The Year In Review

I’m not real big on Christmas cards, but I am big on reflecting on the year and updating friends on what’s new in my life. Consider this my Christmas (ok, epiphany) letter. And my year-end blog post. 2007 has been a pretty exciting year in my life. Here are some of the things I did:

I suppose the biggest accomplishment of 2007 was my master’s degree. I finished my 90-some page thesis and defended it in May. I participated in the graduation ceremony in August wearing not-quite-right borrowed regalia, but I was pleased to watch some friends receive their doctoral hoods, which was pretty cool. I also started my PhD studies at UGA this year, and completed ¼ of my coursework.

Also in August, I moved from my one-bedroom apartment across town into a townhouse that I now share with my colleague Jamie. She’s a great roommate, and we get along well. It’s nice to have someone around even when we’re just reading. In fact, some of our classmates make fun of us because we often begin comments in class with “when Jamie and I were talking about this article earlier…” It makes us seem like pretty big dorks, but we are, so that’s ok. I think graduate school was the right choice for me, even though it can be stressful, lonely and high-pressure sometimes. I love the new place too, it’s a great location where we can walk to the campus bus, so we don’t have to drive as much or pay for campus parking.

August was a big month for me; it’s also when I adopted Zeus, who was then only 5 months old. He’s very playful and makes a lot of noise for a cat – he purrs constantly and meows quite a bit. He also has some strange dog-like behaviors, such as playing fetch, drinking out of the toilet and following people around the house. I love him. Another thing that happened then was that I officially joined Athens First United Methodist Church, where I had been attending and leading worship for about 2 years.

I got to visit a lot of places this year. I visited family in West Michigan in the spring and for Christmas. It was nice both times, but somewhat less exciting this winter, as I spent several days laid up after my wisdom teeth surgery. My family also visited me in Georgia, which was pretty cool. We even got to play some music at my new church! I went to LA twice, when I came for my birthday, Jim and I hiked to some natural hotsprings one day and saw some of Joshua Tree National Park on the next. It was a great trip. I also visited Jim this fall in Washington DC, which was a lot of fun. In July, I went with my friends Kristy and Katie to the Hostel in the Forest in Brunswick, GA. While we were there we visited St Simons, Jekyll Island and Savannah. Some of our touring included the Wesley sites, preparing me for my impending Methodism. The hostel was an experience in itself, ask me about it sometime.

My quotation marks blog took off like gangbusters, and I figured out how to make money off of it. I’m hoping the money thing will work out for me some more in 2008.

This is getting long, I feel like I have more stuff to say. I got my first Revise and Resubmit from a Journal this year, I discovered my love of karaoke, I went kayaking for the first time. Jim and I dated all year. I am still rather in love with him. Thinking about this year has really reminded me how fun and supportive and wonderful my family is, and my friends are. Thanks, y’all, for a great 2007! If 2008 is close to as exciting, I'll be a happy lady.