Going back to School (GOOD)

I don't know why, but I'm always a little excited to go back to school. It doesn't actually start until tomorrow, but I'm here (at school) now writing on my blog. I'm not really prepared yet...i.e. I haven't bought the books that I need for class, I didn't buy school supplies or new clothes really. Now that school is about to begin again, I have to look back at what happened over the summer. I went to Japan (again), I saw my old friends, I traveled different places in Japan and met new people, I did new research, I came back to Texas, I showed my girlfriend around, I went to New York (unfortunately), I moved into a new house (with roommates), etc... I guess that's a lot. I'm reminded of how many more years I have to be here to complete my doctoral and where I will go and how long it will take me to finish my post doctoral degree. One thing I'm glad to be doing again is work. After spending most of the summer in Japan and then doing little in the USA, it feels good to go back to Sylvan's Learning Center and teach a little. When school starts I will have to teach a lab or a class. For some reason, university students aren't as sharp as high school students it seems. Or maybe they are just less embarrassed to ask simple questions (that I assumed they already knew). But I'm sure that's not it...when I test high school students on the same thing I test university students on, the high school students show better understanding. It makes me wonder what happens to someone between high school and college. Does one night of drunken celebration destroy years of education? That can't be true or most university students would be brain dead by their second week of classes. I don't understand it.
Well, not much to talk about right now. I'll just leave you with some pictures.