Hey there everyone.

The shipping boy and I have these things we call "happy places". When things are rough around the office, I'll walk past him on the way to the bathroom and pause for a moment to tell him about the happy place of the day and to hear his. Some happy places last only a few days, others are weeks and weeks. His first happy place he told me about, which started this whole thing, was a pond he wanted to build someday in a yard he'll someday own. He would just think about the design, and be happy.

I should note here that the happy places are very necessary since they short-handed us during the holiday season last week. Monday I was still doing busywork at 5:30 that's usually done by at least noon. I am trying very hard to let this stuff roll off me, but I can't help but resent this. It didn't have to be like this.

Anyway.

Today, I have three happy places. The first is my Sim world. Tim let me open *another* present a few nights ago, and now I have Sim's Makin' Magic. Oooh, fairys and elves! Magic helper gnomes! Spells to banish dirty dishes! So very cool. I'm a bit worried, as we blew a fuse while I was playing last night and I haven't looked to see when the last time I saved was, but there's still so much to do and explore in my SimWorld I know there are hours and months of entertainment there. Very exciting.

The next happy place is my latest career goal. My mother, as some of you know, is a librarian (cataloging academic librarian for those of you who like specifics). It occurred to me recently that I would really enjoy being a librarian. I love books. I love libraries; hell, the first place I was allowed to ride my bike to on my own was the public library. I'm also damn excellent at customer service, which I think would translate well into being a reference librarian. So, I started looking into MLIS programs in the state (as the tuition is much lower if you're in-state) and found out that not only is a good one in San Jose, but that I wouldn't have to move to matriculate there -- you can do almost all of it via the web and teleconferencing, with occasional classes (some of which meet up here in San Francisco) which would mean Tim could keep his job and we could keep our adorable apartment.

This happy place is a bit stressful, though, because I, er, had a bit *too* much fun as an undergrad. I'm going to have to talk to the good folk down at San Jose State and see what I'd have to do to convince them I could do the work. I can, I have no doubt -- I was just not quite mature enough when I went through college to get the grades that would have proved that. I have good GRE scores (well, good verbal and excellent writing/ analytical -- math, not terrible, but not outstanding either) and the two Berkeley Extension classes I took a few years ago I did well in, but I'd most likely need to do more to meet their minimum requirements. Surely I'm not the first person in this situation? I might just have to start taking classes at night now and try again in a few years, which is frustrating but would probably be worth it. Not only does the job outlook for librarians look good, but it pays well (in my world it pays well, that is). And I think I'd enjoy it for years and years, which is more than I can say for any other job I've ever had.

It's also a very cool profession, don't you think?

Anyway, the third happy place might help the stress of the second. Remember the fit-modeling gig I tried out for back in June at the G*P? Well, it seems their counterpart (er, let's call them the Ancient Mariners) is looking for a fit model these days, and the agency called *me* yesterday to get my updated measurements. Turns out I'm perfect, but they want someone with industry experience. Ah. I told her I had none, but I was really enthusiastic about it if that made a difference (she said it did). We're waiting for the appropriate executives to fly back from New York to see if they'd prefer perfect measurements over experience or what. Keep your fingers crossed for me, guys. This could be just the deus ex machina I need to a) give me time to write AND take classes to improve my GPA, and b) make me happier in general. It's also likely something I could keep doing while telecommuting to San Jose to get my MLIS, so that wouldn't be such a drain on finances either.

I'm so freakin' excited. I just hope all of this pans out!