Crisp. Green. Tender. Young. Grassy. Beautiful: It's Spring.
If you know me in some other context(s), including a certain blue & white social networking site, then you already know this good news. But announcing it on old-skool Diaryland makes it complete for me. It's big, big step forward, a huge hurdle to be over now, and I think my committee gave me the tools I need to move forward and try to wrap this baby up sometime in early summer. I did my 20 minutes powerpoint talk, then my committee asked me questions. I got some tough questions, but I was well equipped to answer them, so it ended up feeling a lot more like a collegial conversation, or back-and-forth, instead of a defense where I was in the hot seat with people grilling me to trip me up. And I should have known it would be--the object never is to trip you up, but just make sure you're doing a well-thought out study and that you know your stuff, really. It only becomes like an uncomfortable interrogation if you have disagreeable professors on your committee and/or your project has big holes in it and is poorly thought out.
That doesn't mean the anxiety was not high when they sent me out of the room to discuss/deliberate. But thankfully, two of my friends came to watch my session and kept me company in the hallway while I was waiting for my professors to finish talking behind my back. :-) As soon as the door opened and my advisor came out with a big grin on her face, I knew I had passed.
And now, I am taking a break from dissertating, and am frantically getting my house ready for Easter, which I am hosting. It has become a tradition for me to host my family for Easter at my house every year. I've done it almost every year for the past 12 that I've lived in Charlottesville. And it's also extra special and meaningful this year because I have no idea where I'll end up living after finishing school, and it could be our last one specifically here. (But more on the dismal job market and the stress of it all another time). Regardless of where I end up moving for a job (or if I stay on and find a job here), I DO plan to continue the tradition of gathering my family at my place for Easter.
This year is also extra special because it'll be a chance to celebrate my proposal defense. There are rumors of me being taken out for Italian food in Richmond early next week. I hope/think more good things are about to happen over the next several months--I'll finish my dissertation and finish my degree. Hopefully I'll get a job (and one I like in a location that appeals to me). Maybe more good things will happen, too. (My sister always jokes that maybe embedded in all of that good stuff, I'll finally meet Mr. Right). Btw, did you all know Architect Boy's birthday was yesterday? April Fool' boy. But all of that has quickly become a distant memory now--it's not a bad thing but that time in my life just seems so long ago, now, almost like another lifetime. D & I are still Christmas card friends, and Facebook friends and yes, I DID write on his wall and wish him a happy b-day yesterday. But I believe you move in the life tangents you're ultimately supposed to. It's kind of where the universe puts you sometimes, even though we sometimes think we're in control of all of it (and we are to a VERY great extent, but not 100%). And, interested readers, btw, I still DO stand by my final decision (regret-free) that it wasn't going to work out w/ him, even though it hurt him (and surprisingly stung me a little bit belatedly). Here's to new beginnings for all.
Spring. It's by far my best season and the happiest, most hopeful, most energetic time of the year for me. It's not hurting my mood that the weather is about 80 degrees, and all of the blossoming trees are in full bloom. I feel like I'm always saying this, but, cherry blossoms in particular are so irresistible in their intoxicatingly delicate beauty. It's so fleeting, so delicate, so stunning. They display for that short window of time, and then the rain and wind come and the petals fall like confetti, and then the bright green leaves start to bud. So much of what spring represents really resonates with me. Maybe it's because I'm a spring baby, I don't know. I just know that I love it.
And in honor of spring, I would like to have a nice glass of Sauvignon Blanc. What could be better than a white wine that is actuallly meant to be consumed while it is young, rather than aged? A wine that is *meant* to have that crisp, fresh quality (some who don't like it call it "grassy" tasting, but a quality sauvignon blanc never tastes TOO grassy)? What could be better than sauv blanc with asparagus, salmon and red bliss potatoes, and a spring mix salad on the side?
Happy Easter, Happy Spring, Happy Friday, Happy Weekend!
