Surfacing

Greetings, friends! I feel like a deep-sea diver coming up for air. I've been off-line for three days, which has been giving me the bends. But now I'm sitting at Panera, reveling in the free internet and hot coffee (which was not free), and enjoying the chance to catch up.

I've been AWOL from LJ for quite a while, given the end-of-semester crunch. But the 45 research paper drafts, 45 final research papers, and 45 final exams have been graded; the final grades have been calculated and turned in; the endless assessment data has been submitted. I've wrapped and shipped my Christmas gifts, packed my car, and driven eight hours to visit my family (the reason for the internet-less days; my brother isn't connected). I'm ready to relax. I've got several days' worth of flist entries and holiday fest postings to catch up on.

Usually when I visit home, my brother and sister and I spend a day going to bookstores and antique malls. But this time, my brother was too busy at work to get a day off, so yesterday, my sister and BFF and I braved the malls for some shopping. Talk about Bedlam: the traffic was unimaginable. It's the middle of the week! Why aren't all these people at work? /g/

On Saturday, I'll be flying to NYC to spend Christmas with Partner and Young Man. So far, it looks as if the weather will cooperate.

I haven't forgotten my promise to post pictures of my wonderful Minerva doll, my excellent gift from talesofsnape. Pics of Min and her finery are loaded on my camera, and as soon as I'm somewhere less public than Panera, I'll continue to delight you with picspam.

I hope you're all well, and for those of you preparing for Christmas, I hope the fun is outweighing the chaos.