And so begins the New Life.

The last two weeks have felt like a long vacation. Today was the first day where I felt, at several moments, "Oh, that's right. I'm not working anymore."

And I would just like everyone in the blogosphere to know: it is freaking fantastic.

I slept in with the cat cuddling with me. Then I made cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Then I worked on grad school applications but I actually enjoyed it, rather than breaking into hives because of how much work lay before me.

Kristi and I took a long walk around the lake. Yes, it's Minnesota, it was probably below zero when we went. We are one of those few Minnesotans who actually kind of enjoy the cold, but please don't tell anyone that because no one understands it. The walk was really nice, actually. And relaxing. At no point did I break into hives about how long it was taking and all the other important things I needed to do.

I took Callie, my beloved '97 Honda Accord, in for an oil change and the guy said, "It'll take an hour" (it's a first-come-first-serve place, and there were a lot of first-comers today). Instead of breaking into hives because THINK OF ALL THE PRODUCTIVE THINGS I COULD BE DOING! I thought, "Heck, I have a book in the car I haven't read yet." So I told him, "No problem." And it only took 45 minutes and I enjoyed all of them because what else was I going to do? Sit there and break into hives because I wasn't at home mopping the floors? No. (Although that does need to get done. But if I don't get it done today, it's not like the floors call my direct line tomorrow and leave a passive-aggressive voicemail about how I'm ignoring them at my own peril and how the world will now end because my floors are still dirty.)

I did have one hives moment today, and that was when I looked at my bank account and thought, "There is no way I can do this. I have to go find a job. I have to call AFP back RIGHT NOW and get the job back." Then I thought about working again for AFP and broke into hives. So...calling them back did not happen. Then I found out I sold one of my books on half.com. It's not a lotto ticket, but it's another $4, which will pay for a round-trip bus ride to somewhere I'll eventually need to be.

Tonight, it is a Monday night, and I am hive-free. This is amazing. This is wonderful.