Last day of one extremely epic month

It's not that life isn't always busy. I mean, c'mon . . . if I go back through this blog I'm sure to find plenty of exciting things dispersed throughout the years I've been writing here. But seriously, this month, this March 2010 has been just one helluva month, in a good way.

Here is a list of things I didn't know at the beginning of the month:
1. Would we be staying in Madison for the next four years?
2. Would the peer review for my paper be good?
3. Where would our next apartment would be so that we could get dogs this summer?
4. When would be my thesis defense date?
5. Would I be able to find my next job before I graduated?

I know the answers to ALL these questions now. Having written it out, it's even more weighty than it felt in my brain.

1. We will be staying in Madison for the next four years.

2. The peer review comments for my paper were minimal, and with minor revisions we should be accepted.

3. We signed a lease on a cute little apartment in a great neighborhood and can have two dogs, hardwood floors, and only pay electricity.

4. Thesis defense date is May 12th. I have so much work to do, but I focus on the advice my friend Bethany gave: "At some point, I just let myself believe it would all get done, and it did."

5. Just yesterday I was offered a job at a company I really like, where I think I have something to contribute, where my well-being won't depend on a lab experiment, where I can still wear jeans if I want, and get paid twice what I do now. I accepted the job offer today.

The beauty is, in broad strokes the only thing I have left to do is write my thesis and wrap up my research. I *dreamed* up being in this position. And I got there through hard work and eye always towards opportunity. It's crunch time alright, but yes, it will all get done, and I will be FREE of a crucible I've boiled away in for seven years.

I'll have a week and change between defending my thesis and starting my new job. Though I've dreamed of just never setting foot in lab again, I think I'll be spending it cleaning up my bench and writing my strain lists. And going to pugfest. After that, it's time for a new adventure.