I cannot believe that we are almost half way into 2016. We usually take our first vacation in May, which means a couple relaxing weeks overseas. It recharges us for summer, when we take advantage of the long days and try to be more productive.

We have gotten into the rhythm of busy spring and a relaxing May, followed by busy summer months. So this year’s schedule totally threw us off the rails. We are still gonna see our parents, except they will be all coming to us. Our google calendars now look like a child’s finger painting – just overlapping colors and blocks. On top of my parents’ visit, we also need to manage two conference meetings, three birthdays, four garden beds and five medical appointments. To make things worse, I have committed to mentor five new interns at work in order to get more mentor experience, all of whom I have to train myself and carry through during the summer and they all start mid-May!

Well, that is definitely bad planning on my part. Committing too early, being bad at saying no, and definitely compromising too much. But now May is here, I need to take one bit at a time to go through it. I am writing this post from a airport terminal, on my way to my first conference meeting at Nashville, Tennessee – and expect to have a very good time! I have never attended a clinical research meeting before, but I always want to try one. And this year, with my goal of “living with intentions”, I decided to make it happen. Interestingly, it was easier that I thought – I thought I would not have time, but honestly it is all about making it a priority. I thought I would not have the badget, but I applied to a travel grant (also for the first time!) and got it right off the bat! I thought my work was not relevant enough, but as soon as I started thinking from the clinical prespective, my research started to transform to that direction. I must be shaping it subconsciously. It does not only make the meeting more relevant and useful for me, but also serves as an inspiration for how I think about my directions.

Let the May madness begin!