Chickens Bertha is making a good recovery! I was so worried for her before I left, but now she's eating well and gaining weight a little bit at a time. She came with me to lab on Monday and seemed to enjoy it so I think she'll be making more visits in the future. Research My presentation went really well and several people had interesting questions afterward! It's nice to feel like other people find it interesting and valuable, since I worry a lot about both of those things. I am supposed to take my comprehensive exam (like a thesis defense, but before you've written the thesis) this semester but there are three and a half weeks left in it and my advisor wants me to get two more papers out the door before I do the exam. I have been treating research more as a 9-5 job than a lifestyle and I think I am going to have to start working harder if I ever want to get out. We'll see if my mental health will tolerate that.