Another step closer

Today I finished running columns. It's funny, but every time I finish a task I feel a little hollow, even though I'm excited to be that much closer to my degree. I still have tons of work--enough that I need to work quite hard between now and the end of the summer if I'm to have any hope of graduating close to on time. I realize, with nothing to look forward to scientifically, that's a scary prospect. Science has been such an important part of my life for so long, but I'm not actually sure I'll be able to pursue it much further. While there are other things I'd love to do (I have, oh, half a dozen or so stories kicking around in my head that I need to sit and write out) I don't really relish the thought of doing them enough to be excited about potentially loosing this aspect of me.