Forgive me, dear readers. I’m embarrassed to say that it’s been 130 days since my last blog entry. I am at risk of being a statistic – one of hundreds of people who start blogs and then let them fade into obscurity. If not for some vigilant readers who send me friendly reminders every once in a while, I’d still be neglecting my blog-duties.
In my defense, however, here’s a brief synopsis of what I’ve been busy doing since March 29, 2009:
1. Getting engaged
2. Planning a wedding for September
3. Finishing, defending, and submitting my thesis
4. Writing 3 papers, 2 of which are now published and 1 that awaits its fate at the hands of the editors. And I thought I wouldn’t become a slave to the ‘publish or perish’ world of academia…
5. Going to Paris for a long weekend with friends from Amsterdam and Canada – four glorious days of friends, sun, food, food, food, and a great apartment in the Marais.
6. Going to Chamonix, France to finally see the Alps in all their glory, including Mont Blanc, the highest peak in the Alps. We had 5 days filled with great food, cheese and bread, hiking up mountains, coming down mountains in thunderstorms, and getting lost on a mountain. We wondered if 2 Skor bars and 1 litre of water would see us through a wet and cool night. Thankfully, we didn’t have to find out.
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- Arc de Triomphe
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- Metro stop with a great sign!
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- Mmm…couscous!
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- The French Alps
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- Hiking in Chamonix
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- The ascent of the sandwich
7. Receiving a surprise gift of tickets to see Andy Murray play on Centre Court at Wimbledon. We enjoyed the driest and hottest Wimbledon in years, and were only disappointed that the match didn’t last more than 3 sets. But we’ll remember our amazing seats for years to come. Unfortunately, C is even more determined that I should work full time so he can spend his year traveling the tennis circuit.
8. Reading FOR FUN and generally doing nothing at all, and not feeling guilty about it. It took me a few days after finishing my thesis to realise that I didn’t need to get up every morning and park myself in front of my laptop for 8 hours. After a few days of adjustment, I’m getting quite used to a life of leisure (punctuated with small spells of frantic wedding planning, of course).
I suppose I really have no excuses now to be absent from the blogging world. Hopefully this post will inspire me to write more. Stay tuned!
