illegitimi non carborundum

Ahhh. The world feels right this morning. Though the one thing that could make it better would be snow. I never thought I'd say it, but why the hell is it sunny outside???

We're officially on school break, and even though I still have to work, it feels nice to be on 'vacation' of some sort. I'm a bit miffed that due to work I'm missing out on retreats in VT, being home for more than a day in VT for Christmas, and chillin' with my boyfriend (who has most of the next two weeks off, lucky bastard). Buuuut the good news that accompanies that is that I heard back from Harvard! I can't quite ring the congratulatory bells yet, but it sounds good. She asked me for a work reference, and provided that worked out, I would have the job. A temporary start date is January 10th, which would work out perfectly. So keep on keepin' on with those crossed fingers!

School was pretty long yesterday, though not bad. Our last class focused on how to deal with the sexually provocative client. It's weird, being assertive in this respect is a different kind of chore for me than the usual assertive stuff. I tend to fall on the much more passive end of the aggressive/assertive/passive continuum, and am working hard at learning how to be more assertive. With the sexual stuff, I tend to fall at either end of the spectrum. So instead of trying to move in one direction on the continuum, I'm trying to move in two directions - toward the middle. If there is vague sexual provocation, I veer toward the passive end of things. If there is direct provocation, I think I'd be overly aggressive. It's one of the few things that elicits an aggressive reaction in me, when someone is making an unwanted pass at myself or my friends/family. But I need to learn to not make assumptions that that is what's definitely happening - we learned yesterday that someone can come across as exhibiting those behaviors, but they actually might be benign.

So I finally get to enjoy a bit of holiday cheer today... I'm going to try to finish up some shopping (which has been pretty minimal this year anyway). L and I want to get a few toys for Toys for Tots. We're also planning to see the Lemony Snickets movie, which looks fantastic. And then it's an afternoon/evening of holiday party hopping, provided I can maintain the energy for all of that. We'll see.

Christmas is going to be really different this year. It's going to be really strange to NOT be home on the actual day, for the first time ever. But I am excited to spend it here with L's family and our own friends here in Cambridge. I think what would assuage these feelings of guilt/sadness about not being home would be if I got to spend more than 1 day there. The plan as it stands is to drive up to Burlington the morning after Christmas, and come back here Monday afternoon. I have to work on Tuesday - freakin' PSO wouldn't let me have it off. This is especially annoying because I don't have to work on that Wednesday. BUT I'm trying to make peace with the situation, since there's nothing I can do about it and still keep my job. So I'll have to make the best of it....