Between Now and Then

Sorry I've been a little MIA, ya'll. Seriously, I've been gettin' my hustle on. It's a busy time. I've got this...monstrous....list...of things to do before I take off from this taco stand for a while. So far the only thing that I have crossed off my list is "mammoth sun hat". Score!

For those of you just checking in, I've gotten myself a little fellowship to finish writing my doctoral dissertation in Israel next year. It's a little crazy...actually, ok, it's crazy like whoa...a perfect example of what happens when you shout your intentions to the Universe and the Universe conspires in your favor. Mmmmm. Maybe I really should play the lottery....

I know, I know, poor me. I'm going to the Middle East for a year. But really, I never fully expected the Universe to actually ante up. I was fully prepared for another year of teaching and toil, subsisting on a dollar a day, maybe two. Inwardly, I was quietly resigned to more of the same: stealing toilet paper from chain establishments, getting hit on by random hipsters and men my father's age in my favorite hipster coffee shops, and trying not to appear publicly intoxicated while attempting to dodge my over-21-year-old students in downtown trendy places. Maybe I am a creature of habit, after all? I'm set to be sitting on a plane out of Dulles on May 23rd (exactly 4 weeks!), and I have no idea when I'll be back. Sometime in the '08 for sure.
Between now and then, I'm continuing to teach the children well in my tutoring endeavors this spring. (Poor children!) I also start my training today for a cocktailing gig that I managed to pick up with the "face that my mother gave me". Hilarious. Forgive me for finding my life at this particular moment highly entertaining.

In the meantime, I am attempting to get my dissertation committee to sign off on a few big and important things. Sadly, getting my committee members to even show up in one place at the same time is like herding a bunch of stubborn, "special needs" cats. A better analogy may even be that it's like juggling knives. I spend a lot of time smoothing egos and pandering a great deal more than I would prefer, but this seems like the only way to get things done. The dance takes so much energy, and there are honestly times when I just want to throw things, or start break dancing. Spinning on my head might actually get someone's attention. I find myself wondering how much energy I have to put out there for this, and I start to think that being a half a world away from this particularly shallow microcosm of ego may really be a blessing, truly undisguised.

Oh, but the really happening news is that I'll be in the DC/Virginia area this weekend. For those of you going to Foxfield, I promise not to bring my laptop or any of my work to the Races. No. No work allowed. Instead, I promise to be humorously obnoxious, mildly intoxicated girl in the flowery dress (under her new, mammoth-sized sun hat) who will blubberingly tell ever single one of you how much she loves you about a million times before you put her to bed at 5pm.

Between now and then...there's trouble to make and hell to raise! I can't wait to see you guys!

But back to the hustle.

Mucho amor,

Namaste