What goes around comes back around

Believe it or not, I did abandon this Zone for a few months, but here I am - back with a renewed interest in blogging and an updated design. Feels like coming back to myself.

Lizzie on her favorite pillow... Sean!

In the intervening 6 months or so, life has changed yet again for me. Sean and I are now engaged and living together in NW DC.  After three years with wonderful roommates in a charming-but-drafty house, Lizzie and I now happily share a one-bedroom place with the man of our dreams. (Don't believe me? You should see how much Lizzie loves Sean!) I'm commuting to work, again. Thirty minutes of a reverse commute across the top of DC isn't awful, and I only trek to campus 4 days a week. My physical office space has shifted (down the hall and with a new office mate), yet I continue to advise some amazing students in Scholars through a few different organizations. I'm teaching the new master's students with one of our faculty, too. It's a different experience that my old gig as a counseling lab TA; the switch to a more content-heavy course has its challenges and rewards. And, I am still working on the dissertation... I've made progress and feel good about my topic.

With Grandpa at a wedding

So, I bounced about in the blogosphere, too, during the change. I tried getting into Twitter and launching a Tumblr blog, only to find I couldn't really connect. Hence, I decided to return to my trusty Zone. I genuinely need space to write; with all the other changes in my life, why was I forcing a virtual one, too? I craved the community of my old hauntings, my previous writings, my continuing struggles. And, even though you can never really go "home again," I think you can sometimes seek comfort in what you already know about yourself. And, that's what the Zone means to me.

In love and engaged

I'm sure this all sounds a bit cheesy. But, sometimes, I think having certain things fall into place - e.g., a romantic partnership, great living situation, progress in academia - allows other puzzle pieces the space to be moved around, considered anew, and fitted into the larger image in previously unseen ways. That's sort of where I am now. Regardless of how I mix the metaphors, the essence here is that I have returned to the Zone in an effort to examine some forgotten facets of myself, practice my writing once again, and fling my thoughts into the online web of humanity.

I'm going to approach this experiment in my comfort Zone a bit differently. I hope to not only muse about goings-on in my life but to also feel free to simply write a little, share a thought, or upload an image. Short and sweet posts will accompany my ramblings, I hope. Brevity is the soul of wit and all that, right?

So, welcome back readers, followers, and self. I'm so ready to get back into a Zone.