What Next?

That's a good question. This last year has been extremely full. I pushed hard to graduate in two years rather than the three I originally planned. Now that I'm done, I'm finding myself with large holes where I used to study. I'm sure I'll find ways to fill them, like blogging for example, but I need to consider what my options are and where I'm going.

First there's the trip. Criss and I are taking a vacation that we've been looking forward to and I need to kick planning and prep into high gear. We haven't taken a vacation together without other family involved since we've been married. She may kill me before we get home.

Next there's the garden. We had really good results last year, and we're going to expand. I plan to spend a lot of time taking care of it and the yard in general this year. Maybe the neighbors will stop giving me the evil eye when I'm outside. Maybe closing the blinds in the bedroom would help too. I also have two years of an accumulated to-do list that needs to be taken care of. Not as much fun as the garden.

I need to get back into shape too. I have no excuse any more, and I just don't feel healthy. I'm going to start exercising again on days when I don't have to work late. I'm also going back off pop and I'm going to try to stay away from fast food. there's no reason I can't.

There are some other things too. I also want to spend time painting more. I feel kind of odd doing it in the summer when it's nice out, so that will probably be reserved for nasty weather or the winter months. I want to game more too, but I'll take that as it comes. I have a whole backlog of things I want to read for fun. Some of them are related to my research, some not so much.

I also have some more long-term (and slightly more serious) things I need to consider. I'm shopping for PhD programs. It would be easy, except I had to go and pick an odd niche research area that doesn't fit cleanly in one discipline. I have a couple of front runners, but I'm taking my time. I also still need to take the GRE. I got lucky. PUC didn't require it for the Master's program.

On a somewhat related note, I find am in an interesting employment situation. I have a Master's degree, I'm a CISSP, and I've got two publications under my belt. I feel like I have outgrown the position that I am in. There is nowhere to get promoted to and not much room to go sideways. I have discussed this with my boss, and (I think) he understands the position I am in. I need to see what's out there. I can take my time, find the right thing. It's nice to be in that position. It has not happened to me very often. I'm willing to entertain suggestions on any of the above subjects. Let me know.