Things I'm Thankful For (2023)

It's been a bit of a crazy year. And I've been doing a lot of writing, just not on this blog. Here's to attempt number two to be consistent, starting with a Thanksgiving post -- and on time this year too!

1. More repaved roads
   Last year I mentioned that the terrible road I ride to school/work had been repaved, but the (even worse) road to the grocery store had not. Now they've done that one too!
2. PhD candidate
   I hit a big milestone this year. By finishing my second qualifying paper, I am now in the final segment of my PhD. I'm officially done taking classes, and get to focus on my research.
3. Teaching a grad class
   My advisor had a bunch of students who wanted to do a directed reading with him, so he set up a proper class and hired me to do most of the instruction. It's been very fun, and very different from normal TA duties.
4. Networking
   I had a blast meeting other linguistics professors and students at several conferences this year. This might seem crazy since for me, as an introvert, business networking is basically the most unpleasant activity imaginable. I think the reason academic conferences are okay is because there's a real connection talking to people about their research when it's genuinely interesting to you, and vice versa. Also, linguists tend to be unusually nice.
5. Fellowship
   After several failures, I finally managed to get a small fellowship, which increases my graduate student stipend to a level that is no longer completely laughable. With Long Island housing prices, I can now afford to live in someone's basement all by myself!!!
6. Laptop miracle
   A few months ago I dropped my laptop straight down onto a hard floor. I was certain it was destroyed. No, not only was it completely okay, the condition actually improved, as whatever misaligned part was causing phantom scrolling since I got it is now fixed!
7. Survivor phone
   I bought a Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact in 2020. The phone itself came out in 2017. It was basically the last non-gigantic phone ever made, and I'm clinging to it as long as I can. So far, so good.
8. Fancy office
   I finally got around to getting myself a desk at my university's Institute for Advanced Computational Science. It's an open office, but they have windows. Windows!
9. Ghibli movie
   I adore Studio Ghibli, but they haven't produced much in the last few years. But this year Miyazaki himself directed a new film, which is supposed to come to the US soon. Very excited.
10. Direct flights
    It still takes forever to go home for a vacation -- three hours on trains and busses before I even get to the airport -- but at least LGA has frequent direct flights to where my family lives.