I love the line "You see yourself like a star shining bright" in one of my favorite songs. I'm a sucker for lyrics involving astronomy.

I keep rewriting this entry. It's been more observations on people and life than I can count, but those observations keep changing. What now is so worthy of posting?

I found myself eating a dessert of Nutella and strawberries this evening. It reminded me of how right my choice to spend part of the summer in France was. In fact, the whole act of purchasing Nutella has revived my memories. It sounds so silly, but I ate so much of that stuff over there that it reminds me of my host family, crèpes, and a cool, peaceful evening in Paris. I don't know if I'll ever be able to dissociate Nutella and this summer. I hope the chocolate, hazelnut spread will also remind me of one of my roommates at OWU who walked into my room one day extolling the virtues of Nutella with a huge grin on her face after having just acquired some.

It's such a simple thing, but why question something that triggers memories of a time when my biggest worry was how many croissants is too many? I have also obtained some strawberry juice, which brings back memories from both France and Poland. I get a good smile out of that, too. I found that strawberry juice is more plentiful here in the United States than I realized, although all places in which I have found it have been Mexican restaurants or the Mexican food aisle of the grocery store.

Granted that I am amused by the fact that a mere food can trigger such strong memories, but I think that knowing that those memories are good lets the Nutella, strawberry juice, or whatever new food I discovered, be even better. I'm probably making something out of nothing, but I needed a reminder of my adventures. I guess I really just needed to remember that my life isn't just about physics; sometimes it is easy to lose sight of that. The moral of this story is that sometimes it is easy to lose sight of everything that actually matters in the end. I think I need to do that less. You probably do, too.

I know my life is not just about physics, I spend a lot of time doing other things...like playing viola, for instance. I make my debut in the Lehigh University Philharmonic Orchestra on Friday. We're playing both Friday and Saturday nights. This concert includes Shostakovich's epic Symphony No. 5, Beethoven's Overture "Creatures of Prometheus", and also Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5 ("Emperor Concerto"). Come one, come all. I'm not afraid of self-promotion. Honestly, the Shostakovich should be reason enough to come, but on top of that we offer our conductor conducting from the piano in the concerto. If all goes well, it should be fantastic.

Aside from that non-physics activity, I like traveling (with or without physics being driving force) because it is a way to see more than just what's in front of me. I find these experiences very important, and hope that I can continue to have them. Speaking of which, on Sunday, I'll be heading to Arizona.

How to end an entry appropriately? Clearly, the best answer is by complaining about how there is a stink bug flying around the light.