Five years:

Had a son
Quit working
Had a daughter
Went to Puerto Rico
Went to Hawaii
Went to Vegas
Went to NYC
Moved to Wisconsin

Watching the astronauts work.

Is seriously nailbiting. I've now been there for 3 live "Let me give it one last try and if that doesn't work, we're going to have to give up on ______" and on the last ditch effort, it works! I like their writers.

Seriously though, it's some amazing crazy shit they are doing up there. And then this thingie came untethered and started to fly into the interior of the telescope! And Mass lunged upward and caught it! Dude! Do not go so fast in space! It scares the animals! And plugging something in is seriously hard if you can't anchor yourself anywhere.

In Five Years I have:

• left Soul-sucking job for better job
• Got a new cat
• Was attacked by and lost cat
• Moved apartments
• Got promoted
• got new cat
• My boss was fired, then my big boss fired the my old boss rehired, so I am back to the same good situation
• paid half of my credit card debt off (in one year)

Yay Aims! So nice to have reason to NOT to say "Fuck cancer".

5 years

- 2 new jobs (including leaving non-profits)
- drove route 66
- took first cruise
- saw Yosemite
- hosted Nilly
- traveled to Isreal, saw Nilly again
- had first surgery
- traveled to Africa
- GOT MAC!!!
- survived surgery on Mac

These are good lists. I'd forgotten some of the details.

Sophia reminds me: paid off credit card and got new car (paid off 60% of that).

Wow, I really am coasting up to my 50th. So much less has happened in the last 5 years than in the previous. Ought to do something about that.

Lemme see:

• Entered into a relationship with the wrong fella
• Survived mono at 44...not fun
• took a job for the sake of a job that, while stable, ended up being a bad plan
• Became the doggy lama, which I love
• Ended the not!smart relationship
• Reclaimed my given name...an important transition
• Saved some hearts
• Became more comfortable and more confident in my work
• Developed perhaps the best, most significant friendship of my life
Considered shuffling the mortal coil but that same friend saved me
• Gained weight and discovered I need to permanently break up with wheat and corn

finished masters
bought house
went to Washington and NY and met Buffistas
got new job
taught myself to make pie

There are some significant things there, but I don't feel measurably different. I think I spend more time dwelling on what hasn't changed than what has.

In the last five years I:
Taught at three different colleges in three different states
Hosted two French teenage girls in my 1-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn for 2 months
Moved from Brooklyn to the Eastern Shore of Maryland
Discovered my colors and revamped my wardrobe
Watched my sister be diagnosed with the same cancer as my mother, with much happier results
Left the Ivory Tower to work for The Man
Moved to San Francisco
Went hiking in West Texas, Oahu, Southern Utah, the Grand Canyon, Yosemite, and Big Sur
Welcomed more incredible in-laws to the family
Lost the 20 pounds gained since my surgery in early 2004
Finally applied to The Amazing Race
Paid $20000+ in student loans