Exciting Things are Happening

Kind of.

To start, my brain has quieted down quite a bit the past couple weeks. I'm no longer on the verge of a major freakout regarding life, and I'm feeling pretty good about things. I've decided to stay in San Francisco for all of 2009 for various reasons. The city itself is beautiful, I'm meeting great people, and my job is actually getting much much better. More responsibility, less boredom, and a lot more appreciation from my coworkers. The casual dress code and work from home days don't hurt, either. Nor does the 65 degree weather when the rest of the country is ice ice cold.

I also need to have a non-transition year. College was always busy, and there were always plans to travel home, summer housing and jobs needed taking care of, and it was just go go go. 2008, of course, was a huge transition, with graduation and moving across the country. So in 2009 I'm looking forward to feeling a little bit more settled in a new place. I'm also planning on kind of recentering myself through a couple of ways, including maybe taking some art/ceramics classes and getting more into writing again. I've just felt incredibly scattered the past few months and, more than anything, rootless. It's hard to know where home is after having just graduated and left behind a lot in DC and then so suddenly moving somewhere utterly new. Slowly, though, little roots are forming here, and while they might be delicate and easy to tear out, why not let them grow a little deeper? The decision to stay has left me with a deep sense of calm, the kind that comes in a moment of clarity where suddenly an invisible burden lifts off your shoulders.

2010 holds big plans for me, but luckily nothing that I need to worry about, at least for now. The time for applications and essays will come soon enough, but right now I'm enjoying the respite of thinking ahead and just staying in the moment more.

Other recent/future happenings:

• Thanksgiving in Chicago. Delicious food and my beautiful family led to a relaxing week filled with lots of sleep, long walks with Buddy the dog, and much-needed family time. I'm always amazed how a conversation with my mom can refocus me and calm me down. I think it's something only moms really know how to do.
• B-B-B-Britney! Yes that's right, in March I'm flying to Nashville, roadtripping to Atlanta with Caitlin and Anna (!!), among others, and seeing Ms. Britney Spears in concert, 12 rows back. Think I'm lame? Don't care. I get to spend a long weekend in Nashville with my best friends, get back to my hometown (because let's be honest, Nashville is home), and get back in touch with my 7th grade self, the one who saw N'Sync in concert (TWICE) and may or may not have an autographed picture with LFO, that terrible boy band who sang the Inspector Gadget song (who else is in the picture? YUP, Anna and Caitlin).
• Germany in 2 weeks, where I get to meet my tiny baby sister and see my not-as-tiny other baby sister. Christmas in Germany is sure to be a vision of gingerbread, steaming mugs of chocolate, and long walks in snowy fields and along icy rivers. I'm also ready to spend time with my Daddy and stepmom and see their new house outside Heidelberg.
  

That's all for now. I've noted everyone's comments on great inspirational sports movies and will be adding them to my Netflix queue. Any other movie suggestions are always welcome.

Oh, and happy holidays everyone! I hope the turkey was nap-inducing and that the coming weeks see you full of yummy holiday treats and keeping your head up amongst the dismal economic forecasts. It's the time of year for snuggling into warm blankets, drinking warm drinks, eating candy canes, and holiday parties! I, for one, will be doing all of the above, and I hope you are, too.