Not too shabby, 2010

So far, 2010 has been good to me. A few updates:

• I found a new thesis advisor! She's from Northwestern's department of preventive medicine, and not only is she wicked smart, but she's ORGANIZED and she won't take any slacking off on my part. This is a heavenly nuisance! Even better, she doesn't think I should let this be "just a paper," so she's encouraging me to work with a local organization, like my beloved Howard Brown Health Center perhaps, to get them something out of this -- a white paper or a presentation. I'm excited.

• I've achieved a modicum of (very local) fame. I'm the featured profile in our department's quarterly newsletter. It's nice to get more use out of our Save the Date photo! With poor E cropped out, of course.

• Speaking of which, we're ready to send the Save the Dates! Although I felt like I was stifling E's creativity somewhat, I insisted that if we were sending something out on paper, it had to be a single postcard, without an envelope. I just hate the idea of so much waste. I I found an awesome company that will do the whole mailing (except Canada - thwarted again!) on recycled postcard paper.

• Our Penny is smart and delightful. She's housebroken with only the rare "mistake," and we're taking her for training in a couple weeks. She can already come, sit, and sort of fetch. I hope she never gets too big for shoulder-snuggling.

Here's hoping your 2010 has been as nice as mine.

Puppy Heaven

We brought home our little Penny on Christmas Day, and I'm still amazed at the ridiculous joy she's brought into our lives!

We've had three days as new parents, and I'd give us a solid B+. We've learned some important lessons -- for example, no matter how many books you read about training, nothing prepares you for the shivering, wimpering, big-soulful-eyed resistance to being off your lap!

Winter has been a big challenge for housebreaking, especially for those of us under 3lbs, but we've had almost two days without an accident and I think she's learning to tell us when she needs to go "outside." (She actually starts shivering as soon as she sees her leash - what a drama queen!)

We're trying to get her on a schedule this week that gradually builds on her alone time so she's ready when I go back to work. Today I went to the gym for an hour and she cried for about 20 minutes, then found her bone and her bed and she was fine when I got back. (I'm glad our neighbors have dogs so they don't hate us for the noise. For such a tiny thing, her whine is pretty powerful!) This is the most challenging in terms of the heartstrings -- she really wants nothing more in life than to snuggle with us. Preferably on the neck :)

We've also started our Puppy Kindergarten (we'll start training classes at PetSmart in a month or so), and she's at least familiar with "sit" and "come." She met Aunt Janet the other day and she was such a ninny! I'm hoping the neighbor dogs will help with socialization. Thursday is our first trip to the vet.

I'm a bit surprised at how well we've adjusted to being new parents. I didn't expect E to be so comfortable talking about bowel movements, but he's been great. I have moments of "bad mommy" panic, but the happy moments far outweigh the worries.

A disheartening pause

As my idol Dorothy Parker might snipe:

"It serves me right for putting all my eggs in one bastard."

That's a little harsh, but I'm incredibly frustrated today. I found out that my master's thesis advisor, a professor I truly admired and trusted to help me with this undertaking, told me today that he's leaving Northwestern. And in one sentence, one quick blight of Courier New, I was thwarted back to square one.

Mind you, he told me this after months of not responding to my emails. Perhaps I should've been suspicious, but I wasn't. I picked this professor, a genius in health policy, for the same reason I tend to pick all my heroes: I see something of myself in them. In this case, his delightful brain would wander as mine does, and he was sometimes flighty and hard to reach. As I am.

I'm not entirely the victim here: I confess that I've been finished with my master's courses (straight A's! Even in Finance & Budgeting!) for months now, and I've been just sitting on my thesis idea, procrastinating for no good reason, unless you count working two jobs and getting caught up in wedding planning. Which I honestly don't.

But the irony is perfect: I had finally gotten that wind of inspiration, finally written that abstract and started forming my research questions. They weren't too shabby, I thought:

• How does the HPV vaccination narrative fit into the landscape of US vaccination policy?
• How is HPV different from other diseases for which vaccines are recommended?
• Who are the stakeholders in HPV prevention policy?

So this weekend I read and reviewed and concentrated, and today I submitted it to my advisor -- the gatekeeper whose approval means I can move on to the next step, write the sucker and be done with it! His response was characteristically nice, but devastating.

It's not the end of the world; I'll need to find a new advisor. Maybe I'll need to change my proposal. In the end, it's up to me.

Nesting

I spent some time this weekend with our soon-to-be puppy, Penelope. I could not adore her more!

I'm in full nesting mode lately: reading book after book about creating a positive home life for our new addition. I've purchased bedding and food, planned for safety and comfort, taken some time off work. I worry about being apart from her during the day once I'm back to work, I worry about her getting along with our fickle cat, Tasha ... But mostly, I'm excited and happy.

Going through this process makes me feel more confident that E and I are ready for new members in our family. Puppy first, then wedding... then who knows?

Something starting

I've had a really productive master's thesis week - maybe that "Graduation Barbie" inspired me? I came up with an incredibly overambitious outline, and I got a little less polite when setting up a meeting with my Advisor.

I picked, as my thesis committee, three of the most brilliant minds in our department - one in public health, one in policy, and one in law. Does it surprise anyone that I identify and admire people who are brilliant...but also somewhat flaky? I've got the absent-minded professor, the dayplanner-less wonder, and the one who takes on too much and "will absolutely get back to me next week."

Anyway, the important thing is to get the abstract and application approved in December. Baby steps.

Enter November

Had a remarkably productive Sunday: ran two miles, cooked a delicious dinner, reorganized a closet, and got some freelance work done while listening to the Bears win! Hoping that this jump-starts a successful week. I need more days like this.

One at a time, or all at once

I can only be one Barbie at a time, it seems.

Every day, and more nights and weekends than I care to discuss (work/life balance is another blog for another day), I strive to be Career Barbie. I am proud of the work I do and I love my job, but it does leave me feeling neglectful of the other important things in my life.

When I try to stay on track with my fitness, by running or giving myself an hour of Pilates, I take away time from making dinner with E, socializing with friends, and quite often my bedroom ends up strewn with dumbells and a balance ball that terrifies my poor cat!

I wish I got more pleasure out of taking care of my home. I know you're out there, you lovers of cleaning, but I can't claim to be in your ranks.

I'm a grudging caretaker of my Dream House!

And when I'm doing any of the above - taking care of my career, my body, or my home - I'm missing out on the friendships that used to be so easy to maintain.

And cuddling with the man I adore.

Not to mention my Master's Thesis!

Aaaaand I'm done.

Image sources: http://www.barbiemedia.com/