I'm a really bad blogger.

You'd think, with the job that I have, that I would be an awesome blogger. Apparently that is not the case. Instead, I use my time at work to play with the curling iron someone gave away to our basement*, play text twist, read books about strange loners who donate their entire estate to a nation they have never visited or have any connection to whatsoever (ours) to create a museum (the Smithsonian) for the people, rearrange the items on the shelves, write out receipts and wrap sold items in tissue paper... oh wait, those last two are the parts I'm actually getting paid for!

I got into grad school! This sounds like a victory, for a girl who whines about her job as much as I do, and has been out of undergrad going on two years now. However, I just got my financial aid packet, and was told that FAFSA had awarded me $22,000 in loans. FOR ONE SEMESTER. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. There is no way I am going to be able to foot the bill for SIX SEMESTERS of this. That's $120 grand... law students pay that much to get their degree, and justify it with their immediate exorbitant paycheck. This is not something I can expect, as an archivist. I'm going to get drinks with an old classmate of mine tonight to discuss MAT programs -- the next step in making me a permanent teacher, rather than a temporary 5-year one. Perhaps this will be a cheaper, more realistic, though less fulfilling option... Then again, maybe I just need to schedule an appointment with a financial aid officer and discuss my options. Perhaps I am misleading myself! Wouldn't be the first time I've jumped the gun.

I cannot wait to go home for Christmas, and I think the feeling is mutual... my sister seems excited, at least! N and I will arrive in the Big D (and I *DO* mean Dallas!) late on the 22nd, and I'm staying until early morning New Year's Eve. N is flying north to see his family the Sunday after Christmas; I think his family was a bit upset*** that he was not spending Christmas and New Years with them, but were happy all the same that they were going to get to see him for a bit. His sister M flies out right after the New Year to Malaysia to teach English on a Fulbright Scholarship, so I won't see her for quite a bit! Unless I decide to take a trip to Malaysia... which I suppose is not entirely out of the question. The old me would have said that was a ridiculous thing to say, but the new me thinks that maybe this is an amazing opportunity to see a part of the world that most people I know would never get to see -- a once in a lifetime chance to experience something amazing.

I have a feeling exciting things are going to happen this holiday season... So blogging is going to commence full steam, starting now. Welcome to my life, guys. :)






*It's pretty common to walk through our basement and find a table full of stuff that other people no longer want. I'd say 75% of the time this is crap, but 15%** of the time the stuff is awesome goodies, things that you actually need or want -- like, for instance, a curling iron (something I'd love to have, but would never actually purchase for myself), or a neato unique beaded necklace, or file folders that I used to store my scrapbooking stuff, or a $75 reversible thigh-length rain coat.
** I know that you're thinking that my math is off... 75% + 15% = 90%, leaving an extra 10% unaccounted for! This extra 10% is actually the shit that you THINK is amazing, and you lug up to your apartment, only to realize later (anywhere from months/days/weeks to literally WHILE you are carrying it up the stairs) that it really IS crap, and there was a reason it was sitting on that freaking table. It will then sit in my entryway, on the floor or table, for days/weeks until we remember to take it down with us and put it BACK on the table.
***Though they were pretty pissed in the nicest, most gracious way possible, this is definitely the biggest understatement of the holiday season so far.