Busy times, but fortunately mostly with challenging tasks at work and nice things outside of work. At work, there is the selection of students for our research masters for the next study year. We want really special students for those programmes, those who not only get good grades, but are also very motivated to learn more than only what they are told to learn... We would like to have more of such students, but we are happy to see their number growing slowly but surely. Now let's hope, wait and see if all students we accepted to the programmes will really be there when we start in September! Last year some changed their mind over summer, hopefulyl that will not happen again now. Another important task is writing a self-assessment of one of our research masters of which the accreditation is running out next year. Sorry for this boring jargon, but it basically means we have to impress an assessment committee enough, otherwise we would lose this master. So you bet we try hard! It is a new challenge for me, I was not born as a salesmen or marketeer, but I'm learning quickly 'how to sell a study'

Outside of work I have finally lived up to a promise I made myself and others months (if not years) ago. Over the past 2.5 years I have become involved in  three activity networks, always thinking that I would start as a particpant but soon turn into an organiser too. Now I finally started my organising 'career'. Bad start with a concert no one elese wanted to go to... Wrong network for concerts? Not a nice enough band? Too expensive? No idea but I went anyway and had a nice evening with The Fratellis

But I'm improving, because last weekend there were three of us (not much still, but more than one...) for a canoe trip through the beautiful Alkmaar canals, and next weekend nine people will join me on a 20 km hike. More paticipants of course makes organising more fun, so I guess I will stay active and organise more. But in-between organising, 'passive participation' and letting someone else do the work remains of course nice too so I'll continue with that as well