"It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live."

So today was a very good today, that started out very poorly when my (now returned home!!) cat sat on my sleeping chest, constraining my lungs to the point of strained breathing, to wake me. Then I discovered that my cat was smarter than I was, given that he had woken me at 10:29 for my 10:30 meeting that morning (something I myself could not do, even by setting an alarm!).

I rushed around, took a 3-minute shower, etc., feeling really bad that I was running late for my meeting and generally feeling unprepared for life. I have been reading a lot lately - reading some more of the Harry Potter series, since I promised myself I wanted to read the last two books in concurrence with their movie releases so I could enjoy the two together, and reading an apolegetics series by Lee Strobel. Both literary adventures have been so captivating that I have been getting to sleep after 2 am all this week, and this morning was my first day to really fail at getting up after only 5 or 6 hours.

So I get to work, and my boss and I are able to flesh out this protocol in less time than we thought, and then the other research assistant meets up with us and we both get new contracts with raises! I am so glad my boss remembered to write these up, since I will need to start re-saving money from Oliver's celebrity vet visits.

Then we all proceeded to have a very fun(ny) lunch meeting at the public health school cafe whereby my boss shared her preferences for non-ugly people and I ate a delicious slice of veggie pizza. We also got different assignments to draft parts of a funders evaluation report.

I headed home, chased down O to give him his antibiotic via syringe (My cat's antibiotic is in liquid form and smells exactly like a banana milkshake, and I certainly hope this is not why his medicines cost more than mine would for the exact same condition. He still hates to take it, and proceeds to blow bubbles of it out of his lips.), and wanted to check my email. On the way home, I had been thinking alot, about how I had lost my planner, how I was so nervous about finding a job, and how the morning had been an absolute mess. So I said, okay - that's it! I am believing in myself, and I am getting on track. I am going straight-away to buy a planner, buy a netbook for the job I will get, and to get my oil changed, because getting to the job is also very important once I get it. And you know what? When I checked my email, I found out I would be getting a job, with the organization I have loved ever since the first interview! It is not final yet, but I am going to their staff training in September, and a position will be contingent on my ability to successfully complete that training (I am thinking something similiar to the TriWizard Tournament?). To say I was and am excited is an understatement. I am so glad that this is the path my life is headed in, for so many reasons, including the mission of the organization, the flexibility and the fun built into this job, my ability to continue working with the Baltimore non-profit I started consulting with during my master's program, and the ability to breathe a little, while it's still summer.

So I got a new computer, a new planner, and an oil change, and treated S to some Kentucky Fried Chicken as he was kind enough to be my discerning eye at the Best Buy.

Whenever I got discouraged with job hunting in recent weeks, I just told myself a series of sayings from successful thinkers I admire, such as that 'the harder you work, the more luck you'll have,' and 'you have to put action behind your faith.' I still have a ways to go, but I am so excited about getting set up in an adult role in life, in my home, at work, in everything, and I remain confident that I can do so just by doing little things each day to ensure that I am making progress a step at a time.

Speaking of, I have to set up my new planner with a bunch of meetings that are right now precariously hanging only in my memory. The Hermione Granger in me can't wait!