At a loss as to what to write after ignoring my online writing responsibilities for so long. I have my health. And the people who make me happy here in Warsaw. My research, I feel (and fear), remains a bit too unfocused for me to feel comfortable being in this program, but I know I won’t get to do what I’d like to do until I speak this language considerably better than I do now.

Stephen will be here in a couple of weeks. We’ll travel around Poland, though we haven’t yet decided on a place for New Year’s. We’re both thinking someplace quiet and uncrowded. Neither of us wants to relive the frustration of New Year’s in Prague six years ago.

Much of my time recently has been spent considering the various options for next year and beyond. The scary beast (THE FUTURE) has raised its head on several occasions, demanding I engage it on every level imaginable: personal, academic, financial, professional, romantic.