It's been a while since I posted last, and it's fair to say a lot has happened. The festive season saw me add a few more American states and cities to my list, and after spending a week in New Jersey with a friend, I met up with my family in Boston.

As I sit here writing my final blog of the Fall semester, it's almost hard to believe that I am already halfway through the 2012/13 academic year at Washington College.

This is the time of year when birds change their plumage: they lose their old feathers, which are tattered from defending their nests and young during the previous few months, and they grow new ones. This year, I am going through a moulting season as well: I finished my PhD and will begin a post-doctoral fellowship in California in the fall.