return of the jedi

so i guess it's been awhile. oops. the ironic thing is that my lack of writing has nothing to do with how busy my schedule may be (it isn't), or that i haven't had anything to write about (i do), i just don't think about it. this is something i should probably work on.

anyway, let's see, things that have been going on with me (in no particular order):

- home. i have reached the next stage of adulthood. for the first time in my life, i am more at home where i live than i am at my parent's house. it was a really weird realization to come to. i stayed at my parents' for the weekend a week or so ago, and even though i enjoyed spending time with them, by the end of the weekend i could not wait to get back to my apartment. i love it here. i didn't realize how wonderful it would be to live life without anyone asking where you were going, what time you were going to be home, why you are eating the tuna straight out of the can, how long it's been since you made up your bed, etc, etc.

- job. the job is going well, considering the fact that we've spent the last month with virtually nothing to do while we wait for the government to get around to actually writing our contract. if you want to see inefficiency in action, spend some time at a federal defense contracting office. and it provides a good real world example of where the government flings all of the tax dollars sent to it every year. it's enough to make you vow to spend the rest of your life in the south american jungle with the drug lords. other than waiting on the government, the job has mainly consisted of database entry and database entry. i'm told that things will get much more exciting next week, once the contract is signed. at least, it'll be as exciting as technical writing can get.

- future. i have bit the bullet and decided to go to grad school next year. the problem with this decision is that i haven't yet decided: a) where i am going to go, or b) what i am going to study. this could be an issue. and every time i go to talk to the people at one school, they keep adding more and more options, so i don't know how i'm ever going to figure it out. see, School A has an amazing program, but requires tons of student loans and is a huge commute through lots of traffic. School B is a little less amazing, but is affordable, will allow me to work full time, and doesn't involve trying to drive on massachusetts avenue in the middle of rush hour. (the other option would be riding the metro through scary parts of town by myself in the middle of the night.) then there's the majors. i either want an MA in Public History (think museums, archives, etc) or a MS of Library Science with an Archival Sciences concentration. and i can't for the life of me figure out which one. further complicating matters is the fact that neither School A or School B offer an MSLS, which brings up School C. do we see why i'm a little overwhelmed?

- studying. for the GRE. which is officially an obnoxious test. not quite as obnoxious as the praxis, but still pretty bad. (side note: i don't see why they can't take my praxis scores in lieu of the GRE. i mean, they measure my history knowledge, or lack thereof, waaaayyy better than the GRE ever would.) if i do end up going to School B or C, the only hope i have of being able to afford it is to absolutely blow the top of the GRE so they will give me a fellowship. so that's my goal.

- attempting to get out of the apartment. i have come to the realization that my life consists of two things: work and tv. often at the same time. i either go to work all day and come home and watch tv all night or i work from home and watch tv all day. this is not good. so i've finally started taking active steps to find something, anything, to do and to help me make friends. so i've signed up to volunteer at the crisis pregnancy center, i've joined a band (see note below), i've found a studio to take dance classes, and i'm getting information about local community theatres. hopefully this will give me some sense of purpose that doesn't involve seeing how many episodes one can watch of law and order in a single day. (side note again: anyone noticed how, no matter what time of day, one of the various breeds of law and order is always on?)

- the band. i have joined a band. but not just any band. oh no. i have joined a pipe and drum band. yes, bagpipes. i'm playing in a bagpipe band. go ahead and laugh, it's ok, i've been doing it for a month. because it's hilarious. but also awesome, because i get to wear a kilt and a knife in my sock and i'm playing the tenor drum, which means i finally get to be a drummer. my sister told me that this makes me an official dork. which is probably true, but i don't care because i love pipe music and scottish things in general.

so this is pretty much everything going on in my life. i continue to go to the gym, and continue to be surrounded by the middle aged divorced guys, so i guess my initial observation about the apartment complex was accurate.