I feel fantastic and I'm STILL ALIVE.

Right. So, no entries since shortly after my wedding eight months ago. I've found most of LJ land also follows me on Facebook, so I confess to keeping random snippits of my life up on my Facebook wall instead of LiveJournal. You know, cause it's easier to be snappy and interesting.

Here is the laundry list of what has happened:

• Successfully completed my MA in Japanese Studies, got a Merit on my dissertation (a bloody 68! I did not fall flat on my face!) and on my degree program on the whole.
  
  
• Went to my graduation and got said MA on a lovely piece of paper.
  
  
• Went back to America soon after my wedding to visit family and friends who couldn't attend, which was a massive whirlwind tour but still VERY fun. Also returned in January to attend Anime Los Angeles, where the convention had invited The Spoony Bards to play as Musical Guests of Honor. It was, officially, my last concert with the band. And it was AWESOME. We were treated like kings and queens, I met some really awesome people in Los Angeles, caught up with some old friends and saw palm trees. Palm trees, man!
  
  
• I applied for and successfully got an extention to stay in the UK for two more years, on the basis I'm married to Stuart, as well as the right to work in the UK.
  
  
• When I came back from America in January, I started a diet based on a book I found there: The Glycemic-Load Diet Cookbook. Basically, after cutting out solid starches and sugary drinks from my diet, by mid-April I had lost about 30 pounds without starting serious exercise to complement it. I've dropped two clothing sizes, and also got a new haircut: a short blunt cut that I've always wanted, but been afraid to get because of my formerly 'round' face. Like'a this.
  
  
• From the end of January until late April, I did nothing but look for work. It was an emotionally exhausting, demoralizing and frustrating time, but I am thankfully clear of it much quicker than I was the first time I was unemployed. I have small anecdotes from the period, some of which are funny and some of which were very frustrating. Took approximately three months to find a job.
  
  
• I now work for Enterprise Rent-a-Car in its administrative offices in a town called Aldershot, providing administrative support to a team of salesman who sell on former rental cars to car dealerships across the UK. My co-workers are about my age, incredibly nice and supportive, and so far my job is pretty darn cool. Very clerical/administrative and not super focused on customer service. The format is exactly what I was hoping for to serve as a 'bridging' job for my lengthy record of customer service positions.
  
  
• In a funny twist of fate, Enterprise's global headquarters are in St. Louis, MO. I knew this coming into the interview, but it certainly made the "What do you know about our company?" question in the interview a cinch to answer.
  
  
• Stuart and I are facing possible eviction from our house, as it's currently on the market to be sold. It's owned by Stuart's brother, who is now expecting a son to be born late this year. It's not big enough to house him, his fiancee, and the baby, so they need to sell it. If the house sells by the end of the month, we may be very quickly shuffled out into Stuart's parents' house temporarily while we save up enough money to put down a deposit on a flat. If not, we'll be allowed to rent at a higher rate to Stuart's brother. It's an awkward situation, as I want Stuart's brother to do well and have what he needs for his new baby, but I really don't want to be kicked out of the house at the last minute just while Stuart and I are about to recover financially from the slump induced by my continued unemployment.
  

And now, for not so serious things, in no particular order:

• I've played Aion and Star Trek Online at their releases since the year began, and abandoned both. Aion had brilliant potential, but turned into a grindfest at level 20. Star Trek Online swayed me because it was Star Trek, but it wasn't the MMO I had hoped for. Space combat isn't my favorite aspect of the game, and the away team missions were rubbish. I just wanted to be a Medical Officer, sit in a sickbay, and heal people.
  
  
• Stuart and I are officially back on the EU servers of World of Warcraft, exploiting the Refer-a-Friend system to create a host of level 60 characters in all the classes we want, and then cherry pick the ones we want to progress. Saving a couple classes for fresh starts when Cataclysm comes out.
  
  
• Temporarily played Final Fantasy XI again for a while with powermitch and xell, but had to cancel it due to financial difficulties. Enjoyed the mechanics of it immensely again. Found it very hard to will myself to play on my own, though. Not a game for the faint of heart, which is rather refreshing.
  
  
• My friend Ron said, "You would give up your firstborn to get in the Final Fantasy XIV beta." While he's not exactly correct, he is incredibly close. I have been looking forward to XIV with ridiculous anticipation. Like, the kind of anticipation some people have about Starcraft II, or Diablo III. That's me with FFXIV.
  
  
• Tabletop gaming is still going very strong; the folks who we play with regularly are fabulous folks. Stu and I have gotten very close to a lovely couple about our age, with very similar personality types.

And there you have it, the compuslory wall of text. Nice, huh?