A Shaft of Gold When All Around is Dark

John and I, needing to get away from the trashies upstairs and to break the emergency hundred somewhere, took a longish walk in the rain Sunday afternoon. We stopped and pooled our pocket change for a hot smoothie at Tim’s, and then went to the grocer’s. (If there’s one place left in the world that still takes hundred dollar bills, aside from casinos, it’s the grocery store.)

We bought $13 worth of food, including a giant assorted bag of day-old bread products.

So there we were, walking home in the rain, and we were eating an enormous chewy and salty pretzel, when suddenly things didn’t look so bleak. In a world in which there are large German salted snack treats, there is always hope.

Then last night I filled in and sent out my PhD year 1 progress report, and though I didn’t have a ton of accomplishments to list on there, it was very nice indeed to write “Course Work Completed” (that is, pending my Bryant mark, which I still haven’t received).

And then I actually got emailed and g-chatted by more than one person at a time, which doesn’t happen often, but which made me feel much more like a viable human than of late.

And better yet, I now have a contract to fill out for the Benny project, and a website for the company, so it all seems nice and real and awesome now in a way it did not before. Sure it isn't Harper Collins, but I think I like it better.

And besides, it'll have my undying affection when it becomes the first book company to print out my name across white, smooth pages!

So, there! There’s some nice, non-whiny update for you. Enjoy it, for it’s rare this time of year!

(Oh, and P.S. if anyone can place the title quote, I’ll treat them to a pretzel.)

(P.P.S. I have been trying to post this damn update for hours now – Blogger seems to be having a meltdown. It’s sick, and I seem to be getting a doozy of a cold... I guess I was right about cheerfulness being rare!)