As I Live and LearnBack   to   My   Universe

        Wow. Here it is, the Holiday Season again! I’m so not ready for it this year, but things will work out somehow I’m sure. They always do. It’s been such a full year for me, though not very eventful compared to last year, thankf ully. Over all things have been very good. Despite my always being on the go, there’s not a whole lot of note worthy news from me this past year. But here’s what I do have.
        My twenty-second birthday saw a return to the casinos. Perhaps this’ll become a yearly tradition? This year wasn’t profitable, thought it wasn’t a loss either, but it was good company. Then in February I moved into my very own, one bedroom, decently sized apartment! I absolutely love it. Not just living on my own, but apartment itself. Living on my own is wonderful too! Even if there never is anything but juice in the fridge.
        Most happily, one of the two best friends I had been living with last year and had the huge falling out with, Eileen, got in touch with me and she and I have renewed our friendship! I also have managed to rebuild my circle of close friends with new great people, and the return of some old great ones, since last year’s losses. Except for the romance department, my social life has been very full and happy this year.
        Everyone knows I don’t like summers in general, or if you didn’t you do now! But it is especially true for this year and on as the one good thing to summer, that being summer vacation, no longer exists. However, this summer marked my first full year out of college and my first full year working at my job! It also saw my return to the Star Trek convention scene. I had a wonderful time watching John de Lancie (Q) and Leonard Nimoy (Spock) perform and meeting the stars. The convention also renewed my love for Star Trek, and I now run an online sim with a friend, and have made a couple great new friends through simming. For though who don’t know, an online sim is a place where a group of people who are members take turns writting parts of a story. In my case, the stories are all Star Trek related.
        This year also marked my fifth year out of high school, and so the first Arlington High School Class of ‘96 reunion was held in November! It was a lot of fun, especially playing “What’s that guy/girl’s name?” Though only in Boston does a $25 reunion turn into a $125 reunion when everyone’s cars get towed.
        Finally, I recently receieved an e-mail from the Dr. I worked under for my summer ‘99 research intership. He said that the project I helped him with, actually the paper I helped write based on that project, is going to be published in Journal of the American Chemical Society! So I’m looking forward to seeing that soon.
        Welp, that’s about it! I hope everyone has a great holiday season, and a very Happy New Year!