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I've neglected to post an entry since the Little 500, and while this hasn't been my longest drought, it does come with the best reason so far: finals. Four science classes tend to swallow up most of a student's time, but now that my spring-semester classes are over, I can finally post a bit more frequently.

I got five assignments between May 2 and May 10, including four in as many days. Along with National Train Day celebrations at Union Station on Saturday, I covered four concerts: Amy Ray of The Indigo Girls, Nickel Creek, John Legend, and Tegan and Sara. The concerts were four unique experiences: Amy Ray was at Radio Radio, meaning I was among the crowd; Nickel Creek had me shoot from the wings at Old National Centre about ten rows back; John Legend had me shoot from waaaay back at the Old National Centre soundboard; and Tegan and Sara were the best, allowing photographers to shoot from the pit in the Centre's Egyptian Room. The train photos got onto the local front on Sunday, thanks to the enthusiasm so refreshingly typical of five-year-olds, so that's another noteworthy appearance of my photos in the Star's dead-tree edition.

All my procrastination in posting blog entries, both throughout the semester and in the past two weeks, seems to have paid off. I'm still waiting on official word on what looks like an A- in my second general chemistry lab, but I have straight A's (all vowels, no dashes!) in second-semester physics, second-semester biology, and first-semester organic chemistry lecture. An A in that last class, historically the bane of most pre-med students, is by itself an accomplishment worthy of a run up the steps of the Indiana War Memorial with the Rocky theme running through my head.

...That's a great idea. I'll be right back.

Tegan and Sara perform at Old National Centre, Saturday, May 10, 2014. (Tegan Rain Quin and Sara Kiersten Quin are identical twins, so I can't tell from my photos who is whom. I feel bad about that, so any help with putting the right name to the right face would be the sweetest thing!

There are some things in life that just make me smile. The profundity of seeing the million-year-old light of stars in the night sky. The connection I make between something I learned in organic chemistry and something I've observed and wondered about throughout my life. The friends I made in Madrid, and the fortune I've had in seeing them many times since we studied together.

On Friday, what made me smile was the exit off State Road 37 into Bloomington. At 1:45pm that day, an hour after finishing my physics lab in Indy, the exit meant I was that close to the Little 500, an experience that is simultaneously just a pair of bicycle races and so much more than just a pair of bicycle races. It's spring, it's college, it's athleticism, it's determination, it's the pinnacle of life in a great many ways. For me, it's the memory of good times at the IDS, it's where I first earned a photojournalism award, and it's a reminder of how vivacious life is and can be.

That's how I describe it when I'm away from the race. When I'm there, though, the only words I can say are "Wow" and "Woo hoo!" and "This is the best!" I have neither the time nor the presence of mind to put those emotions into words; I'm living the emotions, and there are photos to make! And make them I did, including my first good crash photo and the winning moments in both the women's and men's races. The sound I made when I saw that I got Brenna McGinn of Kappa Alpha Theta crossing the finish line, hand over her mouth in jubilant realization, is something hard to replicate. If you see me in person, ask me about it, and I'll try my best to make it. It was some sort of squeal.

I was covering the race for the Star, and they posted photo galleries, of course. Their gallery-posting system is still a bit off, though, and it resulted in crops I didn't make (to be fair, I'm certain the photo editors didn't make them, either). So, here are galleries of the women's and men's races, but original versions of 32 photos (16 women's, 16 men's) appear below.

Happy Little 5, everyone, and happy spring!

Brenna McGinn, Kate McDougal and Elizabeth Lieberman celebrate their victory in the women's Little 500 at Bill Armstrong Stadium in Bloomington, Friday, April 25, 2014.

If you don't recall seeing this post on April 24, that's because nobody saw it. When I uploaded it the first time, some of the photos didn't show up, and there was just a blank 770x511 space where each one should have been. This included the main photo, so I resolved to get things straightened out before the Little 500. I didn't, and then finals came along, so there was, um, a delay. But it's here now, on May 12th! Enjoy, finally!

There was snow one day last week (snow! can you believe it?!), so I was quite pleased to see none of it last weekend. I was even more pleased with all the trappings, normal and unorthodox, of spring: bright midday light, dogs sniffing for Easter eggs, the usual 4/20 celebration through music, and (a first for me) stealth proposal photos. Also, I finally feel comfortable wearing shorts every day, and every year, I feel like the first day of braving an unexpectedly strong and cold wind with bare shins should be a holiday. I'm a fan of the first days of spring.

Tune in next week for photos from another hallowed marking of the time of blooming flowers and outdoor exercise: the Little 500! Just like two years ago, I'll be covering it for the Star and reliving the good days of the Indiana Daily Student. I wonder how different it's gonna feel, now that I'm three years removed from my senior year and going for medicine instead of journalism. I'm sure there will still be a rush.

Photo gallery links: Easter "Begg" Hunt (with three color photos in the dead-tree edition!) and Cosby Sweater album release party (part of IndyMojo's 4/20 celebration; this got posted twice).

Kathleen Jeffers holds onto Cindee Lee, a golden retriever sporting Easter bunny ears, during Three Dogs Bakery's annual Easter "Begg" Hunt at Hamilton Town Centre in Noblesville, Saturday, April 19, 2014. Dogs could eat treats hidden inside the eggs if either their nose or the nose of their human touched the egg.