2008, isn't it great?

I can't believe the new year is already here. It took longer than expected, but I arrived in Laramie yesterday sometime after noon. I got to Denver on Sunday morning, and Rick picked me up at the airport. It was a gorgeous day. We drove up to Fort Collins, with the intention of grabbing lunch, doing a tiny bit of shopping, and getting back on the road. A storm came through and closed the highways, which changed our plans somewhat. After killing time by going to a movie (National Treasure 2, which was "eh"), the road reports were still all bad news and we had to stay the night. It was fun, in a snow-day kind of way. I like hotels.

So we rolled into town almost a day later than planned and it was suddenly New Year's Eve. I didn't have any grand plans and ended up tagging along with Rick to a party where I only knew the hostess. All her guests were nice and we had fun playing games until the big countdown. This is my first New Year in Laramie, so I'm missing the fun party I usually go to on New Year's Day. It feels kind of weird, but I felt like I needed to get back here and have a little time before going back to work.

Now that the holidays are over--well, almost over, since there's a birthday today--I'm hit with the reality of all I need to do. Time is seeming to go by so quickly lately and stuff is piling up, both literally and figuratively. I guess I need a plan. Spring semester should be busy, but less so than fall, which was kind of crazy. I'm trying to take a research methods class, but I didn't really get my act together until right before my vacation, so I'm really hoping the class isn't already full.

I'm thinking that it would be good for me to take a class again and try to be disciplined about keeping up. Also, descriptive research methods could come in pretty handy for assessment projects at work. If I can't get into the class, I'm going to be annoyed, because I will have wasted my $50 registration fee, but I guess I could take something else or wait until next semester.

There are a million other things on my plate right now. Midwinter is coming up amazingly soon. I've never been to Philadelphia, but I don't know if I'll have time to see anything in that short amount of time. We're getting there on Friday and leaving Monday, and my schedule is already too booked. As long as I get to my three committee meetings, I guess the rest is extra. Librarians, let me know if you'll be there, because I'm really hoping I can catch up with my long-distance friends. Internet friends, this means you, too.

Happy New Year!