Yeah, I don't get one. Not that this is any different from every other job in the world, but still, everyone wishes they could go back to the days when they got to run from the school doors screaming all the way to the big yellow boat sent to deliver you to freedom. The finals have been taken, the classes are over and the grades have been delivered. So ends the first year of graduate school. While the year truly doesn't end until after the Qualifying Exam in September, all there is to do now is research and the occasional studying for the "Qual".
There might not be a summer vacation in graduate school, but research is a far cry from the class work that weighs you down during the rest of the year. Hell, I've been able to sit outside on my balcony and read... leisurely! I may still have to read user manuals, astrophysical papers and the like during the summer, but having the chance to sit down on a Saturday and read to RELAX is wonderful. The Crows, Squirrels, Chipmunks and Nuthatches all providing a symphony with which to sit back, relax and enjoy my day with a cup of coffee and a good book.
