Here goes...

Well, here we are, suddenly in 2009. I have to admit that the reality of this hasn't really hit me yet. I wasn't feeling well last night, so I stayed home from NYE celebrations, and today feels like just another Saturday. Except that it's a Thursday. And a brand new year. Gotta get that straight.

To be honest, I'm dreading most of this year. Between now and April, I need to teach a brand new class, finish a draft of my thesis (supposed to be done in December, now looking like the end of this month), write a grant proposal so that I'll have a paycheck as a postdoc, and attend an ever-increasing list of doctor's appointments. Then, between April and August, I need to teach another brand new class, travel internationally to get some last-minute data, finish and defend my thesis, and move half way across the country. All of these things are important, and all of them must be done. The only trouble is that I don't want to do any of them. I want them to be finished, but don't feel much like being the one to do the finishing.

On the other hand, 2009 holds a lot of promise. Graduate school has not been the best experience of my life (putting it rather mildly), and it will be over in 8 months. The teaching workload is hard to balance with everything else, but I do love to do it, and there are no miracles to be worked this quarter. In fact, this quarter is all ready to go, and it might even be fun. I am back in the medical loop to figure out the chronic problems that I've been dealing with for the past 3 years, and there's a chance (however small) that they might figure out something useful to do. We have a big move and new jobs coming, and there are just a lot of generally optimistic signs for the future.

The past few years have been years of growth, but this is likely to be more of a year of change. And I'm really ready for some change. Now, we just need to hold on long enough to get there.

I've been meaning to look at my 2008 knitting resolutions list, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. I've been thinking about a new list, but I don't really feel prepared to write one. Instead, I think I might just wing it rather than planning this year. My goal with every project is to try something new, and to learn something I didn't know before. I think I might just sit back and see where that takes me.

Here's wishing you all a happy, healthy, and fun 2009!