Thoughts on the end of my first PhD semester

This week, I wrapped up my final few classes (and final projects) for the first semester of my PhD program. How do I feel afterward? Tired, very tired.

I took the opportunity to do some fun things last night: visited friends in Ypsilanti, saw an IMAX re-screening of The Green Knight, got caught in a snowstorm during my drive home (pulled over at a gas station to let the worst of it pass), went to bed early to make up for all the stress.

It's so easy to de-prioritize "fun" during the semester, isn't it? Then suddenly you're joking around with friends at the Steak & Shake about whether Kraven the Hunter will be any good or not, whether MVP's going to Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson this year, and your brain feels less sluggish than it did before.

What will I be up to between this semester and the next? Partially Christmas-time travel, partially last-minute gift-buying. Hopefully I will relax, visit the new queer bar downtown with friends more often, finally (finally!) deploy that website update, maybe start Metaphor: ReFantazio or keep playing Caves of Qud. My biggest priority is to just sleep more, too little sleep for me as of late. I wonder what next semester will bring?

A note: the code for my website redesign is 99% finished; I am confident that I can deploy it by late December/early January. Will I deploy it by late December/early January? We will see.