Growing Older

My mother used to say when I was little that you are never the same person you were 7 years ago.  Looking back on the old posts of this blog, I can see some of the same qualities, personality, and views, however, my life is drastically altered from that person just 3 short years ago.  I'm definitely not as witty as that person, where I came up with such writing I'll never know.

As for my life, I'm now married to my sihaya which will most likely be a chapter of this blog, since it is by far a different relationship.  Good but different.

I'm also in the process of a full-time Master's in a field very different from what I've studied the past 10 years of my life.  Fisheries Stock Assessment has a much nicer ring to it than Museum Education, doesn't it?  Well, if anything, it gives me a chance to observe what a person's confused stare looks like before I get the question, "What is that?"  I guess you could say I have finally stopped running away from numbers and have embraced them fully, if a bit hesitantly.  I'm learning to be a mathematical coder, lecturer, and fish ecologist all while holding the knowledge of American art history, buddhist symbolism, and education to guide me!  Needless to say, it has been an incredible struggle, but I'm learning more and more each day; and for once, I'm generally happy in what I am accomplishing.  My work seems to have meaning and I feel better knowing that I'm not wasting my life with something I only have frustration towards.

For this degree, we've essentially moved to the sticks from a large city.  To keep myself entertained, I've become interested in the preparation of food.  I was pretty interested before but more in the nutrition aspect of it.  I've now learned the art of artisan bread, butter, and pasta making as well as a beginner's knowledge of herb growing.  This has changed my behavior in the kitchen to a point of snobbery particularly in the process of creating everything from "scratch" or their most essential ingredients up.  The fact that my sihaya has been put on a medical diet has exacerbated this into an obsession.  Looking at my posts on pescitarianism, I am back in my old stomping ground only with an arsenal of new techniques and more information than I previously had.  This time around I'm not having the fatigue or pains I did before.  It's not as restrictive as my last experiment, but it's working so much better than the bumpy road of 2009.

All in all, life is but a dream now.  I'm no longer stuck in a job I didn't care for.  I've moved my relationship with my plus 1 into the forever category.  I'm being mentally stimulated/exhausted every day.  And it's working me into a new career I could only hope for a few short years ago.

And to top it all off I'm now a master chef...or not. One can dream can't they?