Whoa, It's Been A While
Okay, so off the bat: I suck. I admit it. It's been over a year since I updated. I completely missed blogging anything from my last year in Leeds. I have two excuses.
1. I acquired a boyfriend and
2. I had to finish up my projects at work, and then find a new job.
First, I started dating a wonderful man almost exactly a year from the end of tenure in Leeds. I won't bore you with my gushing about him (that's what my paper journal is for, 16-year-old-me!), but it did put some pressure on trying to squeeze as much as possible into that year. We manged to get a trip to Rome, several trips to London and a trip to the Green Man Festival in before I had to come back to the US.
I also went to Paris, but didn't bring him with me.
Second, I had to finish up my projects at work, and then find a new job. Again, I won't bore you with the details of finishing up, because seriously zzzzzz for anyone outside of the field. I did present at two more conferences, and get a review out.
Finding a new job has become... interesting. There was the soul searching of what I want to do next, what I want my career to look like. I'm at the point where I can't muck about anymore- I need to make a choice. There was the added layer of trying to avoid a long distance relationship, which quickly went out the window when I ran up against the new immigration restrictions. There's been a lot of frustration and anger surrounding the fact that a lot of my self worth is tied up in my job and my ability to contribute to society in some way.
Unemployment has been a good lesson in learning to let go. There are going to be things in life I have no control over. I can do my best to avoid them, or ameliorate their effects, but in the end, I have to learn to let them go. Que sera, sera.
1. I acquired a boyfriend and
2. I had to finish up my projects at work, and then find a new job.
First, I started dating a wonderful man almost exactly a year from the end of tenure in Leeds. I won't bore you with my gushing about him (that's what my paper journal is for, 16-year-old-me!), but it did put some pressure on trying to squeeze as much as possible into that year. We manged to get a trip to Rome, several trips to London and a trip to the Green Man Festival in before I had to come back to the US.
I also went to Paris, but didn't bring him with me.
Second, I had to finish up my projects at work, and then find a new job. Again, I won't bore you with the details of finishing up, because seriously zzzzzz for anyone outside of the field. I did present at two more conferences, and get a review out.
Finding a new job has become... interesting. There was the soul searching of what I want to do next, what I want my career to look like. I'm at the point where I can't muck about anymore- I need to make a choice. There was the added layer of trying to avoid a long distance relationship, which quickly went out the window when I ran up against the new immigration restrictions. There's been a lot of frustration and anger surrounding the fact that a lot of my self worth is tied up in my job and my ability to contribute to society in some way.
Unemployment has been a good lesson in learning to let go. There are going to be things in life I have no control over. I can do my best to avoid them, or ameliorate their effects, but in the end, I have to learn to let them go. Que sera, sera.
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