Good morning, my dears. …

Good morning, my dears. Ouch. That's from my right hand, which has started acting up again. I've been off the computer so much the last month that I had entirely forgotten about the carpal tunnel / tendonitis / etc. stuff. But my hand is determined to remind me this morning. I take notes on the stories as I read, and that combined with intermittent web browsing is creating definite twinges. I need more breaks. No more putting the CD player on repeat.

I'm really bad at remembering to take breaks -- I get lost in the work and completely lose track of time. I have two tricks to make myself remember -- my computer is set to beep at me on the hour, which breaks my concentration. And I put on a CD when I start working, and then when I noticed it's stopped, I get up and walk around and do something else. Dishes. Laundry. Even just reading a book. I just finished another Tamora Pierce children's book, Page. I'm addicted to these things. Her first series is the best, I think -- they've got her really cranking them out now, and the later series don't feel as fresh and unusual. But I still enjoy her writing and characters.

So Roshani's child-care crisis has resolved itself -- her mother-in-law can stay another week. That let me ease up a little yesterday -- I stopped for the day with 89 stories left. The goal is to do half today, and half tomorrow. The current goal, anyway. :-) Kev and I need to go down to Hyde Park this afternoon -- I have to look up a story in the library, and he has some math stuff to do on campus. I'm looking forward to it, to be honest -- I'm getting to know this neighborhood, and the guys at the local grocery and local cafe know me already. Greektown is friendly, and interesting. But it's not Hyde Park -- it's not packed with memories of college. That may be a good thing in the long run, but right now, I want to go have samosas at the Reynolds Club, and a Himbeersaft float at the Medici. Soon.

I've been doing a lot of thinking about the future, off and on. The big decision to make is whether to move to Chicago or the Bay Area when I finish in Utah. It's not clear when I'll be making that decision for real -- I could theoretically leave Utah next May, but that's not necessarily the best idea. It's probably better for my academic work if I stay in town and in close contact with my professors. But it may be better for my sanity if I leave Utah, and that's not something I can answer right now. Ask me again in a year. But even if I can't make a final decision right now, it's good for me to think about where I'm going to be. Right now, Chicago is looking pretty good. I've been very happy here, this last month. I think I could be happy here for a long time.

Of course, it's not winter right now.

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