Well I tried doing a brief update a couple months ago, but the browser I was using crashed and took my posting with it before it was submitted. So I just plain gave up even trying to post for a while.

After almost as many months back as I was away, I'm finally getting settled (in a sense). I have a job, a semblance of a routine, somewhere to live (more or less), places to hang out, taking some classes. I'm not sure if I'm really settled as in I've got it all figured out yet though. I'm not sure if this is what I really want to do. It's just something to do, for now.

I tried not having a job for a bit, but just wasn't able to figure out how to live without any money. I tried doing some contract work, but I'm either not suited for it, or I just had the worst possible luck when it came to getting contracts. I didn't really enjoy the whole "Feast or Famine" aspect either, since it was more famine than feast. So I stressed myself out, looked for a full-time job, and one found me. So far so good...

Without a job a routine doesn't mean much, but I just got bored with having so much free time and nothing consitent to fill it with. It irked my friends to no end, because they'd get home from work and want to relax, but I was alone and bored to tears all day and itching to do something. Now that I'm working, the routine is coming back to me, although it did take a bit to get used to the whole waking up in the morning at a set time.

My living situation was just temporary for the summer, a nice little sublet with a few people who I didn't meet until after I moved in, but it's turned out ok. This September I actually have a real apartment and a real lease, renting with a friend. It'll be interesting to actually live in an apartment building for once. Maybe I'll even get my cat back.

School is certainly the most interesting aspect. Many years ago I made a promise to myself, I had a dream, if you will, of going to university, getting a degree, continuing on with graduate studies, and eventually get a Ph.D. Well years go by, work/career gets in the way, and dreams get downgraded to just little ideas floating around in the head. But I left all that, went around the world, and now that I'm back, I figured I'd give it a shot again. I'm just not sure if it's the right dream anymore. At least I'm enjoying it, for now, although I'm almost finished the summer course. I did at least sign up for another one this September. At this rate, I'll have my undergrad in about 10 years, although I'm hoping to speed that up.

As for what's next ... just have to wait and see how things go. If this whole school/work/routine thing doesn't seem to be working for me, maybe I'll pack my bags and go somewhere else. Although the most important thing I realized is that no matter how far away you go, you can never get away from yourself. (And, paraphrased from a movie I saw recently, "No matter how far a jackass goes, he can never come back a horse").