Life here is pretty busy.  I haven’t posted as much as I thought I would because I AM tired from all the work that goes into a PhD.  I don’t think it is impossible amounts of work, but you want to master the material, and you don’t really think that you can keep up with the pace of the class.  I am pretty sure that this accelerates learning, because I have already noticed the change.  I am paying much more attention, I am becoming a learning machine.  My phrasing is changing due to the amount of textbook and research paper writing I am doing, and I immediately want to summarize everything that I experience, so that I can refer back to it later.  People are starting to be very aware of the amount of time that they have to commit to studies.  I have found it useful to be very regimented in my use of time.  I have set schedules.  Right now I should be working on some stuff, but I feel like I am on track to get it all done, plus I have many reading assignments which can be done best as I wind down at the end of the day.  It feels a little weird not to be working on stuff that is directly due in class.  In group, you feel like you are slowing the group down if you make a joke, or go off on a tangent.  We are planning some down-time however this weekend, which should bring a little levity back into the situation.  I want this experience to be as good as we can possibly make it, and by encouraging each other to perform at the limit of our abilities, it will be beneficial to us all.  The professors this semester are great.  The second and Third years are very jealous that we drew such good luck on the way that each of the well-recognized professors will complement our first term.  I feel very good about this.  I also think that my class is a great group of people.  They all have really strong backgrounds.  I am so pleased that so many were able to be accepted to the program, meaning that the applicant pool was very impressive indeed.  I didn’t do anything to directly disserve this opportunity, but I am very excited about my prospects for what can be done with it.  My little pep-talk here in this journal entry has already made me want to get back to work.  I shall do a little reading and then make sure that I get my rest for in the morning.  I am happier, healthier, and focused.  I don’t know what else you could ask for.  Every now and then I will take a moment or two to celebrate how fortunate I feel, and to enjoy the accomplishments which have occurred.