Right, so it's been awhile. I'm still alive and actually doing rather well. I have managed to successfully find an apartment, graduate from college, move to Brooklyn, start work, and get a cat. I've just completed my 3 month probation period at work, so now I have insurance. Basically I've spent the past 3 months enjoying my new low-stress lifestyle. Free time! Reading for pleasure! No homework! There's rent and bills to pay, of course, but thus far it hasn't been too bad.

However, I plan on adding new stressors in the coming months -- I'm hoping to start classes for a master's in library science in the spring, and then in the fall I want to add classes for another master's, this one in costume studies. (Not costume design - it's more the history and culture of clothes than how to create costumes for theatre - info on the program can be found here.) In about 4 or 5 years I'll hopefully have completed both programs and will be able to get a job at a fantastic place like the Met's Costume Library.

All of this means, of course, that I'll probably be living in New York for longer than my originally-intended 2 or 3 years. But as long as I'm not living in Manhattan itself, I'm fine with that. My neighborhood is pretty quiet and safe, there are plenty of parks scattered throughout the city, and there's lots to do (when I can motivate myself to do anything other than loaf, of course). I was worried that I'd hate it here, but it's grown on me rather quickly.

Interestingly, one of the things I miss most about Swat (besides, of course, the people and the wonderfully strange conversations) are the plants. The city has lots of parks, but they're mostly patchy grass and trees as opposed to the lush greenery of the arboretum. It strikes me most whenever I walk by this flower shop near work - if I breathe in deeply, it reminds me of being in one of the gardens. A weird bit of nostalgia, I suppose. It's somewhat balanced by the joy of being in a state with sensible liquor laws - it's just so nice to be able to grab a bottle of wine or some cider at the grocery store, though it's certainly not as entertaining as an expedition to Delaware. :)