Thinking ...

... about what I want to do next year, and off into the future.  The last time I left school and was looking for work, I talked to almost nobody about the actual jobs I was interested in.  I mean, I discussed prospects with my friends, but I considered journalism without talking to journalists.  I considered teaching without asking teachers the passions and challenges of the work.  I have a lot of uncertainty about where I'm headed--partly because I am slightly risk-averse due to past work that didn't go so well, partly because I tend to get tempted to go down the road less traveled, the road well traveled, and several other roads, partly because I don't always know what I want to do--next year, in five years, in 10 years.  This time around though, I'm bouncing ideas off people: I've talked to people in government, in family-engagement positions, in nonprofits.  What's the work like?  I've had coffee with classmates--just yesterday, a friend of mine made a great case for D.C. (which I'd been skeptical of).  I'm not asking for anybody to give me the answer, I've got to come up with that myself.  But I'm taking the conversation out of my own head.

... about how to stay active this semester.  Five classes, one internship, one job search (which feels like three or four).  My goal last summer was to exercise more during grad school not less, because I knew I'd need the energy, need the sanity, that I get from pick-up basketball, from a bike ride, from a three-mile run.  Last semester, I did pretty well--I'd give myself an A for physical activity (grade-inflation included).  Not sure how it's gonna happen this time around.

... about where I want to live.  That's connected to what I want to do.  And unlike in the past, for me, it's a two-person decision, not a solo act.  Somebody asked me the other where my girlfriend and I don't want to live, what's ruled out.  If you drew a line from Minneapolis to Austin, anything West of that ... not so sure.  Anywhere you have to drive everywhere--probably not right.  Beyond that, more questions than answers.