Ending 2008 on a happy note

Hurrah! Hurrah! I get to finish up the year with some good news. My October manuscript, the first paper I've ever submitted, has been accepted (with a few revisions) at Fancy Pants Journal. Yay! I'm absolutely thrilled. This isn't me asking for trouble, but I'm shocked at how few reader comments I got. Would it be utterly ridiculous to ask if there were any more comments that just got "censored" or edited out or something?

The 'eve report

Presents have been wrapped, dinners eaten, alcohol consumed and now my family has all gone to bed. I'm sitting by the fire feeling the kind of content that I've usually only felt when I've been in a relationship. I actually feel like things ending with the Mad Hatter are making me appreciate myself more. I'm pretty happy with my life. I don't really "need" a guy. This is a bit of a revelation to me, though it shouldn't be. I guess some things make more sense when school is out and your body gets a chance to relax and catch up with life. O.K. I'll stop drunk blogging now and go to bed.

news arrives

No. Not my news. The newspaper. I knew I was done trying to sleep when I was lying in bed and heard the THUD of the newspaper hitting the screen door. Yesterday felt like a day of giving. I gave away a brand new pair of boots, had a friend over and made my favorite soup and apple pie for her, then as I was getting ready to go to sleep, did one last good deed by brainstorming with another friend about her new research. I enjoy sharing, and find it enriching, and I feel more like myself when I do it. It just took me a while to get back to being open after writing my dissertation. I felt that I was in a cave trying to write and I shut everyone out. It has taken me a full year to re-learn how to socialize and get to a point of enjoying it again. Now, I'm back, and I'm more open to making friends and giving again.

I also wonder how much of this new openness has to do with things ending with the Mad Hatter, and making me more open to forming meaningful relationships in postdoc city. As much as I like to think this isn't true, I think that being in a closer relationship does mean that there is less of you to go around for your other friends.

Today, though, is all about the literature review, and I'm giving 100% of my day to that. Now that I'm caffeinated, I'd better get going on it!

i was so sleepy...

...Until my phone rang and a friend whom I haven't talked to in a very long time got all excited about brainstorming a new research project with me. I'm flattered that she picked me to talk to. Friend knows a ton of people, most of whom have more closely related interests to the topic of the brainstorm. For some reason, I am her go-to person for discussing big career ideas. Now I'm so damn excited about it, I can't go to sleep.

Lightening up for the holidays

I'm putting up Christmas lights today to combat the early darkness that comes with winter. I never do this, it isn't my singleton tradition or anything, and I won't really do anything else remotely Christmas oriented. I just felt inspired to do something cheery and bright. We got our first snow this weekend, so I think its time for some sparkly lights and candles in the house. This will be good for my mood this week because I'll be spending a lot more time indoors than I usually do. I tend to do most of my reading at home and writing in cafes, so while I'm still working on this literature review, I'll alternate between the office and home.

No more plastic sandwiches for me

One little shop that I love in Postdoc City is the little French bakery around the corner from me. Apart from dangerously good baguettes which are a bit on the crispy side, just the way I like 'em, they also sell fabulous cheeses. I'm currently in love with Swiss Gruyere,this stuff, which is deliciously sweet and just the right amount of salty, just fills your mouth with flavor. It tastes like something greater than cheese, really. And, its not even that I haven't tasted it before, I'm just rediscovering this. I need to stop buying the stuff at the supermarket that is pre-sliced and tastes like plastic. Even if it costs more, I'm willing to have less of the good stuff rather than eat any more plastic sandwiches.

Delayed

My flight back to Postdoc City was delayed yesterday due to bad weather, meaning that I spent five extra hours at an airport that wasn't anywhere near my final destination. This might have been a huge disaster, except that I had packed two of my incomplete knitting projects, and five hours later, both of them are finished!

One of the knitting projects was an eggplant colored scarf (which looks more like burgundy to me) and its going in the mail tomorrow as a thank-you gift for a mentor. She read and gave me very generous comments on my Manuscript #1. It looks a lot like this. It took me a while to figure out the pattern, but I think I've got it now (email me if you're interested and I'll try to write it up for you). I might be making a bunch more before Christmas, as they knit up really fast.

Now that I've been out West in warmer climes, spending most of my break on the beach, returning to the snowy grays of Postdoc City is feeling like a punishment. I think that staying out of the winter blues will require many cups of warm tea, Christmas lights and yellow candles to keep me warm. I'm off to bed early tonight so I can read under the covers for a bit before I go to sleep.