Looking Ahead to 2008

1. Will you be looking for a new job?
Yes! Ideally, I think I'd prefer to work with older students, even though I'm certified K-12. I'm not so sure what I desire location-wise, but I do know that I want to be no more than 45 minutes from a city. GradSchoolTown is nice, but I'd like to have more than a giant-size discount store in town.

2. Will you be looking for a new relationship?
I don't know if I'll really be looking, but I'd be more interested in meeting someone once I leave this grad school limbo stage.

3. New house?
Some form of new living quarters near new job would be helpful.

4. What will you do differently in '08?
I'm hopeful that my training and coaching in grad school will pay off and that I'll be better at what I love to do!

5. New Year's resolution?
None yet ... and I don't know that I will decide to officially choose something. I do want to be more consistent in my prayer and Scripture-reading. I've done very poorly lately.

6. What will you not be doing in '08?
I do not intend to consider any fluke opportunities for further education before I get a real job. On-the-job experience in my field is what I really need next.

7. Any trips planned?
Yes! New England for a conference, a visit to BestFriend's hometown a few thousand miles away over Spring Break, a brief choir tour to CoolCity (home to AlmaMater), possibly to a large midwest state on a tour with a different choir, and Europe on yet another choir tour. This does not include tomorrow's trip to BestFriend's home state!

8. Wedding plans?
Not for me ... but wedding bells will be ringing for about 5 couples I know.

9. Major thing on your calendar?
The trips, definitely ... beyond that? Not anything I can think of at the moment.

10. What can’t you wait for?
Like Katie, I want to see where I'll go this year. Where will I get a job? Where will I live? What other surprises will come my way?

11. What would you like to see happen differently?
I don't have a good answer for this one.

12. What about yourself will you be changing?
I will be unable to maintain my current sleep schedule. Oh well. :-) Getting up at 7 or 8 in the morning won't work so well if I have to report to work before 7am.

13. What happened in '07 that you didn’t think would ever happen?
I actually went on a Spring Break trip - to Italy- with BestFriend! An article of mine was published in a major national magazine in my field. A few months later, I traveled in Europe by myself before and after my studies abroad. I never dreamed I'd actually have those opportunities, and I'm still amazed when I realize that they actually happened.

14. Will you be nicer to the people you care about?
I'll try.

15. Will you dress differently this year than you did in '07?
As a GA, I'm usually dressed more formally than most of the professors at GradSchool. I plan to maintain my conservative and professional (and still flattering!) style when I'm teaching.

16. Will you start or quit drinking?
I don't drink often, but I don't plan to give it up. Margaritas and red wine are too good.

17. Will you better your relationship with your family?
Always striving for that.

18. Will you do charity work?
I'd like to, yes.

19. Will you go to bars?
It's possible, but the bar is not really my type of place because it strains my voice (too loud, sometimes smoky). I'm much more of the coffeeshop type.

20. Will you be nice to people you don’t know?
I hope so. I've already adjusted my driving talk- instead of yelling, "You idiot! Don't you know what a freakin' turn signal is for?!" I say, with all the saccharine sweetness I can muster, "Sweetheart, there's a little lever next to your steering wheel that's called a turn signal. Good manners recommend your use of the device!" BestFriend loves driving with me because this cracks her up.

21. Do you expect '08 to be a good year for you?
I can't expect that 2008 will be able to "top" 2007, but I am hopeful that it too will be a great year!

22. How much did you change from this time last year till now?
I'd love to say that I've grown up and matured more. Maybe I have in different ways ... but in other ways, I feel less so than this time last year. *shrugs*

23. Do you plan on having a child?
Not this year!!! Maybe sometime in the next decade.

24. Will you still be friends with the same people you are friends with now?
Some of the same, yes. I'm in touch with fewer people from AlmaMater than I'd expected, and even my closest friend from high school and I have rarely spoken. I think that most of my new friendships at GradSchool will not last beyond my time there.

25. Major lifestyle changes?
Leaving behind life as a student and moving out into the Real World!

26. Will you be moving?
Yup. My lease is up in May.

27. What will you make sure doesn’t happen in '08 that happened in '07?
I won't accept a new job (such as my current church job) without thinking about it first. I'm not satisfied or happy in my position, but I don't want to hurt those to whom I've committed my time.

28. What are your New Year's Eve plans?
BestFriend's party!

29. Will you have someone to kiss at midnight?
No, but I've never had someone to kiss at midnight on New Year's. However, I bought Hershey's kisses with the plan to share them with everyone at midnight!

30. One wish for '08?
To quote from "My Grown-Up Christmas List" (lyrics by Amy Grant, maybe?):
"No more lives torn apart, that wars would never start, that time would heal all hearts,
Every one would have a friend, that right would always win, that love would never end"

In summary: Peace. Love. Acceptance. Justice. Compassion. Understanding. Faith. Hope. And Love again, because it is the root of all of the others.