Maybe it is fall, and more random bits

The weather feels like it. The 80s are gone. I know some of you don't get my facination with cooler weather, but hot is not my friend. The only thing I suppose I should do before it gets cold (or as cold as it gets here), is find a new winter coat. I'm sort of putting it off, since I'm not at all sure where I will be wintering. That makes a big difference in the type of coat I'd want.

I did finally post my apartment on the graduate student housing board. (and made a quick webpage using only Notepad - it's pretty basic, but it does have more pics of the apartment: http://ella.slis.indiana.edu/~plpierso/apartmentinfo.html). I've been putting that off, too. I'm ready to be finished with school and Bloomington in some ways. In other ways, I really like the apartment, and Callie and I are really nicely settled in and cozy here, and I've been getting together with some people for knitting evenings. The thought of having to move me, Callie, and my stuff off to some mysterious place, and to have to get to know where things are all over sometimes seems like more work than I feel I can manage.

I'm ready to go to a place and stick around there for awhile, settle in and feel connected and comfortable. I do like the fun of exploring new places, but I'm ready to stay in a place. That makes me want to be all the more sure about picking a place I like. I had the thought that I could just get experience for a couple years and then move on. Now, I think I would like to stay somewhere at least 5 years, if not longer. Is it too much to hope that the perfect job is my first job in the profession? It would be wonderful if that was the case, that I could find a job where my skills could be used, and used well.

It's all wait and see for now. I am getting myself ready for my phone interview. I'm going over questions that might be asked, and preparing myself for the answers I might give. It's mainly a matter of reminding myself what I think about my skills, experiences, ways of working. I take all of that for granted, or sometimes don't value myself enough. I'm excited and nervous, but if nothing else, it will be good practice. I appreciate the opportunity to do some self-reflection, and to look back over what I've learned over the past two years. Even though I feel like I know only a miniscule amount of what I'd like to know, I have learned quite a bit, a suprising amount.