06 August 2002 - 22:24

I finished my schoolwork (except that which pertains to my thesis), we returned our videos, and we ensured the house was in decent shape and now we are many hundreds of miles away. I am enjoying my first real vacation in six months (almost exactly).

The last vacation was San Francisco, the stressful sort of vacation, which immediately followed my last vacation here with my family, which was also stressful, since I spent it vehemently attempting to be able to pass the Organic Chemistry II final the second time I took it (I passed).

This is the sort of vacation where I don't have anything to do. Bless Ifni. No papers to write. No research, no moving, no paintings to paint, no job or volunteering. AND I'm not sick. It's amazing.

I'm in a time and space where I can take Elfy's advice (see my guestbook) to heart, free of stress or division. I hope to get my fill of domesticity here and be pumped to leap back into high adventure. I have been knitting and reading books of financial advice (I figure now is a good time for it, since Wheel is not a formal student this year and will inevitably, sooner or later, be working some kind of job most of the time.)

These books have convinced me that I can save and manage my savings and have a very comfortable amount of money at some point. Unfortunately, short-term expenses still perplex me--that is: the wedding, in less than a year (I think we can keep costs way down, and we have family help, but no wedding of that size can be really cheap); graduate school, in a year (unfortunately, there's no way I can come up with $15,000 in a year during which I'm a full-time student, starting from about $500 that has to cover groceries (yes, I'm out of debt). It'll have to be grants and work-study and such, or even, at the very fringe of possibilities, some loans. Probably not though.); After graduate school, in 4 - 7 years, I'm going to want a chunk of property and to start building a house. That may also be when I buy my first car, or I may arrange to continue being carless. Then comes providing for a family (and if we decide to adopt any of our kids (at this point I see no reason not to consider it), that will require a tremendous amount of money up-front)). By that point I figure we're in a zone of reasonableness, and things fade into the far future.

I've had a long standing suspicion that there aren't very many companies I'd be ethically comfortable buying stock in, and that is starting to dissolve some. I mean, it's not like I'm a communist or anything. I'm as American as my braids and blue jeans, yo. Still, I'm going to have to do a little extra research.

Fortunately, I derive great enjoyment from research.

I've also been playing computer games, spending quality time with my parents, my significant Wheel, the dog, cats, chickens, and little brother. Also eating very well. And did I mention knitting? Mmm. Knitting.

Bedtime now...