Year of the Water Dragon

...which I'll remember as the Year I Grew Out My Hair.

There's a stage between hair being short and becoming longer that it just looks like one desperately needs a haircut.  Thankfully, I've moved out of that stage (mostly).  All my life I've had short hair, so I'm welcoming the change.  I doubt I'll grow it to ponytail length, but as the year goes on, I'll keep a lookout for a style.

I have the following goals this year of the water dragon:

• Continue working on my fantasy novel, preferably at a faster rate than last year (which was slooooow...),
• Get admitted into a PhD program (this feels like a semi-long shot, since I only applied to one),
• Consistently go to martial arts class (topped with the less frequent gym workout and yoga class),
• Strengthen my relationship with Michael (who also happens to be growing out his hair),
• Oh, and continue to make ends meet.

I feel like I'm part of a generation where my job doesn't define me, which probably has something to do with the economy.  When someone asks what I "do," sometimes I say I'm a "writer," other times I say I'm a "social worker." I've worked with vulnerable populations (supportive housing, shelters, detox, homecare) since I was eighteen, which means I've been doing this type of work for a decade now.  But I haven't really had the drive to climb the social work ladder and become inundated with paperwork, which tells me it's time to move on.  That's my hope with entering a PhD program:  to get some teaching skills and to build upon my writing. Although, of course if I'd been smart, I'd have applied to more than one program.  I wanted stay local, however...Seattle's a good city.