trying to stay positive

The malaise is setting in. The weather may be gorgeous here, but I feel like crap. I'm underemployed and unhappy about it. I read somewhere that most people are satisfied with their work, be it clearing drains or waiting tables, as long as they were working more than a certain number of hours. And I fall shy of reaching that magic number of hours. Which leaves me with plenty of time to sulk around the house -- I can't afford to go out -- and obsess over the lack of communication from a certain university.

So, I'm expanding my options.

I've decided two things. One: that I'd like to be working in biology -- that field I trained in that I enjoy. Not that I don't enjoy teaching English, it's just not what I want to do when I grow up. Two: if I want to get a real job in my field, I'm going to really have to work hard to improve my second language skills. Those real jobs are about having writing and speaking skills, both of which are still difficult for me. I've been lazy about my French. I don't speak it enough at home and I haven't done much to improve my writing skills. Improving those skills means getting out more, be it volunteering or working at a less-than-exciting job (as long as it's all in French), means doing some actual writing, means studying and looking things up in dictionaries, means being an active learner. Just like in Japan, learning a new language doesn't happen by osmosis. Unfortunately.

Here's to making things happen!

*new kount added because I got locked out of the old one :(