Energy levels, excited states

I'm taking three classes this semester (3rd semester Chinese, an optics lab, and a communications signal processing course). That adds up to 12 hours, as the university counts it. I'm a 4th-year grad student, and my courseload would count as full-time for an undergrad! Is this stupid? Yes.

I do have a good reason (for the two non-Chinese classes): if I take 7 hours of applicable class per semester, I'll be done with classes after next fall. That's incentive, right there. I do not have a good reason for taking Chinese - I mean, it's useful, tons of people speak it in my department, I do think it would be fun to visit China, etc etc. But those aren't reasons on the same level as "it counts towards my degree" is a reason.

Taking this many classes, getting back into taiji, keeping up with BJJ/JKD, and hitting Goshin Jitsu once a week (I want to work on my stand-up fighting) makes me feel like I never have any down time. I never had any before, but that was because I spent a lot of time being social - White Horse Thursdays, pool at Crane Alley after BJJ Tuesday nights, lots of Settlers of Catan... I filled that time up. Now I have to empty that time out again, so I can spend it on school. It's hard saying "no, I can't go out" when I'm not used to it. I don't doubt I can make it, but it demands a slightly harder, more serious side of LV.

Oh! Also I'm volunteering (mostly - they feed us sometimes and I get a little money) as a graduate mentor for an undergraduate women engineers' mentoring & professional development class. I get to skip all the boring resume-writing and professional developing, and take ladies on tours of my lab, sing karaoke with them, introduce them to professional types that I know, and other fun big sister things. Awesome!