Not only did I resist the temptation to read on the train, but I got myself up and over the 64k mark on "Confessions" and sketched out an idea for a short story. I'm feeling good about life this evening. We just renewed our lease here in our palatial two bedroom (and one-and-a-half bathroom!) townhouse for another year, so maybe it's the relief of not having to pick up and find a new place to live like we did last March and April. Or perhaps it's the news that I'm going to be gainfully employed until at least the Summer of '05, continuing along with a job that I stumbled upon purely by accident but have grown to treasure. It could also be that my wife will be spending her Thursdays with me and the baby on a permanent basis, giving us an actual "weekend" day as a family and making my Saturday and Sunday shifts a little more palatable. I've picked up a new Ancient Greek student this past week, and he seems like a dedicated soul that will be sticking aroud for the medium-term; meanwhile totally out of the blue I got an email yesterday from one of my former students letting me know that he had a good term at college, thanks to my help in part, and was looking forward to taking more Greek this semester. I'm reading, I'm writing, I'm even cooking when time permits. And Andriana's just about ready to start walking and talking.

I know what the Greek half of my extended family would say about this post: phtoo phtoo! You're not supposed to talk about your good fortune, lest one of the gods overhear you and take it away (or at least that's the Ancient spin; the Modern Greek equivalent of this is that you'll invite the evil eye upon you from a jealous neighbor unless you spit on the ground twice or grab your nuts or whatever works as countermagic in your particular village). But life is enough of a grind, not to revel in the occasional happy respite. So I'm respiting and reveling. Spit on the ground for me, if it makes you feel any better...