I’m back!

Uh… happy new year? That’s half over?

I had to take a break from blogging for a while. Life got in the way, school was demanding, and ultimately I just had other things to do. That’s not to say I don’t have a lot of awesome stuff going on in my life right now. In fact, life is so good at this moment that I felt I had to write about it!So here’s a rundown of some of the major points:

- I finished school! Hooray, I will have a master’s degree any minute now! I’m a little nervous because I don’t yet know how I’ll be acquiring my actual diploma. I completed all my projects, all my papers, presented at two conferences, and I’m waiting on one more grade to complete my transcript. If I’m lucky and it’s an “A,” I’ll have graduated with a 4.0. I’m proud, but I can’t help imagining that grade inflation had something to do with that.

- I turned 29! Wow, less than one year of my 20’s left. Ever. It’s a mighty big milestone on the horizon, but I feel good about it. For my birthday, the boyfriend took me up to Gloucester, MA and we went on a whale-watching boat tour. It was amazing. We probably saw 25 humpback whales, many that were right next to the boat. They are beautiful mammals.

- The cartoon that the boyfriend and I are working on is coming along, albeit slowly. Now that I am finished with school I can focus a lot of energy on this project. Last night we made a lot of progress on the story, in fact. I’m really geeked, because this creative outlet is pretty fun.

- Work is very satisfactory right now. I’m feeling highly valued (although I could $tand to be more valued, ahem$$), I get to participate and contribute to a lot of decision-making, and people have taken me quite seriously here. It’s amazing that I’ve come so far and learned so much since I’ve started this job. There were moments here and there when I wanted to tear my hair out from boredom (and often with frustration), but currently I’ve also been busy with fun projects that I’m leading or at least managing.

- I got a bike. It’s fantastic. John and I rode to Coney Island and back on Sunday, after attending a brunch and an animated short film festival with some friends.

- On a down note, I had another hard winter. Next winter I think I have to go somewhere nice and sunny and warm before I go mad. It’s essential to my mental health. Strange how my mood is so connected to weather patterns. I wish I could help that somehow.


- Going BACK to Italy in September. Can you believe it will be my second time? It will have been 6 years since the last time, though, which is kind of a depressing thought.

- I am determined to re-learn Spanish. I’m ashamed I don’t know another language. ¡Muy bien!

That’s all for now. If I’ve forgotten some update or another, I’ll be sure to add it later. ¡Hasta luego!