The "What Ever Happened to Arinn?" Thread

I decided to try this new thread in a different section. The old one where I would update people about what was happening was in the Bitch section, but nowadays I have nothing whatsoever to bitch about, so...can't really raise that one from the dead.

(I've been off the air around here for a long time, so if you're reading this and have no idea who I am, please feel free to ignore me. I used to post here and write a few articles and hang out back in yesteryear. No big deal.)

For those who do vaguely remember my existence, I thought I would assure you that I am, in fact, alive. And well. Here's the update:

1) University. I finally graduated in May 2009 with an Honors degree in Anthropology. Collected a minor in Classical Civilizations, since I'd been studying so much Latin and I decided that I like excavating in the Aegean. In the end I went out with a minor blaze of glory: two Chancellor's citations, one for Extraordinary Academic Achievement and another for Extraordinary Professional Promise; was named the Outstanding Graduate in anthropology for that year; summa cum laude, blah blah blah. It was a good deal.

2) Next stage. I've been accepted to the University of British Columbia to study for a higher degree in Classical Archaeology. This summer I'm in Europe again on a travel-and-research scholarship from the University of Tennessee. I'll be working again in Greece for a seven weeks, and I've also been spending a few weeks in Denmark to learn a lot more about prehistoric textiles. As I'm typing these words, I'm sitting in a hotel room in Copenhagen; I've been doing a ton of experimental archaeology up here and connecting with a lot of other archaeologists who work in textiles. Learning to spin thread and weave cloth with prehistoric tools, sailing out with Viking ships from Roskilde harbor, digging around the collection at the Royal Archaeological Museum, etc.

I had a very sublime moment a few days ago when I rounded the corner in the Royal Museum and came face to face with the real live Gundesrup Cauldron. Dear gods, it is beautiful in real life...

3) Immigration. I'm hanging on the edge of my seat waiting for my student visa to Canada to be approved, so that I can study at UBC and finally be closer to my daughters again. This is something I've been working toward and hoping for, for a long time...really hoping they don't complicate my life unnecessarily.

4) Kiddos! My oldest daughter graduated from high school in June, and I was able to be there to see her get her diploma before I had to leave for Denmark. I was also there the night she set out for the senior prom with her new boyfriend. She looked sooooo beautiful, and so happy! She got into the cab with two gorgeous young men in sharp-looking suits--the boy who loves her and the boy who has been her best friend since the 8th grade, both of them looking incredibly handsome and grown-up. It really was wonderful to see. I'm extremely happy that I was there for that.

I'm also thinking a lot about my younger daughter and hoping that I can be there with/for her more in the next few years. I know she has a lot of dreams and potential and a huge amount of talent; I also know that it is very hard to put it all together at her age if you don't have enough support on the home front. I am hoping I can be there for her when she needs me, from now on. And who knows, maybe give her a kick in the ass once in a while, if it helps. Whatever it takes.

5) Work. My company has put out a new expansion for our first game, and the old game and its expansions have been released on multiple download service sites for cheap--with the result that we have more players than ever before, and an explosion of new interest in our game. I'm putting out a new edition of the novel I wrote last spring, since the rights have reverted to me and some of the fans have been asking for a different way to buy it. I've been adding a few new things, but I haven't been able to finish it quickly because the team is working hard on another project, and I'm trying to produce some fiction for that as well. The theme this time is...zombies!

6) Mom. She's doing well. Recovered as much as possible from her fall, and still working toward wellness within the limits of her disability. The latest news is that she has bought a house! She was qualified for a housing grant and homeowner's loan for the disabled, and fought long and hard for months to get her application approved. The fight has finally paid off, and now she is finalizing the sale of a handicapped-accessible home. I'm hoping to be there in time to help her finish moving into the new place when I get back to the USA in August.

Guess that's it. I hope everyone else around here is doing well. Missed you guys. What's going on in your lives?