Definitely Stairs

I almost took the elevator this morning at work. Eeek!

I realize that in most instances, that is no big deal. However, it's a mental game I play with myself every day-- like "How motivated am I feeling today?" It is also a way to remind myself that, even if the day goes terribly wrong, at least I can still walk up the stairs, which (very sadly) means I'm more blessed than many and it could be a lot worse. (So "quit whining" is usually the mantra of those stair trips.)

Unfortunately, today was almost a crash-and-burn day. My thesis meeting before work was rough, and I didn't have time to fix things right away since I had to go to work, so I was still grumbling when I got there. But I did take those stairs...

Then someone at work "gently" noted that now would be a really good time to let it be known if I want to stay at the company so they can find a good way to write the job description to fit me. That stressed me out a little because my grace period has run out-- I need to find a job ASAP. Where am I going?!


Sigh.

I will be so happy when I know where I'm going in May. In the meantime, if I'm tightly wound and selfish with my time, that's why-- and I give you permission to call me on it if it's getting too excessive. :)

Oh well. Even though I'm stressed now, at least I know that the future is completely open to me!

(Thanks for illustrating, Becca.) ;)

Weekly Highlights / Hooray for Love

- After randomly craving split pea soup, I found this recipe, which I am sharing with you because it was phenomenal and easy. I skipped the potatoes and barley (because I didn't have any) and only sort of followed the directions-- so it seems fairly difficult to ruin. Precisely my kind of recipe! :) Eventually I'll probably try it with the barley.

- I finally spent some time with my local friends, whom I've been neglecting for the past couple of weeks due (mostly) to regional church activities. I am so grateful for the amazing people I have met during my time here! I hope we can keep it up when we (I) splinter off in different directions.

- Truly beautiful Valentine's flowers. On a first date, of course, because Valentine's Day is placed so awkwardly on the calendar. But it was still very sweet of him. C'est la vie, or at least c'est la vie merveilleuse mienne. (P.S., is that right? Anyone speak French?)

Anyway, we made pesto (courtesy of Natalie's awesome recipe blog). Yum!

- Cassidy, my adventuring buddy, spent Sunday with me and we made heart-shaped pizzas. The company (and the pizzas) were amazing.



And...Recognize these? (Maddie, I know you will!)

That's right, the best brownies ever. Mmmmm.

Final highlight:
- Today was unseasonably warm, so I got to run outside for the first time since... November? Thank you, February, for being so kind on my day off. LOVE.

Unanchored

"This year, the Emerson Program selections committee was faced with the unenviable task of selecting semi-finalists from a large pool of outstanding applicants for the 17^th class of Emerson National Hunger Fellows. In fact, this year we received a record number of applications..."

You know a letter that starts like that can't be good. I didn't get the fellowship. Well really, I didn't even get an interview. I was sort of bracing myself anyway, because the phone interviews start next Wednesday-- so I felt like they would have told me already if I had needed to schedule one.

I feel a little unanchored because I'm not quite sure how I feel about it yet. I didn't have much time to process it the first time because I was just skimming emails on my way out the door. I'm still deciding if the lack of strong reaction is because it hasn't hit me yet or if, on some level, I'm relieved. Maybe a little of both.

On the upside, I guess this helps me narrow my focus a (very) little bit for post-graduation plans. On to the next thing, I suppose.

You know, I like to have one hand on the next thing before I let go of what I've got, but sometimes that doesn't work. I went rock climbing tonight, and the top of my last climb was hard-- there were a lot of tiny rocks, kind of far apart (at least for my arms). I was so close though! Finally I decided that I just needed to kind of jump up to the last handhold-- and it worked.

So I guess it's time to get ready to jump... Not sure to where yet. :)

Good Work

Once upon a time, there was a girl who felt like she spent all day every day thinking about work or school, except on weekends when she pretended neither existed and just played.

Sometimes she wondered if these weekend shindigs were a good idea since they usually resulted in lots of planning work prior and catch-up work after, but she continued going because all work and no play is DULL (as the saying goes).

Recent adventuring has included:

- Exploring a state park and getting wildly lost (but finding our way out again).

- Discovering a fantastic little town in Rhode Island called North Kingstown, which tastes a little bit like Newport (the touristy beach town to the south) but is not nearly as packed.

- Spending a weekend in Massachusetts for a regional activity, meeting lots of people, and finally finding someone who will let me speak Spanish when we're hanging out. :) I'm kind of rusty.

This weekend is a Pride-and-Prejudice style cotillion, and next weekend is Valentine's Day, which will include single-serving, heart-shaped pizzas as a tribute to one of my favorite childhood traditions.

So I'm not really just working. :) And the classes I'm taking are much more exciting this semester. I'm working on a health promotion campaign at the department of health for one of my "classes" and taking a credit for working on my thesis. The one real class I'm taking is all about measuring eating behaviors, which has reminded me that I do like school-- I love love love humans and all of the science that goes into helping them live happily and healthily. (Not sure that's really a word, but you know what I mean.)

I'd say that's a pretty good balance. Time to get back to rocking and rolling on the thesis... I am so excited to be close to the end!