preachy about the atheism.

One more day of work in this week, then Shabbos dinner, NYC on Saturday, and a Gold Family wedding (my cousin Josh) on Sunday. SO excited to see my Dad after 5 months of not seeing him.