The real test....

Today was my first official event since I got here - the meeting with Johan. I haven't adjusted to the time yet - I've been up until 9am their time, getting up at 4pm their time pretty much since I got here. I took a sleeping pill last night and that seemed to do the trick. I fell asleep around midnight and woke up sometime around 5 or 6am. In time to chat with Josh for a bit, and sleep a little longer. There's an alarm clock online [I don't have one in my room], so I used that. Man, the internet has everything! :)

I was instructed to take the 6 or 10 bus. So, I walked to Central Station, where I arrived last Thursday, and looked for one of those buses. I got on, and asked the guy sitting in front of me if he was going to the University. He said yes, and I asked him which stop - I was going somewhere called the Spinoza Building. He said, Oh, I know there that is. And then told me when to get off.

Too bad he was wrong...he sent me to the library [unknowingly or otherwise]. I asked someone at the front desk, and they explained where to go. So, I'm on my way again. Finally, I find it. It's a fairly new building. Social psychology was on the 9th floor, so I took the elevator up there and looked for Johan's office. Bingo! Found him.

We chatted for a bit, and he asked if I had eaten lunch. Since it was just noon, I had not. So, he rounded people up to head to the cafeteria. I guess everyday, they all go to lunch together. The cafeteria was interesting. Well, I should say the food was interesting. I got one of the meals they offered for the day - some fish dish with mashed potatoes and steamed veggies [I think carrots and maybe squash]. The fish was super, super salty. I had a few bites, but could not choke down anymore. The mashed potatoes weren't bad, so I focused on those.

After lunch, we went back to Spinoza, and Johan showed me around the lab space the psych department has. Let me tell you, my jaw about hit the floor. You would NOT believe the extent of facilities they have. It's unreal! So many cubicles, observation rooms, a BAR, a virtual reality room, and others. It's all quite new. All I could say was WOW in room after room, corridor after corridor of lab space. Just wow. It was unbelievable. And really nice to see that a university values psychology so much.

Next, he took me to my....wait for it...OFFICE! I have an office! My own! It's great. It has a fabulous view on the 9th floor. I'll bring a camera when I go back on Wednesday. It has a computer and a desk, and some shelving. It's SO much bigger than the one I have at ISU. In fact, you should see the offices of the grad students here. I'll take pics. They're nicer than some faculty offices at ISU. I have access to JPSP online, which is nice since we don't at ISU. And I can print, make copies, and do a lot of stuff!

Then came the real reason I came here - to talk about my dissertation. I sent Johan a detailed outline of what I was thinking for the studies yesterday. He really, really liked the ideas. Since they have no IRB [can you believe it!?!!?] we're going to start running a study in 2 weeks. Totally insane. I think this can be pilot data, but if it works, it will become Study 2 in the package of studies. Keep your fingers crossed.

I was getting super tired...so around 4, I left for the house. They told me to catch the 6 or 10 bus home, because they both stopped at Central Station. I saw a 1 bus that said Central Station, so I just got on that one. And, I got the scenic route of downtown! It was not the one that I was supposed to take, but it got me where I needed to go. We went all over, and I saw just how big this city really is - WOW. I had no idea. There are so many cool nooks and crannies, and amazing architecture and housing, and shops...I could be here for years and never go a lot of the places I saw today.

I really like it here. The people are SO nice. In fact, a girl I met at SISP a few years ago [the social psychology nerd camp I went to in Austin] emailed me and a girl named Sanne this morning to introduce us. Sanne, who is a Radboud student, studied with Julie's advisor for a bit at Rutgers. Julie saw on Facebook that I was here, and thought we should meet so I knew someone else here. Small world...Sanne's office is 2 doors to the left of mine! She came down and chatted with me for a bit, and gave me her phone number. She seems very cool, so I think I'll be seeing her a fair amount. From the sounds of it, the grad students do a lot together. It will be cool to hang out with all of them.

The department atmosphere here is very different from ISU. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I really like it.

This seems to be my kind of town. I could see being here for more than 2 months [post-doc, anyone?] But I don't know if I can make that kind of commitment for Josh and the cats. I don't know where he would work, I don't know how we'd get the cats here, and I'd miss everyone back home. But still, it's a great place, and I'd definitely like to come back someday.

On Wendesday, Johan is cooking me dinner. :) Well, i should say, us. Me, Thijs, and Tila [his 2 grad students] are going to his house for dinner. That should be fun! Apparently Johan lives quite close to me.

Oh yeah - my hair dryer quit working today! I don't think it's the hair dryer, but the converter plug thing. It works fine with my computer, but for some reason, it did not work with the hair dryer today. I about had a heart attack when I realized that I'd have to go meet all the new people with air-dried hair. It might sound really petty and silly, but my hair is VERY fine, and looks ridiculous not blow dried. Not to mention that my new haircut requires some work. It ended up being presentable. Tomorrow's adventure will consist of me trying to buy a new one. Tomorrow is Liberation Day, another holiday here, so the University is closed. I'll probably work on a few papers and watch the rain [after getting the hair dryer, of course!]

I also found out a bit more about Arnold - from what I understand, he's some sort of psychiatric aide at a children's center. Pretty interesting.

Haven't seen Fritz today except for when I first came home, but here's Rufus [and a bit of Bradley] for your viewing pleasure: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-D7fX9ULDSw