This feels (mostly) right

I wanted to document what my life is like during my time here at East Carolina University this summer for my REU program. The balance I've struck here has me feeling really good. So this could be useful to have in the future if I find myself feeling sub par. Maybe it could be helpful for you too.

Work:

We have a little less than a 40 hour work week. I'm working by myself on a project that I thought of and am implementing all on my own. It has been very fulfilling. I also don't feel like I'm working so much that other aspects of my life are being neglected which has not always been true with other forms of work.

I might could find a little more satisfaction if I were working on something with more future potential. I don't think I will take this research any further once I am done. So having something that could grow into my wildest dreams could make the work better. Working with a team could also be better. I'm in the room with everyone else during the week, but we are all doing our own thing. If my situation incorporated these two things, I could probably work many more hours each week and still maintain my health.

Health:

I'm getting 45 minutes worth of cardio/gym time about 5 days a week. Wednesday I attend an AI journal club where we read papers and Friday the gym closes too early for me to get there. For food I am getting about 2500 calories. Overall, I don't think my health is getting worse, and I don't feel bad. Earlier in the summer I tried to cut out sweets, but I found myself craving them late at night. This was very distracting. Now I usually have 2 or 3 chocolate chip cookies for lunch and that has helped.

The only thing I would change here is getting better quality food. Subway and cafeteria food aren't a long term solution despite being my only options here.

Friends:

I generally hang out with people twice a week on Friday night and Saturday during the day. This has been the perfect amount for me. I still have plenty of me time, but knowing I will have something fun to do twice each weekend has been great. Having people that share many interests with me has also been fantastic. I love talking about AI, companies, computers, books, and other somewhat technical things and so do a lot of the people here.

Having people so readily available to hang out during the week has been somewhat distracting though. There isn't much time in the day after we get out of work. And I like to spend it doing things for me. Some days I find myself wasting a bit more time than I'd like just hanging out.

Housing:

Living on my own has also been terrific. I do have a roommate. But we don't bother one another almost at all, which is good. It is always quiet - unlike home. I have almost no stuff with me and that is nice too. Our room has a patio outside the window. And given the perfect bug-less 75 degree temps, I love going out there to hang out on the roof.