In Absentia

I've been absent from this blog for long months, but for good reason. Here are some of the trials and tribulations that have kept me away.

- I spent a week helping my grandparents move from their house to an apartment. Goodbye only home I've had an attachment to all my life!

- My boyfriend lost his job for stupid political reasons. Oh the joy of being a teacher one year away from tenure.

- Both of us being unemployed, finding a job became my number one priority. Eventually, I was offered two jobs on the same day. I picked a gig as a math tutor in the local school system (for a truly terrific program: http://www.sps.springfield.ma.us/forward5/) as my boyfriend landed a job that was half a state away. He had to get an apartment for during the week so, you know, fun sort of long distance relationship stuff.

- BF got laid off from his new job right before Thanksgiving, no reasons given as it was within his 90 day probationary period. I'm still furious about this.

- All kinds of stress and relationship strain from all of the above.

- Now trying to reinvent our lives together and also both looking for more work again. No easy feat.

So that's what I've been up to. I hope everyone else I know in the blogosphere is doing well because I feel like life has been in shambles and it's be nice to come somewhere with some stability.

Soon I'll update with some exciting news on the writing front. This is the one really good things going for me right now, so if this post was a bit depressing, stay tuned! Things will get better.

NaNoWriMo and ALB

Anyone who knows me well these days knows that the month of November is largely dedicated to the crazy trip that is writing 50,000 words in 30 days.

This, along with the fact that I spent the majority of last month finding a place to live, furnishing it, and delving into the realm of real adulthood is why I haven't posted for nearly a month.

So a brief update is in order.

I have started my new job as an Inventory Arborist. I'm in training right now - but the job consists of surveying trees in the Worcester County area for signs of the Asian Long-Horned Beetle. As you may or may not know, this invasive beetle causes terrible damage to our native trees (maples in particular). The USDA has launched a huge effort to get this beetle under control here on the borders of rural New England before it can get away from us and invade our hardwood forests, causing untold numbers of dollars in economic damage - not to mention irreversible aesthetic damage. The ALB arrived in this area in 2008 and since then the government has cut down nearly 30,000 trees in an effort to eradicate it. The contractor I work for is responsible for closely monitoring and indicating where damage remains or is spreading.

Above: Damage caused by the ALB - perfectly round exit holes and chewed areas where the female lays her eggs in the tree.

Below: The adult Asian Long-Horned Beetle. 

Alert the USDA immediately if you notice any of these beetles in your area or see this sort of damage on your trees! www.mass.gov/agr -or- 1-866-702-9938

So I've got that going on. And it's going well. I love that I'm working a job where I feel like I'm making an actual difference in the world. Wish me luck cause my first USDA test (only get two chances to pass this thing) is this Friday!

National Novel Writing Month is the other thing dominating my life right now. I've got what I think is a fantastic story this year. Mortal Coils is about a family of witches living in an old New England town. Told through the eyes of Noah Macpherson, a male scion of the family, there is lots of family drama, the problems with growing up different from everyone else, and mysterious dreams that seem to be plaguing Noah and no one else. Did I mention that he falls in love with a girl who houses an angelic spirit determined to kill him and his entire family as demon worshipers? It's crazy stuff. I've fallen behind this week due to adjusting to new work schedule and other things like an all day Lord of the Rings extended edition marathon on Saturday. But I am catching up today. 

I hope. 

Hopefully more normal posting will soon resume - that way I can feel like I really have a life again.

Connected

I seem to go through these periods of wanting to be in touch with everyone and everything alternating with periods where I withdraw from most of the world and put myself out there in very limited ways. Right now I'm going through a phase of sort of loving my social networks (both real and internety).

November is going to be the beginning of a brand new chapter in my life. Having my own apartment and a serious job outside of university studies is probably exciting for anyone - but I have never taken the time to imagine this sort of life for myself. I clearly remember as a child picturing my life as a teenager, wondering about high school and boys and what sorts of classes I would take. As a teenager, I dreamed of college. I longed for it. I laid out various dreams in the shape of different majors and settings and friend groups. But as a university student, I don't think I did much imagining for my own life. It was all about getting to the next class. The next semester. The next dorm. Part of that was because I stuck myself in a long distance relationship and pinned all of my hopes for the future on being with this person - even though I think I always knew that it couldn't work out that way.

Well, now I've graduated from school. I have a serious long-term relationship with someone that I'm not constantly stressing about in terms of future plans. (I think we can call this "being content in love." Mutual love is nice, I've found.) I was finally hired for a job that not only relates to my major, but will interest me, make me feel like I'm making some kind of difference, and give me the freedom of mind I need to keep my writing up. And I just signed the lease on my first apartment.

I guess I'm beginning to feel more like a citizen rather than the non-entity you are when you're a child. And I never really imagined how that would feel. Frankly, I'm so excited about 'beginning' my life that I want to constantly write about everything I'm doing. I find myself self-narrating more than ever. (Anyone else do that?) And thinking about writing some autobiographical non-fiction.

To start though, I think I'll just keep up with my blogs some more... Stay in touch with people on Facebook (go see The Social Network btw it was genius writing)... And tweet about my writing.

To life! As boring as it sounds, the mundane details are endlessly fascinating to me. I'm ready to explore more.

...***Please check out my science/nature blog: Green Pieces. In addition to posting more about myself :D I'm also going to be posting more about issues in science that should matter to everyone. Plus there's an awesome video featured every Tuesday!***...