To everything, there is a season... except the Monkey Chow Diet season

Well, I've been an awful blogger lately. Really, really bad. I wouldn't be surprised if people had stopped even checking the site to see if I've updated. Sigh.

I actually have several good reasons for not blogging. First and most importantly, my work G5 doesn't have internet access. I share a PC workstation with my boss, so no blogging while waiting 5 minutes for high res scans. Second, we moved about a month ago and we're STILL unpacking. We had to buy closet systems to store my gratuitous amounts of clothing and then build them. Okay, my husband built them. Then, I got bronchitis. And, we practically moved to IKEA. Half of our stuff is hidden (still in boxes) in closets. I secretly believe that our crap is humping like rabbits and multiplying before our eyes. Third, I've spent the last month going to three separate interviews for that exhibits job. But, as I posted, I got the job, so I'm not going to complain too much about that. Finally, we got cable and I had better things to waste my time with. Like Top Chef marathons. I love Dave. MMMMM, black truffle mac and cheese.

But, things have finally turned around and I'm feeling more like myself than I have in a long time. A year ago, my Grandma died, I graduated GWU, got married, and began looking for that "dream" job. After months of disappointment (not the marriage, of course), almost jobs, depression, anxiety, bitchiness, financial distress, and job opportunities at great places but not in my field, this exhibits job represents the changing of the seasons, so to speak. All the work I've put into school and life in general is finally paying off in my career. I get to work with an amazing exhibits team, collaborating with curators, designers, researchers, international specialists... I start in a couple of weeks and cannot wait. I went into museums because I want to work in a field where I can challenge the existing hegemony and educate a sadly misinformed public. I want to come home at the end of the day knowing that I'm creating something and educating the public... With this job, I finally get to do that.

This last year has been so emotionally difficult for a lot of reasons, and even though I didn't believe it at the time, I think that things do work out for the best. You might not see how while literally drowning in the muck, life may take twists and turns that you didn't expect...but if you keep yourself grounded, work hard, hang around good friends, and don't get too caught up in the ideals of "a hip/successful/amazing/perfect life," you can end up in unexpected, amazing situations. Sure, getting there might suck. And sure, where you end up might mean more work than just sitting on the sidelines. After a year of feeling like everything I had worked for was getting farther and farther away, no matter how hard I was working, I'll take whatever challenges come my way. We have to make our own lives, even if that means dealing with shit. Existentialism isn't necessarily a "happy" philosophy. But it's better than letting life just happen to you.

And it's definitely better than this guy's life: