Weekend retreat

I went to a private island in the middle of Puget Sound this weekend for class. Yes - I am talking about Blakely Island, be excited.
It was sunny in Seattle this weekend. Blakely Island is not Seattle.

Weekend Agenda:
Up at 5:00 AM to be out in the rainy woods at 6:00 AM to take notes of feeding behaviors of deer...No deer appear.
Into a warm lodge for breakfast at 9:00
Back out in the woods from 10:00 - 1:00...No deer.
Lunch.
Wrestle with statistics from the last class research project with the other 6 people in my class. After 4 hours of not understanding what is going on, how to compute the researh data, or how to write up the results - get REAL frustrated.
Dinner.
Back in the woods from 6:30-8:30. LOTS of deer show up! Enjoy my time with my classmates and friends.
Back to the lodge...Statistics work until midnight. MIDNIGHT. Feel a little stupid as I sit at a table crying. Feel reassured as the other peeps sigh, swear, and cry as well.
Bed. With awesome late night conversations with Jenette.
Forget to set alarm. Wake up at 5:50 and frantically throw clothes on.
Out with the deer again at 6:00.
Back for brunch.
Pack. 2 1/2 ferry ride back to the mainland. 2 hour drive back to Seattle.
SHOWER - GLORIOUS SHOWER!!!
Into the library at 7:00 PM to finish my research paper (with all the stats from the weekend). Brief break for dessert and ALLIE. Back to the library until my mind shut down at 10:15.
Touch base with Brandon at 10:30 for the first time in 4 days.

Brandon: "How was your retreat this weekend?"
There was no retreat, boy - I was in a beautiful and scenic, but very real academic hell.
The weekend ended this morning at 10:30 when I completed the paper that I've been working on for the past month. 18 pages. APA style. Kick ass.

When I walked into class this morning at 11:00 and looked at the sleep-deprived faces of my other class mates...signed deeply...and threw a paper down on Craft's desk that I knew was the SHIZ....it was all worth while.

My life in a nutshell:
How good it is to suffer for knowledge. As BRUTAL as this quarter is...my goodness it feels good to be pushed SO HARD.
And a benefit of always feeling behind, sleep deprived, and stressed is that all the beautiful things of life are only magnified. It may not sound like it from the tone of this post, but seriously.....How good He is...