I'm ba-ack!

That's right... I'm back. The previously alluded to Big Secret is still in the works, but I have done my "fall cleaning" and all my blog posts are back up.

What's been going on here? A lot.

I spent a week in Salt Lake City at an academic conference and gave a presentation on my research. I saw some interesting work presented there, which was good. It made me excited to do a really good job finishing up my project and getting my Ph.D. -- and then to find a slightly different research field. It's nice to remember that there are areas of research out there that exist outside of my small, narrow field.

The highlight of SLC, however, was getting to spend the week hanging out with one of my best friends from my previous life in the Big City. She's one of those friends that you can just "be" with so comfortably and easily. So fun. I miss her a lot!

SLC was my first trip out of town from here other than going back to see T. It was weird coming back home and not having him here; for some reason it felt like he should've been here. Long-distance is not fun!

On the flight back from the conference, the girl sitting next to me pulled our her NAIL POLISH and started to paint her nails. Um, hello? Noxious fumes? Small, confined space? Not the best idea. What would you have done? I kindly asked her if she minded waiting until she got off the plane after she was through about three nails; she was really nice and apologetic about it. But still...

Then this week has been a super-social, "Jennifer-has-crawled-back-out- from-under-a-rock" type week. But in the good way. I haven't felt that my extroverted side was exhausted. IT was exercised, but not worn out. It was also really good to get back out and continue building my relationships here. I still am amazed at the providence of God in the community that is here. I feel like I haven't been giving my all in terms of engaging with that community and building up relationships, so I want to work on that. I need to learn to be a little bit less guarded with my evening, not-at-work time. I also need to learn to be more productive during my at-work hours so that I can be more giving of my nights. So much to learn. Life is fun!