Between then and WOW!

I look at my blog and think about blogging every day.

Why oh why am I so lazy? I'm not sure, but now there's no room for excuses.

I'm done--Done--DONE with grad school, with my job, and--just to give you a mental picture--I'm currently sitting at the kitchen table in my plush bathrobe without much of an agenda today.

Ah. Yes. It's summer. It's that period between the end of the school year and...oh...wait. That's right. I don't have a plan.

If you would have asked me a year ago what I would be doing right now, I would have said with total confidence that I'd be back in Austin working in publishing. Clearly, plans have changed. I'm beginning to wonder why I ever make plans of any sort.

This last year has been one of the most exciting adventures I could have asked for, but it's left me in limbo, and I'm not exactly comfortable.

I'd just like to know what I'm supposed to be doing!

I know I will find a job. I mean, c'mon. I just started looking. I've got health insurance, and the support of family, friends, and a top-notch boyfriend. What more could I ask for?

Yesterday, I worked out three times, put a dent in my book, and spent the first day of summer as it should be spent: soaking up rays, lounging lakeside with an iced coffee, and dining with one of the best friends I've got.

This is the life.

If I have to scrape by for a bit, so be it. I'm going to enjoy this time as I doubt it'll ever surface again.

Manzanita, Cannon Beach, and a Greenberg sandwich

For weeks--maybe even months--Taylor and I had been planning to spend a weekend with the Greenbergs. Without Kat and Mike, there would be no Kate and Taylor. (And, if we really want to get technical, without Allison there would be no Kat and Mike!) 

Anyway, we had the weekend of April 30th marked off as our get-away weekend, but a couple of commitments came up along the way, and we didn't end up going too far away. We did, however, put together a successful slumber party at the Greeners' as well as a day trip to the beach.  

 Kathleen, Mike, and Bear were busy in the kitchen, grilling up fajita fixin's.

 Aaand...after a pit-stop for breakfast, we were off! 

Mike and Tay built a fort while I documented.  

 Taylor gave Bear a bit of exercise. 

 What a stud pup. 

My favorite shot of the day, and hopefully the Greeners' Christmas card. 

 Couldn't beat the weather that day. 

 Taylor took us on a hike to watch the surfers. 

Mike and Kat all tuckered out. Day trip No. 1 = success!

Cue 'Pomp and Circumstance'

Gosh, I know I said it in the last post, but it's true: I love a good deadline. Maybe I should start putting a deadline on absolutely every task. It'd sure help me get things done.

Last week was a doozy, but I made it. I cranked out that paper in one night, and my master's oral exam went off without a hitch. Now, all I have left to do is pass the two classes I'm taking--and I'm golden.

Umm...actually, I take that back. I have to pay a massive university fee. Then, I have to find a job. 

I'm not out of the woods yet, but it sure feels nice to enjoy the moment.  

One of the professors on my committee was also the teacher who pushed me to get my book proposal together. He said it's time to set my focus back to perfecting that beast, so that's just what I'm going to do. He has a lot of faith in the project, which helps when I have lapses of extreme--what's the opposite of motivation? Laziness? Yeah. 

Well, besides the book project, for the next month and some change, I'll be continuing to work as Coach Benzo, leading individual workouts with the post players and making a manual for the person who will be taking my job. Also, I'll be tying up loose ends in my two classes as well as hitting the job hunt hard. 

I almost forgot to mention Taylor and I will be kicking off wedding season with a trip to Austin for two weddings. We leave in nine days, and yes, I'm counting! The ceremonies are a week apart, so we'll be soaking up the rays, throwing back the margaritas, and seeing how many barbecue joints we can hit in a week. 

Yahoo!    

The clock ticks harder?

Like most journalists, students, or I guess most people in general...I love a good deadline. Most of the time, the pressure propels me to crank out my best work.

I think I've met my match.

Yesterday, I found out my master's oral exam (the equivalent of a thesis defense) has been moved up one week to this--excuse me, THIS--Friday.

Somehow I neglected to realize I have a ten-page paper due in conjunction with the exam. The paper was due a couple of days ago, and I nonchalantly ignored the due date. That's a lie. I panicked when I realized I missed the deadline, but I put a band-aid on the issue by promising a completed paper by tomorrow morning.

On top of that, I have to re-format my portfolio. I can't go in to detail about the unfortunate series of circumstances that led to this dilemma, but I will. Oh, I will. That will be a beast of a blog post.

And ... sooo ... naturally I'm blogging instead of writing. Not to worry, I've got the outline all mapped out. I'm not quite sure how I'll manage the re-formatting of the portfolio, but first things first. It's time to get the creative juices flowing, and coincidentally I think my coffee pot is finished percolating.

Let the games begin.

The home stretch

Fifty-four days from now, I'll be a master.

Officially.

Officially a master of book publishing.

What the heck does that even mean?

I wish it meant my job search will be a breeze and my book will be published as soon as they hand me the embossed diploma. But...I have a feeling that's not really the case.

Regardless, I'm counting the days. I'm ready to start a new chapter. Can you believe it's been nearly two years since I embarked on journey I'm currently navigating? I can't.

I've gained knowledge and grown. I've floundered and flourished. It's been a true learning experience, as they say.

I know I shouldn't really be counting the days as it's more important to make the days count. So, that's what I'm going to focus on as I work to complete several papers, projects, and presentations, as well as my daily work duties. I'm going to make a solid effort to keep that mantra on the forefront of my mind as I trudge through an endless folder of paper I listed as "Take Care of Later" in addition to the manual I'm compiling for whoever takes my position at PSU.

I'm eager for the next adventure, but I don't want to regret not sopping up every ounce of enjoyment from the moment at hand.

Here's to fifty-four days of hard work, late nights, and the memories to be made.

Here's a photo of me pouting as I left behind my apartment and life in Austin. I cannot believe that was two years ago. Time flies, and there's really no other way of saying that...

An out-of-order update

I have been working diligently on my book blog, over at www.thebusygirls.wordpress.com. I am removing some posts from that, and I don't want to just delete them forever ... so I'm going to post 'em here, starting with this one, affectionately titled, "Dr. Dream Weaver and the Delightful Dentist."

Right about the time school started this fall, and for two Wednesdays in a row I had some kind of  medical emergency. The first was a bit more "urgent" than the second.

As per usual, I was in a hurry. (I feel as though most of my accidents or incidents begin that way.)
I ran some errands on my day off, and I swung through home to grab a bite to eat en route to another errand ... except I never made it to that errand. As I was slicing into a frozen veggie patty (it's totally fine if you scoff or laugh about this--I know it sounds ridiculous), I missed the plastic and the knife went right through my left thumb. Gory details aside, I threw my hand up in the air and screamed at the top of my lungs. Thank the good Lord above my roommate was home because she acted quickly and calmly and drove me straight to the emergency room.

Once at the ER, we contemplated going in to the hospital because neither one of us knew the severity of my injury. I'm glad we did, however, because I needed about eight stitches to sew up my thumb. The silver lining of this terrible scenario was that my doctor was a dreamboat, which tends to happen only in the movies.


The following Wednesday, thumb bandaged up and on the road to recovery, I stopped in at the dentist for what I thought was going to be a check-up and routine teeth cleaning. Although I never minded the dentist before, I left there crying. Scratch that. I was whimpering in disbelief at my woeful Wednesdays.
My new dentist couldn't have been more pleasant and enjoyable, but the news she delivered nearly made me vomit: I had FIVE cavities. I didn't know how this could be possible as I have the best oral hygiene habits in my family. I had to schedule three different follow-up appointments to fill the holes in my teeth.

I don't even know how to end this post, other than by saying I have my fingers crossed in hope and faith that next Wednesday will keep me from any further medical hardships.

I'm not neglecting my resolution ...

... I've just been working on my other blog that will someday accompany a book--if I can get my proposal together in time. I've got until the end of the term, and it's moving along a bit slower than I anticipated, but it's moving.

Aside from that, here's the rundown:

• The team has been traveling a ton. That's an understatement. We had three days off in January, so I'm pretty pumped the calendar changed yesterday. 
• Mariel and I continue to cook as much as we can. The other besties, Kelley and Katie came over and we made homemade pasta yesterday--that was quite a treat! 
• I'm running a half-marathon in a few weeks, and I'm trying to start swimming in hopes I can do a triathlon one of these days. So far I've had just one lesson, and I can't say it was my favorite exercise session, but it went OK.

That's about the extent of what's going on in my life. The days are flying by faster than ... well ... they're flying, and before you know it, it will be June, I'll be graduating, and then ???

If anybody has suggestions as to what I should and could be doing for employment come summer, please oh please let me hear 'em!

And, if I had a few more days off, I'd be at the mountain, snowshoeing or skiing around ... I guess it's OK the mountains don't have much snow right now!!!