Spring has Sprung

It has been a long time since I wrote anything on these pages. I guess I just got out of the habit, and really didn't feel like I had much to say. But with the new green leaves (and all that wonderful pollen) and the increasing sunlight as the days get longer, I felt an urge to say something.

It has been a good year so far. It is brilliant to be able to say that, as last year was a very difficult one for me.

I have started a new job at Winston & Strawn, a lawfirm here in DC as a Trade Analyst, and although the hours will be long (as expected), I am feeling like my work matters and that I am being productive. As an added perk, my first work trip to China is coming in about a week and a half. As was the case when I was at the Department of Commerce, it is on the trips that you really begin to understand the cases you are looking at, and are able to connect with people from far away. It will be a learning experience for me, and I look forward to doing something challenging and new.

These days I feel like I am in a dream-like version of my own life, as the fun and love I am surrounded with just keeps coming. Between jobs, we went to Kaua'i for a week, and had a remarkable week of fun and laughter and excitement (some of it scary, some of it really cool). Between the hiking on the edge of a 2000' drop, seeing a White Tip Shark while snorkeling, and sitting in our hot tub on the deck sipping wine while the wind blew through the trees and the crash of waves sounded in the distance, it really could not have been a more wonderful week.

In the midst of so much sadness and loss and worry happening in the world, I almost feel guilty for being so happy, but have decided to revel in these good times. I could not have gotten through the last year without the support of friends, and I hope all of those experiencing hard times right now have even half as many wonderful people around them as I do.

I am just coming to the realization that this post sounds nothing like my usual self! I am finding the transition from being the real downer at the party to a happy person a strange one, so bear with me folks!