Tue, Aug 25 2009 by Vanessa.

Today is a weird day.  All my stuff is gone.  The latest course that I agreed to teach is ending and students are saying good-bye and farewell.  It’s sunny and nice outside, of course a bit humid but OK.  Something just feels different.  I guess it feels like we’re moving which is the point but it’s still different. Read the rest of this entry »

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Sat, Aug 01 2009 by Vanessa.

So life is testing me again.  At least I think that’s what’s going on.  Breaking free from the corporate world wasn’t exactly easy.  It was 2 years and a few months ago that I left.  Adios!  Bye bye.  I knew life would provide something better.  Something more fulfilling.  Even if my immediate future was not 100% perfect, it would be better.  And it has been.  I have flexibility to structure each day as I please.  Each day provides a different experience.  I got so tired of the same routine day in and day out, going to the office.  During the last couple of years I’ve tested out various work arrangements including location, number of hours worked per day, number of days I work per week, computing platforms and technologies designed to make all aspects of my life easier.  But now it has happened.  The day has come when my nice little world has been disrupted.  The corporate world, gasp!, has started to creep and crawl its slimy way back into my life.  Read the rest of this entry »

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Wed, Jul 15 2009 by Vanessa.

Well today is our 9th anniversary so it seems like a good time to babble a little.  I still can’t believe how times passes by so quickly.  9 years ago we were still in CO.  9 years ago I was still in grad school.  9 years ago we didn’t have a shared bank account.  9 years ago only 1 of our dogs had been born.  9 years ago we wondered what life was going to be like in CA.  9 years ago we had no idea what the next 9 years had in store for us.  So, as we enjoyed a nice dinner out this evening, we wondered what the next 9 years would bring.  Who knows?  Does it really matter?  Hmmm….

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Mon, Jun 22 2009 by Vanessa.

I’ve never taken a sabbatical before.  In fact, I’ve always thought of “going on sabbatical” as more of an academic exercise than anything.  However, I find myself in the beginning days of my own sabbatical and I have one fear … I could get used to this!

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Thu, May 21 2009 by Vanessa.

So a couple weekends ago several houses in our community joined together to have a community wide garage sale.  The HOA kindly posted an advertisement in the local newspaper, I placed several ads on Craigslist in the days leading up to the affair and oh my Lord …. I had no idea.  I might remember my mom having a garage sale … maybe two, when I was young.  It could just be a vague memory of a dream I had when I was 5 as well.  Anyway, I think it safe to say that I found myself in completely new territory with no “real” garage sale experience.  Who needs experience?  Maybe in this case, ignorance was truly bliss.  Read the rest of this entry »

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