Candy Apples In The Sky
The holidays seem like ages ago already. Though they went fast, I spent the time off from work just as I had hoped. My cards went out, gifts were bought, wrapped and given, and, although the poinsettia idea would have been perfectly fine, my power of persuasion succeeded, resulting in a tree going up and being trimmed, albeit on 12/24. And I had time to bake and knit. I think I've finally mastered two things: 1) fair isle knitting, and 2) the ability to make popovers at high altitude, after experimenting with a few different recipes.
So, I never received one of those much-talked-about TSA body pat-downs at the airport. And the knitting needles in my bag made it through the security checkpoint x-rays. But again....so did the full 10-ounce bottle of pink candy apple scented lotion that the annoying couple sitting next to me on the plane used for their 3.5 hour in-flight massage. The woman with right pink nails kept saying "I'm hot". As the plane pushed back from the gate, the flight attendant had to give her a repeat reminder to put her laptop away. As the plane started to taxi down the runway, the boyfriend started giving her a hand massage at at take-off. Upon reaching cruising altitude, she again whined "I'm hootttt", and then took off her sweater for a lotion-y, greasy shoulder, neck and back massage that lasted the rest of the flight. I'm a mind-my-own-business kind of woman when it comes to airplane etiquette and personal space/politeness, but if I may say so, the candy apple massage was slightly over-the-top and other people on the plane seemed to be of like mind as me.
I am always late to the game in blog/diary land when it comes to year-end recaps and talk of new years resolutions. But that doesn't mean I don't love a year end celebration/welcoming a new year and all that goes with it. What really matters is that those who know me and have kept up with me in various ways already know that 2010 was an important and special year for me, and they (or you) know why. Now I'm ready to see what 2011 will bring. January often finds me bursting with hope and new ideas as the post-winter-solstice sunlight gets longer and angles into brighter days that signal that spring is coming this way, even if it's cold or snowy as we speak.
Hopefully the hope I feel in 2011 outshadows any fears I currently have as this year begins. (I have some follow-up testing at 8am at the endocrinology lab, and to be honest, I'm a wee bit apprehensive). I'm also more closely examining opportunities and plotting my plans for when my yearlong post-doc ends this summer (currently a big unknown and not an easy task).
I have more to share but it must wait.
