College Apps, Weekend Trips, Safe Travels

I'm going to refrain from writing in my typical, obnoxiously long-winded manner tonight, as I need to get to bed and I don't feel like expending the effort necessary to spin discrete, uncomplicated events into profound, breathtaking rhapsodies that have profound effects on your view of the universe.

Sorry. Habit.

At any rate, several important things that have coalesced around this weekend:

I sent my first salvo of grad school inquiries away today, thus officially beginning the process of applying for an MM. My hope is to winnow the list of applications down to something manageable (5? 6?) after receiving responses, and then to start my applications before October rolls around. If I were waxing poetic--from which, of course, I'm abstaining this auspicious night--I would say something like, "Thus begins that particular chapter of my life." But I won't.

Tomorrow, I fly to Munich to visit Laura, whom I haven't seen in 7 1/2 weeks. We have a fun couple of days planned, including, of course, plenty of time at Oktoberfest. This will represent the first mini-break I take from my research, and it is perfectly positioned. I essentially finished the first leg today, the latest part of which entailed establishing an extremely rough history of the Bulgarian people/homeland. I have a multitude of resources lined up to consult upon my return on Wednesday. So this will be a nice little hiatus - a rhythm-inducing breath before I dive into some deeper intellectual waters. 

It also represents the end of my first month living in Sofia, a small but important milestone. When I come back from this trip, I will ramp up my research, find a few more things to do to round out my daily routine, and will start to burn myself out settle into the meat of my stay here. The day after I come back also happens to be Rosh HaShanah, another marker of new beginnings. So this seems as convenient a time as any to arbitrarily close the book on Chapter 2 of this process and begin Chapter 3.

Last but certainly not least, very safe travels to Andrea, who is flying to Austria today to begin her Fulbright fellowship in Vienna.

Boy, that all lined up nicely, didn't it? 

Please accept my apologies for the coming hiatus. I'll catch you all sometime next week when I'm back in Sofia and have entirely too much to write about. Довиждане! לשנה תבה! Get lost!