Not the beginning of the End, nor even the end of the Beginning, but - perhaps - the beginning of the Beginning.

So. Today we're going to talk about several beginnings. The primary one, of course, being the beginning of my project with Dr. Bickel at the U of A. I met with Dr. Bickel, and we talked for a while, just getting into the routine and formulating an idea of what the future will hold. That sounds dramatic.... Regardless, we settled on a schedule for this week. During this time, I will essentially be coming in and working on experiments and equipment and in general practicing with what I'll need to conduct my main experiment in magnetic and electric fields. Becoming competent using and setting up oscilloscopes and amplifiers, speakers, Geissler tubes and the various other accoutrements of experimental physics is absolutely critical to the progression of my future research. What this boils down to is that Dr. Bickel will give me assignments which I will work on when I come in. These will include basic familiarity exercises as well as more advanced work. Today I practiced producing signals of various frequency on the oscilloscope, and independently verifing the value (as opposed to relying, sheep-like, on the reading from the freq. generator). With that under my belt, he's also given me more advanced material to do a "little light reading" on my spare time. It is a weighty tome, more akin to some dusty grimoire entombed within a moldy sepulchre long forgotten by the living. Indeed, Lovecraftian menace exudes from its very core: as it sits on my desk, an unnerving feeling creeps over me. It waits, and it watches. It dares me to peruse its deathly pages.

In all seriousness - though I think I've lost that high ground - it is quite an extensive binder, with some very interesting and important information that I look forward to reading.

In other news, I have officially received my offer of admission to West Point. Huzzah!