I had a Skype meeting with my undergrad thesis advisor today to talk about various things -- details of a new project we're starting together, talking over the final edits of a poster I'm presenting at a conference, etc. At the end of our meeting, we talked about the level of involvement he should have with my various projects going forward since I'm now starting a PhD program across the country. We jointly decided it's best to keep in touch about what each other are doing since there's such a high degree of overlap, both a) to prevent situations where we do the exact same work on accident, and b) because talking through ideas with someone else in the field is always good! But obviously the frequency and depth of our contact will be much reduced.

I can't help but feel sad. This is the latest in the process of walking out of my last life stage and into the next. First there was moving and leaving friends/family/SO behind, then there was getting acquainted with my new lab and labmates, and now there's becoming less and less involved with my old advisor. It's starting to feel "real". This week, I have new grad student orientation and next week I start classes.

I'm having tons of fun in my new city, I'm excited about the direction my research is going, I like my new friends, I can't wait to meet the other students in my cohort, etc etc etc. But I can't help but feel all weepy about everything I left behind. :(