Let’s Catch Up!

Hi, folks!  Here we are again with a post about the latest news around here.  For the record, it’s about 2 PM on a Sunday afternoon, and I’m still in my pajamas.  I’m drinking coffee (of course!) and eating chocolate chip cookies.  In theory I’ll do some grocery shopping today, but after a week of visitors and entertaining, I have a surprisingly full pantry.  Life is good.  There’s so much to tell you, and today I thought I’d share some of the basics so I can devote other posts to some fun stuff.

* Job news: Almost like magic, a job fell into my lap this month.  The job is conditional right now, and it occurs to me right now that maybe I can’t say much more than that for political reasons.  (I really dislike the secrecy—it’s as frustrating to me as a writer as it probably is to you as a reader.  My deepest apologies!)  But if all goes as planned, I’ll be starting work again this week and I’ll have the time off for travel that I want this summer.  The best of both worlds!  I’m excited.  When the job news is no longer conditional, I will tell you more, pinky-swear.

* A book project: I am working on a book about faith, science, and atheism.  I hatched the idea for this book months ago but felt reluctant to say anything.  Oh boy, another blogger writing a book?  Yawn.  How cliché.  What moves me about this book project is that I want to write it as much for me as for anyone who might read it.  When we first met via e-mail, Paul said something wonderful about creativity: “I love that creative drive, that itch to make a thing simply because it needs to exist.  It's almost better when the only market for it is yourself, somehow that makes the process all the more fulfilling.”

Right now, that’s exactly how I feel about this book.  I’m not really sure of where it’s going, and I definitely don’t know who will read it.  But I’m really enjoying my new reading material (in Sagan we trust!) and thinking about chapter ideas.  I kinda love the ambiguity in the process—it’s freeing to explore without much of a destination.  And I’ve been writing this blog for long enough that I trust the process of writing.  I don’t know what the final product will be, but I know it’ll be cool.

* Summertime friend fun:  My friend Courtney was here for a visit last week, and we had a marvelous time.  There was a boatload of great food, Bananagrams (my new favorite), some deep talks, some boring errands, a menu map, a little chaos, and a brand-new set of memories.  Paul and Courtney bonded over their laser-like ability to tease me about my weirdnesses.  While I didn’t love that, I do love that they get along and that their presence in my life is due to the power of the internet.  I’m so grateful for my tribe. 

   {Behold, the menu map!}

So that’s it for now.  I want to tell you more about our cooking adventures from last week, including a full link list to the delicious things we made.  (Again, hip hip hurray for the internet!)  I’m sorry I’ve been a little quiet on the blog front, but I checked in on a number of you and am delighted to hear about racing plans in NYC, frightening animals and small children, and day trips to Raleigh.  Life is good these days!