Ten Years

Today is the ten year anniversary of the date I started my job. I had considered going out for brunch or dinner but then decided it wasn't something I wanted to celebrate. I'm thankful to have my job but it was never where I planned to be. I came to this university as a graduate student in anthropology and women studies and then life happened. My adviser went to Indonesia and my second one hated my entire thesis and wanted me to rewrite the whole thing, which was never going to happen. I left my program dispirited. My mom got sick and had to quit working, and it was my turn to support her while she went to school to earn her B.A. and her M.L.I.S. This isn't what I planned but it's where I'm at now, and I suppose that's okay. Some days I'm able to do make a real difference in someone's life (like this week when I was able to give a $2000 grant to a non-traditional student and mother to two young boys who had managed to get herself out of a bad marriage and back on the track in school. She hadn't asked for it at all. She was just looking for a small loan to help pay her rent this month and now she can focus on exams.) and some days it's all pages and pages (and pages) of social security numbers on reports, so many it's hard to remember that there are students attached to each one. On the bright side, while I became vested at 5 years in, at ten years, the rate I accumulate time off speeds up. In 2013, I'll actually be forced to take two full weeks of vacation or risk losing time at the end of the year (we can bank up to six weeks and I'm already close to that--you never know when you'll need six weeks to go gallivanting off to Europe with your BFF).

A happier, or at least less indifferent, ten year anniversary, is fandom related: escribo was ten years old on November 20, only I didn't think to look until tonight. In August 2002, I discovered fanfic and then slash, posted this story to a very enjoyable and entertaining yahoo group, received an invitation to join LJ (back when you needed an invitation), which I did under the name aelane, and proceeded to write 103 stories in (mostly) three fandoms, innumerable drabbles, including the ones that became inclineoftrees, and at least ten collaborations, most with kiltsandlollies but also with magickalmolly, the0neru and kalliopeia. I've made friends and lost friends. I met the best girl and friend I'm likely to ever know in Laura, who changed my life and adventured with me to places I wouldn't have had to courage to see on my own. I have had the time of my life. All this because I sat in a darkened theatre and felt a thrill down my spine the moment Frodo Baggins looked up and I became one of those most wonderful of people: a fan, which to me is someone who loves so passionately that we want to see these magical worlds continue to live and breathe and build so we work to make that happen. I'm blessed these ten years to know you all, whether or not we talk any more--or never have, simply having had shared a common love for a set of characters, whether or not we share the same fandom any more. It doesn't matter. You are brilliant, talented, effervescent people and no matter what, I wish you the absolute best and brightest.

I feel a bit like breaking into a chorus of "Can you feel the love tonight". :D Also, don't actually read that story I linked to up there. I'm pretty sure it's horrible but you can't believe how proud of it I was at the time.

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After my extolment of fandom love last night, tonight I'm watching Lord of the Rings, which I haven't done in a while. Wizard smack down!

For the next two weeks at work, we are in training (all day every day) for our new system, which will go live on February 28. This morning, we had to truck across campus--the whole staff--for a one hour meeting because "we never have the chance to be all the same room!!!" It actually ended up being about 30 minutes total, and then trucking back to the office. ANYWAY! The woman I was sitting next to leaned over and asked me, as our boss was giving a speech, "how long until he retires?" I thought for a minute and then said, "574 days."

"You're counting?"

"Kinda. It's more that I happen to know off the top of my head how many days are left until my birthday and the math is easy from there."

By the way? There are only 216 days until my 40th birthday. It was super funny when my sister turned 40 a few years ago. I'll be honest and say I'm finding it less funny now (though my sister finds it hilarious. Go figure.).