Five year old Maggie is back!

First, a list of the reasons that I am in a much better, you might even call it excellent, mood:

1. J’s thesis defense is over. This has implications far beyond his own improvement in mood, which has been impressive. Namely, he’s going to go to the grocery store and clean for himself effective immediately. This means that I don’t have to make a pathetic attempt at keeping him fed or fight with him about letting me do a little laundry for him. (If you tell my mother, I’ll deny it! To his credit, he mostly wouldn’t let me do his laundry, except the one time that I made the argument that he really did need clean underpants and matching socks for his defense.)

2. ASLO has downgraded me from giving a talk to presenting a poster in Nice. This means I have a slightly earlier deadline, but it will be much lower stress.

3. My favorite pizza place just switched from Pepsi products to Coke!

4. Christmas is going to ROCK this year. For a while there, it looked like it was going to be just me alone at home, which would have been okay since I don’t really care for my roommate these days, and cranking the heat up and crawling in bed with a good book sounds like an amazing idea lately. But now, J has decided to stay here with me until the 26th, then we’re going to share a ride to the airport (and the parking fee!). Sadly, we couldn’t work it out for him to come to Ireland with me, but I will have a whole second Christmas there with my family. I’m told that there are nice rocky intertidal beaches to explore. I’ve already packed my rubber boots and rain gear.

And finally, the thing that’s turning me into a hyperactive child…

5. J is going to get me a Christmas tree! We’re going to go pick it out and cut it down at the tree farm on Friday during lunch. The only reason we’re not going RIGHT THIS MINUTE is that they’re not open on Tuesdays. There are going to be lights and homemade ornaments. Picking out the tree and cutting it and tying it to the roof of the car is one of my favorite things about Christmas, but also something that I miss because I usually go home so late. I’m not really sure how my family’s managed to get the thing home over the last few years because I seem to be the only one of us who can tie a respectable knot (Thanks Capt. Goldberg!).