Last week got better, thanks in no small part to many of you and some sushi and some time.

I'm in Wisconsin now for the holiday weekend and plan to enjoy some good food like only Wisconsinites can (fried cheese curds, anyone?), some excellent adult beverages, and some quality time with some of the very best people in my life. I have a to-do list a mile long, school-wise, and can already predict that maybe only half of it will get done. That's the funny thing about procrastination and a lack of motivation; they tend to follow you no matter the scenery.

maybe i spoke too soon.

...and then sometimes, there is just unspeakable sadness.

elation.

I am back in my element.

I know I didn't really blog here when I wasn't, but trust me when I say that this semester has been a challenge. But there's nothing like being surrounded by very, very good friends at your birthday party, looking stunning and knowing it, and having very, very fabulous times with all in attendance to ground you and remind you that you're a very, very lucky girl, indeed.

In addition, I taught a class this morning and it was easily the most perfect lesson I've ever executed. Both of my supervisors gave me mad props (complete with multiple exclamation points) afterwards and it just felt so. good. to excel again at something I've always known I was pretty good at. I lost that confidence for awhile there. I'm glad to feel it creeping back.

I miss my Wisconsin posse much more than I let on, most days. I'd give an awful lot to know that on Tuesday, some of us would be headed to the Wine Boutique to do a tasting and then hang out wherever the evening took us. I sometimes miss the life I had in Madison with luxe pay checks, a regular 9-5 type of job that was stressful only occasionally, the familiarity of the city in which I grew up, my family all within 80 miles of my apartment, and most of my best friends within driving distance, too.

I'm not sure where this blog is going, except that I'm feeling slightly maudlin for no reason whatsoever, except that as of a few days ago, I'm a year older and probably none the wiser. I've said it before, and I'll say it again in the months to come, I am certain--moving to Tucson was the best decision I ever made. Sure, I'll get a master's degree out of the deal eventually and I guess I can name a couple of ways in which I've grown intellectually (lord would our dept head kill me for putting it that way), but more than that, I've grown up.