looking ahead: heat at the end of the tunnel

Woh.

Been way too long.  Sorry. This one has some ramblings - the more time there is b/w posts the more haphazard the thoughts looks here.  So I'm going to embrace it.

Lots has happened since my last post, and I think it's only appropriate that I openly acknowledge such. My time has been occupied by finishing some papers and such (some of which I'm proud, while some of which . . . er, not so much), then I was lilly-padding from city to city and heated building to heated building during the holiday and post-holiday season. All of the hopping always takes a lot out of me. Always. As I was packing up my belongings (and then unpacking, re-packing, etc etc etc) I realized how anxious I was for the day I could finally settle.

Not "settle" like this:

Absolutely not. But settle like this:

(Unrealistic.  I know.  But let me relish my glorious, glorious post-graduate dream.)

Despite these forecasting feelings, I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with good friends and midwestern family people. Lots of coffee sipping, tea steeping, and cheese platters.

I also had a chance to breathe. A much needed inhale/exhale from a life race that shot out of the blocks mid-May and seemingly didn't have an end. Reflection is so essential, I have no other words to describe its importance. When I am not able to see the big picture, I feel like a deer shot in the leg -- if you watch it long enough, it will hobble off into the woods and curl up for an exceptionally long winter slumber. 

I digress. My mind was able to wander about, and it was oh so needed.

Whilst wandering, I was able to talk to a number of people in the biz. Absolutely great to chat with them, whether it was over the phone or in person for a drink or coffee. While in new york (between the wanderings), I stopped by Lowe - love the new space, and fantastic to see everyone! Despite Domenico's recent exodus and new ventures and the announcement about recent lay-offs, Lowe still holds a special place in my mind.  And heart, I suppose.  As I read about their work and their happenings, I attempt to suppress my bias.  But alas . . . 

It will be interesting to see how they progress.  All the best, guys.

All in all, a great break.  Why?  Simply because I was able to take the time to slowly shift gears.  From college thinking to whatever lies ahead.  By not placing my thoughts in a public setting such as this (and not even placing them in my non-lined notebook), intuition could take over and the internal compass could tell me where the hell I was.  I gained my bearings.  I found myself.  [Insert joke about the midwest here.]

So here I am.  Stuck in a far-off land blanketed by oodles of snow for the next few months (which I'm convinced is the horrible by-product of an ancient curse placed on this city due to a lost bet or soul-swapping shenanigans, or something of the sort).  Just like umbrellas in the rain, boots in the snow ironically don't really work here.  The Land of "Joke's-Permanently-On-You" as I like to call it.  My fingers are cold, but my personality wants the heater more than any bodily extremity.  

Despite all this, I feel energized and focused - and not just on the snow-shoveled passages on the Quad.  The stacks of work are taunting me, yes.  There is an incredibly difficult economy that desperately needs great minds to help it out, yes.  But there is a certain comfort now that I'm on the right path for where I want to go.  There's an end in sight and I feel invigorated to plow through to get some sort of warm, relaxing, comfortable sensation in the next stop in life.

 

Where will that be?  Don't know.  But doesn't [really] matter.  Cheers!

quite some time

Uh, how the hell did so much time go by?

This part of the semester always boggles my mind -- it never ceases to astound me how quickly the days zip by, and how much more work I have to do by the time I go to bed.  I suppose it's just one of those instances where you have to pay homage to the clocks of the world for keeping track of precious time, and continue on with your work.

As a brief recap of the past few weeks:

Halloween very definitely ended.  

Obamarama took place, followed by the exclamations of "YAY!" and "Oh, shit."

And of course, Thanksgiving took vengeance on all of our stomachs.  Since there are only a few days left in the semester, I decided to stay in Syracuse for Turkey Day . . . and cook.  A privilege I've never before enjoyed on Thanksgiving.  Here are a few pictures of my festivities:

It was disgustingly and painfully delicious.  All of it.  

But I did very little work.  Actually, that's a blatant lie.  I did no work.  None.

Therefore, the next 2 weeks are going to be sleepless, highly caffeinated and strung out no doubt.  I'm flying home to Chicago for the first break since early May (discounting the last week, of course).  My time there is pretty much solely dedicated to working on my book, independent study, and agency research.  Most of which can be done from my bed.

I'm playing with the idea of hiring a nurse to deliver daily sponge baths so I truly never have to leave my bed, but I'm leaning towards not actually doing it -- there is a certain enjoyment derived from showering, no?  I think I can carve out 20 minutes/day in my agenda of nothingness to cleanse my slumbering body.

Best of luck on any other ends of semesters out there, and enjoy exercising your consumer right to spend money like drunken sailors on embracing the tackiness of the holidays!

Cheers!