Stability? What's that?

Well, December was a rough month as I spent weeks struggling with the theoretical framework section of my dissertation proposal. However, I managed to get it sorted by mid-January, and am happy to report that I successfully defended my proposal last Wednesday, Feb. 10th! Yes, that's right, I'm now offically PhD (ABD), which is pretty freakin' awesome. (FYI, in case you're a non-academic, ABD means "All But Dissertation"... so I've jumped through all the other big, scary hoops in my program aside from the dissertation. This is a big deal in N. American universities.)

Of course, being the crazy and extroverted Leo that I am, I threw myself a party this weekend to celebrate! Beyond being ABD, this was not just any long weekend, but Valentines' weekend - AND this month marks my two year anniversary of bachelor girldom! So, I deemed it perfectly reasonable to throw a "Be My Anti-Valentine" party. :D Meg and I hit up the Les Coquettes V-Day burlesque show first (she vamped up in her sparkle shorts, and me in my black and pink corset) , and then we headed to a cool rock bar on Queen W called Brooklynn to meet up with other friends. Fun times. And too many shots, lol. Ironically too, I ended up with a V-Day date from my Anti-Valentine party - who knew?! Yesterday was ridiculous too, as I recovered from the night before, went to a friend's afternoon wine party, checked out my friend Zita's short one-woman play at the Buddies In Bad Times Theatre (it was done all from the perspective of a bee - so cool!), and then went to see the Skin Tight Outta Sight/Boylesque "Be Mein Valentine" burlesque show before heading out for more drinking and dancing into the wee hours of the morning. What an awesome weekend!

Anyway, the big news I have to share is that I'm moving again. In only 10 days. (Ack!!) Yes, I gave notice on my flat at the end of Dec., as I'm going back to the UK for 2-3 more months of fieldwork in late March. I had originally decided to keep the place b/c I really like it, and the location, but I've had ongoing problems with my landlord (try a freezer that hasn't worked since mid-September and sexual harrassment - yikes) and that was enough to prompt me to pack up my stuff and get outta here. So, yes, it's been stressful. I had really wanted a home to come back to from my travels this time, but no such luck, and the tiny bit of stability I'd hoped for continues to elude me. I am also disappointed to be putting my burlesque performing on hold once again, and shipping Mowgli off to live with friends for a few months (even though I know that he'll be superbly taken care of.) All that aside, I'm super excited about my upcoming travels - conference in London, then fieldwork in Glasgow, interviews in Chester, fieldwork in Cardiff and Swansea, and then a holiday in Romania. Amazing.

And, despite the worry, there has been cool stuff going on the past little while. I got the rest of the photos from my photoshoot with Marsha, and they ended up being totally awesome (if I do say so myself!). I also got in contact with a fellow in Manchester who does work very close to mine, and he ended up posting a job a short time later that looks really ideal for me! It's a temporary contract in Manchester, and I'm working on my application right now to submit for the end of the week. Exciting! Send me luck and good wishes for next week, as I should know whether I got an interview within a few days of submitting the application...